The Middlebury football team began their season on Saturday, Sept. 19th at home against reigning NESCAC Co-Champion Wesleyan, ultimately losing 35-13. It was Middlebury’s fourth straight loss to the Cardinals, who have won 8 of the last 15 contests versus the Panthers.
The contest was the first career start for quarterback Aiden Moss ‘27, who until Saturday had backed up recent graduate Brian Moran ’26. “There's a lot of excitement going into the game,” Moss said about the nerves before his first start. “I was a little bit anxious before, but right when the game started I felt great. It felt fun being out there.”
It also marked the conclusion of a month-long preseason for the Panthers. Moss tried to hone in on the excitement that comes with the emotions of any home opener: “We came here so early,” he said, “We had been practicing and working so hard. So I just wanted to go out there, have fun and ball out with all the boys.”
The game began as a defensive slugfest, with neither team scoring in the opening quarter. Early in the second quarter, however, the Cardinals struck first, finding the end zone and converting the extra point to take the lead: 7-0.
Middlebury was unable to respond, and after a punt the Panther defense took the field. They made a strong stop on third-and-7 but a costly offside call brought the play back and the Cardinals scored again to make it 14-0 with barely seven minutes left in the first half.
After another brief Middlebury drive, the Cardinals drove quickly down the field, scoring yet again to take a commanding 21-0 lead into halftime.
The Panthers offense took the field in the second half with a newfound intensity, working their way down the field powered by Moss, the quarterback, and receiver Jordan Angstreich ’29. A 35-yard connection between Moss and Angstreich brought the Panthers into the red zone, and two plays later running back Connor McClellan ’28 drove one yard into the end zone for the first touchdown of the Panther season. Kicker Yaseen Mousa ’29 converted the extra point to make it 21-7.
The defenses battled for the rest of the period, and both teams traded punts going into the final quarter. Wesleyan had the ball to start the fourth, but the Panther defense again stood tall, forcing another punt and taking back the ball down 21-7 with 12:16 left in the contest. This was it; their best chance to come back.
The ensuing Panther drive started strong with a short 8-yard completion to McClellan, but two plays later a Cardinal defensive back intercepted Moss, taking the pass back 33 yards for a pick-six, silencing the crowd and making the score 28-7.
Middlebury was able to respond, driving down the field led by some efficient passing from Moss. The Panthers scored, capping off the six play drive with a 14-yard touchdown reception by Angstreich, his first of the season. A missed extra point made the game 28-13.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, Wesleyan responded again, marching down the field and scoring with 3:43 on the clock to push their lead to three touchdowns. Middlebury battled as the clock ticked towards zero but were unable to follow through, resulting in a 35-13 final score.
Moss ended the game throwing for 262 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. He also rushed for 38 yards, most among the Panthers. Angstreich finished with career-highs of 10 catches and 130 yards, along with a touchdown. He tallied the most yards by a Panther in a season opener since Tom Cleaver ’03 totalled 137 in 2003.
The big change from freshman year, Angstreich said, has been his mindset. “All right, I want the ball in my hands. I want to be the guy making the play,” he said, “I think it's a whole confidence change, knowing the scheme, knowing the players, knowing the coaches.”
On the defensive side, Matt Shaw ’27 led the unit with 13 tackles, four solo stops and two quarterback hurries. Charlie Ozolin ’27 also notched 10 tackles, tying his career best, and Cutler Hobin ’29 followed with eight.
Despite the loss, both Moss and Angstreich see a bright future ahead for the Panthers. “I feel great about the team,” Moss said, “I think it's the best team that I've been a part of here. Going forward it’s really exciting to continue getting better and hopefully string together a great rest of the season.”
Angstreich believes the team needs to conquer the season day by day, focusing on winning the individual battles. “I think the message that we have for the team is to just go 1-0. Go 1-0 each day of the week. Go 1-0 at your workouts. The process will get you to where you need to go. And if you have your eyes set on the process, by the time you get to where you want to be, you won’t even realize you're there.”
“The biggest thing with football,” Angstreich said, “is not getting ahead of yourself. It's a long season and you only play a game a week.”
That long season will continue this Saturday, Sept. 26th, as the Panthers travel to Bowdoin looking to defend last year's 31-10 home victory. Middlebury will hope to rebound in Brunswick, where the game begins at 1:00 p.m.
