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MIDDLEBURY, VT – This afternoon's battle between the
NESCAC's leading defense—Williams—and the league's
leading offense—Middlebury—was not quite as close a
contest as the final score would indicate. The Ephs scored the
first 20 points of the game and held a commanding 30-7 advantage
with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter. However,
the explosive Panthers' passing game finally countered for 20
points in 16 minutes, bringing the score to 30-27 midway through
the fourth quarter. After a crucial 4th down stop,
Williams answered with a 6-play touchdown drive to seal their third
victory of the season 37-27.
This game was truly a tale of two
different halves for both sides. The Williams defense looked
dominant in the first half, forcing three Middlebury 3-and-outs and
surrendering just 7 points on 89 yards of total offense while
putting up 23 points on 243 yards. However, the Ephs seemed to have
trouble closing out the game, as they failed to convert on multiple
short-yardage situations and gave up some big offensive gains to
allow the Panthers to creep back into contention. Middlebury
outscored the Ephs 20 to 14 and outgained them in yards 294 to 213
in the final 30 minutes.
“We had a great first half
defensively and we were giving ourselves good field
position,” acknowledged Eph head coach Mike Whalen. “We
also had a lot of opportunities to extend drives and take time off
the clock in the second half, but we just couldn't put them away.
They're obviously a very good team offensively.... we allowed them
to work the ball deep into our territory and get back into the the
game down the stretch, and we have to do a better job of not
allowing that to happen.”
The Ephs were stopped on two
3rd-and-short situations, as well as a
4th-and-short situation in the fourth quarter, despite
racking up a solid amount of yardage. However, the squad exhibited
a great amount of resiliency and composure in the closing minutes
of the game, coming up with a momentous 3-and-out defensive series
and following that with a 6 play, 36-yard touchdown drive to sure
up the win.
“There were a lot of positives
to take out of this game, the biggest one being that we didn't
panic after they pulled back to within three,” said Whalen.
“The negative is that we let them come back.... They had some
critical stops on fourth down and as an offensive unit, we have way
too much pride and ability to be stopped that much on short-yardage
situations. That's something we're going to have to work on
improving for upcoming games.”
Play began rather uneventfully at
Youngman Field, as both teams were forced to punt after just three
plays. Middlebury had been pinned deep in their own territory on
their first drive, and this enabled the Ephs to start their second
drive already on the Panther side of the field. NESCAC-leading
rusher and junior Ryan Lupo was handed control of the offense on
that series, and he delivered the first score of the game on 22
rushing yards and 19 receiving for the touchdown.
After another short Middlebury
drive, the Ephs turned to the rushing tandem of quarterbacks Pat
Moffitt (junior) and Matt Coyne (sophomore), who brought the ball
past midfield. After a 15-yard facemask penalty on the Panthers,
senior Scott Sobolewski knocked home a field goal from 36 yards out
to make it a 10-0 score. Another quick three-and-out defensive stop
had the Eph offense back at midfield, and they continued to utilize
a multi-player rush attack, this time mixing junior Bryce Bennett
into the fray for a 15-yard gain. Sobolewski, who was 3 for 3 in
field goal kicking on the day, booted in his second try from a 29
yard distance to put Williams up 13-0.
“Having Sobo back [from
injury] is huge for us, especially since he's hitting
consistently,” stressed Whalen. “He takes a lot of the
pressure off the offense because of what he can do.... We still
miss him on kickoffs, but Chris Cleary (sophomore) is doing a nice
job filling in, and hopefully we'll have him back in full working
order soon.”
The same exact formula—quick
defensive series, strong ground attack—lead to Lupo's second
touchdown of the day, putting the Ephs ahead by 20. But the
Panthers finally answered Williams offensive barrage with their own
touchdown drive, ending with a 14-yard run by junior Panther
quarterback Donald McKillop. A 39-yard reception by senior running
back Eric Rostad midway through that drive nearly doubled
Middlebury's production to that point. The Ephs responded with
another rush-heavy drive, and they ended a dominant half with
another Sobolewski field goal to take a 23-7 edge into the locker
room.
“Nick Caro's return to the
huddle was nice, not just for his skills as a receiver, but also
his skills as a blocker,” recognized Whalen. “I think
the successes we had running the football was in large part due to
him being out there.”
It appeared that the Ephs would be
picking right up where they left off in the first half, as they
opened up the third quarter with a 3-and-out defensive stand and
followed with their third touchdown score, this one 10-yard dash by
Coyne. Caro caught a 30-yard pass from Moffitt to open that drive,
and Lupo brought them into the red zone to set up the score.
The potent Panther passing game came
alive after that Williams conversion, combining throws over the
middle with screen passes to the flats in a 74-yard touchdown drive
that culminated in a 5-yard reception by sophomore wide-out Matt
Rayner. McKillop distributed the ball quite evenly on the next
Middlebury drive and found junior tight end David Reed from 8 yards
away to bring the Panthers within ten points of the lead at the
start of the fourth quarter.
The Panther defense also began
stepping up their level of play in the final fifteen minutes,
stuffing the Williams offense in back-to-back short yardage
situations. Despite an interception by senior defensive back Tyler
Ware, the Panthers found the endzone again on one play, a long
61-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver James Millard to cut the
Eph lead to three with 8:45 left in regulation.
Although the subsequent Williams
offensive series began with a 35-yard pass down the middle from
Moffitt to Bennett, the Ephs were thwarted again in a short yardage
situation. However, the Cows answered with a huge 3-and-out stop of
their own, and the Bennett-Lupo rushing tandem on the next drive
put the game out of reach, as they found the endzone for the fourth
Williams touchdown to give the Ephs a 37-27 lead with just over 2
minutes remaining in the game. The defense came up with one more
stop as Williams claimed their third victory of the season.
The Ephs will host the Jumbos of
Tufts University next week at Weston Field. Williams will be
looking for some revenge in the upcoming matchup, as Tufts handed
them their second loss last season, and their first defeat in the
series since 1981. The action will kickoff at 1:30pm.
