WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – When the ball went off of the leg of Williams punter
Andrew Schreibstein '22, it didn't look pretty. The kick fluttered in the air for only about 25 yards, but the Ephs caught a break when the ball hit Middlebury's Liam Roy square on the back, giving the Ephs an opportunity to reclaim possession. After the Ephs'
Sean Beaubien '24 dove on the ball to recover the muffed punt, Williams took just three plays to take a 14-7 lead they wouldn't relinquish on a 2-yard rushing touchdown by running back
Joel Nicholas '23. The Ephs (1-0) went on to win 41-13 against a formidable Panthers (0-1) squad, earning a convincing victory in the team's first game in nearly two full years.
"We sputtered a little bit here and there, and we didn't have much rhythm offensively early, but the coaches and players did a great job," remarked Eph head coach
Mark Raymond following the win. "There were some hiccups, but we fought through it and made some big plays and got things going when we needed it."
Quarterback
Bobby Maimaron '22 shined, especially in the rushing game, going 9 for 17 with 136 yards and a touchdown through the air, and logging 19 carries for 162 yards (8.5 YPC) and two scores on the ground. Nicholas played a steady game with three rushing touchdowns and 41 rushing yards. On the other side of the ball, defensive back
Jarrett Wesner '22 led the way with an interception and two sacks, the second of which stalled a Middlebury drive right as the Panthers looked like they were fighting their way back into the game.
"It's a really special feeling," said Maimaron when asked about what it was like to take the field for the first time in two seasons. "I had goosebumps from about 10AM until halftime, and I'm really happy everyone played to the best of their ability today and that we had this really, really big win to start our season."
After Williams won the coin toss and deferred, Middlebury's Peter Scibilia took a 3
rd-and-2 handoff, cut to the left, and with the help of a block from his quarterback, rumbled all the way down to the Williams 24-yard line. But after three incomplete passes and a delay-of-game penalty, the Panthers opted to go for it on 4
th-and-15 from the 29, resulting in a short gain and a turnover on downs. The Ephs immediately responded with a touchdown drive, featuring a 45-yard run by Maimaron and a beautiful back-shoulder fade pass from Maimaron to wide receiver
Frank Stola '22 that set up first-and-goal. Maimaron took it in himself on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to score his first touchdown of the day and put the Ephs up 7-0.
The Panthers fought back with a scoring drive of their own, featuring an incredibly difficult catch off a deflection by receiver Greg Livingston for a gain of 34 and a screen pass that Scibilia took 17 yards to the house. But on the next Williams drive came the special teams play that would turn the tide of the game in the Ephs' favor.
After a series of punts with the Ephs up by a touchdown, Williams capitalized on two consecutive Middlebury turnovers to take a commanding lead into the half. On a second-and-8 play, linebacker
TJ Rothmann '22 jumped a pass from Middlebury quarterback Will Jernigan and intercepted it at the 46-yard line. After a key 4
th-and-1 conversion by Maimaron on the ground, the Ephs' quarterback hit Stola on a deep crosser to set up first-and-goal at the 2. The next play, Maimaron scored his second rushing touchdown of the day to make it 21-7.
Defensive back
Jarrett Wesner '22 starred on the Panthers' next offensive series. After dropping Jernigan for a 10-yard loss on 2
nd-and-6, Wesner sat underneath the quarterback's next pass and made a leaping interception to set the Ephs up with even better field position at the Panthers' 30. It took the Ephs only three plays to extend their lead to 28-7, the last of which was a pass from Maimaron to a wide-open
Justin Burke '22 in the end zone with 47 seconds left to play in the half.
When asked about his interception, Wesner credited the rest of the defense for creating the pressure that led to the pick. "I wouldn't have made that play if it wasn't for the men up front, and especially the men in coverage. I was in the right place at the right time thanks to them."
The Panthers clawed back in the third quarter after Middlebury wide receiver Dan Thompson caught a pass that ricocheted off two Williams defensive backs for a 30-yard gain. Two plays later, Middlebury reached the end zone on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jernigan to wide receiver Donovan Wood to make it 28-13 (the ensuing PAT was blocked). On the next Williams drive, Middlebury defensive lineman Tomas Kenary forced and recovered a Maimaron fumble to put the Panthers in great position at the Ephs' 20-yard line. But a first-down sack by Wesner pushed Middlebury back eight yards, and three incomplete passes later, the Ephs took over on downs.
In the fourth, Williams only added onto its lead. Nicholas scored two short rushing touchdowns and the Ephs ate several minutes' worth of clock to seal the win.
Led by Maimaron and Nicholas, the Ephs outrushed the Panthers 288-100 and won the turnover battle 4-1. Williams also dominated time of possession, holding the ball for over 39 minutes. The Ephs also outperformed the Panthers on third down, converting 7 of 15 (46.7%) of their tries compared to the Panthers' 4 of 12 (33.3%).
Perhaps the most impressive stat for the Ephs was their performance in the red zone, where they converted all of their six trips for touchdowns. "To get into the red zone and score points makes a big difference," said Raymond. "We've got some really good players down there, and you lean on those players in crunch time."
Next week, the Ephs will go on the road to play the Tufts Jumbos (0-1), who lost a 42-28 match to Trinity earlier today. The Panthers will face the Bates Bobcats (0-1), who fell 28-20 to Amherst.
