WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. -- Williams received the opening kickoff, looking to get scoring going early. Offense was hard to come by in the first half, however, as rainy conditions limited passing opportunities and made ball security nearly impossible. Middlebury forced a 3-and-out from Williams on the first drive from scrimmage, but a roughing the kicker penalty on Williams punter Tim Brown gave the Ephs the ball back. Williams quarterback Owen McHugh scrambled nicely on two separate occasions to earn first downs and keep momentum, but he threw an interception on a rollout to his left in the red zone to give the ball to the Panthers.
Middlebury's offense entered averaging 25 points per game and led by senior quarterback Cole Kennan, who was averaging over 240 yards per contest through the air in the first three weeks. Williams quieted the attack on the first drive and forced a punt, but the conditions prevailed again as the kick was muffed by Williams and Middlebury got the ball deep in Ephs territory. A slippery ball then led to a Middlebury fumble forced by Drew Michalek and recovered by Campbell Pang on the ensuing drive right after the botched kick return. Williams then fumbled on their next drive to give Middlebury the ball back with a short field. The Panthers converted one first-down Cameron Smith forced yet another fumble, this time on the 1-yard line, and the first quarter absurdly closed in a scoreless tie.
Williams opened the second quarter with a long drive carried out mostly on the ground, led by running backs Mario Fischetti and Jon Oris. The drive ended in a 26-yard field goal from Ivan Shuran to open the scoring at 3-0 Ephs. Middlebury responded promptly with a 34-yard pass from Kennan to Donovan Wood, which set up a 23-yard field goal for Zach Levy to tie the game at 3-3. Both teams traded blows for the final two minutes, but entered the halfway break tied. Fischetti left the game with around a minute to play in the first half, having accumulated 119 yards on 20 attempts.
Middlebury began the second half with a strong drive featuring a 62-yard pass from Kennan to Patrick Jamin. The Panthers flirted with the end zone, but a pass that deflected off of the hands of Mike Ahonen forced them to settle for another field goal to bring the score to 6-3.
Middlebury then drove again midway through the third quarter before a full-extension diving interception by Justice McGrail, one of three consecutive picks in the quarter, gave the Ephs back the ball. The following Middlebury drive saw an interception by George Papadapolous get returned for a touchdown, helping the Ephs regain the lead at 10-6. On the next drive, a tipped pass was caught by Wyatt Cotton for the third straight turnover crated by Williams. Williams then threatened again late in the third with a short kick for Shuran, but the kick was blocked so the scoring stayed at 10-6 into the fourth.
Middlebury drove to start the fourth quarter, getting deep into the Eph red zone, but an acrobatic interception in the end zone by James Hemmer kept them from scoring and held the Ephs lead intact. The score stayed knotted for the rest of the quarter, with neither team able to generate much offense, until Middlebury won the ball back with two minutes left and a chance to win the game. The drive ended in a 16-yard back shoulder fade from Kennan to Jamin, giving Middlebury the final lead with seconds to spare. The final score made it 12-10 and gave the Panthers their third win of the year.
Ephs head Coach Mark Raymond spoke about his team's efforts throughout the game and praised the play of Middlebury, saying that it "was certainly a tough way to lose today." "Our guys competed tremendously hard. Unfortunately Middlebury made the plays at the end to earn the victory."
