Ephs defeat Middlebury 37-27 to improve to 3-1
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.
