Middlebury, Vt. - The Middlebury College Panthers handed
the Trinity College Bantams their first loss in two years with
a 31-24 win on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium in New England
Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football action this
afternoon. The loss snaps a 15-game winning streak for Trinity,
dating back to a 23-14 loss to the Panthers in October of '07. The
Bantams entered the game 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in New
England. Middlebury led the entire game with Trinity scoring
late to make it a 31-24 final.
Middlebury struck first after a failed fake punt play left the
Panthers the ball on their own 45 yard line. Quarterback Donald
McKillop hit Eric Rostad for 21 yards on the drive, before Rostad
scored on a four-yard rush later in the drive. Trinity
answered with a 14-play, 91-yard drive that elapsed 6:55 off the
clock. Oliver Starnes ended the drive with a one-yard plunge to tie
the game at 7-7 at the 13:49 mark of the second quarter. The
Panthers scored on their ensuing possession, driving 80 yards on 15
plays. McKillop hit tight end David Reed four times on the drive
for 45 yards, before Rostad scored his second touchdown of the
afternoon with a nine-yard rush to the right. Middlebury's
Connor Green intercepted a Craig Drusbosky pass on Trinity's next
possession, but the Panthers were not able to take advantage of the
turnover
Middlebury took a 17-7 lead into the halftime break, after
Anthony Kuchan booted a 26-yarder with just 27 seconds left in the
first half. The Panthers received the kickoff to start the
second half, and quickly drove 74 yards on just five plays.
McKillop found Millard for 34 yards before hooking up on a 29-yard
touchdown strike with Alex Englert for his first career touchdown
reception, making it a 24-7 game. The team's exchanged punts
before Trinity drove 33 yards on a short field after a short punt
into the wind. Drusbosky hit Michael Galligan for 20 yards before
Starnes scored on a one-yard rush to cut the lead to 24-14.
Middlebury took advantage of a Michael Bilodeau interception on its
next possession, driving 74 yards for a touchdown. McKillop found
Millard for 21 yards and Zach Driscoll for 15 & 8 yard
receptions on the drive. Tim Monaghan scored first touchdown of the
season, finding himself wide open in the end zone for a one-yard
catch.
The Bantams had great field position later in the third quarter
after a 39-yard punt return from Harry Melendez left them at the
Middlebury 14. The drive ended quickly as Dan Haluska intercepted a
pass in the end zone on the first play from scrimmage.
Following a Middlebury punt, the Panther defense earned its fourth
pick of the day as Charlie Taft picked off a pass at the Middlebury
31 early in the fourth quarter. Trinity cut into the lead
with 6:01 left to play as Tim Costello booted a 30-yard field goal
to make it a 31-17 contest. Middlebury punted on its next
possession, as Trinity made it a game with a 12-play, 76-yard drive
resulting in a touchdown. Drusbosky hit Winstron Tuggle for 18
yards and Galligan for nine before finding Andrew Grombala for a
20-yard scoring strike. The Panthers led 31-24 with 1:49
remaining and the ball on the Trinity 45 after recovering an onside
kick. Middlebury was forced to punt, giving Trinity one last chance
with the ball on their own nine, no timeouts left and 37 seconds on
the clock. One play later, Taylor Robinson sacked Drusbosky,
knocking the ball loose as Keegan Ashley recovered the fumble to
seal the win.
Drusbosky went 28 of 54 for Trinity, earning 239 yards with a
touchdown and four picks. Starnes gained 81 yards on the ground
with a pair of touchdowns, while Galligan caught 10 passes for 74
yards. Ben Sherry (15 tackles), Walter Fallas (13 tackles) and John
Marinelli (10 tackles) led the Trinity defense.
McKillop had a 35 for 50 day, tossing for 342 yard with a pair
of touchdowns. With the performance, he now holds Middlebury
single-season records for attempts (317), completions (204) and
yards (2,131). Rostad rushed for a career-high 118 yards on 29
carries with two touchdowns on the ground, while catching six
passes for 36 yards. Reed had a big game at tight end, catching 11
balls for 105 yards with several of them resulting in first downs.
Eric Kamback led the Middlebury defense with 12 tackles, while
Steve Hardin had nine with two for lost yardage.
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