Middlebury, Vt. - Trailing with 4:18 remaining in the game, Trinity football came back to beat the Middlebury Panthers 26-14 after a wild end to the Bantams' week six matchup in Vermont. Junior WR Darrien Myers (North Andover, Mass.) tallied 215 all-purpose yards including a 74-yard punt return as Trinity remains perfect at 6-0 on the season while Middlebury drops to 4-2. 

Both teams traded punts in each of their first offensive possessions before Middlebury got on the scoreboard first thanks to a 35-yard touchdown pass from Panther QB Matt Milano (New Canaan, Conn.) to WR Tanner Contois (Essex Junction, Vt.). The Bantams got the ball back and drove 58 yards down the field, but stalled inside the Middlebury 20-yard line, resulting in a 32-yard field goal by P/K Kyle Pulek (Chesire, Conn.) to cut the Panther lead to four. 

Down 7-3 entering the 2nd quarter, Trinity's defense held strong, stuffing Middlebury on a 3rd and three at the home team's 34-yard line. The Panthers punted the ball deep into Trinity territory to Myers which he took 74 yards to the house to give Trinity their first lead of the afternoon, 10-7. On the ensuing Middlebury possession, freshman kicker Charlie Gordon (Wellesley, Mass.) lined up for what would have been a 31-yard, game-tying field goal, however Trinity sophomore DE Brandon Blaise (Morristown, N.J.) came in untouched and got a hand on the kick, blocking the attempt, and giving the Bantams the ball back at their own 20-yard line. 

Trinity wasn't able to take advantage of the good special teams play, giving the ball back to Middlebury after going three-and-out. The Panthers followed with a 42 yard drive, ending in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Milano to TE Daniel Fulham (Newton, Mass.) that gave Middlebury a 14-10 lead with under three minutes remaining in the half. Myers returned the following kickoff 46 yards, giving the Bantams excellent field position and a chance to score before the half as Pulek managed a 25-yard field goal to make the score 14-13 in favor of Middlebury going into the half.

The second half started with three punts before Middlebury saw the first scoring opportunity of the half in the form of a 30-yard field goal attempt. Gordon hooked the kick wide-left, however, giving Trinity's offense the ball back at their own 20, still trailing by one. Sophomore QB Sonny Puzzo (West Caldwell, N.J.) connected with freshman RB Max Chipouras (Longmeadow, Mass.) for a 14-yard pass to start the drive, however on the next play, Puzzo was picked off by Panther LB Wesley Becton (Elmhurst, Ill.) to force the Bantam offense off the field. Middlebury had a prime scoring opportunity inside the red-zone at the end of the 3rd quarter but was unable to come away with points as Trinity stopped them on a 4th and goal at the Bantam's five-yard line. 

Trinity's defense came up big late in the game, causing and recovering a fumble, giving their offense the ball with under five minutes to play. On the first play of the possession, Puzzo dumped a pass to senior tri-captain WR Ian Dugger (West Harftford, Conn.) for an 18-yard gain which was followed by a 14-yard rushing touchdown by Chipouras to give Trinity a 19-14 lead with 2:52 to play. The Bantams attempted a two-point conversion to go up seven, but failed to convert. 

It was Middlebury's turn to try and re-take the lead until the second play of the drive when Trinity junior S Spencer Donahue (Naperville, Ill.) picked off Milano to give the Bantams the ball back with 2:20 remaining. Trinity's offense was unable to pick up a first down and punted the ball back to the Panthers with less than 1:30 to go in the game. Middlebury took over at their own 28 with 1:17 remaining and no time outs left, down five. On the second play of the drive, Milano heaved a ball deep downfield but it was Trinity junior CB Archi Jerome (Brockton, Mass.) who came up with the pass and returned it 50 yards to put the Bantams up 26-14 and seal the victory. 

Puzzo finished the day 13-31 with 229 passing yards while Chipouras, the team's leading rusher, had an off-day tallying just 45 yards on 22 attempts. Sophomore WR Bryan Vieira (Hull, Mass.) led the team with 71 receiving yards on three catches while Dugger and Myers combined for seven catches and 118 receiving yards. For Middlebury, Milano finished with 336 yards through the air on 33-51 passing while Contois led the receiving core with 95 receiving yards, the most of any player on the day. 

Defensively for Trinity, senior LB Frank Leyva (Pinecrest, Fla.) led all players with 13 tackles (11 solo) followed by sophomore LB Liam Kenneally (Reading, Mass.) who had 11 tackles as well as two sacks, and junior safety Patrick Dorsey (Lynn, Mass.) who also had double digit tackles with 10. Pulek kept Middlebury's offense away from the Bantam defensive half by placing four punts inside the Panther 10-yard line on the day.

Trinity will put their 6-0 record on the line next week as the travel to Amherst to face the also undefeated Lord Jeffs. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.