MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Setting new career-highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns, junior
Darison Hooper helped lead the Bantams to a 26-23 victory over Middlebury College in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) clash at Youngman Field Saturday afternoon. The Bantams rise to 7-0 on the season, while the Panthers dip to 3-4 overall.
What Happened:
- The Panthers took an early lead on their second drive of the game, taking advantage of a short punt that gave Middlebury the ball in Bantams territory. Four plays later, Aiden Moss connected with Ty Hetherington on a 32-yard touchdown pass to spot the Panthers a 7-0 advantage.
- With 13:27 left in the second quarter, the Bantams evened the score with a nine-play, 76-yard drive. Jaxon Carroll connected with Hooper on a 19-yard gain, followed by 24 ground yards from Jack Tosone to set up Trinity in the Middlebury red zone. On second-and-goal, Carroll spotted Hooper on a seven-yard fade to the corner of the endzone to knot the game at 7-7.
- In the waning minutes of the first half, Trinity grabbed the lead as Jacob Tobias intercepted Moss in the Panthers red zone, handing the Bantams possession on the Middlebury 15-yard line. Four plays later, Carroll delivered a perfect corner route ball to Hooper in the endzone, putting Trinity ahead 13-7 at the half.
- Midway through the third quarter, Panther pressure forced Carroll to make a deep throw off his back foot, but Hooper adjusted to the short throw and elevated over his defender to make the catch and walk into the endzone, extending the lead to 20-7.
- The Panthers battled back in the fourth quarter, executing a 17-play, 75-yard drive, capped with a four-yard touchdown tote from Connor McClellan to trim the gap to 20-14. Trinity responded on the following possession, orchestrating their own 12-play, 75-yard drive, punctuated by a one-yard touchdown run from Tosone to rebuild a 26-14 lead for the Bantams.
- Middlebury looked to answer on their ensuing possession, moving the ball to the Trinity four-yard line, but the Bantams defense held strong on fourth down, halting the Panthers scoring bid.
- Pinned deep in their own territory following the fourth-down stop, the Bantams ran the ball three times to drain the clock but were forced to punt from their own endzone. On the punt, the Bantams elected to have punter Luke Harvey run out of the back of the endzone, resulting in a safety to make it 26-16 with 1:28 to play.
- Following the punt after the safety, Middlebury quarterback Aiden Moss completed six-of-eight passes in just over a minute, including a 28-yard touchdown toss to Hetherington with 19 seconds to play, cutting the deficit to 26-23. On Middlebury's onside kick attempt, Hooper raced to the ball to secure the victory for the Bantams.
Inside the Boxscore:
- Total Yards: Trinity 395, Middlebury 412
- Rush Yards: Trinity 79, Middlebury 93
- Pass Yards: Trinity 316, Middlebury 319
- Total Plays: Trinity 63, Middlebury 86
- First Downs: Trinity 22, Middlebury 23
- Time of Possession: Trinity 26:11, Middlebury 33:49
- Hooper delivered the third-best receiving performance in program history, amassing a career-high 197 yards on a career-high 13 receptions for a career-high three touchdowns.
- Carroll completed 24-of-36 passes for 316 yards and three scores.
- Tosone and Josh Woodford tallied 12 carries each, totaling 44 yards and 42 yards, respectively.
- Cooper Edwards grabbed a career-high three receptions for a career-high 45 yards, while Nathan Smith added a career-high four catches for 29 yards.
- Defensively, Lincoln Moore recorded a game-high 12 tackles with three pass breakups. Tobias notched 11 tackles with an interception an breakup, while Shane Lewis and Bryce Ferrell posted career-highs with 10 stops apiece. Shane Mosia had nine tackles with two tackles for loss, and Ethan Krauss totaled six tackles, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.
- Moss completed 33-of-55 passes for 319 yards with two touchdowns and an interception and McClellan logged 23 carries for 88 yards with a score. Hetherington grabbed 10 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and Jordan Angstreich hit the century mark on 13 receptions. The Middlebury defense was led by Michael Votta, Jackson McGuffin, and Brady Phillips with seven tackles each.
Up Next:
- The Bantams will be back next weekend in a battle of undefeated teams as they travel to Amherst College (7-0) for 1 :00 p.m. kickoff at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium on Saturday, November 7.
- All-time, Trinity owns a 51-60-9 record against Amherst College, dating back to their first meeting in 1886.
- The Bantams are riding a seven-game winning streak versus Amherst, outscoring the Mammoths, 225-60, over that span with Trinity averaging 32.1 points per game. Last season, Trinity captured a 14-7 victory over Amherst at Jessee/Miller Field.
