MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College football team on Saturday won its third straight game, 37-14, over visiting Hamilton 37-14. It was the Panthers’ 15th win in their last 17 attempts on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium. The Middlebury defense held Hamilton to just 202 yards — 2.8 per play — on the day, racking up seven sacks and 15 tackles for lost yardage in the process.
The Panther defense was strong early, forcing three of the first Hamilton drives to result in lost yardage and a holding a fourth possession to just one yard. Middlebury recorded a team safety on the Continentals’ first drive of the game, as Hamilton punter George Taylor stepped out of the end zone on a fourth-down play from the Hamilton one-yard line.
Middlebury took a 9-0 lead in the second quarter when Donald McKillop hit James Millard three times for 21 yards before connecting with Zach Driscoll for a 28-yard scoring strike.
An interception by Dan Haluska late in the first half started a 64-yard scoring drive for the Panthers. McKillop hit four receivers on the drive, including Millard for an 11-yard scoring strike with 27 seconds left in the half to make it 16-0 at the break.
The Panthers added to that advantage on their first drive of the second half. McKillop again hit four targets on the march, with Tim Monaghan earning the touchdown on a 19-yard reception.
Haluska picked off his second pass of the game on the ensuing Hamilton drive, setting up a short 33-yard scoring drive for Middlebury. A 20-yard strike from McKillop to Eric Rostad set up a one-yard keeper for McKillop to make it 30-0 with 9:23 left in the third quarter.
The lead grew to 37-0 in the fourth quarter when Rostad hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass from McKillop. The touchdown pass was the fourth of the game for McKillop and the 19th of the season, tying the Panther single-season record.
Hamilton broke up the shutout later in the fourth quarter, driving 63 yards on 11 plays. Dan Peters hit McCullough Shriver three times for 22 yards before taking it in himself from five yards out.
The Continentals found themselves with good field position on their next drive after a bad snap on a punt gave them the ball at the Middlebury 22. An 11-yard completion from Peters to Max Foster and a pass interference call set up a two-yard burst from Mark Snickenberger with 5:25 remaining that created the final score.
McKillop went 34 of 50 for 406 yards with four touchdowns for the Panthers. Rostad gained 44 yards on the ground and caught six balls for 91 yards with at touchdown. Millard led all receivers with 13 catches for 148 yards with a TD, while Monaghan caught seven passes for 72 yards with a touchdown.
Eric Kamback paced the defense with 13 tackles, while Taylor Robinson earned seven tackles, 4.5 for lost yardage, along with a sack. Haluska’s two picks give him five for the season, putting him second on Middlebury’s single-season list. Chris Dola and Keegan Ashley each earned two sacks apiece in the win.
Peters went 15 of 27 for 109 yards with a pair of picks for Hamilton; he hit top target Shriver four times for 29 yards. Landrey Mack led the defense with 11 tackles, one for lost yardage and a pass break-up.
The Panthers have 4 wins and 3 losses this fall. They will conclude their season at Tufts on Saturday, and can wrap up fourth place in NESCAC with the road win.