MIDDLEBURY — Joey Zelkowitz scored on an eight-yard run with 4:03 remaining on Saturday to give the Middlebury College football team a 21-14 victory over visiting Williams. The Panthers improved to 3-1, while the Ephs fell to 0-4 for the first time since 1967.
Middlebury moved 81 yards on 12 plays on its opening drive to take a 7-0 lead. Quarterback McCallum Foote found Trevor Wheeler for 28 yards on the drive and delivered the senior his first career touchdown with a 25-yard strike over the middle.
The Ephs looked to answer on their next drive, moving 60 yards, but Joe Mallock missed a 37-yard field goal.
Williams got on the board in the second quarter with a 16-play, 82-yard drive. Quarterback Adam Marske connected with five receivers on the march. Marco Hernandez scored from one yard out to make it 7-6 after a missed extra point.
Middlebury then drove 82 yards on seven plays to take a 14-6 lead. Foote found Zelkowitz on a swing pass, and the freshman raced 47 yards to the Williams 10. Two plays later, the two connected on the same play and Zelkowitz scored from eight yards out. Williams had a late first-half drive end with another 37-yard missed field goal.
In the third quarter, the Ephs’ picked off Foote at the Williams six-yard line. Later in the quarter, the Ephs tied the game with a 12-play, 75-yard drive. A Marske to Jeff Brewington connection of 25 yards and 23 yards on the ground from Alex Scyocurka sparked the drive. The score came when Marske found Alex Way from three yards out. The two hooked up again for a two-point conversion to knot the score at 14-14.
The game remained tied until the Panthers took over at their own 20 with 6:57 remaining. Matt Rea gained 25 yards up the middle on third-and-two to move the Panthers into Williams territory. Zelkowitz reached the eight on a seven-yard rush up the middle. The following play, he carried the ball straight up the middle once again, scoring from eight yards out to put his team on top, 21-14, at 4:03.
Williams punted with 3:28 remaining and then held the Panthers to get the ball back on their own 34 with 1:00 left. The Ephs moved the ball to the Middlebury 48 before a completion with a lateral and a fumble ended their scoring bid on the Panther 37 with 12 seconds remaining.
Foote finished 20 of 37 for 247 yards. Zelkowitz accounted for 135 total yards, with six catches for 67 yards. William Sadik-Kahn caught six passes for 66 yards, Wheeler caught four balls for 69 yards, and Rea gained 68 yards on the ground. Will Bain led all tacklers with 16, Tim Patricia added 10, and Matt Crimmins had seven with 1.5 sacks and a pair of pass break-ups.
Marske completed 28 of 48 passes for 276 yards for Williams. Scyocurka gained 62 yards on the ground, while Greg Payton caught a game-high nine passes for 89 yards. Williams held a 401-358 edge in total yards.