WATERVILLE, Maine — Middlebury College football quarterback Matt Milano threw for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Panthers in a 27-7 victory at Colby on Saturday.
Milano, who was named the NESCAC offensive player of the week, completed 22 of 33 passes and had no interceptions on a day when Middlebury (1-1) had 458 yards of total offense. The Panthers return to action on Saturday when they host Amherst.
The Panthers scored on two long drives in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead. The first drive went 91 yards on 13 plays and ended with a 1-yard scoring run by Drew Jacobs. Jonathan Hurvitz rushed for 27 yards on the drive.
Middlebury stopped Colby (0-2) on downs on the next drive. The Mules drove to the Panther 37-yard line, but were stuffed on third-and-one and fourth-and-one.
The Panthers then moved 63 yards in eight plays and made it 14-0 on Milano’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Grant Luna, who also had a catch of 13 yards on the drive.
The Mules got their only touchdown of the game on the next drive, which was aided by two personal foul penalties on Middlebury. Luke Duncklee had two catches for 19 yards, the second for eight yards to get the ball to the Middlebury 7-yard line. Two plays later Carl Lipani crashed in from two yards out.
The Panthers scored later in the second quarter. On the first play of the drive Milano hooked up for a 69-yard pass play with Trevor Wheeler to the Colby 7. Milano soon after hit tight end Brett Harasimowicz on a 5-yard play for a 21-7 lead.
The Panthers added a 33-yard field goal by Michael Dola at the halftime horn. Middlebury went 51 yards on seven plays to get Dola in range.
Middlebury got the ball at the start of the third quarter and ran 7:49 off the clock on a 21-play, 67-yard drive. The Mules held the Panthers to a 25-yard field goal by Dola that capped the scoring.
Luna finished with 102 yards on eight catches and the touchdown. Hurvitz ran for 51 yards on 13 rushes, while both Jacobs and John Jackson had 40 yards rushing. Will Bain led the Middlebury defense with nine tackles, while Dan Pierce had seven.
For Colby, Gabe Harrington threw for 152 yards on 25 completions. Lipani rushed for 46 yards and had five catches along with Duncklee and Nick Joseph. Henry Nelson led all tacklers with 11.