LEWISTON, Maine — The Middlebury College football team dominated host Bates this past Saturday, 28-0, to improve to 2-0. The Panthers are one of three NESCAC teams, along with Amherst and Wesleyan, who remain unbeaten in the early going. Middlebury will seek to move to 3-0 at home vs. Trinity on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Middlebury took a 7-0 lead on its first possession. Quarterback Will Jernigan connected with Maxwell Rye for 20 yards and Jimmy Connell for 15 before tossing an 8-yard TD pass to Rye.
The Panthers went up 14-0 at 13:04 of the second quarter on a 15-yard pass from Jernigan to Aidan Power.
Middlebury made it 21-0 later in the second quarter when Alex Maldjian scored on a four-yard rush up the middle. The drive was set up by a 20-yard connection from Jernigan to Power.
At 7:33 of the third quarter, Jernigan found tight end Frank Cosolito for a 10-yard scoring strike, capping a 58-yard march that included a 17-yard pass to Greg Livingston.
Bates reached the Panther 28 in the fourth quarter, but Nolan Tibball broke up a Bates pass on a fourth-and-three. 
Maldjian finished with 139 yards on 18 attempts in his second collegiate game. Jernigan went 22 of 30 for 293 yards, including three TDs and two interceptions. Rye made seven catches for 83 yards, while Livingston had four receptions for 56 yards. Cosolito surpassed 1,000-career yards receiving (1,012) with three catches for 38 yards. Pete Huggins and Zander Bailey each had four tackles, two tackles for lost yardage and a sack.
Middlebury outgained Bates, 468-188 yards, and Bates was penalized 117 yards compared to the Panthers’ 36 yards. The victory was the 31st straight for the Panthers over the Bobcats, a streak dating back to 1988.