Sports

Panther football earns share of league crown

PANTHER JUNIOR DANNY Diedrich tackles Hamilton senior Sam Robinson deep in Continentals territory during Saturday’s game in Middlebury. The Panthers won, 14-7, clenching a NESCAC league title heading into the final game of the season on Nov. 9. Photo by Benjy Renton

MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College football team on this past Saturday clinched at least a share of first place in NESCAC by defeating visiting Hamilton, 14-7. The 8-0 Panthers are ranked No. 1 in New England, but NESCAC teams do not participate in postseason play.
The Panthers are the league’s only undefeated team with one week left to play. Wesleyan (7-1) is alone in second place. Although the Panthers defeated Wesleyan this season, NESCAC does not recognize tiebreakers in football, and if Middlebury defeats Tufts (4-4) on the road this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. it can claim the NESCAC crown outright. A Wesleyan loss would also leave the Panthers alone in first place.
The Panthers might be without starting quarterback Will Jernigan in that game. Jernigan was injured during the win over Hamilton after engineering two first-quarter scoring drives, and his status is questionable for Tufts, according to the school.
Middlebury’s 8-0 start matches that of the 1972 team, which finished 8-0. Hamilton dropped to 4-4. Middlebury leads the all-time series between the two programs, 31-9.
Middlebury scored on its opening possession, driving 60 yards on six plays. Jernigan hooked up with tight end Frank Cosolito for pass plays of 18 and 22 yards on a march that ended in an Alex Maldjian two-yard touchdown run.
Hamilton took advantage of a turnover later in the quarter to tie the score at 3:32 on a 15-yard David Kagan run. After Luca Katz picked off Jernigan at the Middlebury 26, Kagan carried the ball for 11 yards before his TD burst.
The Panthers answered on their next possession by going 74 yards on seven plays. Jernigan found Maxim Bochman for 25 yards on the drive to set up a Maldjian 16-yard touchdown run with 1:17 remaining in the quarter.
The defenses took over the rest of the game. The Continentals drove to the Middlebury 31 in the second quarter, but Jonathan Hobart forced a fumble to end the drive.
In the third quarter Hamilton executed a successful fake punt for a big gain by quarterback/punter Kenny Gray, but the play was nullified due to a holding call.
The Panthers held on a fourth-down play late in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Maldjian ran for 100 yards for the third time this season, finishing with a career-high 145 yards on 35 carries. Jernigan completed six of nine passes for 77 yards before being hurt, while in relief Ben Tauber completed four of 15 attempts for 35 yards with a pair of picks. Bochman caught a game-high five passes for 58 yards, while Cosolito made four receptions to gain 46 yards, giving him 102 career catches. Middlebury outgained Hamilton, 320-222.
Defensively, Pete Huggins made seven tackles to go along with a sack, fumble recovery and pass breakup. Finn Muldoon and Jack Pistorius added six stops apiece. The Panthers defense added to its NESCAC-leading sack total with four in the game, giving them 23 this fall. 
Gray completed 10 of 28 passes for the Continentals for 101 yards. Kagan gained 82 yards on 17 rushes. Jeremy Barr made a game-high 14 tackles, James Ball had 11 stops with 1.5 sacks and a caused fumble, while Carmine Bruno also had 11 tackles.

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