MIDDLEBURY — In a Saturday battle for first place between the only unbeaten NESCAC football teams, Middlebury College picked up an emphatic 45-21 win over visiting Wesleyan.
The Panthers improved to 6-0, with Wesleyan and Williams tied for second at 5-1. The Panthers have already defeated both of those teams, and they do not face a team the rest of the way with a better than 3-3 record. They visit winless Bowdoin this Saturday, and Tufts and Hamilton, both currently 3-3, follow on Middlebury’s docket.
On this past Saturday, the Panthers outgained Wesleyan, 529 yards to 350 yards, even though the Cardinals entered the contest allowing only 13 points and 292 yards per game.
Middlebury took an early 3-0 lead on a 20-yard field goal from Carter Massengill. But Wesleyan went up 7-3 when Matthew Simco snared a 34-yard touchdown pass over the middle from Cardinal quarterback Ashton Scott early in the second quarter.
The Panthers answered by marching 75 yards on seven plays to go up by 10-3 on a two-yard Alex Maldjian rush. On the drive quarterback Will Jernigan gained a first down on a 21-yard run and connected with Aidan Power for 29 yards.
The lead grew to 17-7 at 5:11 of the second quarter, when Jernigan found Greg Livingston wide open in the right corner of the end zone from 23 yards out. Livingston finished the drive with four catches for 68 yards of the 79 gained.
After the Middlebury defense forced a three-and-out, on the first play of the Panthers’ next possession, Jernigan connected with Maxwell Rye down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown strike, and the Panthers led, 24-7, at the half.
Middlebury added to its lead on its first drive of the second half when Jernigan found Maxim Bochman for a 25-yard TD pass. A 23-yard completion to tight end Frank Cosolito sparked the drive.
Maldjian scored on a 5-yard run for his second touchdown of the game with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter. The short drive was set up by a 30-yard connection from Jernigan to Livingston, and the Panthers led 38-7.
Wesleyan answered when Scott tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Glenn Smith, cutting the lead to 38-14 at 3:17 of the period.
Middlebury added to its cushion in the fourth quarter after taking advantage of an interception by Kevin Hartley. Five plays later, Jernigan hit Rye in the left corner of the end zone for an 18-yard scoring strike.
The Cardinals scored a late touchdown on a 53-yard pass from Scott to Deland Clarke, making it a 45-21 final.
Jernigan completed 18 of 25 passes for 359 yards. Jernigan’s four touchdown passes were three more than the Cardinal defense had allowed all season. He also gained 36 yards on the ground and was named the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week.
Maldjian rushed for 96 yards and on 24 carries. Rye set a career high with 148 yards receiving on six catches, and Livingston gained a career-high 98 yards on five receptions. Jack Pistorius paced the Panther defense with 10 tackles and two sacks, while Nick Leone had three stops for lost yardage.
Scott went 15 for 31 for 261 yards for the Cardinals, throwing three touchdown passes with one interception. David Estevez also played QB and went one-for-five for nine yards, but gained 89 yards rushing on 11 carries. Simco led the receivers with three catches for 63 yards. Will Kearney led all tacklers with 18.