The final chapter of the NESCAC football season came to a close this Saturday with three teams tied atop the conference. Amherst, Colby, and Middlebury each finished with 7-1 records, and will share the first-ever NESCAC football crown.
Amherst clinched its 7-1 record by virtue of a 20-12 win over Williams in Week Eight at home. The victory marked the first time in 13 years that the Lord Jeffs had beaten the Ephs, who suffered their third loss of the season. The Lord Jeffs' only setback came against Middlebury in Vermont on Oct. 7, when the Panthers blanked them by a 17-0 count.
On Saturday, Amherst came back from a 9-0 halftime deficit to overcome the Ephs. Senior tri-captain and defensive back Brian Doust picked off three Williams passes on the day, including one with less than two minutes to go to seal the win. The Lord Jeffs had taken a commanding 20-9 win with 8:45 left, after a 22-yard strike from quarterback Peter Honig to Derrell Wright, before the Ephs tacked on a 25-yard field goal to cut the difference to 20-12.
Amherst then went three-and-out on its next possession and appeared to be doomed to repeat its notorious history of blowing fourth quarter leads against Williams (the Lord Jeffs had fourth quarter leads in three of their last four meetings with the Ephs - all Williams wins). But Daoust came up big on the first play of the ensuing series, outleaping Williams receiver Colin Vataha at midfield for his final pick to give the hosts their best record since 1997.
Colby, which became a member of the NESCAC's elite teams this fall after finishing at a subpar 3-5 just a year ago, trounced Bowdoin in Waterville on Saturday, 34-7. After the teams ended the first quarter in a 7-7 deadlock, the White Mules responded with 27 unanswered points to arrive at their best regular season record since 1994. In fact, in the last four seasons, Colby teams had combined for an overall total of just eight wins. This time around, Colby's only defeat came at the hands of fellow conference champion Amherst.
After giving up a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown just minutes into the contest on Saturday, Colby tightened up and silenced the Polar Bears for the rest of the day, holding them to 119 yards of total offense. Quarterback Pat Conley threw for 250 yards - 141 of them to his favorite target Danny Noyes. Noyes also racked up 80 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground, along with one pass completion for 11 yards. For the game, the White Mule offense garnered 440 yards while racking up 26 first downs and holding a 15-minute advantage in time of possession. Both Noyes and Conley also broke single-season team and NESCAC records in receiving yards (872) and passing yards (1,996), respectively.
The third and final member of the championship trio is Middlebury, who toppled the Jumbos in Vermont this weekend, 27-0. The Panthers did not allow a touchdown for the final 26 quarters of the season, en route to their best finish since 1992. Middlebury's only loss also came against one of the three championship teams, as it succumbed to Colby in Waterville last Saturday, 28-21.
Against Tufts, the Panthers jumped out to a 14-0 lead at the close of the first quarter, and then tacked on single scores in both the third and fourth stanzas. Bryan Sanchez was the workhorse yet again, steamrolling his way to 215 yards on 38 carries and three touchdowns. Sanchez ends his career at the top of both the single season (1,183 yards) and all-time (2,929) Panther rushing lists.
