Defense Holds Middlebury to -8 Yards Rushing in Victory
MIDDLEBURY, Vermont -- The Amherst College Lord Jeff defense walked onto the field yesterday on a mission. Without their leader Alex Tracy, who suffered a season ending injury in last week's game at Bowdoin, the unit knew they would have to find inspiration within themselves. Saturday they found out how good they can be. Senior defensive lineman Greg Gottheimer (East Hanover, NJ) put on a show that even the two All-American Amherst defensive linemen of the past are hard pressed to match. Gottheimer finished the day with eight tackles (five solo), six of which for a loss. To make matters worse for the Middlebury offense, Gottheimer scampered into the Panther backfield and registered four sacks. For his efforts, he was named NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week.
Filling the void in the middle were two freshmen, Dan Lalli (Watertown, MA) and Brian Landolfi (Hanover, MA). The two youngsters are no strangers to playing with each other-- they started side-by-side last year in high school at Xaverian Brothers. Lalli's mixture of speed and strength made a huge impact on the Panther running attack. On the day, he had five tackles (two for a loss) and broke free for two sacks. On the other side, Landolfi also made five stops, one for a loss. The Jeffs defense held the Panthers to 87 total yards and stymied their ground game for -8 yards.
Offensively, the Jeffs blistered the Panther defense, racking up 305 yards. Senior quarterback Mike Sweeney (Keene, NH) completed 15 of 34 passes for 171 yards and tossed a touchdown in the third quarter to freshman receiver Derrell Wright (Hudson, OH). Sweeney's main target was sophomoreMatt Hall (Lincroft, NJ), who hauled in six catches for 89 yards. Two of Hall's receptions were pivotal on third down conversions in the second half. On the ground, Bob DiSabato (Westwood, MA) and the Amherst offensive line took advantage of Middlebury's tendency to overrun the ball on running plays. On quick handoffs up the middle, DiSabato gained 62 yards on just 12 carries and scored a touchdown in the second quarter.
The Lord Jeffs return home next Saturday to take on the Colby College White Mules.
SCORING
| Amherst (2-1) |
0 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
| Middlebury (0-3) |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| TEAM |
TIME/QTR |
SCORING PLAY |
SCORE |
| Middlebury |
10:30/2nd |
Scott Dudley 46 yd. FG |
M 3- A 0 |
| Amherst |
6:41/2nd |
Bob DiSabato 1 run |
A 7- M 3 |
| Amherst |
4:22/3rd |
Derrell Wright 16 pass from Mike Sweeney |
A 14 M 3 |
GAME STATISTICS
| Category |
AMHERST |
MIDDLEBURY |
| 1st Downs |
20 |
8 |
| Rushes-Yards |
40-134 |
41--8 |
| Passing Yards |
171 |
95 |
| Return Yards |
70 |
52 |
| Pass-Com-Int |
34-15-2 |
23-9-2 |
| Punts-Avg |
9-25.9 |
10-32.1 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
1-1 |
1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards |
4-28 |
9-75 |
| Possession |
30:18 |
29:42 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
| Player |
Attempts |
Yards |
Long |
| Bob DiSabato |
12 |
62 |
25 |
| Darin Byrne |
18 |
51 |
7 |
| Jeff Coviello |
8 |
27 |
11 |
| Mike Sweeney |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Passing
| Player |
Completions |
Attempts |
Yards |
TD-Int |
| Mike Sweeney |
15 |
34 |
171 |
1-2 |
Receiving
| Player |
Number |
Yards |
Long |
| Matt Hall |
6 |
89 |
23 |
| Derrell Wright |
4 |
49 |
16 |
| Darin Byrne |
2 |
12 |
8 |
| Chris Ricciardi |
1 |
19 |
19 |
| H. Henderson |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Bob DiSabato |
1 |
0 |
0 |
