MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Mammoths' offense went 2-for-3 in the red zone and the defense posted three interceptions, five sacks, and four pass breakups in the bout as the Amherst College football team pushed past Middlebury College, 17-10, Saturday afternoon at Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium to improve to 3-1 on the season.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Making his presence known on the game's opening drive, senior Matt Durborow thwarted the Panthers first possession after the home team had successfully ran six plays for positive yards to kick off the bout. Lining up for a third-and-four at the Amherst 47, Durborow notched his first interception of the season to spark a Mammoths' scoring drive with 12:25 on the clock.
• Tabbed with the start behind center, sophomore QB Mike Piazza went a perfect 3-for-3 through the air and added 15 yards on the ground in a 13 play, 60-yard drive. Fighting their way into the red zone to set up a third-and-goal at the three-yard line, Kellen Field '22 registered his third touchdown of the fall and he barreled his way over the goal line before Conor Kennelly '23 drilled the PAT to give Amherst a 7-0 lead.
• Responding on their next possession, three big plays by Cole Kennon pulled the sides into a 7-7 deadlock as he logged a 14-yard rush before connecting with Charlie Reinkemeyer in back-to-back plays for 14 and 16 yards, respectively, to get the Panthers into the end zone with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter.
• Capitalizing on a roughing the kicker penalty on a punt attempt that gave the Mammoths a new set of downs, a 12-yard completion from Piazza to Field moved Amherst to the Panthers 28 before the visitors faced a fourth-and-one at the 19-yard line. Calling a timeout and making the gutsy decision to go for it, Amherst found the end zone two plays later to as Field fought his way to a two-yard gain to move the sticks before senior wide receiver Turner Garland hauled in a 17-yard TD pass to make it 14-7.
• An interception by sophomore Raymond Dixon on Middlebury's next offensive series kept momentum on the side of the visitors, however neither side was able to keep the ball for more than three minutes on the next six series as the first half ended with Amherst owning a seven-point advantage.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Following a back-and-forth start to the third quarter that saw four punts and two Middlebury turnovers on downs, Amherst added to the board with 49 seconds remaining after a Flynn McGilvray '23 sack on a fourth down play gave the ball to the visitors at the Amherst 42. Chipping away at the Panthers' defense, the Mammoths used 10 rushes from Field and Jack Roberge '25 to set up a 42-yard field goal that Kennelly powered through the uprights to set the score at 17-7.
• Countering with a field goal of their own on their next possession, Middlebury used a 13 play, 74-yard drive to make it a one possession game with 11:27 remaining in regulation as Andrew Haas' kick from 20 yards was good.
• Coming through in a big way with 4:17 on the clock, the Mammoths' defense was unfazed after a fumble gave Middlebury the ball at the Amherst 11. Holding the visitors to nine yards on the first three plays of the drive, Logan Shooster '23 and Tim Swope '24 were credited with the tackle on Amherst's goal line stand as they smothered Peter Scibilia at the line of scrimmage for no gain on a fourth-and-one play at the two-yard line to force the turnover on downs.
• Middlebury made one final push to secure the victory late as they got the ball back at their own 35 with time winding down, however a Ryan Monteleone '24 interception with less than a minute remaining sealed the 17-10 Amherst victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Making the most of their opportunities, Amherst secured the win with only 209 yards of total offense, going 7-of-19 on third down conversions, a perfect 1-for-1 on fourth down, and 2-for-3 in the red zone.
• Piazza finished 10-for-23 for 82 yards and a touchdown behind center and added 21 yards on the ground, while Field and Roberge paced the Mammoths' ground game with 55 and 35 net rushing yards, respectively.
• Garland (23 yards), Carson Ochsenhirt '23 (20 yards), and PJ Clementi '22 (19 yards) were Amherst's top-three receivers in the battle, with the trio combining for 62 yards.
• Firing off four punts for 135 yards, including a long of 56, and landing two punts inside the 20, first-year Michael Mitchel impressed on special teams, while Kennelly went a perfect 2-for-2 on PATs, converted on his lone field goal attempt, and averaged 36.2 yards per punt on five punts for the Mammoths.
• Swope dominated defensively for Amherst, logging a game-high 17 tackles behind seven solo and 10 assisted stops, while Joe Kelly '22 totaled 15 tackles (8 solo, 7 assisted), including a sack.
• At QB for the Panthers, Ben Tauber went 21-for-38 for 180 yards and an interception, while Cole Kennon finished 6-for-9 for 81 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. With 69 net rushing yards, Scibilia led Middlebury, while Donovan Wood paced all receivers with four receptions for 88 yards. Gordon Pollock 12 tackles (4 solo, 8 assisted) were a Panthers high.

 
The Mammoths return to action on Saturday, October 16 when they travel to Bowdoin College (0-4) for a 1:00PM battle at Whittier Field.