AMHERST, Mass. – Junior defensive lineman
Wyatt Morgan blocked a potential game-winning field goal with seven seconds remaining as the Amherst College football team remained undefeated with a thrilling 23-22 win over Middlebury College on Saturday afternoon at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.
Junior quarterback
Marek Hill threw for a season-best 315 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with senior
Christian Moore for the tying score with 2:27 remaining before junior
Hudson Fulcher-Melendy's extra point put the Mammoths ahead. Sophomore
Jadon Davis caught nine passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, the first multi-touchdown game of his collegiate career.
The Mammoths improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2018, while the Panthers fall to 2-2. Amherst travels to Colby next Saturday (Oct. 17) for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
* After a scoreless first quarter, Amherst opened the scoring on Hill's 13-yard touchdown pass to Davis right down the middle with 11:19 remaining in the second. The touchdown completed an eight-play, 45-yard drive, and Fulcher-Melendy added a 27-yard field goal on Amherst's next possession to extend the lead to 10-0.
* Middlebury got on the board with 35 seconds left before halftime as junior Connor McClellan found a hole on the right side for a 2-yard touchdown run, cutting Amherst's advantage to 10-7 at the break. The Panthers then opened the second half with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that took 7:16 off the clock, capped by McClellan's second touchdown of the game coming on a direct snap from six yards out and a run right up the middle to the end zone to give Middlebury its first lead at 14-10.
* The teams traded the lead three times in a fourth quarter that featured two incredible circus touchdown catches by the Mammoths. After Hill extended Amherst's drive with a 7-yard run on third-and-3, the Mammoths moved ahead when Hill's pass from 49 yards out found Davis in the end zone with 10:20 remaining. Hill's pass first bounced off the hands of a Middlebury defender, who batted the ball in the air again, allowing Davis to haul it in for his second touchdown of the game. The extra-point attempt missed, leaving Amherst ahead by a 16-14 margin.
* Middlebury answered with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Senior quarterback Aidan Moss escaped pressure to connect with junior Julian Schneider for 39 yards on third-and-6, and McClellan finished the possession by punching in his third touchdown of the afternoon with a 3-yard run. Moss floated a pass to sophomore Jordan Angstreich for the two-point conversion to put the Panthers ahead 22-16 with 7:34 to play.
* Amherst's winning touchdown capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 5:07. Hill completed all eight of his passes on the possession, including three to sophomore
Max Alexander for 48 yards. Alexander's 22-yard reception on third-and-5 moved the Mammoths to the Middlebury 15, and a 10-yard completion to Davis set up Hill's 5-yard touchdown pass to Moore. Hill found Moore in the right corner of the end zone with Moore facing tight defense and bobbling the ball twice before securing the catch for his first touchdown of the season. Fulcher-Melendy converted the extra point to give Amherst a 23-22 lead.
* Middlebury drove from its own 25-yard line to the Amherst 7 on its final possession, setting up a 24-yard field goal attempt. Morgan broke through the line and got just enough of a hand on the ball to alter its course. The ball's wobbly path was still right down the middle of the uprights, but it struck the crossbar and fell short, sealing the win for the Mammoths.
BY THE NUMBERS
* Hill completed 29 of 36 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He was a perfect 10-for-10 for 125 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
* Davis led all receivers with 144 yards on nine catches. Alexander added eight receptions for 91 yards, while Moore caught eight passes for 57 yards and the decisive touchdown.
* Amherst finished with 372 yards of total offense to Middlebury's 303 and held the ball for 38:35. The Mammoths went 9-of-16 on third-down opportunities and converted two of three fourth-down attempts.
* Senior
Carson Skotak, sophomore
Jordan Summers and junior
Colin Scheid shared the Amherst lead with five tackles each. Skotak, senior
Tylik Sims and junior
Josh Kuczynski each recorded a tackle for loss. Morgan added three tackles and a pass breakup to his game-saving block.
* Moss completed 20 of 33 passes for 232 yards for Middlebury. Angstreich caught nine passes for 102 yards, while McClellan rushed for 60 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. Senior Matt Shaw led the Panthers defense with 14 tackles.
* Neither team committed a turnover, making this the first turnover-free game in the NESCAC this season.
