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Date: September 28, 2002
Contact: Bill Sodoma
Middlebury football holds off Colby
WATERVILLE, MAINE --
Senior running back Bill Lazzaro (Cazenovia/Manlius, N.Y.) rushed for 146 yards on 31 carries as Middlebury College held on for a 17-14 victory over Colby College in football Saturday at Seaverns Field.
Colby (0-2) had a chance for a tie on the final play of the game, but first-year kicker John Goss (St. JohnÕs Shrewsbury/Shrewsbury, Mass.) just missed short on a 55-yard field goal attempt.
Middlebury (1-1) controlled the game early with a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Lazzaro scored on a 10-yard touchdown run with 7:04 left in the period for the first score of the game.
After a Colby interception, the Panthers needed just one play to go up 14-0 with 2:16 left in the first quarter. Senior wide receiver Denver Smith (Kent (Conn.)/Weybridge, Vt.) caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback James Muhlfield (Darien/Darien, Conn.).
The Mules put together an eight-play, 79-yard drive and cut the lead in half when sophomore running back Aaron Stepka (Farmington/Farmington, Conn.) scored on a 3-yard run with 12:47 left in the second quarter. Stepka, who had 145 yards on 25 carries, had a 53-yard rush to get the Mules in scoring position.
Colby tied the game with 2:58 left to halftime on an 11-play, 78 yard scoring drive. Senior wide receiver Jason Cunnane (King Philip/Wrentham, Mass.) caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Pat Conley (Morse/Bath, Maine). Cunnane and Conley connected on a 28-yard pass for the big play on that drive.
Middlebury came up the longest scoring drive of the game Š 81 yards on 10 plays Š to get what turned out to be the winning field goal with 4:26 left in the third quarter. Running back Eric Shanley (Plymouth South/Plymouth, Mass.) had runs of 22 and 11 yards to help the Panthers on the drive. Senior kicker Mike Frissora (Belmont Hill/Sudbury, Mass.) was good from 23 yards out on the field goal.
The game appeared to be over when Middlebury defensive back Craig Schuette (Derby/Derby, Conn.) intercepted a Conley pass with just two minutes left in the game. Colby, though, used the rest of its timeouts and got the ball back with about 30 seconds left.
Conley hit senior wide receiver Lee Carlson (Braintree/Braintree, Mass.) with a 31-yard pass and then connected with sophomore wide receiver Thomas Wilson (Lakeside School/Bellevue, Wash.) on a 11-yard pass play to the Middlebury 38. With just three seconds left, Goss was short by about five yards on his 55-yard attempt.
Defense gave the Mules a chance to come back in the game in the fourth quarter. Colby, after a fumble on their own 1-yard line in the fourth quarter, used a goal-line stand to get the ball back on downs. Senior linebacker Mike Moran (Manchester West/Bedford, N.H.) was part of nine tackles (2 solo, 7 assists) for the Mules. Senior Jeff Owen (Whitman-Hanson/Whitman, Mass.) was part of eight tackles and also had five punts for a 39.6-yard average.
Middlebury sophomore linebacker Richard Decembrele (Deerfield/Walpole, Mass.) had two solo stops and had nine assisted tackles.
Colby will host Wesleyan next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
