Middlebury 49, Bates 16

Bates (0-5)        0   9   7   6   16
Middlebury (1-4)   7   7  22  13   49

M   1   6:08   Bryan Sanchez 31 run (Scott Dudley kick)               0-7
B   2   5:32   Rejean Guerriero 34 field goal			      3-7
M   2   3:15   Adam Pascal 1 run (Dudley kick)                        3-14
B   2   0:00   Jason Coulie 42 pass from Matt Bazirgan (pass failed)  9-14
M   3  13:33   Pascal 3 run (Dudley kick)                             9-21
B   3  11:34   Jarvis 18 run (Guerriero kick)                        16-21
M   3   9:05   A.J. Husband 7 pass from Brian Coates (Dudley kick)   16-28
M   3   2:50   Sanchez 22 run (Von Craig run)                        16-36
M   4  14:16   Husband 7 pass from Coates (Dudley kick)              16-43
M   4  11:37   Jeff Sengle 49 run (kick failed)                      16-49


                 B         M
First Downs      19        25
Rushes-Yards     40-98     52-234
Passing (A-C-I)  41-21-0   22-16-0
Passing Yds.     198       293
Total Yds.       296       527
Punts-Avg.       9-29.8    6-24.8
Fumbles-Lost     1-0       0-0
Penalties-Yds.   5-35      7-76
Possession Time  29:35	   30:25

Individual Leaders

RUSHING                Att.    Yds.    Avg.    TD      LG
Bryan Sanchez, Midd.   27      180     6.7      3      31
Ryan Jarvis, Bates     19       44     2.4      1      18

PASSING                Com.     Att.   Yds.    TD     INT
Brian Coates, Midd.    13       19     246      2       0
Matt Bazirgan, Bates   16       35     166      1       0
Adam Greenlaw, Bates    5        6      32      0       0

RECEIVING              Rec.     Yds.   TD
Jason Coulie, Bates     8       91      1
Paul Fantasia, Bates    6       78      0
A.J. Husband, Midd.     5       52      2

The Middlebury College Panthers (1-4) scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second half to turn a tight five-point game into a 49-16 victory over the Bates College Bobcats (0-5).

The Panthes played the field position game to set up their first score, needing to go just two plays to 33 yards for the first TD of the game. The Bobcat answered three possessions later with sophomore kicker Rejean Guerriero's (Spofford, N.H.) second field goal of the season, from 34 yards out to bring the Bobcats within four points.

Middlebury responded with a touchdown at the 3:15 mark of the second quarter. The scoring looked to be over for the half when the Bobcats punted on the ensuing possession and the Panthers did the same to give Bates the ball on their own 32 yard line with 30 seconds left before halftime. Junior quarterback Matt Bazirgan (Newbury, Mass.) had other ideas. He found classmate Paul Fantasia (Watertown, Mass.) for 25 yards on first down, giving Bates the ball on the Middlebury 43. After an incompletion and a scramble to avoid a sack, Bazirgan called timeout, giving Bates one shot with six seconds left on the clock. As time expired, Bazirgan found junior wide receiver Jason Coulie (Manchester, N.H.) through a crowd for the score. A two-point conversion failed and Bates trailed, 14-9, into the locker room.

The Panthers returned the opening kick-off of the second half 42 yards and then converted four straight first downs before a three-yard TD run gave them a 21-9 lead. The Bobcats answered once again, putting together an impressive 10-play, 67 yard drive, culminating with an 18-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Ryan Jarvis (Boxford, Mass.). The Bobcats trailed 21-16 with 11:34 left in the third quarter.

Unfortunately, the Bates offense was unable to hold on to the momentum, failing to convert a pair of fourth downs on subsequent fourth-quarter drives, while Middlebury scored on their final two possessions in the third quarter and first possesion of the fourth.

Bates was led by Coulie's eight catches for 91 yards and a TD, while Bazirgan was 16-for-35 for 166 yards and a TD. Junior Vinny Billante (Gloucester, Mass.) paced the defense with eight tackles including a sack for five yards and two other tackles for a loss.