The Middlebury football team (3-5) downed Hamilton 28-12 on the road Saturday, capturing the "Rocking Chair Classic" for the 25th-straight time. The Panthers will celebrate senior day in their regular-season finale at home on Saturday, with kickoff set for 12:30 p.m., while the Continentals (2-5) head to Bates for a noon start.
 
Middlebury's defense staked the Panthers out to the early lead, as Jack Pistorius intercepted a Matt Banbury pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown on the game's opening possession.
 
It was special teams that helped set up Middlebury's next score when Ryan Whitney blocked Hamilton Quinn Voboril's short field goal. Two plays later, quarterback Will Jernigan ripped off an 84-yard touchdown run and the point after by Zach Levy extended the lead to 14-0 with 22 seconds left in the opening frame.
 
There was no scoring in the second quarter, but Middlebury's defense came up with a pair of big turnovers stopping Continental drives deep in Panther territory. Sam Wilson intercepted a Banbury pass at the 14, while Pistorius pounced on a fumble at the 19.
 
The Panthers started the second half with a 10-play 82-yard drive that ended with Jernigan scoring on a one-yard run. Levy again booted the PAT for a 21-0 advantage.
 
Hamilton responded two plays later with a 15-play, 89-yard drive that took 7:17 off the clock. Banbury and Joe Park moved the ball down the field, before Banbury ran the ball into the endzone on a 15-yard rush to make it 21-6. 
 
Middlebury answered on the next drive, extending its lead to 28-6 on Jernigan's third rushing score of the day, this time from five yards. Levy once again added the extra point. 
 
The Continentals cut the deficit to 28-12 a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Banbury hooking up with Kamau Hopewell for a four-yard scoring strike to round out the scoring.
 
Jernigan finished 13-18 for 156 yards through the air, while rushing nine times for 108 yards and three touchdowns. Jernigan has rushed for more than 100 yards in the past two weeks. Jimmy Connell had 56 receiving yards on three catches, while Charles Reinkemeyer had a team-best four receptions for 29 yards.
 
Kwesi Adu-Diawuo topped the Panthers on defense with 11 tackles and a pass break-up, while Pistorius had 10 stops, an interception return for a touchdown and one break-up. Tomas Kenary had seven tackles, with three of them being sacks.
 
For the Continentals, Banbury went 15-27 for 241 yards with one touchdown and an interception, while adding 68 yards rushing on 15 attempts. Park led Hamilton on the ground with 71 yards on 24 carries. Will Budington topped all receivers with six catches for 98 yards. Defensively, James Bourque recorded eight tackles. 
 
The "Rocking Chair Classic" was a tradition created in 1980 by John Kirk '39 and Mac Bristol, a 1943 graduate of Hamilton, to intensify the competition between the two NESCAC schools. Every year, the squads compete for the rocking chair, given to the winning athletic department until the next season's bout.