The Middlebury football team topped Colby 35-28 in its final game of the season to earn NESCAC Co-Champion distinction. The Panthers and Trinity both finished with league records of 8-1, and with no tiebreakers, each team earns a share of the conference title. On October 14, Middlebury snapped the Bantam's 15-game winning streak with an impressive 20-15 victory. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Mules struck first with 6:21 remaining in the quarter. Colby's Payton Reid recovered a fumbled punt at the Middlebury 30-yard line to put the squad in scoring position. On the ensuing possession, quarterback Thomas Keeling completed a 30-yard strike to Jack Sawyer for the score, and Chris Tzoumakas' extra point was good for the 7-0 lead. 
• The Panthers answered with a touchdown less than two minutes into the second stanza. Middlebury covered 57 yards in five plays, as Cole Kennon delivered a 25-yard pass to Donovan Wood. Zach Levy knocked his extra point through the uprights and leveled the game at seven points apiece. 
• The Mules responded on the next drive. On third-and-four from their own 31-yard line, Keeling launched a 69-yard pass that was corralled by Keon Smart for the touchdown, and the extra point put Colby back in front (14-7).
• The Panther defense made a huge play to even the contest with 3:25 left in the half. The Mules began a drive at their own one yardline, which only lasted one play as Keeling was sacked in the endzone. The ball squirted loose and was scooped up by Dave Filias for the touchdown, and Levy's boot was good as the teams headed into the intermission knotted at 14-14. 
• The Middlebury offense came alive in the third stanza, scoring three times to gain some breathing room. Starting on their own 25-yard line to begin the quarter, the Panthers marched down the gridiron, before Kennon squeezed through the Mules' defense for a one-yard rushing touchdown. Levy nailed the extra point, making it 21-14 with nearly five minutes gone.
• On Middlebury's next possession, the squad took over at the Colby 36-yard line, and Cody Weitzman later rushed two yards into the endzone. Levy converted the PAT, putting the Panthers up by two scores (28-14).
• Middlebury capped the third-quarter scoring frenzy with 6:10 remaining when Caleb Smith booked it 28 yards into the endzone and Levy split the uprights for the 35-14 advantage. 
• Keeling found Jack Sawyer for a 39-yard scoring strike early in the final frame, and Tzoumakas converted the extra point to cut the deficit to 14 (35-21).
• With just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Keeling and Keon Smart hooked up for a nine-yard scoring strike and Tzoumakas split the uprights to close the gap to 35-28 but it was not enough, as the Panthers hung on for the victory.

NOTES

• Middlebury claimed a share of the NESCAC Championship for the fifth time in program history, having won it outright in 2007 (7-1) and in 2019 (9-0). 
• The Panthers set a school record for most sacks in a season with 27, erasing the previous mark of 26.5 that stood since 2016.
• Middlebury finished the season with 56 pass breakups, ranking second all-time in a single-season.
• Kennon became just the sixth player to eclipse the 4,000 passing yards mark, finishing his career with 4,148 which ranks sixth in program history. His single-season total of 2,171 yards ranks eighth all-time.
• Levy finished the year with 59 total points. His 29 extra points rank sixth in the single-season record books, while his 10 field goals tie for first. 
• Wood capped his career as the second all-time receiver with 2,246 yards, just nine behind the program record holder.
• Rocco Stola concluded the fall with 10 pass breakups, ranking second in on the single-season list.

Middlebury and Colby played for the 59th time since 1936 with the Panthers owning a 37-22 advantage in the all-time series.