The Middlebury football team begins its season on Saturday, September 16 when it hosts Amherst at 2:00 p.m. The Panthers return a strong group of players from a team that went 7-2 a year ago, finishing second in the NESCAC standings, while welcoming 28 rookies for the upcoming campaign. 

Quarterback Cole Kennon played in the final six games of last season, ranking second in the NESCAC in touchdowns (24), and third in passing yards (1,860). The Panther averaged 309.00 yards/game over the span, with a career-best toss of 60 yards. 

Alex Maldjian, Donovan Wood and Patrick Jamin return on offense, helping Middlebury rank third in the conference with 289.0 yards/game a season ago. Wood led the league with 17.4 yards/catch last year, while ranking in the top three in total yards (938), yards per game (104.2) and touchdowns (11). Jamin was second on the squad in yards/catch (13.86) and scoring strikes (six). Maldjian paced the team in yards per game (63.00) despite only playing in a pair of games. The Panther was the 2019 NESCAC Rookie of the Year after leading the conference in rushing with 100.6 yards/game, gaining 905 yards on 212 carries with 10 touchdowns.

Andrew Haas was phenomenal between the uprights last fall, going 21-for-24 in extra points. He was second in the conference with six field goals, while his total points (38) ranked fourth. A trio of Haas’ field goals were over 30 yards, including a personal-best 37-yarder. Punter Cole Crider, a two-time All-NESCAC First Team selection, led the conference in total yards (1,962) and longest punt (80 yards) last fall. Crider also dropped 17 balls inside the 20-yard line and had seven punts over 50 yards long. 

Middlebury welcomes back a solid defensive core for the upcoming campaign, led by All-NESCAC First Team selections Finn Muldoon and Tomas Kenary. Muldoon was third in the league in solo tackles (49) and total tackles (82), while Kenary paced the Panthers in tackles for loss (10.0-54), and totaled 41 stops (26 solo) over the season. Nolan Tibball, Rocco Stola and John McCool also return on defense, each contributing strong performances a year ago. McCool was second on the squad with 63 tackles (29 solo), while Tibball was third with 55 (29 solo). Muldoon, Stola and Tibball each had a pair of interceptions, while Stola was second on the team with eight pass breakups.

Doug Mandigo ’96 makes his head coaching debut this season, having been named the Michael G. Heinecken Head Coach of Football on December 4, 2022. He is joined by coordinators Ryan Paquette (defensive) and Jason Thomas (offensive), while also welcoming back assistant coaches Gus Brakeley, Dave Caputi, Michael Carr, St. Clair Ryan and Dennis Smith.