Hamilton College’s football team faced a pair of setbacks in the last two weeks, playing the challenging teams at Middlebury and Williams on away turf. The Oct. 28 game against Williams was a 24–6 loss, and the Nov. 4 matchup was a 41–20 loss marked by a fourth-quarter rally.
The Continentals played the Williams College Ephs (NESCAC 5–3) on Oct. 28 on Farley-Lamb Field. Hamilton’s efforts were hindered by the strong play of Williams’ starting quarterback, who threw for two touchdowns and 268 yards and rushed for another touchdown and 65 yards. Hamilton’s defense forced three turnovers to keep the game within reach but was unable to overcome the 24-point deficit.
The Ephs opened up scoring less than five minutes into the first quarter on their first possession with a touch-down and an extra point. Soon after, a 50-yard Williams drive, aided by their quarterback’s running ability, ended in a field goal attempt. The kick was good, and the score was 10–0 after the first quarter. At the start of the second, Justin Leigh ’20 forced a fumble and Hamilton gained possession on Williams’ 35. Quarterback Kenny Gray ’20 shot off a quick pass to wide receiver Christian Donahoe ’20 for a 17-yard gain, but that progress was hindered when a sack caused a loss of 10 yards for the Continentals. A 41-yard field goal attempt followed, but was wide right, and the buff and blue missed a key opportunity to get on the board in the second. Williams took advantage and scored 14 more points in the last five minutes of the half, and the score was a bleak 24–0.
Things started looking up for Hamilton in the second half, as defensive back Mufudzi Chogugudza ’21 registered his first interception of his young Hamilton career in the first drive of the quarter. Hamilton’s drive went another 33 yards but turned over the ball on downs. Later in the quarter, another Continental drive ended with a Williams interception in the end-zone. Defensive back Sam Bowen ’20 also had his first career interception in the fourth quarter. Hamilton gained possession and Gray threw to Sam Robinson ’20 and then to Joe Schmidt ’20 for a late touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Hamilton managed to make the score 24–6. Hamilton’s defense held down Williams in the second half, as all of the Ephs’ scoring came in the first.
Though a tough loss, the game had some highlights for a few players. On defense, both Bowen and Chogugudza had their first interceptions, and Leigh forced the fumble for three turnovers on Williams’ end. Cole Burchill ’19 and Sean Tolton ’19 each had a sack during the game as well. Tyler Hudson ’19 had nine solo tackles, and his 10.6 tackles per game is second in the NESCAC. Schmidt’s lone touchdown was his eighth touchdown catch of the season, and he is now second in the NESCAC for touchdown catches.
Hamilton’s next challenge was the 38th Annual Old Rocking Chair Classic at Middlebury’s Youngman Field on Nov. 4. They faced a tough opponent in Middlebury College (NESCAC 6–2), and despite an impressive fourth quarter rebound for buff and blue, lost 41–20. All of the Panthers’ scoring came in the first two quarters, and all of the Continentals’ scoring came in the last quarter. Hamilton outgained Middlebury (373 yards to 350 yards) but was hurt by turnovers (of which there were 4) and penalty yards (10 penalties for 80 yards). Hamilton started quarterback Sam Foley ’21 for his first collegiate start because Gray was fighting an injured shoulder.
Middlebury scored early for a 65-yard touchdown and then forced and recovered a Hamilton fumble. That drive ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass, and both extra points were good. The Panthers were winning 14–0 only 1:23 into the game. Bowen had his second interception in as many weeks, but Hamilton once again turned over the ball on downs. Another fumble recovery by Middlebury led to a touchdown (but no extra point) and a score of 20–0 after fifteen minutes of play. The second quarter was not much better for the struggling Continentals, as yet another fumble recovery by Middlebury led to a touchdown on a 36-yard pass for the Panthers. A 67-yard, 7-play drive gave the home team another touchdown with 3 seconds left in the half, and Middlebury had a decisive 41–0 lead at the end of the first half.
Hamilton was a different team coming out of the locker room for the second half. The third quarter was uneventful: every single drive for both teams ended with a punt. The second play of the fourth quarter led to an 8-yard rushing touchdown for Mitch Bierman ’21. Hamilton’s next possession was a 6-play, 66-yard drive, ending in yet another rushing touchdown for Bierman. Neither extra point was good, and so with about 10 minutes left to play, Hamilton had cut Middlebury’s lead by 12 points. An impressive 30-yard rush by Robinson gave the Continentals good field position at the Panthers’ 22 yard line. A 16-yard pass to and a 6-yard run by Schmidt gave Hamilton their third touchdown in 13 minutes. Foley’s 2-point conversion to David Kagan ’20 was good, and the game ended with a score of 41–20. Though another difficult loss, Hamilton’s resolve in the fourth quarter was impressive. After his first collegiate start as quarterback, Foley is 22 of 40 for passing for 276 yards, with one touchdown pass and one interception. Schmidt raised his touchdown catch total to 9, still good for second in the NESCAC. With 9 touch-down catches, he has matched the program record and has one game left to break the record. He now has 740 receiving yards, which did break the program record. Connor Cates ’21 and Marcus Gutierrez ’18 also had good games rushing, with 97 and 70 yards respectively. Hamilton’s defense once again held their opponent scoreless in the second half.
The Continentals will play their last game of the season at home on Steuben Field on Sat. Nov. 11 against Bates College (2–6) at 12 p.m. Hamilton will honor its 11 seniors this day. Whoever wins the game will lock down seventh place on the season out of the 10 NESCAC teams. The game figures to excite, as each team beat both Bowdoin and Colby Colleges while losing to all other opponents. The teams are evenly-matched and hungry to finish the season on a winning note.
