MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Cardinal defense frustrated the visiting Panthers all afternoon long as Wesleyan held the reigning NESCAC champions Middlebury scoreless in a dominating 24-0 victory on Saturday from Corwin Stadium at Andrus Field. Wesleyan remains undefeated at 6-0 on the year, marking its best start to a season since 2013, while the Panthers drop to 1-5 just two years removed from going 9-0 and winning the league title. This shutout win marks the first time Wesleyan has held Middlebury scoreless since 1975.

Facing off against the reigning NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year in Middlebury's QB Will Jernigan, Wesleyan's defense stole the show and limited the talented signal-caller all afternoon long. Jernigan finished with a career-low 37.1 completion percentage (13-for-35) with he threw 2 INTs and was sacked three times as the Cardinal pass rush got to the Panther senior QB all day, forcing several overthrows.
 
In a phenomenal team-defensive approach, the Cardinals benefited from great performances up-and-down the lineup instead of a singular force. As a unit, Wesleyan combined for 6 TFL and held Middlebury to a 2-for-14 showing on 3^rd down while the Panthers were 0-for-6 on 4^th downs. LB Jake Edwards '24 racked up a career-high 10 tackles (1.5 TFL), CB Darreyl Williams '23 had two pass breakups, LB Harry LeGoullon '23 recorded five tackles and his first career sack, DL Zach Thannum '24 had a strip sack of Jernigan in the end zone that resulted in a recovery touchdown for DL Joe Flinn '23 and DB Jack Nally '24 recorded two INTs to give him a team-leading three for the season.

On offense, Wesleyan played smash mouth football, relying heavily on the ground game which helped the Cardinals hold the ball for over 40 minutes. Wesleyan ran the ball 58 times, a season-high and the most for the program since rushing 59 times against Middlebury back on Sept. 26, 2015 (47 games ago). The Cardinals turned those 58 carries into 265 yards, giving Wesleyan back-to-back games with 200+ rushing yards.

RB Charlie McPhee '22 had a career day, carrying the ball a career-best 29 times for a career-high 124 yards. Just one of McPhee's 29 carries went for a loss as the senior running back gained consistent positive yardage throughout. QB David Estevez '22 backed up a tremendous effort at Tufts last weekend with 22 carries for 119 yards and 2 TD in this one. McPhee and Estevez both going north of 100 yards signals the first time Wesleyan had two 100+ yard rushers in the same game since Kyle Gibson '14 (150 yards) and LaDarius Drew '14 (119) did the same in a 52-9 win over Tufts back on Sept. 21, 2013 (63 games ago).
 
Playing in front of an impressive crowd of 2500+ fans even while the University is on fall break, the Cardinals fed off that early energy in this one as Wesleyan rolled 75 yards down the field in 14 plays, ultimately punching in a score on an Estevez rush up the middle from 5 yards out. McPhee was featured in the opening drive, rushing seven times for 41 yards and three first downs.

Middlebury's first chance with the ball saw the Panthers cross midfield into Cardinal territory as Jernigan found Reinkemeyer for a 32-yard gain but a pair of penalties backed the visitors up and the drive stalled on the Wesleyan 36-yard line.

The remaining nine minutes of the first quarter saw neither side generate much offense as no points were scored until Wesleyan found the end zone early in the second. Big plays benefitted the Cardinals on offense as Estevez connected with WR Logan Tomlinson '23 for 10 yards on a big 3^rd-and-3 play which seemed to jumpstart the Cardinals as McPhee and Estevez traded long runs with Estevez ultimately finding the end zone up the left sideline as he evaded several Panther defenders on the way to his second score of the day.
 
Trailing 14-0, Middlebury was gifted a chance as Estevez was later intercepted by Jack Pistorius at the Cardinal 36-yard line. On the very next play, the Panthers again came up fortunate as Jernigan was intercepted by Nally but on the ensuing return, the Cardinal safety fumbled and the ball was recovered by a Panther to set the drive back up deep in Wesleyan territory.

Needing a big stand, Wesleyan came up huge on defense as Jernigan connected with Peter Scibilia but LB Isaiah Miller '22 and DL Mike Rowan '25 came up with a tackle behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 4 that took Middlebury outside of FG range, forcing a punt.

Middlebury threatened again with less than a minute remaining on the final drive of the first half, driving down inside the Cardinal red zone but Wesleyan forced three straight incompletions, the last of which on 4^th down as the Panther drive stalled once again, sending the teams into halftime with Wesleyan leading 14-0.

As was the case in the first half, Wesleyan's defense came through when they needed to make a stand as Middlebury drove 50 yards down the field, into the Cardinal red zone but once again saw Wesleyan make a huge stop. After Jernigan found Reinkemeyer for 9 yards on 1^st down, Jernigan was sacked by LeGoullon on 2^nd down and then misfired on throws to Livingston and Reinkemeyer as Middlebury turned the ball over on downs.

Nally's second INT of the day came late in the third quarter on a 2^nd-and-10 throw from Jernigan, setting Wesleyan up at the Middlebury 24-yard line. Estevez connected with Zyaire Sterling '22 to make it 1^st-and-goal but the Panthers forced a stop, only to see Daniel Yoon '28 connect on a FG from 23 yards out to make it a three-score game at 17-0 Wesleyan.

The game-sealing play came with just over nine minutes left as Jernigan was forced out of the pocket and Thannum came up from behind and laid a strip sack on the unsuspected Panther QB. The fumble was recovered by Flinn in the end zone to give Wesleyan a TD that made it 24-0.
 
Wesleyan outgained Middlebury 390-288 in total yards and 265-42 (+223) on the ground as the Panthers averaged 1.8 yards per carry compared to 4.6 for the Cardinals. Wesleyan had 23 first downs (15 of which were rushing) compared to 13 for Middlebury. Third down and red zone efficiency were vital stats in this contest as Wesleyan went 7-for-16 on 3^rd downs and 3-of-4 inside the red zone. Middlebury, however, went 2-for-14 on third downs (0-for-6 on 4^th downs) and went 0-for-3 on their red zone chances.

The Cardinals head into their much-anticipated Homecoming and Family Weekend showdown with Little 3 rival Amherst on Saturday at 1 PM. This is the first time Wesleyan has faced a Little 3 rival this season as Amherst leads the all-time series with a record of 72-44-9. The last meeting between the two sides was a double overtime thriller in Amherst that the Cardinals won 31-28.