Wesleyan University

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Three consecutive touchdown-scoring drives in the first half paved the way for the Wesleyan football team in a convincing 35-13 road win over Middlebury on Saturday afternoon in the 2026 season opener for both teams. The Cardinals defeat the Panthers for the fourth straight season while the reigning NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year QB Matt Fitzsimons '27 torched the Middlebury defense all afternoon in the 22-point win.
 
Fitzsimons, the reigning NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year, did very little wrong, completing 19-of-24 passes (79.1%) for 269 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The senior signal caller also rushed for 36 yards, completed at least four passes to four different receivers, and wasn't sacked on 60 plays.
 
Neither side got much going offensively in a scoreless first quarter, with Wesleyan's defense forcing two Middlebury punts while Fitzsimons pooch punted 45 yards down to the Panthers' 1-yard line to pin the hosts back.
 
Taking the ball back on offense for the second time in the quarter, the Cardinals engineered a lengthy 13-play, 81-yard drive that chewed up nearly eight minutes of game clock. RB Matt Diaz '28 gained six yards on the ground on a 3^rd-and-3 in Wesleyan territory to keep the drive alive and the Cardinals later managed to overcome a 1^st-and-20, picking up the first down on another 3^rd-and-3 conversion. Fitzsimons then connected with WR Blake Newcomb '27 for a 15-yard pickup to get up a 1^st-and-goal from the 3 which Diaz punched home for a score on the next play.
 
The Cardinal defense came up with another stop on the next Middlebury possession, with Wesleyan taking the ball back at their own 21-yard line with 9:55 left in the half. Chunk yardage came right away with RB Angelo LaRose '27 picking up 18 yards on the ground on the first play of the drive, followed by a Fitzsimons pass to TE Keith Capuano '28 that went for 20 yards. It was 3^rd-and-2 from the Middlebury 33-yard line when Newcomb beat his defender in man coverage and Fitzsimons hit his senior classmate on a slant route for another score.
 
Another empty possession from the Panthers was followed by another Wesleyan TD drive to cap a string of three straight scoring drives. Wesleyan converted a 3^rd-and-3 with a Fitzsimons 12-yard pass to WR Sean Cannon '27 then hit the red zone with a 20-yard Fitzsimons-Newcomb completion. Just one play later, Fitzsimons looked to his left and found Newcomb on an in-breaking route to make it 21-0 Wesleyan at the half.
 
Middlebury broke the string of 21 unanswered Wesleyan points on their first drive of the second half, marching 75 yards down the field on just eight plays including a 35-yard pass from Aidan Moss to Jordan Angstreich that set up a 1-yard rushing score from Connor McClellan.
 
The Panthers forced a Wesleyan three-and-out and drove into Cardinal territory late in the third quarter, only to have a costly false start penalty on what was a 4^th-and-6 play from the Wesleyan 37-yard line stall out a drive with Middlebury down two scores.
 
The game then took a decisive turn early in the fourth when Middlebury had a 3^rd-and-5 play from their own 37-yard line as Moss looked to his left only to see DB Tommy Kilroy '29 step in front of his intended target for an interception. The first and only turnover of the game for either team was a fatal one as Kilroy returned his first career interception 33 yards to the house to make it 28-7 Wesleyan with 10:54 remaining.
 
Middlebury answered the Kilroy pick six with a six-play, 68-yard TD drive on a possession that lasted just over two minutes, but a missed extra point from Yaseen Mousa kept the deficit at 28-13 with 8:48 remaining.
 
Knowing the Panther defense needed a stop, the Cardinals finished the game off with a devastating eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 22-yard TD catch from Fitzsimons to Capuano on a fade route to the near corner of the end zone on what was a 3^rd-and-5 play.
 
Now trailing by three scores and with just under four minutes remaining, Middlebury gained 72 yards of offense on their next possession but needed 12 plays to do so and the clock wound down under two minutes before DB Jack Bronikowski '28 broke up a pass on 4^th-and-goal to seal the win in style for the Cardinals.
 
Wesleyan outgained Middlebury 413-332 in the contest including a 144-70 edge in rushing yards. The Cardinals averaged four yards per carry with LaRose gaining 46 yards on the ground, Fitzsimons had 36, and Diaz totaled 35.
 
Newcomb led the receivers with five catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Capuano finished with four catches for 63 yards and one score. Donte Kelly '29 added four receptions for 47 yards and Cannon totaled four catches for 46 yards.
 
Tony Contaldi '28 led the Wesleyan defense with eight tackles while Bronikowski had three pass breakups and Quinn Seeberan '29 registered the lone sack on the day for either side.
 
Wesleyan opens their 2026 home slate next Saturday with a 1:30 PM kickoff against Tufts at Corwin Stadium. The Jumbos defeated Wesleyan 22-20 in Medford last season but the Cardinals have beaten Tufts six straight times in Middletown.