There was a lot of celebration going on for football players representing Middlebury, Vt., this weekend. Middlebury Football image

The bus barreling up I-95, through the small towns along Route 103 and up Route 7 back to Middlebury, Vt., was spilling over with euphoria. Middlebury College had done something that nobody had done in 13 years. The Panthers had ended Trinity's 53-game home winning streak by a score of 27-7.

Most people don't know there was equal excitement on the trip down to Hartford. The coaches were huddled around a computer watching the quarterfinal high school football game involving Middlebury Union High School on the Northeast Sports Network.

Middlebury College head coach Bob Ritter's son plays for Middlebury Union.

Middlebury Union fell behind 6-0 and then won 54-6 as the young Bob Ritter ran wild. He rushed for 218 yards on only six carries.

"We were getting pretty excited," coach Bob Ritter said. "Some of our coaches are former Tigers."

That was a great start to the weekend. But then reality hits. You have to play the Bantams and they never lose at home.

"There is a mystique attached to it," Ritter said. "They are a great team and a great program. There is an aura about them at home."

The Bantams had been good home and away, coming into the game with a 5-0 record.

Ritter said they did not dwell on the streak during the week, but they didn't ignore it, either.

"We did not make a big deal about it, but we certainly talked about it," he said.

Ritter has been feeling good about this team. "Our defense has been playing great all year," he said. And then they played their best defense of all as free safety Dan Pierce keyed the unit in the win over Trinity. Pierce had a team-high 12 tackles and intercepted two passes, returning them for a combined 79 yards.

"He took it to another level," Ritter said. "His first pick was a huge momentum surge."

The Bantams were driving deep in Middlebury territory and Pierce picked off the pass and returned it all the way to the Trinity 30 to set up a score. "It was a 14-point swing," Ritter said.

Ritter's two daughters have gone on to play sports at Middlebury fueling speculation that the local high school's talented running back might don the winged helmet and help his father's team win some more games.

But that decision has not been made.

"He's trying to figure that out now," Ritter said.

Matt Milano continues to grow at quarterback for the Panthers. He completed 25 of his 36 passes, four for touchdowns.

"He gets more and more confident each week," Ritter said.

Matt Minno caught five of Milano's passes, but three were for touchdowns.

The Middlebury Union Tigers are unbeaten and advanced to the semifinals on Friday night with young Bob Ritter averaging over 36 yards a carry. Then, coach Bob Ritter's Panthers do the unthinkable and take down the Bantams in Hartford.

It is doubtful that any household from Pacific to Plymouth had a better football weekend than the one occupied by the Ritter clan.

Those perfect Jeffs

Amherst is now the only unbeaten team in the NESCAC at 6-0. The Lord Jeffs achieved that distinction by humbling Tufts 30-3 as Christopher Gow intercepted two passes and took one back for a touchdown.

Now, to stay unbeaten, the Jeffs must deal Trinity its second straight home loss.

Amherst's Chris Tamasi was a wrecking crew. He had nine tackles, three sacks and forced two fumbles.

Another exciting game in the NESCAC saw Bates get a leg up on the CBB Trophy by edging Colby 34-28 with Matt Cannone throwing four touchdown passes.

Williams kept Hamilton winless as Tom Cabarle led the defense in the 21-14 victory with 10 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Wesleyan swamped Bowdoin 35-0 to go to 5-1 as Jesse Warren threw five TD passes and Josh Hurtwitz caught three of them. Alex Daversa spearheaded the shutout with nine tackles.

MIT wins the showdown

MIT won the highly anticipated battle of unbeaten teams as Anthony Emberley broke through to block an extra point with 42 seconds left to preserve the 35-34 win.

"I was getting ready for overtime," MIT coach Chad Martinovich said.

MIT rushed to a 21-0 lead but the Golden Bears stormed back and the game lived up to its billing. The atmosphere had a Wrigley Field look to it as the four-level parking deck across the street had people crammed onto the top two levels. That's was in addition to the full stands.

"It was a cool atmosphere," Martinovich said.

It was family weekend at MIT and then you factor in the visiting crowd. "Western New England travels very well," Matrtinovich said.

Brad Goldsberry did a lot of everything for the Engineers. He rushed for 137 yards but also had 95 receiving yards.

"We use him at every skill position with the exception of quarterback," Martinovich said. "We use him as a back, in the slot and as an outside receiver. We find different ways to use him because he is such an explosive player.

"One of the things that makes our offense is that we are diverse. We try to spread the ball around to all of our playmakers. And our offensive line is playing very well."

Who knows if the game had gone to overtime?

"Anthony Emberley just keeps getting better and better," Martinovich said. "But this is the first time he has shown up in that count.  He timed it just right from his linebacker position."

But there's no rest for MIT. Now, it is Showdown II. They must travel to Endicott. The Gulls did their part by staying unbeaten in the NEFC by rallying for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to nip Coast Guard 14-13,

Drew Frenette not only led the late-game heroics, he became Endicott's all-time passing leader in yardage and touchdowns.

Maine Maritime only threw six passes, but three of Michael's Fahey's throws went for touchdowns as the Mariners outgunned Nichols 62-43. Jacob Doolan also had a big day for Maine Maritime as he rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass.

There was defense played. Maritime's John Doyon had 19 tackles.

 Bears, Bucs win close ones

Bridgewater State got past Westfield State 27-23 as Danny Higgins threw three TD passes to Matthew Green who had 217 receiving yards. Nicholas Salois had 20 tackles.

Mass. Maritime also won a thriller. The Bucs outscored UMass-Dartmouth 46-41 as John Trudel tied a school record by throwing four touchdown passes.

Matt Silva also fired four TD passes as Framingham State had no problem with Plymouth, 38-0.

Husson on the run

Husson has emerged as the cream of the ECFC and ran its league mark to 4-0 by pounding the ball at Castleton on the way to a 47-26 win. The Eagles had two backs eclipse the 100-yard mark. John Smith piled up 179 yards with two touchdowns and Logan Steward rushed for 120 and two more scores.

Mount Ida and Norwich stayed on Husson's tail by remaining one-loss teams in the league but neither had an easy time. Ida got past Gallaudet 10-6 with Jawad Yatim tossing a TD pass to Matt Greenman. Norwich had a surprisingly tough time with winless Anna Maria, winning 28-20 with Zach Allen grabbing two TD passes.

Duke Alvora led an outstanding defensive effort for SUNY-Maritime as the Privateers edged Becker 13-6. Alvora had 10 tackles, forced two fumbles while recovering one of them and added two pass break-ups.

The big games

MIT is playing at Endicott for the top spot in the NEFC. Neither team has a blemish on its league record.

Martinovich knows Frenette and the Gulls present a challenge. He was not surprised with the way Frenette came to the fore against Coast Guard when the game was on the line.

"Their quarterback is very talented and he has been in those situations before," Martinovich said.

Frenette now has 70 career TD passes as he goes past Phil Konopka as the Gulls' leader.

"Every game is a big game," Martinovich said.

He doesn't have to tell Endicott coach J.B. Wells.

After tangling with one titan this week, Western New England looms for the Gulls on Nov. 8.

Williams and Wesleyan clash in a Little Three Game and Bates is at Bowdoin for a CBB Game in the NESCAC where such traditions are revered.

But the league's biggest game this week is undeniably the one that has unbeaten Amherst going to Connecticut to play Trinity.

Gallaudet's trip to Norwich is the marquee game in the ECFC.