Middlebury Outlasts Football 33

30

Tufts TUF 4-5 , 4-5

33

Winner Middlebury MID 5-4 , 5-4

Tufts TUF

4-5 , 4-5

30

Final

33

Middlebury MID

5-4 , 5-4

Winner

Score By Quarters Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT F TUF Tufts 7 10 0 10 3 30 MID Middlebury 3 3 7 14 6 33

Game Recap: Football | 11/8/2025 10:04:00 PM

Middlebury Outlasts Football 33-30 In Overtime In Season Finale

MIDDLEBURY, VT (November 8, 2025) -- The Tufts University football team battled back from a 27-17 fourth quarter deficit to force overtime at Middlebury College Saturday afternoon, but the host Panthers would score a touchdown in the first overtime period to earn a 33-30 win in the 2025 season finale for both teams in play from Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium.

The big story of the day for the Jumbos (4-5) was at the placekicking position, as senior Vaughn Seelicke made three field goals while also converting all three PATs to score 12 points on the afternoon. The 12 points upped his career mark to 219 points over his four seasons to finish his career as the all-time points leader in the history of Tufts football, surpassing Chance Brady and his 210 all-time points. He finishes his career as the all-time leader in points, field goals and PATs at Tufts.

All of his points were necessary on Saturday, as the Jumbos and Panthers (5-4) played a thriller to the end. Tufts fell behind 3-0 early in the game, but responded with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive over 5:46 of the first quarter capped by a 15-yard touchdown score from Christian Shapiro.

The Jumbos pushed their lead to 14-3 at the 11:45 mark of the second frame, as sophomore quarterback Hudson Weidman hit receiver Henry Fleckner for a 15-yard touchdown pass after a 45-yard reception by Keller Rogers put Tufts in plus territory. Seelicke would hit his first of three field goals at the 2:44 mark of the second quarter from 35 yards away to make it 17-3 but the Panthers hit a field goal of their own to send the game to halftime with the Jumbos leading 17-6.

The Panthers would take control after halftime, pulling to within four at 17-13 on a Connor McClellan 1-yard touchdown plunge midway through the third. Middlebury forced a turnover on downs its next time on defense, taking its first lead of the game at 14:37 of the fourth quarter on a Brian Moran touchdown pass to Jordan Angsteich from 17-yards away to make it 20-17.

Middlebury got the ball right back on an interception, cashing in on another McClellan touchdown rush to increase its edge up to 10 at 27-17 with under nine minutes to play.

Still down 10 with five minutes to play, Tufts got the quick strike score it needed as Rogers exploded for a 70-yard touchdown reception from Weidman to pull to within three at 27-24. The drive took just 15 seconds.

Tufts got a three and out on the next possession by the Panthers, and tied the game on the last play of the fourth quarter on a field goal by Seelicke to send the contest to overtime deadlocked at 27. In the extra session, Tufts got a 37-yard field goal from its standout placekicker to regain the lead at 30-27, but Middlebury needed just four plays to find the end zone on a walk-off touchdown pass from Moran to Jeremy Kiefer to the win.

Shapiro finished with 96 yards on the ground Saturday afternoon, scoring for the eight consecutive game on the ground, a school record. He finishes the 2025 season with nine rushing touchdowns, second-most in the NESCAC. Weidman went 17-for-30 passing for the Jumbos with two scores and three interceptions, adding 69 yards on the ground.

Rogers needed just two grabs to get over the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career, going for 115 total for the day. Fleckner finished with 86 yards receiving on five catches, and Granville Anderson II also had five receptions for 54 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, Johnny Ferrelli had nine stops while fellow linebacker Riley Yaker also had nine tackles. Sophomore James Brunson posted a career-high eight tackles, while Ryan Horigan pulled down eight Panther ball carriers as well. Ryan Saccu and Dazer van Leeuwen each had seven tackles to help defensively.

Tufts posted a 466-332 edge in total offense, averaging 6.3 yards per play for the afternoon. Tufts also had a 33:56-26:04 time of possession advantage.

The Tufts' seniors finish their careers with 23 total wins, which is tied for third-most all-time among senior classes.

--JUMBOS--

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