Football: Hartford stumbles against Middlebury

Hartford linebacker Austin St. Peter, left, tackles Middlebury fullback Avery Carl, right, at the one yard line in the third quarter in White River Junction, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Middlebury won 21-7. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hartford linebacker Austin St. Peter, left, tackles Middlebury fullback Avery Carl, right, at the one yard line in the third quarter in White River Junction, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Middlebury won 21-7. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson photos / Valley News

Hartford Head Coach Matt Trombly shouts instructions to quarterback Owen Mock during their game with Middlebury in White River Junction, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Middlebury won 21-7. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hartford Head Coach Matt Trombly shouts instructions to quarterback Owen Mock during their game with Middlebury in White River Junction, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Middlebury won 21-7. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson / Valley News

Hartford running back Nick Daniels, 11, takes a handoff from quarterback Owen Mock, 5, as Middlebury defenders Cooke Riney, 44, and Tucker Morter, 11, close in during their game in White River Junction, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Middlebury won 21-7. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hartford running back Nick Daniels, 11, takes a handoff from quarterback Owen Mock, 5, as Middlebury defenders Cooke Riney, 44, and Tucker Morter, 11, close in during their game in White River Junction, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Middlebury won 21-7. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Kole Fotion, of Hartford, right, knocks a pass away from Avery Carl, of Middlebury, during Hartford's homecoming game in White River Junction, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Middlebury won 21-7. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Kole Fotion, of Hartford, right, knocks a pass away from Avery Carl, of Middlebury, during Hartford's homecoming game in White River Junction, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Middlebury won 21-7. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

By ALEX CERVANTES

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 09-22-2024 7:01 PM

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Hartford football team appeared to have life.

Junior Noah Danieli pumped his arm from the sideline. As he trotted onto the field, he began leaping in sync with fellow junior Owen Mock, meeting at the 25-yard line for a celebratory dap. The Hurricanes faithful roared; the pep band’s instruments blared from the stands.

With 7 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in its eventual 21-7 defeat to Middlebury on Friday, Hartford was finally on the board.

“We were a little sloppy to come out that first half and they made some big plays,” said Matt Trombly, now in his 11th year as the Hurricanes’ head coach. “We had some breakdowns in the secondary, it allowed them to capitalize on that. We kind of got a little bit down on ourselves and took a little while to rebound. It was just a little too late.”

After trailing 14-0 at the start of the fourth quarter, senior Nick Daniels’ 29-yard rushing score showed an inkling that a late rally was perhaps in the works. A subsequent defensive stop on Middlebury’s next drive only added to the building anticipation from Hartford’s homecoming crowd.

But that energy, that momentum, evaporated when Daniels, who entered the game nursing a sprained ankle, fumbled the football at the Hurricanes’ 10-yard line. As the Tigers defense celebrated the turnover, Daniels stayed on the ground and grabbed his right ankle, eventually helped off the field by two teammates.

Middlebury needed only two plays to score the game’s final touchdown, a pitch to running back Logan McNulty, who scampered into the end zone untouched.

“We had trouble on the edge,” said Trombly, who started two new players at defensive end. “We had some change-ups that we were trying to do and they certainly capitalized.”

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Trombly repeated postgame that Middlebury simply “outplayed” his team. Consecutive victories in the previous two weeks — a 28-14 win against Burr & Burton in a rematch of the 2023 Division I title game and a 41-14 triumph over Brattleboro — showed Trombly that his team could effectively execute and move the ball downfield. 

That was not the case against the Tigers, a performance in which the Hurricanes “didn’t compete like we’ve shown we can,” according to Trombly. In-game exits from three of its captains — Daniels, Aiden Harrington and Colby Tierney, along with a pregame ankle injury to Rex Baning — only exacerbated the situation for Hartford. 

At the midpoint of the season, the Hurricanes (2-2) will travel to Bennington to face Mount Anthony (2-2) on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. 

“We just got to keep our nose to the grindstone and keep doing what we do,” Trombly said. “We’re certainly not going to make any big changes. We’re going to live with who we are and rely on our tradition and the way that we play football.”

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.