LEWISTON, Maine -- A game that promised to be tightly contested soon dissolved into a lopsided win for Middlebury College, as the visiting Panthers beat Bates College 41-7 Saturday at Garcelon Field for their first victory this season.

Sophomore Shawki White (Danville, Ill.) carried the ball 12 times for 52 yards late in the game.

Middlebury quarterback Tiger Lyon passed for 185 yards and three touchdowns, and Stefan Hrdina gained 100 yards with a touchdown on the ground to highlight the Panthers' day.



Middlebury took advantage of excellent field position on its second possession, as an 11-yard punt by Tyler Schmelz (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) set up the Panthers at the Bates 21. Lyon quickly found Ryan Armstrong over the middle for a touchdown pass.



There wasn't much in the way of highlights for the Bobcats, who evened the score at 7-7 in the first quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Colon (Manchester, N.H.) to wide receiver Dylan MacNamara (San Francisco), finishing off a 54-yard drive that was otherwise highlighted by Jamie Walker's 17-yard run. Walker (Needham, Mass.) rushed 25 times for 71 yards.

Middlebury answered with a pair of unanswered touchdowns. Hrdina's 18-yard touchdown run capped a 66-yard drive, and a 27-yard connection from Lyon to Armstrong (5 catches, 77 yards, 2 TDs) finished a 77-yard push by the Panthers that made it 20-7 before halftime.

Bates struggled to move the ball much the rest of the way, even inserting two other quarterbacks into the game in search of a spark -- Schmelz and sophomore Jason Godsell (Setauket, N.Y.).

Defensive back Adam Kayce (South Easton, Mass.), shown here listening to assistant coach Steve Vashel during a defensive huddle on the sidelines, had 10 tackles.

Colon finished with 10 completions on the day out of 24 pass attempts, for a net of 99 yards. He was intercepted twice by Middlebury junior safety Scott Secor, and Secor made the best of his touches with a 49-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter and a 28-yard return on Bates' subsequent possession.

Sophomore Shawki White (Danville, Ill.) had some success late in the game as a substitute at running back. White carried the ball 12 times for 52 yards.

 Senior Dave Bodger (Lewiston, Maine) made 14 tackles to lead the Bates defense. Junior defensive back Adam Kayce (South Easton, Mass.) added 10 tackles, while sophomore linebacker Anthony Begon (Lynn, Mass.) and junior defensive end Terence Ryan (Milton, Mass.) made 1.5 sacks apiece.

Bates will play at Colby College (4-1) next Saturday.