Middlebury, Vt.- Junior tailback Bill Lazzaro (Manlius, N.Y.) ran for 64 yards and a touchdown to lead the Middlebury College Panthers to a 14-7 win over the visiting Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football action this afternoon at Youngman/Alumni Field. Trinity and Middlebury are both 3-3 for the season.

Trinity, which set school records for plays (112), pass attempts, and pass completions, outgained the Panthers, 4-3 to 206, and had 25 first downs to just 11 for Middlebury despite the loss. The Panthers took advantage of five Trinity turnovers, including two fourth quarter interceptions in the Panther end zone. Trinity junior quarterback Greg Ward (Avon, Conn.) completed 31 out of 76 passes, both College records, for 359 yards but found the end zone just once on a 38-yard pass to freshman wide out Bradley Soules (Simsbury, Conn.) in the second quarter. Middlebury went ahead by two touchdowns early on short touchdown runs by Lazzaro and sophomore fullback Matt Wolf (Weston, Mass.).

Less than :30 into the game, Middlebury recovered an incomplete Trinity screen pass behind the line of scrimmage that was ruled a fumble. Seven plays later, Lazzaro scampered in from three yards out and Middlebury led, 7-0, 1:58 into the game. Trinity returned the favor midway through the first period, as senior outside linebacker Matt Dorn (Braintree, Mass.) recovered a Panther fumble forced by sophomore inside linebacker Greg Tanner (Wellesley, Mass.). An incomplete pass on fourth down at the Middlebury 25-yard line ended the Bantam drive, but Trinity forced and fell on a second Panther fumble in the final minute of the first stanza. Trinity senior linebacker Tim Morrissey (Stratford, Conn.) knocked the ball loose from Middlebury senior quarterback Scott Roberts (Madison, Conn.) and Bantam junior nose tackle David Rooney (Spring Lake, N.J.) pounced on the ball to give Trinity possession at the Panther 25-yard line.

Four plays later on fourth down and four from the Middlebury 19-yard line, Ward found freshman wide receiver Patrick Straub (Washington, D.C.) for an apparent first down but the ball bounced off Straub and into the hands of Middlebury senior Mike Hacker (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) to end the Trinity drive.

Hacker set up Middlebury's second touchdown, recovering a muffed punt by Trinity freshman return man Drew Finkeldey (Ivoryton, Conn.) at the Bantam 36-yard line. Roberts connected with freshman receiver Michael Murray (Larchmont, N.Y.) on a 35-yard pass and Wolf ran the ball one yard into the end zone to give Middlebury a 14-0 lead with 8:07 left in the first half.

Trinity sophomore punter Joe Wahl (Riverside, R.I.), who also notched career-highs of 14 catches for 180 yards at wide receiver, pinned Middlebury down at its own five-yard line with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter. Middlebury's punt four plays later gave Trinity the ball at the Panther 38-yard line, setting up a first down pass from Ward to Soules down the left sideline and into the end zone to pull Trinity to within a touchdown at the half.

The Bantams threatened to tie the score early in the second half, after a 45-yard pass from Ward to Finkeldey, but the Panthers forced four incomplete passes from their own six-yard line. Midway into the third quarter, Trinity freshman defensive end Chris MacNamara (Dallas, Texas) dealt a crushing hit on Roberts jarring the ball loose to Trinity junior captain inside linebacker David Midura (North Easton, Mass.). Bantam junior Skip Sullivan (Milton, Mass.) sliced the ball wide right on a 26-yard field goal attempt, however, and the score remained the same.

After a Panther missed field goal, Trinity drove to the Middlebury five-yard line again, but two passes to junior running back Brian Fabrizio (Norwell, Mass.) each resulted in three yard losses, and Ward's fourth down pass into the end zone was dropped.

Trinity sophomore cornerback Andrew Whipple (Marblehead, Mass.) gave Trinity another chance, intercepting a pass at the Panther 30-yard line, and the Bantams drove to the Middlebury two-yard line on a later drive only to have Middlebury sophomore defensive end Tim Collard (Wellesley, Mass.) pick off a Ward pass in the end zone. The Bantams got the ball for a final time with 2;05 remaining in the game and advanced to the Panther 21-yard line but just could not find the end zone.

In addition to the impressive numbers for Ward and Wahl, Finkeldey caught four passes for 75 yards and sophomore running back Tom Pierandri (Ridgefield, Conn.) paced the Bantams with 44 rushing yards. Tanner led Trinity with 7.5 tackles, while Midura made seven hits. Roberts completed eight out of 20 passes for 114 yards and freshman running back Eric Shanley (Plymouth, Mass.) complemented Lazzaro with 64 rushing yards on 14 carries for Middlebury.