SOUTH BURLINGTON – In 1995 as a high school senior, Middlebury's Jed Malcolm forced a game-changing fumble when Hartford faked a punt in its own territory late in regulation. One play later, Middlebury scored to flip a deficit, claim an improbable championship and secure a perfect season.

Fast-forward 30 years and déjà vu washed over Malcolm, now Middlebury's head coach, in the final minutes of the 2025 Division I football title game : His Tigers clung to a six-point lead but stared at fourth-and-1 from their own 45-yard line with 1 minute, 7 seconds to play. After a timeout, Malcolm squashed the punt call and decided to go for it.

"I had this flashback, 'Am I making the same mistake Hartford did in (1995) and I’m about to lose 14-13?'" Malcolm said.

History didn't repeat itself. Ma

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