AIC clinched 1st in the ECRC conference with an impressive 45-20 victory over Middlebury Saturday, finishing a 6-0 campaign.

In a game where Middlebury had a shot at taking 1st, the teams were in a tight contest in the first half, with the teams changing ends 17-10 AIC.

It was 20-13 early in the second half before AIC started to pull away.

For prop and co-captain Skyler Adams, the victory was the culmination of a long development for the team as a whole. They aren’t just a collection of athletes, he said, but a team.

“We are a close-knit bunch of guys,” he said. “We live together and eat and train together, and a lot of us take classes together. It’s a very positive environment, and one where we support each other. Everyone’s going to make mistakes, and that’s OK, mistakes happen. We just have to help each other.”

“We have a lot of respect for each other and the cohesiveness we have as a group shows on the field,” added scrumhalf and co-captain Kurtis Werner.

Paced by tries from Jihad Khabir, Seth Halliman, and and Gavan D’Amore-Morrison in the first half, and tries from Khabir, D’Amore-MorrisonMatthew Jones, and Adrian Ray in the second half, AIC won comfortably, eventually. Bryce Neff kicked ten points.

Adams said the knowledge that they were likely to clinch the league helped the team play better.

“Even early on we didn’t feel too stressed,” said Adams. “We’ve gotten to the point where we’re not having to worry about what the other guy is doing. We relaxed and were able to put something extra into our play.”

What this fall has done is vault AIC into serious discussion as one of the elite programs in the country. But to stay in that conversation, they have to beat teams outside of their conference. Lightning cancelled a September game against Army which would have gone a long way to telling us where the Yellowjackets are. Now, instead, they look ahead to playing Kutztown in a non-conference game November 8. After that is a bowl game Nov. 22 in Charlotte.

“We like to branch out,” said Adams.

“We’re just thinking about Kutztown,” added Werner. “They are a very good side and we expect it to be a tough test, But we’re always looking to push ourselves.”

Head Coach Josh Macy expects no less. "

The guys have done a great job playing for each other this year. They come from all walks of life, but they truly care about one another and want to perform for the program. We had a lot of parents in town this weekend and it was great to hear them come up and compliment the guys one by one on the family that they have created. That in itself can win you games, and it made this a sweet victory."