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Middlebury lands two-sport Big Blue ace Kinchley

Friday, January, 11 By Bill Kipouras
Staff writer

Swampscott's Peter Kinchley has led a diversified lifestyle growing up. He's best known as a student-athlete who won a Super Bowl, was a unanimous All-Scholastic football choice and excelled as a pitcher on the Big Blue baseball team as well.

Athletics didn't dominate Kinchley in the big picture, however. Throwing and running for touchdowns and firing strikes from the mound were only part of his talents. For sure, Middlebury College was impressed with Kinchley's all-around resume in granting the 18-year-old honor student early admission.

"I was on campus three times. They really welcomed me. I considered Bowdoin and was thinking of applying at Williams. I couldn't go wrong at any of the three. Middlebury did recruit me for two sports and I'll play both," Kinchley said. "That was a factor. That's why I delayed the deal. The bottom line was that I wanted the college where I could fill my academic potential."

Academics superseded athletics, said Kinchley, a 4.0 student who ranks 18th in the senior class.

Bowdoin also made a two-sport presentation, but Middlebury apparently made a more intensified recruiting push.

Colleges often consider an applicant's extracurricular activities. Kinchley has been a Marblehead Junior Race Week competitor, a sailing instructor, has played the piano for 11 years for personal enjoyment (occasionally at school and church events), has taken a course in cooking, been active in My Brother's Table, and among many other credits was his role in the Habitat for Humanity Building Trip in Honduras. He was also versatile on the football field. He didn't threaten the passing records of the legendary Kyle Beatrice. Big Blue coach Steve Dembowski doesn't think anyone will perform to Beatrice's super standards again, but said Kinchley is the best runner of the QB's who have operated his seven-year-old spread offense.

Kinchley, who is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, had a 51 completion percentage as a senior, passing for 1,886 yards, rushing for 499, passing for 19 TDs and running for eight more.

He was full-time on defense (safety, outside linebacker) for two years and 13-1 as a QB starter in his career.

If his shotgun experience doesn't suit Middlebury's needs, Kinchley could easily be a defensive regular, Dembowski said. A switch to strong safety or outside backer would pose no problem.

"Peter had the ball in his hands (rushing or passing) over 350 times and only had nine turnovers, seven interceptions and two fumbles. I'd say only three picks were his fault. He didn't make mistakes. That's the best thing he did for us | play smart. He maximized his athletic ability and has a great understanding for the game."

Since Kinchley was always a threat to run, the opposition had to defend it and it opened space for the running backs. In several games he was Swampscott's top rusher or ballcarrier. Dembowski said Kinchley played in the Super Bowl with a bruised shoulder from the semifinal round. "He's a better kid than he is an athlete," Dembowski said. He loves football and baseball equally.

"My positions are alike in the two sports," Kinchley said. "You're in control if you're the pitcher or quarterback. I definitely like the pressure. I've been accustomed to it." A three-time member of Lightning Baseball of New England, Kinchley was 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA and 26 Ks in 36 innings for the Big Blue baseball team last spring, then went 8-1 with a 1.58 ERA for the Swampscott Legion, ringing up 54 Ks in 53 innings. He pitched in the state Legion final with only three days rest.

"Middlebury stood out to me because it was a place where I could excel both academically and athletically, and be surrounded by some incredible people who will be eager to make the most of the next four years," Kinchley said.