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All in on the third hand: Week 3 Game of the Week

Week 3 Game of the Week—Trinity @ Williams: The Season Starts Now

Overview:

With all respect due towards Tufts, Wesleyan, and Middlebury, this is the first game of the season with true championship implications. While it isn’t necessarily an elimination game, it is going to be really hard to imagine the loser of this game winning its final 6 games to stay in the championship hunt. It’s safe to say this is a must win game if either side hopes to get fitted for rings when November rolls around. On paper, this should be a great game. Both teams come in at 2-0, comfortably handling both of their first two opponents. So far, they have both boasted a stellar run game and showed the potencies of their passing game while still leaving more to be desired. These two teams played each other close in a 17-9 Trinity win in Hartford, but now that we return to Williamstown, this contest should be even closer.

Key for Williams: Passing Game

8-18 for 110 yards and 0 Touchdowns. That was Bobby Maimaron’s line on Saturday vs. Colby. Definitely not what you’d expect from the reigning Rookie of the Year and top 3 quarterback in the league against any team in the league, let alone Colby. The numbers don’t tell the story for a few reasons. First, there were far too many drops from Williams’ normally sure-handed receiving corps, and it was pretty clear that the game plan was to pound the rock on the ground the whole game, which didn’t give Maimaron many chances to be aggressive in the air. Lastly, and most importantly, was the absence of Frank Stola, their star sophomore WR who was out with a concussion. They looked totally different with their top weapon out. The dynamism and versatility that has quickly become a staple of Coach Raymond’s offense was completely missing. All signs point to Stola returning for Saturday, but they’re going to need him at 100% if they want to be able to put up points in this game. Some people would point to the overwhelming success the combination of Maimaron and RB TJ Dozier ’21 have had running the ball through two games as a reason not to feel the need to rely on the passing game too heavily, but the running game is an unknown commodity until proven otherwise. There’s running the ball against Bowdoin and Colby, and there’s running the ball against Trinity. The passing game needs to show up.

Key for Trinity: Linebacker Play

As I just mentioned, Williams loves to spread everything out and challenge opposing defenses to cover them all over the field. They’ll run the ball with 5 different people, including jet sweeps to their tight end. They’ll hurry to the line and march down the field in 5 plays, or they’ll run 8 read options in a row. It’s scary to think that their offense is so young, but they’re able to run pretty much all of the plays they want to run with this personnel, a far cry from when Trinity last played in Williamstown. The Bantam linebackers are going to be asked to do a lot of different things. They’re going to need to cover short, shifty slot receivers and backs out of the backfield, as well as deal with a dual-threat QB. Now obviously, their defense is coming into this game feeling pretty good, as they have allowed a whopping 0 (zero) points in their first two games, but just like Williams’ run game, they’ll have a chance to prove how good they really are against their first real competition on Saturday. I don’t doubt that they will. Between Negron ’20, Picon-Roura ’19, and Martillotti ’19, they have plenty of talent, and—needless to say—the track record to prove it.

Williams X-Factor: LB/DE Austin Thomas ‘19

With the way Trinity has looked on offense to this point, there were a lot of directions to go here, but I’m going to go with the safe pick of the guy who has the potential to cause the most problems for opposing offenses. Thomas isn’t the best linebacker on this defense, nor is he the best defensive end, but his ability to line up as both has brought him and his team a lot of success. Though it’s only been two games, he actually leads the team in sacks with 1.5, and his 7 tackles aren’t bad for someone at his position who hasn’t played much in the second half of these blowouts. If Thomas can get to Trinity QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 a few times and assist in the mighty task of containing RB Max Chipouras ’19, it’ll make life a lot easier for the rest of the defense, because they’re going to have their hands full.

Trinity X-Factor: QB Jordan Vazzano ‘21

No reason to get cute here, this is a huge game for Vazzano. The heir to Sonny Puzzo’s throne announced his presence to the rest of the league with a 20-36, 353 yard, and 5 touchdown performance against Bates. But the week before he was just 9-26 against Colby, and 97 of his 210 passing yards came on one pass to WR Jonathan Girard ’21. We don’t really have enough of a sample size to make any bold statements about him, but it’s clear that Vazzano has the ability to put up big numbers. If worse comes to worst and he’s not ready to play with the big boys yet, they can hand it off to Chipouras 35 times and take their chances, which isn’t too bad of a strategy against most teams in the league. But against this Williams run defense, it would be huge if they could get the Jordan Vazzano that showed up against Bates.

Everything Else:

It really is close to impossible to predict this game. Both teams have played two opponents who just aren’t in their stratosphere when it comes to talent and ability, so trying to go off of either of those games for this preview seems kind of pointless. Trinity ran up some bigger numbers than Williams but that really speaks more to their depth than anything else, neither team’s first-string defense has allowed a point yet. It would be natural to side with the back-to-back champs for the sake of caution, but it isn’t that easy. This is the biggest game in Williamstown in a while, the first time in several years that they are legitimately playing a game with championship implications. I’m not going to lie and say that Farley-Lamb Field is the hardest place to play, but you would definitely feel better for the Bants if this game was in Hartford. This game is going to be really close and it’s might be as simple as who gets the ball last. I don’t feel great about it, but I know what to expect from a Trinity team in a game of this magnitude, and I think I trust their weapons on offense a little more than Williams’. The Bantam train rolls on.

Final Score: Trinity 27, Williams 20

Figuring Things Out: Week 2 Power Rankings

There wasn’t a ton of change from Week 1 to Week 2, but there were some noteworthy events this week. Wesleyan and Tufts put on a defensive clinic with the Jumbos coming out ahead, Bowdoin gave Middlebury a scare, and Trinity, Williams, and Amherst looked as good as anyone. It’s still a bit early to easily sort out the teams at the very top and very bottom, but there are certainly some trends starting to appear. Next to each team’s ranking you’ll see their ranking from last week in parentheses to get a better sense of what changed over the weekend:

(1) 1. Trinity (2-0)

I gave Jordan Vazzano ’21 a hard time last week for not absolutely shredding a Colby defense that is one of the weakest in the league. Well he made up for that and more, taking home NESCAC offensive player of the week honors in the process. The redshirt sophomore went 20-36 for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns, adding a sixth on the ground. This is exactly what the Bantams were looking for especially since the Bobcats did a solid job limiting Max Chipouras ’19 to just 86 yards on 23 carries. Wide receivers Jonathan Girard ’21 and Koby Schofer ’20 were absolutely lethal, combining for 347 yards and 5 touchdowns and accounting for 18 of the team’s 22 receptions. The defense was also superb, only allowing 3 points until the final 5 minutes of the game when the Bates offense finally found the end zone (the other TD was a pick 6 in the first half). Trinity is putting it together just in time for their visit to Williamstown to take on the surging Ephs.

(3) 2. Tufts (2-0)

The Jumbos were rocking some pretty sweet baby blue uniforms against Wesleyan the other night, and QB Ryan McDonald ’19 took full advantage

Tufts proved me wrong in Week 2, as I didn’t think they had the defensive strength or offensive versatility to take down a team as strong as Wesleyan. I know, it’s a bold move to put them ahead of both Williams and Amherst, but they have now had two very impressive wins. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 showed that he is more versatile than we may have thought, connecting with 7 different receivers and only rushing for 23 yards after a run-heavy game last week. What impressed me the most, however, was their defense. Wesleyan was coming off a 52-point outburst against Middlebury, looking nearly unstoppable. The Jumbos were able to keep QB Mark Piccirillo in check, holding him to 189 yards in the air and no touchdowns. Wesleyan dominated time of possession, as they had the ball for nearly 37 minutes of game time. Tufts’ defense refused to quit, and I’m very impressed by them. They’ll host Bates this weekend in a game that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem as they look to move to 3-0.

(4) 3. Williams (2-0)

The Ephs continue to look good as they trounced Colby 36-14. QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 rushed for 4 TD’s, while RB TJ Dozier added 160 yards on 19 attempts and a TD of his own. There wasn’t much of a passing attack, granted they didn’t really need one, but if I were an opposing team I’d force Maimaron to throw the ball since he hasn’t eclipsed 146 passing yards yet this season. Safety Luke Apuzzi ’20 has emerged as the top player in the secondary, leading the team with 2 pass break ups and an interception. LB TJ Rothmann ’21 continues to be on a tear, recording 6 more tackles against Colby and leading the team with 14 on the season. After getting a few of the weaker teams out of the way, Williams will play host to Trinity on Saturday in a game that very well could have championship ramifications.

(5) 4. Amherst (2-0)

It took the Mammoths a little time to warm up but they eventually took it to Hamilton, winning by a score of 37-14. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 doesn’t fill up the stat sheet, but with the help of stud tailback Jack Hickey ’19, they find ways to win. Hickey is currently 4^thin the NESCAC in rushing, and he does most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Linebacker Andrew Yamin ’19 continues his dominance on the defensive side, leading the league with 4 tackles for losses, also adding a sack and 9 total tackles. Amherst isn’t the flashiest team, but they’re able control the game with solid quarterback play and a very imposing defense. They’ve started the season with most of the bottom tier of the league and will continue that trend this weekend against Bowdoin in Brunswick. Look for the Mammoths to get to 3-0.

(2) 5. Wesleyan (1-1)

Oh, Wesleyan. They had it. The Cardinals controlled the ball the entire game and had 107 more yards of total offense than the Jumbos. The Tufts defense bent about as far as they could without breaking, and Wesleyan simply couldn’t capitalize. Losing by 3 isn’t ideal, but it feels much worse when you miss two field goal attempts late in the game, one of them from just 27 yards. On paper, the Cardinals outplayed the Jumbos, but a few key plays didn’t go their way and here they are at 1-1. The Wesleyan defense actually did a terrific job, led by LB Will Kearney ’20 who snagged an interception to go along with a pass break up and a team-high 8 tackles. The offense will go back to the drawing board this week in preparation for their matchup with a struggling Hamilton team.

(6) 6. Middlebury (1-1)

Peter Scibilia ’21 rushed for a career-high 184 yards against the Polar Bears

Middlebury put themselves in a dangerous position this past weekend. Trailing by a point at the end of the third quarter against Bowdoin, they benched starting QB Jack Meservy ’19 after his 3^rdinterception of the game. Fortunately, backup Will Jernigan ’21 led two touchdown drives to put the Panthers ahead for good and avoid the upset. Midd has really struggled throwing the ball this year, but they were saved on Saturday by their two-headed rushing attack of Drew Jacobs ’19 and Peter Scibilia ’21 who combined for 289 yards on 44 carries. Despite the terrific play of sophomore Jonathan Hobart ’21 who took home defensive player of the week honors, the Panther defense continued to look very vulnerable. They have a lot to figure out right now, so a matchup with the league’s worst team this weekend is an opportunity for them to start fresh.

(9) 7. Bowdoin (0-2)

Middlebury is struggling, but Bowdoin looked immensely better in Week 2 than in Week 1. You can’t talk about this game without talking about the performance of RB Nate Richam ’20. He absolutely decimated the Panther run defense, rushing 30 times for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns, setting a school record for single-game rushing yards. The passing game definitely improved, with QB Austin McCrum ’20 completing 20 of 39 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown, albeit with 3 interceptions. He spread the ball around to 8 different receivers, and connected with Greg Olson ’21 6 times for 58 yards and a touchdown. LB Joe Gowetski ’20 continued to lead the defensive unit, recording 12 tackles including 3 for losses. Although they lost, this was exactly the type of building week that the Polar Bears were looking for. They’re clearly getting better and they’ll look to continue this trend when they host Amherst this weekend.

(7) 8. Bates (0-2)

The Bobcats dropped to 0-2 following a 59-16 loss to Trinity. It’s tough to start the season against 2 of the league’s best defenses (Trinity and Amherst) but the Bates offense really needs to get going. They’re currently 2^ndto last in the conference in rushing yards and dead last in passing yards. In fact, they only have 12 first downs on the season, which is exactly half of the next fewest (Hamilton, 24). The Bobcats aren’t turning the ball over at an alarmingly high rate; they just can’t move the chains. Nothing seems to be working and although I’d like to chalk it up to tough opponents, clearly something has to change. The defense hasn’t been terrible by their standards, so the real focus has to be on the offense. That’ll be tough given that they’ll face one of the hottest defenses in the conference at Tufts this weekend.

(8) 9. Hamilton (0-2)

The Continentals need more from QB Kenny Gray ’20

I have to admit, Hamilton is making me regret almost everything I said in my team preview for them this season. With all the pieces they returned from last season and after they had some mild success, I thought they would have a chance to contend with some of the top teams. Oh, how wrong I was. The Continentals looked awful in their season opener against Tufts, and only looked a tiny bit better against Amherst in Week 2. QB Kenny Gray ’20 was 22-37 for 197 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while WR Joe Schmidt ’20 hauled in 7 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. These aren’t bad numbers, but two main things stick out: their defense has really struggled and their ground game has been nonexistent. And by nonexistent I mean they have 7 rushing yards as a team on the season. I’m not joking. Two full games into the season they have compiled a total of 7 yards on the ground. That’s abysmal. They’ll head to Middletown this weekend to take on a Wesleyan team also coming off a loss, so hopefully they can start moving in the right direction.

(10) 10. Colby (0-2)

Talking about all the struggles that Colby has isn’t a lot of fun every week, so I’ll try to focus on the positives this time. The Mules finally benched struggling QB Jack O’Brien ’20 in favor of freshman Matt Hersch ’22 with 5:34 remaining in the first half against Williams. Hersch orchestrated 2 touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, and finished the game 14-18 for 119 yards, finding 7 different receivers. The defense definitely could be worse and LB Marcus Bullard ’21 has had a fine start to his sophomore season as he sits at 6^thin the conference with 15 tackles through two games. Middlebury comes to town on Saturday after struggling to beat Bowdoin in Week 2, so this is an opportunity for the Mules to compete and continue to get better as they get closer to the weaker portion of their schedule.

Looking a Little Lopsided: Week 3 Weekend Preview

Middlebury (1-1) @ Colby (0-2)

The Panthers have some serious problems right now: first and foremost, the run defense was abysmal in their 37-24 win against Bowdoin. The Polar Bears averaged a mere 98 rushing yards per game last season, but were able to compile a whopping 289 yards on the ground against a porous Middlebury defense. Not to be overlooked, quarterback Jack Meservy ’19 was benched late in the third quarter after throwing his third interception. On came Will Jernigan ‘21, who relied heavily on running backs Peter Scibilia ’21 and Drew Jacobs ’19 to orchestrate two scoring drives and secure the victory. Clearly there is a quarterback controversy brewing in Middlebury, and it will be interesting to see how snaps are split (if at all) this Saturday in Waterville.

QB Matt Hersch ’22 could be the future of the program for the Mules

Luckily for Middlebury, Colby is the perfect team to play against in this situation and correct such problems. The Mules also seem to have a quarterback question, as Jack O’Brien ’20 was yanked for youngster Matt Hersch ‘22; the former struggled mightily, going 1-8 for a paltry three yards. Hersch was quite impressive in his first extensive action as a member of the Mules, finishing 14-18 for 119 yards. Colby’s pass defense has far exceeded expectations through the first two games of the season: opposing quarterbacks are completing less than 40% of their pass attempts (18-46). The problem lies in the run defense, as the Mules are giving up over 300 yds/game on the ground.

What’s going to happen: To start things off, I’m going to say both teams stay true to their mid-game quarterback changes; Meservy has yet to show the capability to limit mistakes (he leads the NESCAC with six interceptions) and O’Brien was unable to lead the Mule offense to a single scoring drive in his first two games. I’m interested to see if both backups can capitalize on their respective starter’s ineffectiveness, and this game presents the perfect opportunity for both Middlebury and Colby to see if there are better options at the quarterback position. For the Panthers, Jernigan and the run-heavy approach he brings is a better suited game plan to attack the Mule run defense (or lack thereof). On the opposite end, starting Hersch forces the Panthers to respect the pass and could potentially open more running lanes for Colby workhorse Jake Schwern ’19. The Mules have every right to believe they can win this game, but the Panthers are too talented and will ultimately pull away in the second half.

Prediction: Middlebury 30 – Colby 13

Amherst (2-0) @ Bowdoin (0-2)

After another slow first half, the Amherst offense exploded for 23 points in 17 minutes as they cruised past the Continentals 37-14. Quarterback Ollie Eberth ‘20 remains the key piece for this team, as he accounted for 225 all-purpose yards and three scores. The Amherst defense is off to a great start, allowing a mere 39 rushing yds/game. Versatile pass-rusher Andrew Yamin ’19 has been a nightmare to block, totaling four tackles for loss through the first two games.

The Polar Bears were oh so close to pulling off the upset against Middlebury last week, ultimately falling 37-24. The Polar Bears actually led 24-23 late in the third quarter, but failed to score in the final 15 minutes and the defense could not contain the run. Nate Richam ’20 set a new school-record for most rushing yards in a single contest with 289, adding two scores in the process. Division 1 transfer Austin McCrum struggled again, barely completing 50% of his pass attempts and throwing three interceptions. In order for Bowdoin to have any shot this Saturday, McCrum has to be more effective.

What’s going to happen: Bowdoin turned some heads last weekend with the emergence Richam, but this week feels like it could be all Mammoths. Amherst will most certainly stack the box in an attempt to limit Richam’s success while forcing McCrum to out gun their secondary. Can McCrum shake off his slow start? My guess is no, especially against a stingy defensive unit that’s anxious to prove they belong in the conversation for the league’s best. Bowdoin also comes in to this contest allowing a league-worst 324.5 rushing yds/game, and the Mammoths churn out 267 rushing yds/game….something tells me Amherst will establish the run early and often. Eberth will get his fair share of yards, running back Jack Hickey ’19 will find the end zone a couple of times, and the Mammoths will gash the Polar Bear D.

Prediction: Amherst 37 – Bowdoin 16

Hamilton (0-2) @ Wesleyan (1-1)

The Continentals aren’t the only team in the ‘CAC who have had trouble stopping the run; in their 37-14 defeat at the hands of Amherst, Hamilton allowed over 300 yards on the ground. A larger problem might be their inability to run the ball. Hamilton has run the ball 42 times…..for 7 yards. For you math wizards, that’s 3.5 yards A GAME. I’m not a defensive genius by any means, but it’s fairly easy to see opposing defenses are not respecting the Continental rushing unit or their offensive line. Quarterback Kenny Grey ’20 bounced back from an abysmal performance against Tufts, but he desperately needs some help from his ground unit this week. Otherwise, this is going to be a blow out.

No disrespect to the Jumbos (who played their hearts out), but Wesleyan beat themselves last Saturday. In addition to essentially giving the Jumbos seven points on a fumble during a kickoff, some of the Cardinals’ miscues included: giving up a 3rd and 16 conversion (led to a touchdown), a failed 4th and 1 conversion inside the Jumbo 10 yd line, and two missed field goals (one of them from the 27 yards). Mark Piccirillo ’19 accounted for 267 of Wesleyan’s 334 total yards, but failed to register a single touchdown. The Cardinal defense has been superb in their first two NESCAC games and when disregarding the touchdown Tufts scored when they started at Wesleyan’s own 11 yard line, they gave up a mere nine points. They’re tied for first in the NESCAC with four interceptions, and the secondary will be licking their chops this weekend, hoping to tally a few more.

What’s going to happen: Hamilton has clearly been a disappointment through the early portion of the season, and I don’t see it getting any better this weekend. The Continentals simply can’t run the ball and Gray can only do so much through the air when the defense is only worried about stopping the aerial attack. The Cardinals know they must win out to have any chance at claiming a NESCAC Championship, and I expect Piccirillo to take the bull by the horns with a monster performance. Wesleyan will come out firing early and keep their foot on the gas in an absolute blowout.

Prediction: Wesleyan 41 – Hamilton 10

Bates (0-2) @ Tufts (2-0)

After a phenomenal effort against Amherst, Bates fell apart against the Bantams. Despite a stagnant offense, the Bobcat defense kept them in the game with 4:30 left in the second quarter after Anthony Costa’s ‘21 pick six. The Bantams then scored 14 points to close out the half, and two fumbles early in the 3rd quarter all but confirmed the loss. The 59 points is an extremely ugly number, but I’d argue it’s predominantly on the offense: Bates is averaging a horrific 126 ypg, and is second-to-last in time of possession. Hard-hitting safety John Lindgren ’20 and the rest of the defense need the offensive unit to produce more sus

The Bobcats need more out of their offense if they’re going to stay in games

tained drives; against Trinity, the Bobcats had seven three-and-outs along with two fumbles within the first three plays of a drive. The air-raid offense is going to take some time to become effective, but the ‘Cats need to manufacture more first downs in order to (at the very least) give their defensive unit a much needed breather.

On the flip side, the Tufts defense stymied Wesleyan’s potent attack en route to a 16-13 victory. They didn’t force any takeaways (special teams caused the only fumble) but they had seven TFL and came up with a monumental 4th down stop in their own red zone. Quarterback Ryan McDonald ’19 did just enough against a tough Cardinal defense, throwing for 172 yards and two scores. It should be easier to move the ball against the Bobcats, but Tufts will look to establish some sort of run game; after racking up 207 yards on the ground vs. Hamilton, the Jumbos came up with just 55 yards against the Cardinals.

What’s going to happen: With last week’s performance, Tufts has squarely positioned themselves as a championship-caliber team. They cannot afford a letdown against the Bobcats, who will be hungry to prove they’re better than last week’s beatdown indicated. I’ll predict a defensive stalwart for most of the first half, but Tufts will finally wear down the Bates defense as the second half progresses. The Bobcats will have a hard time moving the ball against Tuft’s stout D, and McDonald will lead the Jumbos to a 3-0 start.

Prediction: Tufts 27 – Bates 13

It’s starting to get interesting; Week 2 stock report

Stock Report

Stock Up:

Bowdoin’s Ground Game: Despite their 0-2 record, things are looking up for the Polar Bears. After putting up a measly 6 points on 108 total yards of rushing against Williams week 1, the Bowdoin showed great improvement against Midd. They were able to put up 289 yards of rushing in week two, accounting for 2 of their 3 touchdowns. When I say they put up 289 yards I mean that Nate Richam put up 288 yards and the rest of their team averaged negative yardage. This feat earned Richam NESCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors and may have begun to propel a formerly stagnant Polar Bear offense. After an absolute blowout week 1 Richam nearly single-handedly kept his team in the game week 2 and was nearly able to pull off the road upset against Midd. This kid is legit and I would not be surprised if he is able to help Bowdoin pull off an upset against one of the higher-tier teams later this season.

Ryan McDonald’s Patrick Mahomes interpretation: The Jumbos were easily able to keep Hamilton at bay last week, but QB Ryan McDonald seemed to be somewhat of a non-factor. Some may have been concerned coming into week 2 that he didn’t have what it takes to compete against a talented Wesleyan defense and that Tufts wouldn’t be able to figure out how to put points up on the board. All of those doubts were silenced Saturday night as McDonald was able to effectively spread the ball around to 7 different receivers, resulting in the 2 touchdowns that won the game for the Jumbos. Similarly to last years matchup, Tufts vs Wesleyan was a nail biter and McDonald proved that he has the guts to grind out a touch win against a tough NESCAC opponent.

The Jumbos are hot with McDonald under center right now.

Middlebury’s Linebackers: After allowing Wesleyan to move the ball up and down the field against them in week 1, Midd’s D showed up in week 2. Jonathan Hobart, Jourdon Delerme-Brown and Charles Roselle were all able to pick off Bowdoin’s former D1 quarterback Austin McCrum in week 2. These 3 turnovers proved to be crucial in Midd’s one-score victory over the Polar bears. While McCrum was able to throw for over 200 yards, it was due to volume passing as he recorded 39 attempts and was only able to connect on 20 of them, none for longer than 22 yards. This game should give the Panther defense lots of confidence when they come to Waterville to face a Colby team that has been struggling in the air to say the least. While their ground defense could certainly use some improvement, it looks as if Midd has the ability to compete against many of the elite quarterbacks in the CAC.

Stock Down:

Bates’ Defense: The Bobcats looked like a team that could sneak their way into the top half of the NESCAC after holding a solid Amherst team to only 19 points in week 1. Week 2 is a completely different story as they allowed Trinity to march up and down the field with no problem in their 59-16 loss. Bates’ pass defense looked formidable against Amherst, holding QB Ollie Eberth to only 112 passing yards and no touchdowns in the air. Trinity QB Jordan Vazzano on the other hand was able to pick apart the Bates defense with his eyes closed, passing for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns, a ridiculous stat line. If that wasn’t enough, running backs Sloane Lockwood and Max Chipouras combined with Vazzano for 217 more yards on the ground and 3 more touchdowns. Allowing nearly 60 points can be extremely disheartening for any defense and may well cause your defensive coordinator to retire at halftime. Bates will have to improve on almost every facet of their game in order to compete against Tufts next week, who have throw their hat into the running for NESCAC champion after downing a dangerous Wesleyan team in week 2.

Penney and the Cardinals need to step it up after an upset loss to the Jumbos.

Wesleyan’s Goal-line Back, Sean Penney: Penney was Wesleyan’s go-to guy inside the 10 yard line against Middlebury in week 1. He was able to convert 3 touchdowns in just 10 attempts, blowing through the Panther defense when he was called up. In week 2, Tuft’s defense seemed to have his number allowing him only 15 yards on 8 attempts, 0 of which reached the end zone. When the Cardinals needed it most week 2, Penney just wasn’t there to provide the momentum that he did in week one. It looks like it’s time to review the game tape and figure out what exactly he did in week 1 to make him so effective and why he wasn’t against Tufts. As for next week, Wesleyan faces an 0-1 Hamilton team, which may be a perfect opportunity for Penny to work on his craft in an almost surefire win for the Cardinals.

Hamilton QB Kenny Gray: Week 2 was a huge improvement for Hamilton’s Junior QB Kenny Gray. After Hamilton’s offense was unable to record a point against Tufts (their 2 points came on a safety), Gray was able to step it up week 2 and record 2 touchdowns, one in the air and one on the ground. One of Gray’s major issues week 1 was his accuracy. Tufts was able to pick him off 3 times and he was only able to convert of 18 of the 42 chances he took. Week 2 we saw a much improved Gray, completing 59.5% of his passes and limiting a talented Amherst defense to 1 interception. It already seems fairly clear that Hamilton doesn’t have too much of a chance to compete this year, but Gray is trending in the right direction. Perhaps if Gray continues to improve he will be able to lead the Continentals to a respectable record next year in his senior campaign.

The Night Game: Wesleyan vs. Tufts Game of the Week Preview

6:00 PM, Saturday September 22nd @ Medford, MA

Overview

These two teams had (in my opinion) the most impressive Week 1 victories. Tufts defeated Hamilton by a score of 29-2 and Wesleyan routed Middlebury 52-14. These decisive victories show us that each team has turned the page from 2017 and are vying for a title in the 2018 season. This matchup certainly has championship ramifications, as the league is wide open, waiting for someone to prove why they belong at the top. The annual Tufts vs. Wesleyan night game promises to be the most exciting game so far in this young season especially after the opening week had essentially no entertainment whatsoever. Fortunately for the fans, the Cardinals and Jumbos have had some classics in recent history with Wesleyan winning last season in overtime and Tufts winning by just 3 points the prior year.

Dario Highsmith ’20 has become one of Wesleyan’s top receiving threats since he converted from running back this season

Key for Tufts: Passing game

The Jumbos did a fantastic job establishing the run game in their opener at Hamilton. Lead RB Mike Pedrini ’21 rushed 9 times for 68 yards, while QB Ryan McDonald ’19 rushed 15 times for 98 yards and 4 TDs. These are impressive numbers, but it’ll take a more multi-faceted offense to beat a defense as strong as Wesleyan. The Tufts receiving corps will be facing a much tougher challenge when they go up against elite defensive players like Ben Thaw ’20 and Brandon Morris ’19. Frank Roche ’19 and OJ Armstrong ’21 were the only wideouts that caught multiple passes against the Continentals, and this will have to change. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 has to use his arm more because the Cardinals are much more able to keep him in the pocket and prevent him from breaking off big runs like he did last week. If the Tufts receivers can create separation and open up the passing game, it’ll allow for them to rely more on the run game that they loved so much in Week 1. We know that Ryan McDonald ’19 is capable of throwing the ball, but he’ll have to prove that he can do it against one of the league’s top secondaries.

Key for Wesleyan: Minimizing turnovers

Although they won last year’s matchup, Wesleyan wasn’t particularly careful with the ball. Piccirillo threw an interception and fumbled three times, losing two. There’s no question that the Cardinals are the more disciplined team in this one, so it’ll come down to ball security if they’re going to prevent Tufts from creeping into the game. The Cardinals turned the ball over 13 times last year, but 7 of those turnovers were in their 3 losses. Piccirillo is an excellent facilitator, but has a bad habit of turning the ball over when he’s pressure. In their first game versus Middlebury, Wesleyan didn’t turn the ball over once, controlling the time of possession. The offensive line did a terrific job and didn’t allow a single sack, giving Piccirillo all the time he needed to find open receivers. If they can hold on to the ball, their talent and game planning will be too much for the Jumbos.

Tufts X-Factor: WR Frank Roche ’19

If Tufts is going to establish the passing game, they’ll need their top pass catchers to break free. No receiver had a particularly big game in Week 1 as a result of QB Ryan McDonald ’19 doing it all himself, but this week that won’t be the case. Roche finished 2^ndon the team in receptions last season despite playing only 7 games, and he was the top receiver against Hamilton with 4 catches for 42 yards. Other guys will need to step up too, but every quarterback needs a top target and Roche is going to be that target against a very tough Wesleyan defense.

Wesleyan X-Factor: LB Brandon Morris ’19

The 2017 team leader in tackles started off his senior campaign with a fine effort against Middlebury. He recorded 5 tackles and led the team with 3 pass break ups. Morris is as athletic as they come at the linebacker position, and he’ll have a lot on his plate against Tufts. He does an excellent job in coverage as he possesses the quickness to stay with some faster receivers and his outstanding instincts always keep him in position to find the ball. Against a mobile quarterback like McDonald, Morris will have to make sure he stays in the pocket since they know he loves to run. If he can help keep McDonald in check, Wesleyan should have no problem winning this one.

Everything Else

Ryan McDonald loves to run, but he’ll get himself into trouble if he tries to do too much against Wesleyan

Wesleyan is definitely the favorite here, with a slight edge in most categories. I think the Cardinals have a deeper offense with more threats, and a much more imposing defense. Piccirillo has my vote for best quarterback in the league, and Dan DiCenzo is one of the most impressive coaches. With all of this said, Tufts still absolutely has a chance in this one. Their defense was suffocating against Hamilton last week and already looks better than it did last season. Ryan McDonald is a total enigma and it’s very difficult to know what to expect from him. We could see 350 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. We could see 150 passing yards and 2 interceptions. We could see 110 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. We could see 2 fumbles and no running game. What we do know is that he will do all that Wesleyan’s defense will allow him to do, and that will make or break this game. To me, Wesleyan is the known and Tufts is the unknown. The Cardinals have my pick, but I’m very excited to see what we’re going to get out of the Jumbos tomorrow.

Prediction: Wesleyan 31, Tufts 23

Anyone Besides Williams?: NESCAC Women’s Soccer Power Rankings

NESCAC Women’s Soccer Power Rankings

Sydney Jones ‘21 torching Trinity defenders

Williams: 5-0 (3-0)

The Ephs not only sit atop our inaugural NESCAC Women’s Soccer Power Rankings, but also claim the #1 ranking in the entire country. Even with the graduation of three First Team All-NESCAC honorees, Williams returns the bulk of their roster with expectations to repeat as national champions. Last year’s leading goal scorer Alison Lu ’20 has yet to play this season (due to an injury?), but forward Sydney Jones ’21 has single-handily carried the offense in her absence, accounting for more than half of the team’s goals. Despite the perfect start, however, the Ephs have had close encounters in some of their earlier conference games; for example, a 1-0 home victory over lowly Colby is a pretty disappointing result considering the talent discrepancy between the two schools. While Williams may not be necessarily dominating its opponents, this is the most talented team in the ‘CAC and certainly the favorite to repeat as NESCAC/NCAA Champions.

Up Next: The Ephs begin a four-game road trip this Saturday, starting in Amherst to take on the Mammoths in what should present a nice challenge for Williams. The following day, they travel north to face weaker opponent in Bates; however, the Bobcats were able to escape Williamstown with a draw last year, so the Ephs cannot afford to take them lightly.

Middlebury: 5-0 (2-0)

The Panthers kicked off their 2018 NESCAC campaign in impressive fashion, shutting out Conn College on the road before heading home and snagging a hard-fought 3-1 win against Amherst. In my book, that’s two wins against teams that will finish in the top half of the standings when it’s all said and done. Middlebury features a balanced offense attack, headlined by Leah Salzman ’21 and Sabrina Glaser ’20. Glaser was particularly affective against the Mammoths, finding the net twice after the Mammoths took a 1-0 lead early in the first half. Goalkeeper Ursula Alwang ’20 has been phenomenal in their two conference games, saving 19/20 shots on goal.

Up Next: Middlebury has a home date with Bowdoin on Saturday, followed by a short road trip to Hamilton on Sunday. A sweep of their weekend matches would bode extremely well in hopes of keeping pace with Williams, as the hunt for the regular season title intensifies in the coming weeks.

Tufts: 5-0 (3-0)

Coach Martha Whiting couldn’t have scripted a better start for the Jumbos. An undefeated start to the season is impressive enough, but to be the only team in the ‘CAC thus far to not allow a single goal is a remarkable achievement. Last year’s First Team All-NESCAC goalkeeper Emily Bowers ’19 headlines the Jumbo’s impenetrable back wall, which has shut out the likes of Colby, Wesleyan and Bates. Granted, these three teams aren’t exactly the cream of the crop in the NESCAC, but 3-0 is 3-0. Sophie Lloyd ’21 has tallied six goals in her first three games, but missed the last two against Wesleyan and Bates (once again assuming an injury here).

Up Next: The Jumbos are off this week in terms of conference games, with a match against Brandeis on Sunday. Hopefully Lloyd will be deemed fit for next weekend’s date with Amherst, as this will be Tufts’ first real test in conference play.

Amherst: 4-1 (1-1)

The Mammoths check in at number four on this week’s power rankings due to an offense that has weapons all across the pitch; headlined by forward Rubii Tamen ’20, Amherst has six players who have registered two goals or more this season. Even in their 3-1 loss to Middlebury, the Mammoths outshot the Ephs, signifying a closer game between the two than the final score indicated. Amherst has the toughest schedule in September, with contests against the three top teams in the league (Williams and Tufts remain, as they already played Middlebury).

Up Next: Amherst’s date with Williams could be a defining point for both teams, but is definitely more important for the Mammoths. A win on their own turf would have this squad at 2-1 before a road trip to Tufts the following week; a loss on Saturday and the Mammoths could potentially be facing a 1-3 start in conference play.

Hamilton: 2-1-1 (2-1)

When will Hamilton start converting shots into goals?

The Continentals are a usual middle-of-the-pack team that might finally break through and cause some havoc in league play. They gave the Ephs a scare in their close 2-1 loss, and followed up that performance with two wins against Bates and Trinity. More impressive, they allowed a total of nine combined shots against the Bobcats and Bantams, and fired a whopping 65 shots! I’m all about a good ratio and that’s as solid as they come. The one concern I have is not the offensive capability the Continentals possess, but whether they can cash more of those shots into goals. They’ve taken 100 shots in their five regular season games, but only five goals have come from that – a ratio that is dead last in the NESCAC.

Up Next: Hamilton has a tough conference slate this weekend; first, they host Conn College, whom they have not beaten in five years (three losses, two draws). It doesn’t get any easier the next day, when Middlebury visits Clinton with revenge on their mind after the Continentals upset the Panthers in the quarterfinals of last year’s NESCAC Tournament. A split would be a nice result, but an unbeaten weekend would send a message to the rest of the ‘CAC that Hamilton can hang with the big boys.

Connecticut College: 4-1 (0-1)

Not too long ago (2015), the Camels endured a winless campaign and finished near the bottom of the league. 2016 saw a slight improvement, but not many would have expected Conn to vault into second place in 2017. The Camels are out to prove doubters in the NESCAC that their 2017 season was not a fluke. Sure they’ve lost some talent, but last season’s leading goal scorer for the Camels (Kat Norton ’21) is back along with Alex Baltazar ’19. They held firm with Middlebury until the latter stages of the game, and actually outshot the Panthers 20-19. I think the Camels can surprise some teams this season, but will need to produce actual results early on in the year in order for others to buy into the hype.

Up Next:Following a road trip to Hamilton, the Camels head back home to take on Colby. Conn understands while both games are important, the Continentals present a much (emphasis on much) tougher challenge than the Mules. A sweep of this weekend’s games would give the Camels a much-needed confidence boost before next weekend’s date with Williams.

Wesleyan: 4-2 (1-1)

Liz Young ’19 will look to lead the Cardinals to the postseason

The Cardinals were bad last year; there’s no way to sugarcoat it. However, they’ve already tied their conference win total from last year with a victory over Bowdoin this past Saturday. Liz Young ’19 notched her third goal of the young season against the Polar Bears, and will look to lead her Cardinals to a potential playoff berth (something that’s alluded this program the last four years).

Up Next:The Cardinals have a very winnable game against Bates on Saturday, and if they want to take that next step in securing a playoff berth, they’ll need to leave Lewiston with a positive result. The Bobcats went into Middletown last season and came away with a 1-0 victory, so Wesleyan will want to return the favor.

Bowdoin: 2-2-1 (1-2)

Bowdoin slots in at the eight hole primarily because the three teams below them are winless in conference play. The Polar Bear’s first two games in the NESCAC went pretty well; although they fell 1-0 to Amherst, it was a tightly contested battle, and then they gave in-state rival Bates a spanking by the tune of 4-0. The 2-0 loss to Wesleyan really took the wind out of the sail, and could be a vital result as the two teams will most certainly jockey for playoff seeding throughout the season. Morgen Gallagher ’20 has fired a team-high 20 shots so far, but only one goal has resulted from them. She and the rest of her Polar Bears crew will look to generate more consistency on the offensive side of the ball, as Bowdoin has been shut out in three of their five games to date.

Up Next: The Polar Bears will travel to Middlebury to take on the Panthers this weekend. Bowdoin has surprisingly owned the Panthers in recent history, winning the last four regular season matches. They’ll look to push the streak to five with an upset on Saturday.

Trinity: 2-3 (0-2)

After starting the season 0-3, the Bantams picked up two non-conference wins by a combined score of 7-0. Don’t let that goose egg fool you, however, because the Bantam defense was downright atrocious in its first two conference games. I understand giving up 25 shots to Williams in a 3-1 defeat, but they gave up 37 shots against Hamilton IN A SINGLE GAME. That has to be some sort of typo, because if it isn’t, the Bantams will have some problems later in the year. On the bright side, goalie Taylor O’Conner ’21 has been remarkable, leading the ‘CAC with 30 saves and doing her best to keep her team in the game.

Up Next: Trinity’s favorable early schedule now features four straight games against teams expected to finish in the bottom half of the conference. The first one up is a home game against Colby; the Bantams need a victory here if they want to move up from the cellar of the conference. More so, they need a solid defensive performance on Saturday to instill confidence in a unit that has been struggling mightily and will be needed as the season goes by.

Colby: 2-2 (0-2)

There are few sports that Colby is better at than Bates. I’m not saying Colby women’s soccer is better than this Bates team, but at this early point in the season, I am slotting the Mules just ahead of the Bobcats because they’ve played better in their conference losses. Relatively close losses to Tufts and Williams are still losses at the end of the day, but can be used as vital experience when it comes time to playing weaker conference foes. The trio of Catherine Fraser ’19, Olivia Greif ’21 and Juliette Nadeau ’22 have carried the Mule offense to date, but these three will need to have a bigger impact in their remaining conference games in order for Colby to snag a playoff spot.

Up Next: Colby has two games this weekend, both in the state of Connecticut. First, they have a date with Trinity; with the way the Trinity defense is playing (this can’t be stressed enough), the Mules have a real opportunity to win this game. The following day, they have a tougher opponent in Conn College, but a split from this weekend series would be a nice result.

Bates: 2-3 (0-3)

The Bobcats have played three conference games: they’ve given up eight goals and haven’t scored any of their own. These kinds of numbers typically don’t result in a recipe for success. Bates is in dire need of offense, as they sit dead last in the NESCAC for goals scored and shots taken, and second-to-last in assists. Olivia Amdur ’19 ended her 2017 campaign tied for fifth in goals, yet hasn’t found the net this season. The Bobcats desperately need her to wake up from her slump and find players to get her the ball; otherwise they have a long season ahead.

Up Next: Bates has two home games this weekend, with the first being Wesleyan. As mentioned above, the ‘Cats can definitely win this game, but Wesleyan will be well prepared after losing to Bates a season ago. The following game features Williams, a team that Bates hasn’t defeated since 2010. I’d expect that trend to continue, but hey, crazier things have happened in sports.

Can we get an upset please? Week Two Weekend Preview

Week 1 and its absolute blowouts are now over. Just to recap: Colby, Bates and Bowdoin all lost, Tufts held Hamilton to negative rushing yards while Wesleyan ran up and down the field on Midd. Now that those games are behind us we can look forward to a second weekend of NESCAC football in which we may see a game or two that will have a score differential of less than 20 points.

Bowdoin (0-1) @ Middlebury (0-1)

While many Panther fans may have been disheartened last week after their enormous loss to Wesleyan, Week 2 holds hope. This week Midd will host a Bowdoin team coming off a 41-6 loss to Williams. Bowdoin was not able to point points on the board until Griff Stalcup found Michael Cloppse in the endzone for their first, and only, six points. Bowdoin’s offense was stagnant at best, starting QB Austin McCrum was unable to get anything done during his tenure on the field, throwing for 73 yards and an interception. Running back Nate Richam was able to muster up 78 yards on 18 attempts but it was far too little to have any effect on the Williams offense. Although their offense may have been bad, the Polar Bear’s defense was the death of them. When you let up over 5 yards per play it is impossible to win a game, trust me, I got a B in Intro to Stats. While Midd’s offense is not the same caliber as William’s, Bowdoin still needs to make some serious changes on the defensive end in order to prevent being on the wrong side of a lopsided scoreboard, again.

Griff Stalcup looks like the Polar Bears’ best leader and only shot at beating the Panthers.

Despite scoring the first points of the game, Midd was eventually beat down by the Wesleyan offense in their 52-21 loss last weekend. Offensively, everything was run through the passing game for the Panthers. While QB Jake Meservy was able to rack up 216 yards and 2 TDs, he also managed to throw for 3 interceptions, including a pick-6. When a team knows that you are incapable of running the ball effectively, picks are going to happen. Midd’s go-to back Peter Scibilia was held to a mere 19 yards on 11 carries. Their leading rusher last weekend, Will Jernigan, the backup QB, only rushed for 24 yards, almost entirely through a single 23 yard rush. Bowdoin, and the rest of the NESCAC, knows that Midd’s only offensive threat is the passing game and will prepare accordingly. Whether Bowdoin has the skill and talent to prepare well enough is an entirely different question. Defensively, it couldn’t have been much worse for the Panthers. Wesleyan racked up 358 yards of total offense, including 203 rushing yards. There is nothing but room for improvement for Midd’s defense and while they only have to face Bowdoin this week, there will be bigger and better opponents down the line that will embarrass them again if change does not come soon.

Score Prediction: Middlebury 24, Bowdoin 7

Hamilton (0-1) @ Amherst (1-0)

Hamilton had a rough home opener, losing 29-2 to Tufts. When your only points come on defense, it’s generally not a good sign. While allowing Tufts to rush for 207 yards, Hamilton wasn’t able to put up positive yardage, ending with -11 rushing yards. Kenny Gray was the only positive part of the Hamilton offense, throwing for 158 yards. While that might sound decent, I forgot to mention that he also threw for 3 interceptions. Hamilton is yet another bottom-tier team that simply does not have it together offensively. Similar to Midd, when they know you’re gonna pass, you’re gonna get picked. Defensively, they held the passing game to just 109 yards but gave up 4 rushing touchdowns. Amherst can and will run the ball well, so the Hamilton defense will not get a break this weekend and will need some very short term memory in order to compete.

Andrew Yamin will terrorize whoever is the field general for Hamilton this weekend.

Amherst faced a low-quality Bates team this weekend and came out on top, as was expected. While QB Ollie Eberth was decent in the air, completing 13 of 19 for 112 yards, his ground game, along with Jack Hickey, was what propelled Amherst to the dub. The two combined for 201 yards and all 3 Mammoth touchdowns. I would expect Amherst to take an “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality this Saturday, sticking to their plan of pounding the run game and sprinkling in some short passes. Amherst didn’t get their offense going until the 3rd quarter against Bates, which may be concerning. In order to prove themselves as a top dog in the league they’re gonna need to come out guns blazing this weekend because in the NESCAC a win is not just a win, sometime you gotta blow some teams out. On defense, Amherst held Bates scoreless until the tail end of the game, aka garbage time. It’s tough to really asses Amherst’s defense at this point as they haven’t been faced with too great of a challenge yet. This challenge will in all likelihood not come this weekend either though.

Score Prediction: Amherst 27, Hamilton 3

Colby (0-1) @ Williams (1-0)

The Mules go from one gut-punch to another as this weekend they head down to Williamstown to face the Ephs. There’s really not a lot to say about Colby so far except that they are just clearly not at the same level as the better teams in the NESCAC. If allowing 35 points in one half isn’t enough, they allowed Trinity to get 573 total yards of total offense on Saturday. While Trinity is arguably the best team in the league and two-time defending champs, the game looked like Bama playing an FCS team, simply unable to compete from the get-go. Jake Schwern provided the vast majority of the offense for Colby, rushing for 108 yards, but still not enough to even get them at field goal range at any point. It already is fairly clear that this is a rebuilding season for the Mules and anything positive they can get, they should take it and run with it. For now though, they will fight through the punches and wait for games against Bates and Bowdoin to try and steal a CBB championship.

Williams may be doing a lot of this in 2018.

The Ephs put up some huge numbers last weekend against Bowdoin, as I very much expect them to do again this weekend. QB Bobby Maimaron threw for 146 yards and 2 TDs as well as rushing for 73 yards and 2 TDs. If that wasn’t enough RB TJ Dozier added on 128 yards and a touchdown of his own. Williams but up big numbers against a bad defense and expect more of the same this week. Maimaron and his favorite target Frank Stola will be moving the ball up the field with ease and TJ Dozier will be there for ample support. On defense, Williams wasn’t tested last week and won’t be again this week. Allowing one garbage time touchdown means absolutely nothing and their defense shut Bowdoin down as they should. Ephs fans will have to wait a little longer to see a game that has some meaning, but that’s a good problem to have.

Score Prediction: Williams 38, Colby 7

Bates (0-1) @ Trinity (1-0)

In all fairness, Bates was able to make a game of it against Amherst last weekend. A 4th quarter touchdown brought Bobcat fans some hope which was swiftly taken away by another Mammoth touchdown. Bates currently looks like the strongest of the CBB teams, meaning that it seems as if they have an actual defense. The fact that they were able to hold Amherst scoreless through the first half is both an accomplishment for them and may not speak too well about Amherst’s offense. Either way, Bates has a tough road ahead of them this weekend. QB Brendan Costa only threw for 90 yards but was able to find the back of the endzone on a keeper mid-way through the 4th quarter. Costa is not the heart of Bates’ offense, he IS Bates’ offense. Not only did he record all the passing yards in the game, he rushed for 44 of Bates’ 60 rushing yards. Costa is going to need some serious reinforcement to get past Trinity’s defense but it doesn’t seem as if his team is up for the challenge. This weekend will be a good test for Bates’ offense in terms of the CBB battle because if they are able to hold another high-quality team to a reasonable score it will make them far and away the best team in Maine.

Trinity did what Trinity does last weekend, blow teams out of the water. The Bantams gave a warm welcome to new Colby head coach Jack Cosgrove by handing him a 35-0 defeat on his opening day as a NESCAC coach. While Rhode Island transfer Jordan Vazzano was only able to connect on 9 of 23 passes, he was able to make those 9 count. Vazzano threw for 210 yards and 2 TDs as well as tacking on 38 rushing yards of his own. Max Chipouras ran all over the Colby defense for 173 yards and 3 TDs. WR Jonathan Girard accounted for the vast majority of the receptions, racking up 166 yards and 2 TDs. Trinity’s defense simply did their job. They sticked to their gameplan and didn’t allow any mistakes to a much lesser Colby team. I expect them to continue their dominance in Week 2.

Score Prediction: Trinity 31, Bates 9

Nothing New: Week 1 Power Rankings

With the first week in the books we finally got a glimpse of what each team is looking like this year. Obviously one game is a small sample size, but we’ve learned a thing or two about the league this year. Trinity is still Trinity, Wesleyan is not to be taken lightly, and the bottom of the league is still looking more or less the same. I’m sure this year will bring plenty of surprises like we see every year, but Week 1 didn’t bring too much excitement. There were exactly zero games decided by less than 12 points and besides Bates vs. Amherst none of the games were within 27. So much for more parity this season. Fortunately, this made it a bit easier to do the power rankings, so let’s see where each team falls:

Trinity

The two time defending champs did nothing to make me believe they aren’t still the league’s premier team in a 35-0 drubbing of Colby. RB Max Chipouras ’19 put up a stat line (15 carries, 173yds, 3TD) that would be ridiculous for anyone else, but given his standards I’ll call it “good.” A potential reason for concern is that QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 completed just 9 of his 26 pass attempts for 210 yards, although 97 of those yards were on one play. It was his first game with a new team, but 8-25 for 113 yards sounds a heck of a lot different than 9-26 for 210 yards. Either way, it’s easy to win when your defense doesn’t give up any points, and the Bantams continued to look outstanding on that side of the ball. A matchup with Bates in Week 2 isn’t particularly imposing, so Trinity will have another week to workout the kinks before they head to Williamstown for their first big test.

Wesleyan

Sean Penney ’21 has clearly found a role as the goal line back for Wesleyan

The Cardinals played host to Middlebury in Week 1 and made an absolute statement. Putting up 52 points is absurd even against the weaker teams in the league, let alone the Panthers. We all know how good QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is, but I was very skeptical given that Wesleyan graduated 4 of their top 5 pass catchers from last season. Well they came out with a very balanced offensive attack that featured 3 rushing touchdowns from Sean Penney ’21, and just 19 pass attempts by Piccirillo. The Wesleyan defense looked excellent as well, and Ben Thaw ’20 put on the defensive performance of the week with 2 interceptions – returning one for a touchdown. Coach DiCenzo showed that he has already found his team’s identity, and will certainly game plan well for their Week 2 showdown at Tufts.

Tufts

I’m not quite sure whether the Jumbos’ 29-2 victory over Hamilton says more about them or the Continentals, but I’m going with the former. This was exactly the type of statement win that Tufts wanted to make in Week 1, highlighted by QB Ryan McDonald ’19 rushing for 98 yards and 4 touchdowns to go along with his 99 passing yards. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the season opener for Tufts was the outstanding effort by their defense. They intercepted 3 Hamilton passes, forced 1 fumble, and had 6 sacks. Granted the Continentals don’t have the strongest offense in the league, but it’s mostly the same personnel that dropped 28 points on the Jumbos in Week 1 last season. Tufts is clearly getting better and their defense will be tasked with slowing down a versatile Wesleyan team that just hung 52 on Middlebury. Mark this one on your calendar, folks.

Williams

Bobby Maimaron ’21 is a weapon. Let’s make that very clear. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns, while tacking on 78 more yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. He can seemingly do anything, but he doesn’t have to because the Ephs boast one of the best receivers in the league in Frank Stola ’21 and one of the best running backs in the league in TJ Dozier ’21. Oh, and don’t forget about linebacker TJ Rothmann ’21 who looks like one of the most promising defensive players in the league. Notice anything these guys all have in common? They’re only sophomores. Look out NESCAC, Williams is here to stay. Mark Raymond is turning this program back into a dynasty and I, for one, am very afraid. They’re ready to be in the conversation with the conference’s elite because their championship window is just opening.

Amherst

Bo Berluti ’19 was the only Mammoth receiver to get anything going against Bates

A 19-7 victory over Bates isn’t the most impressive feat, but a win is a win. Plus, the Mammoths had no idea what to expect from a team that completely changed their schemes on both sides of the ball. Amherst is still Amherst and they’ll find ways to grind out wins. Jack Hickey ’19 is a workhorse out of the backfield, racking up 22 carries for 137 yards against the Bobcats. Ollie Eberth ’20 completed 9 of his 13 passes to his two favorite targets, Bo Berluti ’19 and James O’Reagan ’20, but there don’t seem to be too many reliable options beyond those two guys. Fortunately, their defensive unit is as good as any, so they don’t need to be putting up 30+ points every game to be successful. They’ll host a Hamilton team in Week 2 who looked like a JV squad against Tufts, so if that performance is any indication then this one should be a cake walk for the Mammoths. Editor’s Note: 5th?! Cmon, Cam. They have the best defense in the league and returned their whole lineup. I guarantee they move up in week two.

Middlebury

Middlebury showed us that they still have quite a bit to figure out. They did not come to play against Wesleyan and got ripped apart. I know that the suffocating defense of the Cardinals is a nightmare for opposing teams and Mark Piccirillo is pretty good, but the Panthers couldn’t even keep it within 30? Not a great start. Their defense was abysmal, and the offense couldn’t pick up the slack either. Seemingly the only bright spot was that 9 different receivers had multiple receptions, indicating that the pass-heavy offense that they’re known for is still very much in effect. Jack Meservy ’19 showed promise by completing 25 of 43 passes and 2 touchdowns, but also threw 3 picks and didn’t have a single completion for more than 18 yards. I’m confident that the Panthers will start to put things together, but this game should serve as a wakeup call. Luckily they host Bowdoin this weekend, so they’ll have an opportunity to continue finding out what works and what doesn’t.

Bates

The Bobcats should feel about as good as you can feel after a 19-7 loss. Amherst is one of the league’s best, and Bates refused to go away. In fact, it was still a one score game with 5 minutes left to play. The defense looked very solid, led by DB Jon Lindgren ’20 and LB Pete Daley ’19 who had 12 and 8 tackles, respectively. The new offense is going to need a bit more work as they were only able to muster 7 first downs the entire game. Someone besides QB Brendan Costa ’21 is going to have to step up on offense, because he’s the only one making plays at this point. It’s not good when your punter has almost triple the amount of punt yards as you have in total offense. Yes, the Mammoths play very tough defense, but so does Trinity, who the Bobcats will face in Week 2. The expectations shouldn’t be too high for this one, but after a solid showing in Week 1 Bates should continue to focus on making progress. It’s the little victories.

Hamilton

Apparently I was way too high on Hamilton going into this season. They returned a ton of key offensive players including QB Kenny Gray ’20, RB Mitch Bierman ’21, and WR Joe Schmidt ’20 who all did damage in 2017. I thought this would put them in position to have a breakout season and while this still could happen, it looks much less likely. Their offense put up a goose egg and was actually bailed out by their defense to avoid the shutout. Not to say that their defense played particularly well, but allowing 29 points isn’t a terrible effort. Alex Ganter ’19 looked solid, recording 7 tackles and 1 sack that resulted in the safety. Needless to say, the Continentals have a lot to figure out right now, as they’ll go back to the drawing board in preparation for their visit to Western Mass this weekend to take on the Mammoths.

Bowdoin

Austin McCrum didn’t look like a quarterback who once had D1 potential this past weekend

As Colby mentioned in the Stock Report, there has to be a bit of disappointment from Polar Bear fans after a poor performance from transfer QB Austin McCrum ’21 in their season opener against the Ephs. Bowdoin needs to establish their offensive threats after losing their top two receivers from last season in Nick Vailas ’18 and Bryan Porter ’18. RB Nate Richam ’20 looked serviceable, but they really could not get anything going on offense at all. Linebackers Liam Dougherty ’21 and Joe Gowetski ’20 had decent games, but they ran into a hot Williams offense that dominated the game from start to finish. It’s a tough road ahead for the Polar Bears who face Middlebury, Amherst, and Tufts over the next three weeks. They’ll try to take baby steps each week to improve steadily until they reach the weaker portion of their schedule later in the season.

Colby

The last two spots in the power rankings could go either way, but I put Colby in the cellar because of their inability to score a single point in Week 1. The game plan against Trinity was clearly ground and pound, as RB Jake Schwern ’19 carried the ball 29 times for 108 yards. QB Jack O’Brien ’20 only threw for 93 yards, and the Mules actually had 5 players with negative rushing yards. The defense could have been worse, but it’s hard to judge given that the Bantams had their reserves in for the entire second half. It’s hard to play the league’s best right from the get-go, and the result was pretty much as expected. Like Bowdoin, their upcoming schedule does not look promising so the focus will be on progress. Colby hired Coach Cosgrove for a reason, and he can’t be asked to produce results this quickly. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

Expectations vs. Reality; Week 1 Stock Report

Stock Report

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Wesleyan Secondary: Ben Thaw was the defensive star of the weekend, racking up two INTs, a TD, and 46 return yards, all but handing the Cardinals the victory. Alex Kirk added another pick and Mark Piccirillo could easily do the rest, tearing through the Panthers. They also limited the speedy Jimmy Martinez to just 17 yards, and prevented any receiver from tallying over 60 yards receiving which is just as impressive as their onslaught on Middlebury’s QB. They face another challenge this weekend against Tufts but should handle McDonald and the Jumbos just like they did in Week 1.

Ben Thaw locked up a NESCAC defensive player of the week award with his two INTs.

Bates Defense: Although the Bobcats lost in the first game of Malik Hall’s tenure as head coach, they kept the score much closer than I thought they would against Amherst. Amherst has a number of offensive weapons in QB Ollie Eberth, receivers Bo Berluti and James O’Reagan, and RB Jack Hickey, but only scored 19 points. Granted, this showed that the Bobcat ground defense is worse than their pass defense as all three TDs came on rushes. Eberth threw for just 112 yards though, and that is a small start in a new era of Bates football. They had six tackles for loss and one sack, however, they will need a better pass rush in the future.

Trinity’s Title Chances: Jordan Vazzano is the real deal and that means that the Bantams are back. Unlike McCrum at Bowdoin, Vazzano had an excellent debut and led his new Trinity team to a dominating 35-0 victory against Colby. Now, nobody thought that the Mules had a chance in this one, but he certainly took his first step in the right direction with 210 yards passing and two TDs. I took some heat after predicting the Bantams to be just 6-3, and although there is a lot of season left, I don’t like the chances for that one panning out.

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Jack Meservy needs to get it together before a week 4 matchup vs. Amherst.

Middlebury QB Empire: Following the graduation of past NESCAC legends, Donnie McKillop, McCallum Foote (possibly the best of the group), Matt Milano and Jared Lebowitz, who all called plays in Vermont, Jack Meservy had big shoes to fill. He performed well enough to retain the starting spot at the end of the 2017 season and the 2018 preseason, but bad decisions cost him in week one. He has been experiencing shoulder pain as well, and it’s unclear as to whether it effected him against Wesleyan, but his all star receivers didn’t get the balls they needed to make big plays happen. All three of the interceptions were costly, as one was a pick-6 and the two others left the dynamic Cardinal offense with a short field. Meservy has two weeks to figure it out against Bowdoin and Colby before taking on the mighty Amherst defense.

Hamilton’s Destiny Year: If there was ever a year for Hamilton to be good, this is it. They return heaps of players on both sides of the ball, but simply couldn’t get anything going against Tufts. In fact, their defense scored more than their offense with two points on a safety. They used three different QBs due to a tough three INT performance from Kenny Gray. Their offensive line allowed six sacks, making their QBs and run game without time to let plays develop. Will Budington was the lone bright spot with over 100 yards receiving, accounting for most of the Continental offense.

McCrum had a disappointing week one debut.

Excitement in Brunswick: After getting in transfer QB Austin McCrum from Lafayette, the Polar Bear fans should’ve had high hopes. After all, what else could take your team to the promised land than a fearless former D1 leader? Well, disappointment is here. A paltry opening week performance saw McCrum go just 10-25 with a pick before getting benched for Griff Stalcup, a promising sophomore who started most of their games a season ago. Stalcup did just fine, throwing a TD and no INTs, but he doesn’t quite match up against the signal callers of other quality teams.

NESCAC Coaching Carousel: Bates, Colby, and the rest

The four best teams in the NESCAC traditionally dominate the bottom four, with two teams hovering around .500. These trends do not stray much from year to year, as certain programs, coaches, and players can carry teams through an era. Over the past five years, the bottom four teams in the standings have finished a combined 30-134 while the top four teams have finished 134-30. This unfortunate commonality between years leads to few competitive games on an already short schedule. However, coaching changes and shifts within the conference offer a chance to shake up the standings.

New coaches to struggling programs face two challenges: the first being dealing with the talent or lack there of at the school they’re arriving at and the second is attracting recruits to a losing program. This is process often takes multiple years to complete, as coaches look to bring in new players that they got to recruit themselves. Of course, the results of regime changes are not black and white, and first-year coaches, despite the challenges that they face, look to make a splash and bring home a winning team in their first season at the reins. Mark Raymond took over as head coach of the Williams College Ephs prior to the 2016 season when they went 0-8. The next year? 6-3.

Coach Raymond quickly turned around a reeling Eph program

In February 2016, Williams announced that Raymond would take over. He’d graduated from Buffalo in 1993 after lettering for three years in football. He spent time as an assistant at St. Lawrence, Syracuse, and SUNY-Canton, and was defensive coordinator at Ithaca before returning to St. Lawrence to take the head coaching job. Raymond resurrected a struggling program there and turned it into a powerhouse, earning Liberty League coach of the year honors twice along the way. By his second season at Williams, he was NESCAC coach of the year.

It took one recruiting class for Raymond to build a winner, which is an exciting prospect for Colby and Bates, as both brought in new head coaches this offseason. There have been three head coaching changes within a two-year span in the NESCAC, changing the coaching landscape. This brings in entirely new schemes and overall program attitudes to recently struggling programs.

Malik Hall has the experience and plan to make Bates into a winning program.

Malik Hall joined Bates in June of 2018, becoming the program’s 20th head coach. A native of Detroit, Hall played at UMass and coached the defensive line at Central Connecticut State and Hofstra University. Hall spent three years serving as defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Wagner College, where his defense was one of the top units in the nation. He served as the defensive line coach at Pennsylvania for the past three seasons before accepting the head coaching position at Bates.

His transition will be particularly compelling to watch as he transitions a run-heavy team to an Air Raid offense, looking to follow a more traditional approach in a passing-heavy conference. This drastic short-term change could be enough for his team to compete against league favorites Trinity, Wesleyan and Amherst. Hall looks to foster both “grit and talent” at Bates and hopes that he can lead his 2018 Bobcat team to “overachieve,” perhaps using a new scheme to overlook the deficit in offense that Lewiston has seen in recent years (Sun Journal, Lee Horton (http://www.sunjournal.com/dropping-dimes-new-bates-football-coach-bringing-the-juice/). His team will change its defense to run a 3-4 to add pressure in the middle tier of the defense and utilize QB Brendan Costa to distribute the ball more, moving away from a ground heavy offense (Lee Horton, Press Herald https://www.pressherald.com/2018/06/18/hall-ready-to-kick-off-new-era-for-bates-football/).

Colby hired Jack Cosgrove as its new head coach in January 2018. Cosgrove graduated from Maine in 1978 where he played quarterback. By 1993, he had taken over as head coach of the program. He served as head coach of the Black Bears for 23 years, and during his tenure compiled a school-record 129 wins and made the NCAA tournament five times. Since stepping aside as head coach in 2015, Cosgrove worked as the senior associate director of athletics at UMaine until accepting the head coaching position at Colby.

The Mules have struggled mightily in recent years, following the losing path of the other Maine schools of Bowdoin and Bates, but are making a push to improve all of their sports programs. A new baseball field and a soon to be new field house will take Colby above many of the other schools in the NESCAC, transitioning into a more attractive destination for incoming collegiate athletes. As a result of a current absence of big-play making personnel, this transition to on field success will take longer than that of Bates and Williams but should be complete in a few short years.

Cosgrove faces a tough task by inheriting a team that hasn’t had a .500 record since 2013, but will look to improve his program through recruiting. There is a rising belief that he will have an edge in the NESCAC in attracting top high school players, likely due to his history as a former Division I head coach. His connections and history are going to be key in bringing Colby football back on the NESCAC map (Drew Bonifant, Central Maine, https://www.centralmaine.com/2017/12/29/colby-to-hire-jack-cosgrove-as-next-football-coach/). Since he was hired in December of 2017, Cosgrove had enough time to add recruits to the Mule roster for this coming season, so changes will be evident on the playing field in 2018 as he looks to bring a quick turn around to a developing athletic program at Colby.

Aside from the three newest coaches, the average NESCAC head coach has held the position at their school for over 10 years – a long time in the coaching world. Many of the coaches are alums of the school they coach, or were assistants in the program or in the conference beforehand. As schools begin to take D-III athletics more seriously, the role of the head coach in guiding, shaping, and recruiting players becomes even more important. It’ll be interesting to see how this change in attitude manifests itself as coaches Raymond, Cosgrove, and Hall look to usher in successful eras of football in each of their new roles.