Amherst-Good article from D3Football.com about brothers Kyle and Ryan Rudolph while WCAX has the highlights from their victory over Middlebury.
Bates-Photos from the game against Williams are up as well as a a preview of Saturday against Wesleyan.
Bowdoin- In addition to winning NESCAC Offensive POY honors, running back Tyler Grant won the New England Football Writers’ Association Division III weekly Golden Helmet award. There is also a preview of this weekend’s game against Hamilton complete with highlights from last year.
Trinity-Game preview is up. Thanks to Seven Strong Photos for letting us use the photo below. You can find more photos from Trinity’s games at www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball
Williams– The Williams website has a preview of this weekend.
We know last week we took a drop in production. Much of that was because of a decidedly upsetting uptick in classwork, but excuses won’t cut it. Without a doubt our stock was down last week, but we promise that this week will be different. We went back over the tape, saw some places we could improve on (it involves less procrastinating), and are ready for whatever.
Week three didn’t spring any big upsets on us, but Bates and Bowdoin registered their first wins of the season. Scoring was down around the league in part because of the weather with the Amherst-Middlebury game a slog that ended up hinging on one long Nick Kelly ’17 run.
Stock Report:
Amherst Defense- The Jeffs defense on Saturday stifled the Middlebury attack completely holding them to only 2 yards per play. Defensive lineman Paul Johnson ’17 recorded 2.5 sacks and now leads the NESCAC with 4 on the season. A different player has led Amherst in tackles in each of the first three games. If you still have any doubt about how good Amherst is, consider these statistics. Through three games they have let up two plays of more than 20 yards. One was a 28 yard completion by Bowdoin in the final minute of the fourth quarter when Amherst’s backups were in. The other was a 21 completion by Matt Cannone ’16 to Mark Riley ’16. So essentially only play over 20 yards. The longest running play against Amherst is 14 yards. If the Jeffs can get their offense sorted out, they can beat Wesleyan and Trinity.
Quarterback Mac Caputi ’15 (Bowdoin)- Running back Tyler Grant deservedly took home NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week accolades for his 43 carries, 208 yards, and 4 touchdown performance, but that should not overshadow the play of Caputi. Many had called for his benching after week one and those calls were even stronger after backup Tim Drakeley ’17 gave the offense a shot of energy against Amherst. Head Coach Dave Caputi (Yes, they are father and son) gave the younger Caputi one more chance, and he responded brilliantly. He went 20-25 for 209 yards averaging 8.4 yards per attempt without a touchdown or interception. That was after he went 33-57 and averaged only 4.1 yards per attempt in his first two games combined. He made the play that the Jumbo defense gave him and also managed to make a couple of plays with his feet that helped extend drives. Another good performance against Hamilton Saturday could lift the Polar Bears to .500.
Head Coach Dave Murray (Hamilton)- The Continentals have lost the first three games under Murray, but he has been getting rave reviews for his handling of the Hamilton team so far. After a tumultuous few years for the Hamilton program, Murray demands respect and hard work, and the Hamilton has responded positively. On Saturday against Trinity the score was only 3-0 at halftime. For the game Trinity only recorded 12 first downs, and the Bantams are an offense that tends to wear teams down and get a lot of those. Chase Rosenberg ’17 has emerged as a quality QB for Hamilton and the receiving corps has done a great job after losing Joe Jensen ’15. It has been a long time since such positivity has been coming from Clinton, but Murray seems to be the real deal.
Stock Down:
Williams- Now it seems long ago, but in the days leading up to the Williams-Trinity game last week, people really believed the Ephs had a chance to score the upset. They followed up that blowout with another loss on the road to a previously winless Bates team. The offense sputtered especially in the second half which was a major reason for why Bates was able to seal the game with a 14 play, 95 yard drive in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats keyed on the running game for Williams holding them to 2.1 yards per attempt. Austin Lommen ’16 has proven to be an upgrade in the passing game but not the massive one that some expected him to be. With Middlebury coming to Williamstown on Saturday, the Ephs have to get back on track.
Quarterback Gabe Harrington ’17 (Colby)- The sophomore had Colby fans excited before the season as he stepped in to lead the Mule offense. He performed admirably in his first game but has seen his statistics regress in the last two weeks. Saturday he completed only 40.5% of his passes and threw two interceptions. The Colby offense has now scored seven points in each of the last three weeks in part because the passing game has stalled. Some of his struggles can be attributed to the strength of the defenses he has faced. Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Trinity are all very good against the pass. And things don’t get any easier when the Mules go on the road to face the hottest defense in the NESCAC- Amherst.
Kicker Phillip Nwosu ’15 (Amherst)- In the preseason one of the All-NESCAC picks we felt most confident about was Nwosu because of the strength of his leg and accuracy. So far he has struggled going 1-3 on field goals with both misses coming within 35 yards. On the opening drive for Amherst he missed a 30 yard field goal that helped keep the game tied for a long time. Last season kicking was the difference in the Trinity-Amherst game with the advantage going to the Jeffs. Nwosu has to find his kicking stroke again in order to help an Amherst offense that has done very little so far.
Because we are busy writing papers and problem sets for much of the week, we let ourselves off easy by letting you read and watch what others have produced.
NESCAC- First of all, if you don’t read the NESCAC weekly release, you are missing out on a treasure trove of statistics and information. http://nescac.com/sports/fball/2014-15/reports/NESCAC_FB_092814.pdf
Bowdoin- A Polar Bear-centric photo gallery is up from the game Saturday against Amherst, including this cool shot of Bowdoin’s Branden Morin ’16 getting airborne because of Amherst’s Nick Kelly ’17.
Hamilton- The Hamilton Football Facebook page has photos from the game at Wesleyan available.
Trinity- The Bantams have already put out their preview of this weekend’s game against Hamilton. You should also go read their profile on senior safety Mike Mancini ’15.
Tufts- Ever wanted to see cool aerial shots of Medford combined with highlights of Tufts homecoming victory? Probably not, but now you can.
After two weeks the NESCAC is playing out according to preseason expectations. Tiers are rapidly developing and becoming defined. Hamilton, Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby are at the bottom of the league capable of giving teams scares but unable to outplay teams for 60 minutes. Middlebury and Williams are the middle class of teams that beat up on the lower teams but can’t handle the talent of the top flight. Finally Trinity, Wesleyan, Amherst, and Tufts will battle it out for the conference championship… wait a second… that can’t be right.
Tufts?
The Jumbos moved to 2-0 after outscoring Bates 35-7 in the final two plus quarters on their Homecoming. Tufts is clearly not yet one of the top teams in the conference, but their start so far is the best story of the NESCAC season. After years of coming up short, Tufts is riding a wave of momentum that might crest at 3-0 if they can go on the road and beat Bowdoin. That’s getting ahead of ourselves though, here is the week 2 stock report.
Stock Up
Middlebury Head Coach Bob Ritter and Offensive Coordinator Joe Early- What everyone wanted to know coming into the season was whether Middlebury had a starting QB that would be able to keep the Panthers in the upper echelon. Matt Milano ’16 has answered those questions, winning NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after leading Middlebury to a decisive 27-7 victory at Colby. Milano deserves a ton of credit, but the Middlebury coaches also are worthy of notice. Head Coach Bob Ritter, who is also the QB coach, has done a masterful job building Middlebury into what it is today. In a league still very run heavy, Middlebury has carved out its own identity in airing the ball out. There is more balance this year as Middlebury ran the ball 49 times Saturday, yet the passing game is where the Panthers shine. Joe Early, now in his sixth season as the offensive coordinator, has done a fantastic job with every Middlebury QB he has coached, and Milano is merely the latest in line. After winning the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Assistant Coach of the Year in 2012, Early could be in line for a head coaching job somewhere soon.
Safety Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn ’16 (Amherst)- Some players are not able to be properly appreciated until you see them in person, and Fairfield-Sonn fits that description. He lacks the size you want in a safety at only 5’10” and 175 pounds, but he more than makes up for it with his speed and instincts. After not playing in week one, Fairfield-Sonn was all over the field making nine tackles (seven solo) and a fumble recovery at the end of the first half that kept Bowdoin from scoring and making it a one score game. All day he was able to come flying up into the box and delivered big hits on Tyler Grant ’17 and the Bowdoin wide receivers in the flat. The Amherst defense has talented players at all of their positions, and Fairfield-Sonn fits great in the defensive scheme to disrupt opponents rhythm and comfort.
Running Back Zach Trause ’15 (Tufts)- Like last week, Tufts found a way to win in an unusual way with Trause being the hero this week. After a Mark Riley ’16 touchdown reception put Bates up 24-23, Trause decided that he was going to leave his final Homecoming a winner. He took the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to put Tufts back on top. Then a few minutes later he took a punt all the way back to give the Jumbo defense more than enough cushion to work with. Another excited Tufts crowd loved every second of it. This week’s win for Tufts was a much more complete performance. Not many people expected Tufts to win the game, much less pull away and win so comfortably in the end. For Trause and the other Jumbo seniors, the beginning of this season has been validation of everything they have put in over the years.
Stock Down
The Maine Schools- Bowdoin, Colby, and Bates are now a combined 0-6 for the season after they went 11-13 as a group last year. They have been outscored by a total of 130 points in those games. Bowdoin has not looked competitive in either of their games. Colby’s defense has taken a step back despite bringing back nine starters from last year. And while Bates almost pulled the upset on Amherst, the loss to Tufts by 18 points destroyed any of that momentum. The Maine schools have never been forces in the NESCAC, but they look to all be among the bottom of the league right now. The CBB at the end of the season will shape each of their seasons, as it so often does.
Defensive End James Howe ’16 (Williams)- Expecting Howe to replicate last season’s incredible statistics was always a reach because of how team’s would concentrate on him more, but it is safe to say that his first two games have been disappointments. He has eight tackles and one tackle for loss. You can’t argue that the focus on Howe has especially benefited his teammates as Williams hasn’t recorded a single sack yet. Obviously he is only one player and Williams lost 38-0 for a hundred other reasons before Howe’s performance. Some might liken criticism of Howe to that levied against Jadaveon Clowney last year simply because expectations were out of whack before the season began. Williams has to figure out a way for Howe to make an impact every game in order to avoid another drubbing like the one Saturday.
Drama- The average margin of victory in week two was 24.2 points. The top part of the league had no problems with their opponents. The NESCAC has never been known for its parity, and this season has not been any different. The game we expected to be the closest, Williams vs. Trinity turned into a rout with the Bantams flexing their muscles for 60 minutes. Colby not being able to stay close with Middlebury was also a surprise after the Mules hung tight for a half against Trinity. The lone upset this week came from Tufts of course. The rules around recruiting and roster size are supposed to keep every NESCAC team somewhat close to each other in terms of talent, but that has never really been the case.
The biggest change a team can make from week to week comes after week 1 and leading into week 2. Nothing can replicate game speed, and after coaches are able to look back at game tape for the first time and make adjustments, teams can look very different. Consider in week 1 last year Williams got blown out by Colby 31-6. Then a week later Trinity needed two A.J. Jones ’14 touchdown receptions in the fourth quarter to keep the Ephs from ending the Trinity home winning streak. More on the Williams-Trinity matchup later.
The overarching story line to watch this week is how teams perform on the road. In our opinion, only one team (Wesleyan at home against Hamilton) can be considered the favorite at home. The last time four road teams won in one weekend was actually this same week two years ago with the exact same slate of games. A home underdog springing an upset would mean a disturbance in the early season hierarchy, even if it is a momentary blip.
Three to Watch
1. Quarterback Austin Lommen ’16 (Williams)- I know that we focus a lot on Lommen and Williams prospects for improvement, but this is the week that we really learn how far Lommen can take the Ephs. Last week he was able to lean on a great defensive effort and running attack against Bowdoin. He was efficient going 18-27 for 184 yards and one touchdown. Still Trinity will make him do a lot more in order to beat them. They have the strength to slow down running back Alex Scyorcurka ’14 enough to make Lommen have to make throws. It is clear that Lommen has great chemistry with his high school teammate Steven Kiesel. He will need to find the open receiver as Kiesel will likely face tight coverage from either Mike Mancini ’15 or Brian Dones ’17.
2. Linebacker Addison Pierce ’17 (Middlebury)- The Panther defense rose to the occasion last week especially in the run game, and Pierce was a player who had a breakout game. He played a lot freshman year finishing fifth on the team in tackles, but last week was special. He totaled ten tackles including three and a half TFLs (tackles for loss), equal to his total TFLs for all of 2013. The Panthers got penetration into the backfield all day from their linebackers stopping Kyle Gibson and co. before they could get momentum. This week is another interesting matchup for the Midd defense against a Colby offense that actually ran the ball effectively against Trinity.
3. Running back Ivan Reese ’17 (Bates)- Last week Amherst shut down the inside running game for Bates holding Reese to only 19 yards on 10 carries. In fairness, Amherst was perfectly designed to shut down the interior given all the talent up front on defense. 19 yards should be by far the least amount of yards that Reese gets in any game. The interior of the Tufts defense should not present the same problems Amherst did so look for Reese to be fed the ball early and often in the home opener for Bates. The offense needs to improve on their execution from week one in order not to waste another great performance from the defense.
Austin Lommen ’16 in action against Bowdoin (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)
The Picks
Game of the Week- Trinity (1-0) at Williams (1-0)
Williams fans are riding high after opening their new field with a thumping of Bowdoin. A victory this week would put them into a tizzy. The Bantams are feeling pretty good themselves after taking it to Colby in the second half to run away with the win. Our writers Sean Meekins ’15 and Carson Kenney ’15, both Trinity students, put Williams above Trinity in their power rankings. Maybe it was just a psychological play to fire up the Bantams, but the point remains that after week one, this matchup got a little more interesting.
As we mentioned above, Williams almost shocked Trinity in Hartford last year. The stats tell us this was not the result of any fluke luck. The teams had essentially the same amount of yards, first downs, yards per play, and penalties. The difference was Williams’ four turnovers to Trinity’s one. The play of the game came when Brian Dones ’17 picked off Tom Murphy ’15 in the final minute to set up the winning touchdown for Trinity.
Lommen has to avoid making those type of mistakes for Williams to win. Williams will make a strong commitment to running the ball especially given how Carl Lipani ’17 was able to run for 133 yards last week. Some of Williams biggest plays in week one came on screens and draws where they were able to give Scyocurka and Jean Luc Etienne ’15 space to work with. The experienced Trinity linebackers will likely snuff that type of play out meaning the Ephs will have to manufacture big plays down the field.
On the other side of the ball the decisive matchup is between the Trinity offensive line and the Williams defensive front seven. James Howe ’16 will need to get help from his cohorts which might not include defensive tackle Adam Datema ’15 this week. Chudi Iregbulem ’15 and company enjoyed success mainly in the second half after wearing down Colby because Trinity held the ball for 37 minutes. The Williams defense has to make sure Trinity does not get into a rhythm running the ball. These are two teams similar in ethos that have seen every game between them since 2006 decided by eight points or less.
Prediction: Trinity 22 over Williams 17
Middlebury (0-1) at Colby (0-1)- These are two teams both coming off tough losses that look very comparable. The Mules were feeling good at halftime against Trinity down only a safety and getting the ball to start the second half. Then things fell apart pretty quickly and Colby ended up losing 32-7. Middlebury had a chance to tie Wesleyan at the end of regulation before a near blocked punt turned into a game ending roughing the kicker penalty. Colby has to do a better job of not letting up the big play, whether that’s on offense or defense. How the Colby secondary plays against a Middlebury offense that outgained Wesleyan last week will be the difference.
Prediction: Middlebury 31 over Colby 23
Amherst (1-0) at Bowdoin (0-1)-Quick disclaimer/heads up: I am doing the color commentary for this game on the Bowdoin webcast through NSN. Bowdoin could take few positives away from the game against Williams. Expect them to open things up more on offense to keep Amherst off balance because running against the Jeffs is very difficult. Amherst has to cut down on the turnovers that helped Bates almost beat them last week. Keeping Alex Berluti ’17 in the pocket is a must for the Polar Bears. If he escapes and makes one player miss, he can easily rip off a 30 yard run. Bowdoin always seems to play Amherst tough especially in the first half, but it will be tough for them to make enough plays to win.
Prediction: Amherst 20 over Bowdoin 6
Bates (0-1) at Tufts (1-0)- The Jumbos were able to celebrate their first win in four years last weekend, and it will be interesting to see how the team plays this week. Preparation against Bates is crucial, and if Tufts spent too long in the glow of their victory they will be in trouble tomorrow. The Bates running game should get more traction this week than it did against Amherst. This is a must win game for Bates to gain momentum before they face Williams and Wesleyan at home in back to back weeks. Expect the Bobcat defense to really clamp down and frustrate the Tufts offense.
Prediction: Bates 23 over Tufts 13
Hamilton (0-1) at Wesleyan (1-0)- The Cardinals blitzkrieged their first four opponents in 2013, and Hamilton was no exception. This game was over last year after the first drive of the third quarter when LaDarius Drew broke off a 76 yard touchdown run to put Wesleyan up 28-0. It is still unclear if Drew will play this week after missing last week due to injury. Chase Rosenberg ’17 will put the ball in the air a lot again this week for the Continentals, but expect the Wesleyan defense to pick a couple of those passes off.
After one week of football we decided to rank every NESCAC team based solely on their performance from last week. Preseason expectations were not included in our calculations so don’t get upset if you find these rankings surprising.
1. Williams- There is no shock here if the rankings are based only last week. They blew out Bowdoin 36-0 looking absolutely dominant. Granted Bowdoin is probably one of the weaker teams in the league, but you cannot overlook such a lop-sided performance last Saturday. Williams defense looked in complete control holding Bowdoin to 220 yards of total offense, while forcing three turnovers and scoring a defensive touchdown.
2. Trinity- If football games were only played for one half, Trinity might be dropped to fourth, but the Bantams looked “vintage” Trinity in the second half. They controlled both sides of the ball. They ran Colby into the ground with 289 rushing yards, while the defense put constant pressure on Colby’s line sacking the quarterback three times, one of which leading to a defensive touchdown.
3. Wesleyan- Wesleyan probably had the toughest opponent, Middlebury, of the top four teams yet they did not put a dominant performance forward like Williams and Trinity. Middlebury outplayed Wesleyan on the offense side of the ball, but the Wesleyan defense managed to intercept two passes, and ran one back for a touchdown. Wesleyan was also the most disciplined team only committing three penalties for 45 yards. Wesleyan will move up in the power rankings if they can maintain a mistake free approach.
4. Amherst- Amherst surprisingly finds themselves 4th in the power rankings. They squeaked out a win against Bates, but by no means did they look good. They threw away two interceptions and lost two of their five fumbles. Amherst looks to get on track and avoid turnovers against Bowdoin this weekend.
5. Middlebury- They are not the same team they were last year; they lost a ton of players yet a lot of talent still remains. Mistakes killed Middlebury in a battle against Wesleyan. New QB Matt Milano ’16 aired the ball out for 204 yards butthrew two significant interceptions that, in a low scoring game, were very costly.
6. Bates- Bates lost to an Amherst team that looked shaky all game. In a turnover laden game, Bates contributed three interceptions and only threw for 113 yards. Not a recipe for success. Bates had good field position for the majority of the game and was only able to muster 6 points. Bates heads to Tufts next week to face a Jumbo team that also struggled against a sub par Hamilton team.
7. Colby- The Mules played a close first half against Trinity before the Bants pulled away and dominated the second half. Colby gave up a whopping 455 yards against Trinity, 289 on the ground, by far the most in week one. If Colby wants to turn things around against Middlebury , they have to play defense like they did in the first half in week one.
8. Tufts- Tufts beat a Hamilton team by 7 who will most likely finish in the bottom 2 of the NESCAC. Tufts also threw for 113 yards which was good for last in the conference and earned only 12 first downs. Their matchup against Colby should be interesting to see which of the two teams takes charge and plays better.
9. Hamilton- The Continentals lost 24-17 to Tufts despite outgaining the Jumbos by 199 yards. They will have to find ways to correct all the mistakes made in week one (or sign Voodoo Tatum) if they want to get to .500 this year.
10. Bowdoin- Bowdoin got shut out in a bad way to start the season and there isn’t much reason to believe things will get much better. The Bears pushed across only 11 first downs and managed only 212 total yards. Bowdoin will play Amherst next week and hope not to become a practice game for the Lord Jeffs.
Saturday marked the official beginning of the journey that is the NESCAC football season. For many players who will graduate this spring, this journey is bittersweet, as its inevitable ending will deprive them the game of football. Wesleyan star defensive back Donnie Cimino ’15 began his final football journey in exciting fashion. He helped seal the Cardinals first victory with a 55 yard punt return that set up a short field goal while also registering four tackles.
Saturday was also the culmination of another journey. One that Cimino unexpectedly had to take this summer; one that began months ago in the beauty of a New England evening.
After starting the season playing for the Chatham Anglers, Cimino moved along with Wesleyan teammate Guy Davidson ’16 to the Nashua Silver Knights in the Futures League. On June 29, Cimino was leading off for the Silver Knights when he squared to bunt. His face was completely exposed as he had no time to react to the fastball that came and hit him right in the jaw. Summer teammate Cam DiSarcina says Cimino took the pitch unbelievably. “”He went down for a little bit and everyone was just shocked. He started walking back to the dugout by himself and there was a little bit of blood in his mouth and his face looked swollen. He said, “my jaw is broken”, without showing any pain and sat on the bench.”
That very night Cimino learned that he would need surgery to fix two breaks in his jaw, and that the recovery would mean having his mouth wired almost completely shut for six weeks. After the injury, a dreamy summer playing baseball was over. Cimino would have to return to New Jersey and recover at home.
Donnie Cimino ’15 takes a hack for Wesleyan
His surgery the very next day on June 30 went as planned, but the rough reality of the new situation set in even before he got home. Cimino’s mother, Sisi Cimino, was in the car with Donnie and her husband. “On our way home from the surgery, he began to hyperventilate, I thought we were going to have to take him back to the ER. Thankfully, my husband was able to calm him down for the moment, but not being able to open his mouth for the next six weeks seemed impossible.”
The first week after surgery was rough. The immediate injuries of the pitch still caused Cimino a lot of pain. “My face was really swollen and I had a hematoma (occurs when clotted blood swells up) underneath my tongue which was painful. I struggled to eat and lost 20 pounds that first week from not eating and all the medication I was taking. My mom and sister were taking care of me that whole first week, I don’t think i would have gotten through it without them.” Being home gave Cimino a support group that he could rely on every day.
Having his mouth wired shut meant that he would not be able to eat any solid food until the wires could be removed. For any person this presents a challenge, but Cimino would need much more than the normal person requires in order to keep on muscle going into football season. This meant finding a food that had the protein needed without having to be chewed. The answer lay in beans. Every type of beans imaginable from red to black to white to lentils. Cimino himself estimates that he had beans or soup five times a day while the wire was in.
Things started to get better as the weeks went by. Though there were still days when he got down or upset about having to stay in his house, his family helped him get through it. Because he had difficulty talking through the wire, he didn’t leave his house very often in order to avoid awkward situations. When he did it often lead to conversations like this:
Nothing more awkward than the conversation asking the people at panera to blend my soup for me
One of the few things that Cimino was still able to do without people looking at him too funny was run and train for football. Because he has always been a two sport athlete, most of his summers were spent playing baseball and then using the last few weeks of summer to turn around and get ready for football. Since he couldn’t do much else, Cimino was not going to let a little wire get in the way of training. He worked out and ran three times a week with high school friends while also throwing at times during the week. Working out became a welcome diversion. “Training was pretty much the only way for me to get out of the house and not feel uncomfortable so I looked forward to it.” He began to put weight back on slowly but surely.
Through all of his hard work and the herculean efforts of his mother to keep him somehow interested in the food he was eating, he lost only ten pounds because of the injury. And he put that weight right back on soon after he was able to eat solid food for the first time in six weeks. Though the experience was a difficult one that robbed him of summer baseball and six weeks of eating food, Cimino says he feels stronger mentally from it.
Cimino (#11) makes a play in space
He returned to school in late August for football season excited about starting his final season. And he barely missed a beat because of the injury. After one week of non-contact he was back at full speed in practice. Besides a little soreness he hasn’t had any problem with the jaw.
On Saturday, Cimino will take the field against Hamilton in Wesleyan’s home opener. Only three more home games will remain after Saturday. Cimino knows his parents will be watching him, proud of how he overcame everything this summer. Being able to get back to playing the game he loves was only possible because of them, and the memories of this summer will help drive him this fall.
The last few years have seen schools improve in leaps and bounds in terms of providing highlights and content on their websites. The biggest difference is of course Northeast Sports Net which provides quality webcasts and commentators for not only football but a lot of other sports as well. Because NSN has the tapes of games in storage, school are able to use them for more highlight packages. These help make the game come alive for alumni and parents unable to attend games in person. Also schools now publish much of the information you would normally find in a game program online a few days beforehand. Below are highlights of games and some weekend previews.
Amherst-
Interesting to hear at the end of the video Coach EJ Mills reference not managing the end of the game. We think that refers to Nick Kelly ’17 scoring a touchdown instead of going down at the one yard line with about a minute left.
In addition, the Amherst website had a great article on Amherst lineman Max Lehrman ’15, Scott Mergner ’15, and Jonathan Woodrow ’15 that you can find here.
Bates- Preview of this weekend’s game against Tufts.
Hamilton- If you haven’t checked out Hamilton’s new football fan site, here is the link
Middlebury- Local Vermont TV station WPTZ has highlights of the Middlebury-Wesleyan game.
Tufts-Highlights of the streak busting win are on the Tufts website.
Trinity- Trinity has a preview of this weekend’s showdown against Williams.
Williams-Williams highlights from their opening win against Bowdoin. Then they have their own preview of the game with Trinity.
Just as we did for baseball, every Monday we will look back at the weekend by examining some of the players, units, and coaches that stuck out. Week 1 featured an escape by the Jeffs at home, a successful opening of a new stadium in Williamstown, and a triumph for Tufts.
Stock Up
Williams Secondary- In the preseason the defensive line got most of the love for Williams, but the secondary was the star in week 1. Four of the five top tacklers for the Ephs were defensive backs. That includes Tom Cabarle ’15 and Jack Ryan ’16 accounting for all three tackles for loss. To cap it off, top corner Taysean Scott ’17 returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown. The Bowdoin passing offense struggled for the first three quarters to find receivers open downfield before moving the ball after Williams went into near prevent defense. Trinity represents a different animal in terms of offensive attack next week for Williams, but if the Ephs can count on their secondary being sure handed in their tackling, that will go a long way in slowing down the big play ability of the Trinity run offense.
Trinity Offensive Line – Colby held tight for a while before the Bantams turned the burners on to extend the home winning streak to 52. In total Trinity ran for 289 yards against the best run defense from 2013. Coach Jeff Devanney turned to his line for the first drive of the second half. The Bantams ran the ball on 11 of the 12 plays of the drive including the first 10. Chudi Iregbulem’s ’15 touchdown made the score 22-7 to essentially put the game away. From left to right the Bantam line goes Matt Porter ’16 6’2″ 285 lbs, Jake Golden ’15 6’1″ 290 lbs, Joe Magardino 6’2″ 275 lbs, Connor Flynn ’15 6’3″ 280 lbs, and Will Lynner ’16 6’2″ 270 lbs. Then throw in tight end Brendan Oliver at 6’3″ 235 lbs for good measure. At this point in the season, this is the best positional unit on either offense or defense in the entire NESCAC. Switch the Trinity offensive line onto any other NESCAC school and that school would go at least 4-4.
Tufts – Saturday’s win over Hamilton was the first victory for every single player on the Tufts roster as a member of the Jumbos. The atmosphere in Medford was one of jubilation. Have to give credit not only to the team and coaches but also the crowd. There was a feeling that the streak was coming to an end soon, and students turned out in force to watch their team. Corner Mike Stearns ’17 was the star on a defense that bended but didn’t break. The sophomore had an incredible 16 solo tackles to earn Co-Defensive Player of the Week. Also important in the victory was Mike Rando ’17 who finished with 188 all-purpose yards. Tufts has a lot of work to do in order to keep improving given they had only 12 first downs to Hamilton’s 23.
Quarterbacks – As a group, NESCAC QBs threw for 10 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 58.4 completion percentage. Two interceptions were returned for touchdowns and Colby’s Gabe Harrington’s ’17 fumble led to a Trinity defensive touchdown. Defenses being ahead of offenses is not unusual in Week 1. Coaches are also usually more conservative as they try to feel out exactly how comfortable their quarterback is. Still, several signs point to passing being down around the NESCAC all year. The first is the obvious drop off Middlebury will see with Matt Milano ’16 now at QB. Milano actually threw for the second most yards in week one but had two interceptions including a crucial one to Justin Sanchez ’17. Both Trinity’s Henry Foye ’15 and Jesse Warren ’15 will not be asked to make many throws because of the strength of their running games. The surprising start of Alex Berluti ’17 for Amherst could also mean less passing for the Jeffs because of Berluti’s running ability.
Wesleyan’s Invincibility – Given all of the starters returning from last season, some expected the 2014 season to be one big victory lap for the Cardinals. That looks silly now after they escaped from Middlebury with an eight point victory. Sure they were playing without running back LaDarius Drew ’15, but that is no reason for only averaging 1.7 yards per carry. If not for a Middlebury roughing the kicker penalty, the Panthers would have gotten the ball back with a chance to tie with just under two minutes left. Maybe Middlebury will not take any steps back this season or Wesleyan simply came out flat in the first game. Luckily the Cardinals should not be challenged at home next weekend by Hamilton but they then face three difficult games. The defense really carried the Cardinals to the victory with Justin Sanchez’ ’17 TAINT (touchdown after interception) and Donnie Cimino’s ’15 punt return bailing out the offense.
Gutsy Decisions – The most exciting game of the weekend swung on a single play with Bates electing to go for two and the win at Amherst. While the gamble by Coach Mark Harriman did not work out, the decision to go for it was definitely the right one. Like we predicted, the game was extremely low scoring with Bates averaging only 2.9 yards per play. Forgetting for now everything that followed afterward, at the moment Bates had jumped on a huge miscue from a Gene Garay ’15 fumble to score their touchdown. An offense that had struggled all game suddenly could win the game in a situation perfectly built for their scheme. Though he missed a kick earlier in the game, the ability of Amherst kicker Phillip Nwosu ’15 probably also played into Harriman’s thinking. In overtime that kicking advantage could easily have been the difference for the Jeffs. As the underdog on the road, Harriman was completely right to take the gamble and play the odds. The only possible problem was the play call. Instead of relying on some variation of the triple option, Matt Cannone ’16 dropped back for a pass hoping to catch the Jeffs by surprise. Our guess is Harriman thought he saw something in the Amherst defense that could be exploited on that play, but it just did not work out.
Week 1 of the NESCAC football season is in the books. There will be plenty of “real” news and analysis coming later on in the week, but let’s kick Monday off with what everyone really cares about. Fantasy football.
The Bantams (Meekins) vs. Foye Story (MacDonald)
Meekins’ two controversial early picks of “back up” running backs looked pretty good this week. Kyle Gibson wasn’t spectacular, but Nick Kelly broke away for a 42-yard TD on his way to 77 yards over nine carries, and both was his team’s leading rusher on the day. Wesleyan and Meekins got pretty much what is to be expected from Jesse Warren, who posted 20 points by throwing for 163 yards and two TD’s, and Gene Garay made good on his first round status, outscoring all other wide receivers in play besides Jay Fabien (Team Lindholm).
However, Foye Story edged The Bantams, ironically, on the strength of Chudi Iregbulem’s NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week-winning performance. Well over half of my points came from Iregbulem and Alex Scyocurka, and I’m excited for both of their potential this season. The bad news: I started the wrong Hamilton tailback (Rico Gonzalez over Jeff Hopsicker) and Middlebury wide receiver (Matt Minno over Grant Luna), but a win’s a win.
Alex Scyocurka tore up the Bowdoin defense for 128 yards and two TD’s.
The Bantams (Meekins)
Foye Story (MacDonald)
Position
Player
Points
Player
Points
QB
J. Warren
20
H. Foye
6
QB
M. Caputi
5
G. Harrington
10
RB
K. Gibson
6
A. Scyocurka
24
RB
J. Rivers
2
C. Iregbulem
32
RB
N. Kelly
8
I. Reese
1
WR
G. Garay
11
M. Minno
2
WR
I. Dugger
4
G. Lanzillo
0
WR
C. Ragone
7
N. Joseph
10
TE
B. Oliver
0
B. Harasimowicz
1
FLEX
D. Von Euw
0
R. Gonzalez
0
FLEX
D. Sime
2
S. Carroll
2
K
P. Nwosu
1
J. Mallock
3
D/ST
Trinity
16
Colby
-2
TOTAL
82
89
Team Lindholm vs. Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship
How ’bout those Ephs?! The Williams defense carried Team Lindholm, scoring more than everyone else in the matchup besides Panthers QB Matt Milano. Pretty amazing that Lindholm pulled off the victory despite four goose eggs on the board. Two of those are pretty glaring, as Lindholm (and the rest of us) assumed that Max Lippe and Ryan Hislop would be starting for their respective squads, but it looks like both could be looking at reserve duty unless injury or bad performance strikes. Kenny Adinkra, too, will need to step up his play after Kelly’s breakout day.
As for Team Lamont, he should be encouraged by a solid showing from Austin Lommen in his first NESCAC game, and Carl Lipani looked great in Colby’s season opener. Other than that though, Lamont got a lot of mediocre performances. The Wesleyan D/ST was good not great, and unfortunately Mike Rando didn’t accrue any points for his return duties, causing Team Lamont to pull up just short.
Matt Cannone, downed at the two here, and the triple option had little success against the Amherst defense.
Williams– The Williams website has a preview of this weekend.
