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.
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
(Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)
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 2ndon 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
(Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Stock Down
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.
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.
Now that you’ve read all of our team previews, it’s time preview the individuals. This year more than any year in recent memory, the league is just stacked with talent across the board. Plus when you factor in how many teams could make a run at the title, there are really so many players in contention for awards this year. Let’s see how they stack up.
Coach of the Year: Dan DiCenzo, Wesleyan
Barring a Williams-esque turnaround, which I don’t see happening (sorry Maine), this award is going to go to someone at the top of the standings. As evidenced in the Season Previews, it’s going to be crowded at the top with a whole lot of contenders, so your guess is as good as mine. But I’ll my chances with the 4thyear man in Middletown for a few reasons. First, despite posting consecutive 6-win seasons, the Cards are facing a bit of a rebuild with their personnel. Okay, rebuild is probably too strong of a word, but the faces on the field are going to look a little different this year, especially on offense. Sure, First Team QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is back and the talk of the league (more to come on that), but everything else is going to look a lot different. WR Mike Breuler is gone, which really can’t be overstated, as the 2017 Player of the Year was absolutely dominant, finishing with 87 catches, 1172 yards, and 10 TDs. Oh, and the NESCAC plays a 9 game schedule. Dario Highsmith has transitioned to WR, leaving the backfield a relative unknown. The defense will be strong as ever, but it’s the offense that will tell this team’s story. Also, their schedule shapes up nicely to Coach DiCenzo to make a run at this award. They have one of the toughest Septembers in the league, hosting Middlebury before traveling to Tufts. If they can grab those two they look set to cruise into contention, before a grueling Week 8 @ Williams followed by the finale at home vs. Trinity. They’ll be tested early, and they’ll be tested late, and if they can pass both tests DiCenzo will be a huge reason.
Defensive Player of the Year:
TJ Rothmann ‘21, LB, Williams
This is probably a little out of the box here, but if any defensive player in the league has the chance to improve the most it’s Rothmann. We often see just how big a jump in production is made between years 1 and 2, and as the only freshman named to the All-League defense last year, Rothmann fits that bill. Williams is going to make its name stopping the run this year, and his 83 returning tackles are going to be a big reason why. The biggest question is whether or not they’ll have the team success to get his name in this conversation.
Andrew Yamin ‘19, DE/LB, Amherst
It would be natural for the reigning DPOY returning for his senior year to be at the top of the list, but that would make way too much sense. Instead, the Amherst star falls at #2. 13.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for a loss are a lot to follow up. Yamin very well may be the best defensive player in the league this year, and he might have the numbers to back it up, but as we’ve seen many times, once you set the bar for yourself, it can be really hard to reach. Yamin is going to have to at least match these numbers this year if he wants to repeat, and in a linebacking core shared with LB Andrew Sommer, there might not be enough to go around.
Greg Holt ’20, LB, Tufts
This felt like such a slam dunk that I’m confident enough to feel like I’ve completely jinxed it. The 2016 Rookie of the Year took the jump into the First Team as a sophomore, and there’s only one more level to ascend to. Holt’s 84 tackles last season were good for 3rdin the league, but it’s their Class of 2018 that make him the favorite to win this award. The Jumbos graduated a staggering three All-League defensive linemen in 1stTeamer Micah Adickes and 2ndTeamers Doug Harrison and Zach Thomas. Those were some bad dudes, but they’ve left a hole in their departure and Holt is going to fill it. Not only will there be more to go around for Holt, but we already know that he can do it. He had an incredible 98 tackles in just 8 games his freshman campaign, and if he hits that century mark this season you can begin drafting the press release. His tackles for loss and sacks should see an increase as well. I’ll take Holt.
Honorable Mentions: DL Corey-Jean Jacques ’19, Trinity, LB Andrew Sommer ’19, Amherst, CB Tim Preston ’19, Tufts
Offensive Player of the Year:
Ryan McDonald ’19, QB, Tufts
What’s with all the Tufts love, right? On paper, this pick doesn’t make a lot of sense. McDonald threw for just 11 TDs last year and paired them with 10 INTs. He was wildly inconsistent, but the entire pretense of this pick rests on the senior being able to develop into the kind of player he showed in flashes, but for all 9 games. McDonald threw for 267 yards against Trinity and followed it up with 336 against Williams the following week. His last three weeks, his passing high was 179 yards, and he was 14-31 with a pair of interceptions in that same game, a loss against Amherst. But McDonald could be the most talented player in the league because of his ability in the air coupled with his ability on the ground. He was third in the entire league with 722 rushing yards and rushed for 145 yards in his final game vs. Middlebury. If he can become a little more accurate and turn those 11 TDs and 10 picks into 15 TDs and, say, 6 INTs, he won’t even need much more improvement on his 1879 passing yards (2ndin the league) and aforementioned 722 rushing yards.
Max Chipouras ’19, RB, Trinity
For the more casual readers of this site: yes, Max Chipouras is still here. The 2015 Rookie of the Year has been trucking linebackers and piling up the stats for what feels like forever, but he has finally arrived at his senior season. It’s a testament to Max that he led the league in both rushing yards with 947 and rushing touchdowns with 10 and it felt like his year was just okay. But when you take a closer look at the box score, you realize the kind of damage he could’ve truly done. He had 4 games with a YPC of 6+, but only had 50 carries in those games. Why wasn’t he given the ball more? Probably because Trinity outscored their opponents 190-27 in those games. Chipouras led the NESCAC in every major rushing category and he was taking his cleats off at halftime for nearly half of the season. In theory, Trinity shouldn’t be as dominant this year, and their offense not as balanced with QB Sonny Puzzo gone. They should have to give Chipouras the ball more, and that should lead to some serious numbers. If they decide to leave this guy in the game this year, they might have to rewrite the record books.
Mark Piccirillo ’19, QB, Wesleyan
I wanted to put Piccirillo at #2 so badly. Like so badly, you have no idea. The plan going in was to be contrarian and predict a regression while Chipouras carries a greater load and steals it away from his CT neighbors. But then you look at Piccirillo’s stats from last year, and it’s just impossible not to install him as the favorite. 2657 yards. 70.4% completion percentage. 20 TDs. That’s before mentioning the 474 rushing yards (6thin the league) and 4 rushing TDs. I mean those numbers are insane. Now before you tell me that WR Mike Breuler is gone and any other arguments—save it—they were literally exactly what I was going to use to justify putting him at #2. In fact, I’m going to agree with some of those arguments. Piccirillo is probably going to regress. I mean it’s hard enough to throw for 2657 (2657!!) yards a second year in a row, and even harder without being able to throw it up to D3 Randy Moss 20 times a game. But the rushing numbers will probably go up due to the uncertainty in the backfield and increased playmaking responsibility on their senior quarterback. Coach DiCenzo always has the Wesleyan offense humming and Piccirillo will be the face of that. The team success certainly won’t be an issue, and quite frankly if he turns it over 15 teams again like he did last year, it probably won’t make a difference either. He’s the best player on one of the best teams in the league. I didn’t want to do it, but I have to go with Piccirillo.
Honorable Mentions: QB Bobby Maimaron ’21, Williams, WR Conrado Banky ’19, Middlebury, WR Joe Schmidt ’20, Hamilton
Ladies and gentleman, football is officially here. Right out of the gate, the NESCAC Gods have rewarded our patience with a matchup containing two of the league’s heavyweights, as the Middlebury Panthers travel to Corwin Field to take on the Wesleyan Cardinals. Normally inaugural games aren’t necessarily make or break, but for these two, it might as well be the case. The winner grabs a marquee victory and something to build upon as the season gets rolling, while the loser will be playing catch-up right from the get-go, with games against Amherst and defending champions Trinity still to come. Who’s ready for a shootout?
One Man on a Mission
Wesleyan will bring the air attack this weekend.
Wesleyan runs an RPO style attack on offense, and they do it to perfection; the Cardinals ranked 1st in the ‘CAC last season in time of possession and first downs, displaying their patience and taking what the defense gave them. The combination of lengthy drives and an up-tempo pace (a fundamental component of the RPO offense) wears down opposing defenses throughout the game.
The Cardinals have serious aspirations to claim their first outright NESCAC Championship, and they have every right to be confident with QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 leading the way. Although he falls on the smaller spectrum in terms of prototypical quarterback height (5’10’’), the man is a magician with the football. Last year’s First Team All-NESCAC selection accounted for more than 3,100 total yards of offense, torching opposing secondaries for 20 TD while adding another 4 on the ground. His absurdly high completion percentage (70.4%) highlights his football IQ, and he knows when to tuck the ball and run, leading the Cardinals in rushing. One smudge on an otherwise brilliant junior campaign was in the turnover department – Piccirillo’s 10 interceptions were tied for worst in the NESCAC and something he must improve on if the Cardinals truly want to have a special season. This is a puzzling stat considering how efficient and prolific the other offensive numbers are, so Cardinal fans will be hoping the senior cuts down on his mistakes.
Another cause for concern for the Wesleyan offense is the departure of last year’s NESCAC Player of The Year, WR Mike Breuler ’18. Piccirillo and Brueler were like Will Grier and David Stills (for anyone who doesn’t know these two from West Virginia, I suggest you look them up and watch how lethal this tandem is): you knew the ball was going in Brueler’s direction nearly every time the offense lined up, yet there was nothing opposing defenses could do to stop it. Finding a replacement for someone who set NESCAC single-season records in receiving yards (1,172) and touchdowns (10) is nearly impossible, but the Cardinals are hoping that some sort of chemistry has been built between the veteran QB and his returning weapons during practice.
New QB, Same Artillery
Frankie Cosolito is one of Midd’s many weapons.
If it wasn’t for a season-ending injury to stud QB Jared Lebowitz ’18, Middlebury just might have won the NESCAC last year. Unfortunately, the senior’s career was cut short just before their de-facto championship matchup vs. Trinity, and now the Panthers must move on without their prized Division 1 transfer manning the helm on offense. The new man in charge is Jack Meservy ’19 who is hoping to show the rest of the league that the Panthers will be just fine at the quarterback position. Thrust into the starting role against a formidable Bantam defense, struggles were expected; however, Meservy bounced back nicely with impressive performances against Hamilton and Tufts.
Meservy will have a multitude of weapons to choose from as Panthers return nearly every single starting offensive player from a year ago. Conrado Banky ’19 ( two-time 1st Team All-NESCAC selection) leads an impressive wide receiver bunch that is laden with depth. Tight end Frank Cosolito ’19 is the best in the ‘CAC and led the Panthers with six scores last season. What’s more, the Panthers feature an offensive line that rivals any such unit in the league, which is critical so Meservy can have time in the pocket to go through his progressions. Similarly to Wesleyan, Middlebury doesn’t have too much success running the ball; since Piccirillo can keep opposing defenses honest with his legs, however, the Panthers must utilize their committee of running backs in order to stray away from being overly one-dimensional on offense. Look for Coach Ritter to give Drew Jacobs ’19 and Peter Scibilia ’21 a chance to take the load off of Meservy and use the O-line to create more manageable 3rd down conversions.
Let’s Talk Defense
While the focal point of the matchup centers around the offense units, both teams aren’t too shabby in the defensive department. With 6 starters returning on a defense that allowed 16.1 ppg (good for second in the ‘CAC), Wesleyan will be optimistic in regards to containing the Middlebury air assault. The Cardinals boast a fantastic defensive line headlined by DT Grant Williams ’19, and their linebacking core features Brandon Morris ’19, who led the NESCAC in tackles a season ago. The secondary is a bit suspect, with two brand new starting safeties in addition to replacing Second Team All-NESCAC DB Elias Camacho ’18.
The Panther D prided themselves on their ability to pressure the quarterback and create turnovers; they led the NESCAC in sacks (31) and forced 16 total turnovers on their way to a league-best three defensive touchdowns. Middlebury features a solid secondary and enough pass-rushing ability to test the Wesleyan offensive line. They will have to replace two All-NESCAC linebackers, so look for Kevin Maxwell ’19 to step up and take charge of the group.
Key Player for Wesleyan:
Evan Hull ’19
WR Evan Hull ‘19
The obvious choice for this would be Piccirillo, but the wide receiver position for the Cardinals is of the utmost importance. Losing four of your top five WR’s is an absolute killer, and Hull is the only remaining one. He finished second on the team with 340 receiving yards and needs to become a security blanket for Piccirillo. Most of Hall’s fellow position mates lack meaningful game experience, so he needs to set the tone and have a big game in order to instill confidence in both his teammates and his QB.
Key Player for Middlebury:
Jack Merservy ’19
QB Jack Meservy ‘19
This time I’m sticking with the obvious choice. Meservy has waited a long time to finally take control of the offense and he’s ready to show the rest of the league what he’s capable of. He’s got a plethora of weapons surrounding him and a great offensive line ready to give him time in the pocket to throw. Banky, Cosolito and company will create separation on opposing defensive backs, but it remains to be seen if Meservy can consistently keep the chains moving in order to outgun the Cardinals. If he can do so, Middlebury will leave Corwin Field with a monumental victory. If not, it will be a long day for the Panther offense.
Everything Else:
I’m expecting a tight contest, so special teams will definitely play a big part in determining the outcome of this game. Middlebury has the edge in the KR/PR department, with the two-headed monster of Banky ’19 and fellow WR Jimmy Martinez ’19 eager to take one to the house. The Panthers don’t kick too many field goals, but one area of concern is K Carter Massengill’s ’20 below-average PAT percentage (82.1%, second-worst in the NESCAC last season). Wesleyan returns Second Team All-NESCAC punter Sam Han ’20, who hopefully won’t need to be used too much if the Cardinals offense is moving up and down the field. Wesleyan is handing the kicking duties to Pat Wolfe ‘21, and he might be feeling the butterflies come kickoff.
Prediction:
Get your bathroom breaks in before the start of this one, because both these teams are going to light up the scoreboard. In what I think will be a fast-paced, aerial assault, every defensive stop matters. Piccirillo can only do so much, and I think there are too many question marks concerning both Wesleyan’s receiver bunch and their secondary. Meservy will make his presence known to the rest of the league, Banky will shine, and the Panthers will head back to Middlebury with a huge victory
If I told you that Urban Meyer has the second highest winning percentage of any active college football coach that has coached 10+ years, who would you think has the highest? Probably Nick Saban, right? Actually, the answer is Jeff Devanney of Trinity College. When most people think of college football powerhouses they think of Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson. I think of Trinity, Amherst, and Middlebury. The real college football is finally back and it’s shaping up to be an exciting year with more teams in contention than usual. The NESCAC has been very stratified in recent years, but we anticipate that there will start a bit more parity this season as the weaker teams are beginning to make some changes, and the top teams have lost some of their stars. It’s year two of the ninth game, so now teams should be adjusting to the shorter preseason since they’ve had a chance to experiment once already. Let’s see how the matchups look for Week 1 of the new season:
Williams @ Bowdoin, Brunswick, ME
Bobby Maimaron will look to pick up right where he left off last season (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)
Two years ago, these teams both finished 0-8, leaving a sour taste in their mouths as they looked to get back on track the following season. Williams was able to do more than just get back on track, as they surprised everyone with a 6-3 finish. Unfortunately, Bowdoin was unable to right the ship as they struggled even more, finishing 0-9. The Ephs feature a pair of star sophomores in QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 and WR Frank Stola ’21 who broke into the NESCAC scene with huge freshman seasons. They’ll be asked to carry a strong offense with very high expectations after such a successful 2017 campaign. The big question for the Polar Bears will be who is going to start at quarterback since they return both QB’s from last year’s team and welcome Lafayette transfer Austin McCrum. Aside from that there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of change for a team that really needs it. Even with the addition at quarterback, I don’t see this being the week that things start to turn around in Brunswick.
Prediction: Williams 31, Bowdoin 14
Middlebury @ Wesleyan, Middletown, CT
As far as Week 1 matchups go, this is as big as it gets. Our game of the week features perennial title contenders Middlebury and Wesleyan as they’ll go to battle again this year right out of the gates. Wesleyan returns star quarterback Mark Piccirillo ’19 who led the league in passing last year in just about every category, but they lose their top receiving threat in Mike Breuler ’18 (who led the league in receiving in just about every category) as well as 4 of their top 5 receivers. It’ll be interesting to see how Piccirillo fares, as he has to make relationships with an entirely new group of receivers. On the other hand, Middlebury lost their star quarterback Jared Lebowitz ’18, but return the entirety of their very strong receiving corps, headlined by Conrado Banky ’19, Jimmy Martinez ’19, and Frank Cosolito ’20. They’ll have to make it easy on first-time starter Jack Meservy ’19, who was able to put up some impressive numbers last season playing behind Lebowitz. It’ll be tough to start against a defense as strong as Wesleyan, but I think Meservy is up for the challenge. The Panthers’ strong team rapport tips the balance because I think it’ll take the Cardinals a week or two to find their identity this season.
Prediction: Middlebury 31, Wesleyan 28
Tufts @ Hamilton, Clinton, NY
These teams each feature very talented – albeit inconsistent – quarterbacks who are in position to have big seasons. Both teams have the capability to compete with anyone, but haven’t been able to string together consecutive strong performances. Maybe it’s because I just wrote the team preview for the Continentals, but I really like their defense. Tyler Hudson ’19 is one of the best defensive players in the league, and he leads a unit that now has a few years of experience together. This is their year to prove that they belong, and it starts against a quarterback in Ryan McDonald ’19 who is notoriously turnover-prone. Losing to the same team twice in a row isn’t fun – especially when it’s in overtime. Hamilton isn’t going to let that happen again. I’m ready to hop on their bandwagon.
Prediction: Hamilton 28, Tufts 24
Amherst @ Bates, Lewiston, ME
We’ll have to wait and see if Brendan Costa is ready to make the transition from a run-first to a pass-first offense (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)
Bates is experiencing more change than any team from 2017 to 2018 as they hired a new coach who put in a new offense. This is very promising for a team that underachieved last season, has an up and coming quarterback in Brendan Costa ’21, and a wide receiver who has a chance to make an immediate impact in Derek Marino ’22. Unfortunately, they start the 2018 campaign against one of the league’s best. Amherst has won 3 of the last 5 NESCAC championships and look like the favorites again this season. Andrew Yamin ’19 could very well be the defensive player of the year and he leads the league’s top defense against a team who will be playing their first game with a new offensive scheme. The Mammoths also return their top offensive threats in tailback Jack Hickey ’19 and wide receiver James O’Regan ’20 who will help walk game manager Ollie Eberth ’20 through the full 60 minutes. The Bobcats have potential and their massive system changes will be beneficial in the long run, but they won’t be ready this early to take on an opponent as strong as Amherst.
Prediction: Amherst 33, Bates 13
Trinity @ Colby, Waterville, ME
We don’t know who will be under center for Trinity tomorrow (probably Jordan Vazzano ’21), but it doesn’t really matter. Whoever it is, they’ll be able to either hand it to Max Chipouras ’19 who will probably find his way into the end zone or throw it to Koby Schofer ’20 or Jonathan Girard ’21 who will likely find their way into the end zone, too. Colby made the right move in getting Jack Cosgrove to be their next head coach, but it’s almost not fair that his first game is against Trinity. The Mules have nowhere near the amount of talent as the Bantams, but it’ll be important to see that they’re making strides in the right direction for when they face a more formidable opponent. I’d like to see Bernie Sander ’21 catch a few passes, as he’s one of the most promising receivers on the Colby roster. Plus I’m going to love referring to him as “The Senator.” This one is going to be a blowout, but at least there will be nowhere to go but up.
