Football – Page 7 – Nothing But NESCAC

Separation in the Standings: Week 5 Weekend Preview

Bowdoin (0-4) @ Hamilton (1-3)

Bowdoin had another rough go of it last week, getting shut out by Tufts 28-0. Their offense was nearly nonexistent, only being able to total 230 yards on the day. Their rushing game continued to struggle heavily, with RB Brendan Ward being the top rusher who was only able to amass 38 yards. In the air QB Austin McCrum was able to pass for 162 yards but it took him 47 attempts to reach that number and he was only able to connect on 21 of those attempts. One positive that the Polar Bears can take away from last week is that they were able to force two turnovers on a very talented Tufts offense. Hamilton is a winnable game for Bowdoin, and they’re not going to have very many of those this year. If Bowdoin is able to go to New York and steal a win from the Continentals it will no doubt put them in the lead for the race for the CBB.

After a surprise win in week 3, week 4 looked very similar to the beginning of the season for the Continentals. They allowed Trinity to score 44 unanswered points to start the game and were only able to get on the board with a garbage time TD in the 4th quarter. Similar to Bowdoin vs. Tufts, Hamilton’s game versus Trinity was basically over before it started. They allowed over 500 yards of total offense to the Bantams while only collecting 213 themselves. There was a clear difference in quality between the two teams that we have seen many times this NESCAC football season. Although last week may have been rough for Hamilton, they have a golden opportunity this week. QB Kenny Gray has showed that he can dominate the lesser defenses in the league and that is exactly what they have in Bowdoin. Facing a team that can’t do much to slow down offense, or generate much of their own for that matter, I would expect Hamilton to come out and seize the opportunity to put big numbers up on the board.

Score Prediction: Hamilton 35 Bowdoin 10

Colby (0-4) @ Amherst (4-0)

Although it was their 4th loss in a row, the Mules made great progress as a team in their 28-20 loss to Wesleyan. Their offense appeared to have some life to it, being able to put up a season-high 344 yards of total offense. The majority of that offense came from Freshman QB Matt Hersch. Hersch looked extremely solid in his second every collegiate start, passing for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns. I can’t remember the last time that Colby’s passing game had some effectiveness to it, so these stats should be very exciting for Mule fans. RB Jake Schwern had a mediocre day, only being able to pick up 66 yards on 21 attempts. Additionally, this is the first time this season that the Colby defense was able to hold their opponent to less that 30 points. While that may not seem like a very impressive stat, progress is still progress. The Mules should look to build on their successes in week 4 in what will be a very tough road game against one of the best teams in the NESCAC.

Amherst kept their win streak going in a decisive 21-0 shoutout victory against Middlebury last weekend. Amherst’s defense was able to completely shut down Midd’s attack, barely allowing them into field goal range at any point in the game. Nobody on Midd was able to rush for more than 34 yards and it took QB Will Jernigan 32 attempts to amass a mere 133 yards. Offensively, once the Mammoths were able to get inside the redzone, they were able to punch it in with ease. RB Chase Trunell picked up the first two Amherst TDs on runs of only 2 and 3 yards. Their final TD came from their QB, Ollie Eberth, on a 15 yard run. Although their offense did not seem particularly overpowering, it was still more than enough to get the job done over a mid-tier team like Midd. Hosting an 0-4 team this week, look for more inflated numbers on offense and continued dominance on defense from Amherst.

Score Prediction: Amherst 28 Colby 7

Wesleyan (2-2) @ Bates (0-4)

Wesleyan was able to hold onto their early lead against Colby last week and snap their two game winning streak. It wasn’t a particularly pretty game, but a win is a win nonetheless. Once again QB Mark Piccirillo was the heart and soul of the Cardinal offense. He put Wesleyan on the board twice in the air to start the game and then added one on the ground for good measure. Out of Wesleyan’s 361 yards of total offense, Piccirillo accounted for 269 yards. RB Glenn Smith was also excellent for the Cardinals, he was on the receiving end of one of Piccirillo touchdown passes and then punched one in from the goalline late on to secure the Wesleyan win. Defensively, it was not the best showing by the Cardinals considering who their opponent was. Colby’s offense was able to make the game close at the end and seemed to fairly easily work their way through the Cardinal defense at point. Although they were still able to secure the win, it is clear that their defense is not at the same level as some of the more elite teams in the conference. This week’s matchup should be very similar to last week and if Wesleyan is able to avoid any major mistakes they should keep their win streak alive.

It was another tough week for the Bobcats as they were trashed by Williams 31-7. They allowed the Ephs to jump out to an early 17-0 lead in the first quarter and the game was basically over after that. QB Brendan Costa was not able to pass the century mark in the air, falling one short with 99 passing yards on the day. RB Liam Spillane was their top rusher, collecting 72 yards but it took him 24 attempts to do so. Overall, there was not much to write home about for Bates in week 4. There defense didn’t record a single turnover while their offense lost a fumble and Costa was picked twice. It seems as if Bates’ write ups are a broken record at this point. They just don’t seem to be in the same category as the teams they have played thus far and I don’t expect that to change here in week 5. Barring a miracle, it’s going to be another tough weekend in Lewiston.

Score Prediction: Wesleyan 31 Bates 10

Middlebury (2-2) @ Williams (4-0)

Middlebury has shown themselves to be the dictionary definition of a mid-tier team at this point in the season. Against the lesser teams, such as Colby and Bowdoin, they are able to fairly easily take care of business and pick up wins. Against the top teams in the conference, such as Amherst and even Wesleyan, they are overpowered and out matched. Last week’s shoutout loss was an example of the latter. Their offense was lifeless, as it took QB Will Jernigan 32 attempts to throw for a mere 133 yards. Of his 15 completions, none reached the end zone. Their run game was even worse, with 5 players combining to pick up 65 yards on 39 attempts. There was not a lot of upside offensively for the Panthers, but there were some solid takeaways on defense. Midd held Amherst to their second lowest scoring total of the year with 21 points. Additionally, they were able to force a turnover on an Amherst offense that does not give up possession very often. Midd have a tough task ahead of them if they want to stay a .500 team or better after this weekend. Williams is yet to be defeated and it starting to look like it’s going to take some serious luck to do so. Maybe the Middlebury Panthers can summon a little Dillon Panther magic this weekend and dethrone who appears to be the top dog in the CAC.

Another week, another win. That seems to be the motto for the Ephs thus far this season. Last weekend they were able to take the trek up to Maine and keep a winless Bates team at bay with ease. QB Bobby Mamarion was extremely efficient, only tossing the ball 19 times for 2 TDs. RB TJ Dozier ran wild, picking up 151 yards and 2 TDs of his own on only 12 attempts. Mamarion’s favorite target, WR Frank Stola, was able to get in on the fun too. Stola picked up 74 yards and a TD on only 5 catches. The Ephs are absolutely rolling on both sides of the ball and it seems as if nobody can stop them. A home game may as well be an automatic win at this point for Williams as they are 2-0, most notably with a win against defending champs Trinity. This week should be pretty cut and dry for the Ephs. Keep the same game plan and mentality and there should be no reason why they don’t walk away with their perfect record in tact.

Score Prediction: Williams 24 Midd 10

What We Expected: Week 4 Power Rankings

Week 4 Power Rankings

This was about as boring a weekend of football as you can possibly get in the NESCAC. Colby kept things somewhat close with Wesleyan, but it only became a one-possession game again with 14 seconds remaining. Every game went more or less exactly the way we thought, and the one game that seemed like it could be interesting ended up with Amherst shutting out Middlebury. I guess it’s good that we’re getting the boring weeks out of the way so that we can get some good end-of-season drama. Fingers crossed.

(1) 1. Williams (4-0)

The Ephs took care of Bates this weekend with relative ease, 31-7. Williams actually threw the ball just 19 times the entire game, as QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 was 11-19 for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is a modest stat line by his standards, but his arm wasn’t really needed since RB TJ Dozier ’21 pummeled the Bates run defense with 12 carries for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. Not much has changed for Williams in the past week, but one notable stat is that they haven’t allowed a single point in the third quarter of any game all season. This really is a testament to the halftime coaching adjustments as well as simply a very stout defense. They host Middlebury in Week 5 looking to stay atop the rankings.

(2) 2. Tufts (4-0)

QB Ryan McDonald ’19 is showing off his versatility as a runner much more this season

At the start of the year, I don’t think anyone could have envisioned Tufts’ defense looking as prolific as they have thus far. Bowdoin may not be the most talented team in the league, but a shutout in football is very hard to come by. As a unit they lead the league in sacks (14), allow the second fewest rushing yards per game (58.3), and allow the fourth fewest passing yards per game (173). Senior defensive lineman Jared Ashler ’19 is 3^rdin the NESCAC with 3 sacks on the year and with the help of guys like DL Nmesoma Nwafor ’19 and LB Stephen Timmins ’20, this Jumbo defense* is consistently getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The defense will have to bring their A-game this weekend when they travel to Hartford to take on the league’s top offense.

*Being called the “Jumbo defense” makes it sound like they have a wall of 6’5”, 280 lbs studs not letting anyone by. I wouldn’t want to have to play against them.

(3) 3. Amherst (4-0)

Amherst pulled off a very convincing win over Middlebury on Saturday. After losing to the Panthers by a combined 5 points in the last two years, the Mammoth defense* was suffocating, not allowing a point over the full 60 minutes. The offense looked good, although star RB Jack Hickey ’19 did not play the entire game, meaning he must be injured. If he is out for an extended period of time then this would be a huge blow for the Amherst offense that is built around the run game. The good thing is that they’re getting exactly the type of quarterback play that they need. If you were to Google search “game manager quarterback” you’d find a picture of Ollie Eberth ’20 right under a picture of AJ McCarron. Eberth doesn’t throw for a ton of yards, but he’s yet to throw an interception this season and he leads all starters with a 64% completion percentage. The formula is there for the Mammoths, and they’ll have one last dress rehearsal this weekend against Colby before they get to the challenging portion of their schedule.

*Ok so “Mammoth defense” is probably the only thing that sounds more intimidating than “Jumbo defense.” Well done NESCAC and your weird mascots.

(4) 4. Trinity (3-1)

The Bantams got back to what they do best with a 44-7 spanking of Hamilton. QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 continues to have an unsettlingly low completion percentage, but his job isn’t so hard since it basically just requires him to throw the ball in the general vicinity of either Jonathan Girard ’21 or Koby Schofer ’20, who are first and third respectively in receiving yards per game and receiving touchdowns. The defense is having another terrific season, as they’ve allowed the fewest passing yards and total yards, as well as third fewest rushing yards in the conference. After the loss to Williams in Week 3, Trinity needs to win out and hope for a couple of Eph losses if they want a chance at the title. The road continues with a marquee matchup against Tufts this weekend.

(5) 5. Wesleyan (2-2)

WR Hallvard Lundevall ’20 has emerged as Wesleyan’s top receiving threat

I can’t quite figure out the Cardinals this year. They looked like the team to beat this year after they blasted Middlebury in Week 1, but they’ve seemed very shaky since then. Although they led the entire way, a 28-20 victory over Colby is not a particularly definitive result. Wesleyan’s run defense has been excellent, but they haven’t done a great job defending the pass and this trend continued against the Mules when they allowed 277 pass yards and 3 touchdowns to freshman QB Matt Hersch ’22. QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is having a good year, but the Cardinals haven’t really showed many threats on offense. They’ll look to figure things out this weekend when they head up north to take on Bates.

(6) 6. Middlebury (2-2)

The struggles continued for the Panthers who were embarrassed at home by a very strong Amherst squad. Since taking over the starting role, QB Will Jernigan ’21 has had a tough time getting anything going with his receiving corps. He was only able to muster 133 passing yards on 15 completions against the Mammoths, and although this was technically his season high, it isn’t much considering how much talent they have at receiver. Allowing 301 yards and 21 total points isn’t a bad defensive effort at all, but the offense needs to produce a lot more than it has. They’ve got another tough matchup this Saturday as they’ll head down to take on the Ephs in Williamstown.

(7) 7. Hamilton (1-3)

Not to say that I expected Hamilton to beat Trinity, but after sneaking away with win at Wesleyan I at least expected a better performance. The Continentals looked just like they did in the first three weeks of the season, only managing to accumulate 213 yards of total offense while allowing 503. I haven’t played a down of football in my life but I know that isn’t going to win you a lot of games. The defense hasn’t been as good as it should be given the talent that Hamilton has on that side of the ball, and QB Kenny Gray ’20 simply hasn’t been very impressive this season. I thought this was going to be his big breakout year, and that just hasn’t happened. If the Continentals weren’t excited before then now is the time because they host their weakest opponent of the season so far in Bowdoin on Saturday.

(10) 8. Colby (0-4)

The 3 Maine schools could really be put in any order, but for the sake of excitement I’m judging them on a week-to-week basis. Week 4 was a big week for Colby. A loss is a loss, but they have a lot of reasons to be excited moving forward. First of all, rookie QB Matt Hersch ’22 completed a career-high 23 passes for a career high 277 yards and a career high 3 touchdowns. Not a bad day, huh? Second of all, the defense allowed a season-low 28 points. Wesleyan is a good team, so it was impressive that this defense could compete and keep the Mules in this game. D-lineman Nick Wilcox ’22 has looked very impressive as he had 7 tackles and 1 sack on Piccirillo, and is second on the team overall in tackles. Colby will take on Amherst this weekend in another very challenging matchup, then finally they’ll play some more winnable games against Hamilton and Bates in the following weeks.

(9) 9. Bates (0-4)

RB Liam Spillane ’21 tallied a career high in carries and yards against Williams

I’d say the Bates vs. Williams game went exactly how we would have expected. Williams was clearly the better team but the Bobcats hung around, only trailing 17-7 at the end of the third quarter before ultimately losing 31-7. It was the same story we’ve seen for Bates; they stay in games for a little while until the defense eventually gets too tired from being on the field all game so they fade at the end. DB’s Jon Lindgren ’20 and Anthony Costa ’21 continue to be the team’s standout defensive players and the real problem is that they don’t have any standout offensive players. Liam Spillane ’21 took over as lead running back against Williams, rushing 24 times for 72 yards. This is a respectable stat line, but the problem is the passing offense more than the running game. Their next game is against Wesleyan who has struggled against the pass, so we’ll see if Bates can come up with a better effort on Saturday.

(8) 10. Bowdoin (0-4)

We were seeing improvements from the Polar Bears, especially on offense, but they ran into a very hot Tufts team and were run right over. QB Austin McCrum ’20 threw the ball 47 times but completed just 21 of those passes for a mere 162 yards. I don’t think this game is indicative of how Bowdoin will be moving forward, but it definitely is a step in the wrong direction. They were without starting running back Nate Richam ’20 so the running game took a hit, but getting shut out is a bad look no matter what. The defense wasn’t great, but it hasn’t been great all season and Tufts is a strong team. This was one to forget for Bowdoin. On to Hamilton.

A QB League without the QBs? Week 4 Stock Report

Week 4 Stock Report

After another ho-hum week in the NESCAC, one that saw all 5 favorites record victories, it appears that we are finally set to heat up. With Tufts set to visit Trinity and Middlebury heading to Williamstown, the standings are due for a shakeup. Heading into what appears to be a make or break Week 5, let’s see who’s playing their best (or worst) football at the right time

Stock Up

Tufts’ Title Chances

It’s not like the Jumbos’ 28-0 win over Bowdoin to improve to 4-0 was a surprise, but it sure was impressive. They outgained Bowdoin 522-230, logging 29 first downs while only allowing 11. The offense has quietly developed into perhaps the most well-rounded unit in the league, and it’s come into full picture now that top offensive weapon WR Jack Dolan ’19 has returned from his early season absence and continues to get back into the swing of things. 6 different ‘Bos carried the ball more than 5 times, and 4 of them logged more than 50 yards each, with only Mike Pedrini (14) rushing more than 8 times. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 went a surgical 19-25 for 237 yards in the air, with 8 different receivers making catches. As was acutely predicted at the start of the season, McDonald has as good of a chance to win POY as any in the league right now. Oh, and their defense pitched its first shutout since 2006. Tufts is the real deal.

Winning Back-to-Back Defensive Player of the Year Awards

Anyone who watched the Amherst-Middlebury game on Saturday, a 21-0 Mammoth win (that still feels weird to say), would be able to tell you how much Andrew Yamin ’19 dominated. The box score doesn’t really do it a justice, and it still reads 11 tackles and 3.5 sacks. The senior LB/DE was anointed the league’s top individual honor for a defensive player as a junior, and he looks set to repeat already. There is obviously a lot of football left to be played, but the leader of this elite Amherst defensive unit (8.75 PPG) looks like a man on a mission.

Jonathan Girard

Not getting too creative here—Girard is simply playing on a different level than any other receiver in the league right now. The sophomore from Trinity had 5 catches for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns catches against Hamilton. At 6’4 and 210 pounds, he is an absolute matchup nightmare, and defenses everywhere should shudder to think about what it might look like if he was catching balls from a QB with a 50%+ completion percentage. He’s already eclipsed the 600-yard mark and we’re not even halfway through the year. Tufts’ secondary will provide the biggest challenge he’s faced so far and I can’t wait to watch him compete in what may be the biggest game of the season so far.

Championship Drama

It’s finally here! Any fan of NESCAC football knows the struggle for parity the league faces, especially early in the year. With the exception of Hamilton’s upset of Wesleyan in Week 3, and maybe Williams’ win against Trinity that same Saturday (it was a home game after all), every game has shaken out pretty close to how it should have. If you really want to make an argument for Wesleyan visiting Ellis Oval for a night game against Tufts, then I won’t fight you on that, I guess. But that is finally in the best—the season will really start in earnest on Saturday in Somerville. Tufts and Trinity is the first game of the year that is a true toss-up with championship implications. With a second loss, Trinity will essentially be eliminated from a chance at a third straight title, and while it would be harsh to rule out Tufts after just one loss, it’s hard to imagine them running the table with visits to Amherst and Middlebury, as well as a contest with Williams still on the schedule. Week 6 will have both Williams @ Tufts and Amherst @ Wesleyan, and then we’re really off to the races. Buckle up folks.

Stock Down

Middlebury’s Chance at a Winning Record

All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as the box score might indicate. With the exception of the Andrew Yamin sized hole in their backfield, the O-Line played spectacularly, and their defense gave them a chance, but the offense couldn’t get on the board in Middlebury’s 21-0 loss to Amherst. Will Jernigan ’21 played the majority of the game at QB after Jack Meservy ’19 went down with a shoulder injury, but could only muster a 15-32 line for 133 yards and 1 INT. I keep hearing about all the dangerous wide receivers Midd has, but they must be referring to somebody else. Jernigan has accuracy issues but when he puts it on the money you would expect his guys to hang on to the ball. The Panthers’ WRs shot themselves in the foot with all the drops on Saturday, as well as failing to really make an impact at all through 4 weeks. All-League TE Frank Cosolito has pulled his weight with 4 TDs, but not one Middlebury pass catcher is averaging more than 40 receiving yards per game. 40! Someone needs to distance themselves from the pack and start carrying this offense, because a 4-5 (or worse) record is seriously on the cards for a team that has Williams, Tufts, and Trinity left on their schedule.

Good Quarterback Play

We definitely took last year’s quarterbacks for granted. I don’t just mean the Sonny Puzzo’s and Jared Lebowitz’s of the world, but also last year’s versions of Mark Picarillo, Ollie Eberth, and even Bobby Maimaron. The guys under center have definitely taken a step back. Through 4 games of the season, the portion of which usually consists of the top dogs inflating their numbers against inferior competition, only 1 signal caller has thrown for more than 200 yards a game. I feel confident in saying that there are a lot of people reading this that could rival that if all they had to do was throw it up to Jonathan Girard and Koby Schofer like Jordan Vazzano does (and his 42.5% completion percentage). Last year 6 different QBs broke that threshold at the end of the season. Obviously a pair of them graduated in Puzzo (Trinity) and Lebowitz (Middlebury), but the other 4 returned and they’ve regressed. Mark Picirillo (Wesleyan) looks human without WR Mike Brueler, Ollie Eberth (Amherst) has been reduced to even more of a game manager than he was last year, and Kenny Gray (Hamilton) just hasn’t taken that next step that many thought he would as a junior. Most surprising perhaps is the reigning Rookie of the Year in Williamstown, Sophomore QB Bobby Maimaron. Maimaron has been fantastic on his feet, leading the league with 6 rushing TDs as well cracking the top 10 with 64 yards per game, but the arm hasn’t been there yet. I don’t know how much of this is a Maimaron thing and how much is a Williams offense thing, but he’s yet to pass for more than 154 yards in a game this year. He’s also only throwing the ball 21 times a game, so maybe they’ll take the leash off and let him ride a little more for the second half of the year.

Shootouts

Through 4 weeks consisting of 20 games total, in only 4 of those games has the losing team scored more than 20 points, and it hasn’t happened more than once in a week. I understand these coaches are tasked with finding the best possible way to win football games, it certainly hasn’t been great for the fans watching at home. The lack of quality matchups as well as the aforementioned quarterback woes are certainly factors, but the way teams have been bulking up and running the ball into the ground once they get a two-score lead is boring. There have barely been any lead changes, and the games are essentially over at halftime because no one has the firepower to play from behind. Is it too much to ask for a 42-35 game or even a 35-28 scoreline? These teams need to watch more Big 12 football.

Week 4 Game of the Week—Amherst @ Middlebury: Season on the Line

Overview:

Amherst is ready for their first test of the young season. They also love their new catch phrase “Crank it”

This game has major championship implications for both teams and could be highly contested depending on what the Panthers bring to the table. Middlebury needs to win out to have a shot at the NESCAC crown and this is their first test since week one in doing that. They gave fans quite a scare in back to back weeks, making their wins against Bowdoin and Colby tight matchups for the first time in a long time. They have plenty of offensive skill position weapons and a nearly impenetrable O-line, a solid secondary and linebacking core, but need to find a way to get the ball to their playmakers. Amherst, on the other hand, controls their own fate in the championship race and is about the face their first test of the season. Their win against Hamilton looks better now that the Continentals knocked off Wesleyan and played closely against Tufts, but Bates and Bowdoin were never a threat to the Mammoths. This game should reveal the direction that each team is heading for the second half of the year.

Key for Amherst: Secondary

Durborow and the rest of the secondary are going to bring it tomorrow.

Avery Saffold, Nate Tyrell, Matt Durborow, and John Ballard will start this weekend, but the Mammoths have plenty of depth in the third tier of their defense. Second string DB Ricky Goodson already has a pick, and this group should bring the heat on the Panthers this weekend. Of course, I still believe Midd has the best group of pass-catchers in the conference (tight ends included), they just haven’t been getting the ball lately. If Amherst can continue the trend that opposing secondaries have brought against Middlebury, the Mammoths will be fine. If they cannot capitalize on QB mistakes and make picks when they need to, the Midd team might just grab ahold and take the reins.

Key for Middlebury: Coaching

Coach Ritter has a tough task this weekend and many difficult decisions ahead of him. His QB play has been inconsistent and disappointing up to this point, but Midd has still stayed afloat these past two weeks. After all, a win is a win, no matter how you get it. So, going into this week, he must have conviction. I can’t remember the last time, if ever, a team won consistently by splitting QB playing time drive by drive. Does he go with the veteran captain, Jack Meservy, who has had difficulty reading defense formations up to this point, or the athletic, versatile, but untested Will Jernigan? He needs to pick one so his receivers can start to get into a bit of a rhythm with the QB. Jernigan saw some first team action this week, but my money would be on Meservy to start the game with a short leash. Peter Scibilia has also been an unexpected weapon up to this point and has helped spark the offense when the air game has stagnated, but does Coach Ritter dare promote a run heavy scheme against the Mammoths? I wouldn’t. If his formula works, he’s a genius.

Amherst X-Factor:

LB/DE Andrew Yamin

Yamin might single handedly stop the Middlebury offense on Saturday in Vermont. He has 12 tackles, six of which were for a loss, and two sacks through three games thus far and should continue to terrorize the run game and drop back on pass formations too. He hasn’t even been as good as he was last year, but should be all over the field this weekend, stopping the suddenly deep Middlebury ground game and disrupting the slot receivers and tight ends.

Middlebury X-Factor:

QB/WR/PR Will Jernigan ’21

While I said I though Meservy would start the game at QB, I’d still put money that Jernigan makes his way behind center at some point. I’m not saying Meservy will throw himself out of the game, but knowing how Coach Ritter has been playing the two of them, even if everything goes perfectly, I’d still expect to see Jernigan at some point against Amherst. His play will make or break this game as he will likely be put right in to a big pressure situation immediately. He has only one TD pass and one INT on the season but also returns kicks, is averaging eight yards per carry, and has two receptions on the season. His athleticism is obvious and he might just pull a Nick Foles and catch and throw for a TD. His ability to run the football also would give Midd just enough play call diversity to give them an edge against Amherst compared to the other teams the Mammoths have played, limiting their effectiveness of shifting between the 3-4 and 4-3.

It might be tough for Scibilia to find running room against the Mammoths.

Everything Else:

This one looks to be pretty one sided in favor of Amherst based on the way that the season has gone so far, but don’t be surprised if the Panthers have a few tricks up their sleeve. After all, the Midd team has a strong history, program, and track record, especially against Amherst (2-0 in the last two meetings) and won’t go down without a fight. Midd is playing on their home turf with what is sure to be a rowdy crowd on a Saturday afternoon. With that said, Amherst has an advantage at QB with Ollie Eberth. Eberth hasn’t done anything spectacular with just 4 TDs, but also hasn’t turned the ball over and has a few solid weapons around him. Jack Hickey should have a field day if the Midd defense allows running room like they did against Nate Richam of Bowdoin and should be the biggest offensive force of the game. For the Panthers, if Conrado Banky, Jimmy Martinez, Maxim Bochman, and Frankie Cosolito can get the ball into their hands, it could get interesting, but they have struggled to connect with the QB early in recent games. If Midd sticks in this one, the special teams play might play a large role too, as K Carter Massengill is off to a solid start and WR Jimmy Martinez has the ability to take any kick to the house.

Predicted Score: Amherst 34 Middlebury 24

Can we keep the upsets coming? Week 4 Weekend Preview

Week 3 brought us some score lines that were not be expected to say the least. Hamilton came out of nowhere to take down Wesleyan and Williams was able to keep Trin at bay, which previously seemed impossible. I, for one, am extremely excited about these upsets which changed the landscape of a previously extremely predictable NESCAC football season. Here’s to week 4, and hopefully a few more unexpected results.

Wesleyan (1-2) @ Colby (0-3)

The last time that Wesleyan had a losing record through week 3 was all the way back in 2009, after a week 3, 16-13 overtime loss to none other than the Colby Mules. Wesleyan’s poor start was not expected to say the least. After coming out guns blazing in week 1 versus Midd, the Cardinals just haven’t had what it takes to finish out a game. A wildly unexpected loss to Hamilton last week has brought Wesleyan to a crossroads They can either devolve as a team here and turn a potential NESCAC championship season to a wate, or they can analyze their issues and salvage what they can. Wesleyan allowed Hamilton QB Kenny Gray to tear them apart last weekend, accounting for 4 TDs. Although Colby is not known for their passing game, there is clearly some sloppy D that needs to be corrected by the Cardinals. Additionally, the run game has looked below average for Wesleyan, averaging barely over 3 yards an attempt last weekend. We know Wesleyan’s offense can be potent based upon week 1 but they just haven’t seemed to have the same fire the last two weeks. A game against the Mules should be a good opportunity for Wesleyan to work on their issues and figure out what needs tweaking. Despite this, don’t sleep on Wesleyan against teams like Amherst and Williams, they still may have what it takes to dethrone the top teams in the league.

Wesleyan has very little shot at a ring after their shocking loss in week 3, but how will they respond?

Colby comes in to this contest 0-3, which is never a good sign. The Mules certainly made progress against Midd last week, which was a close 10-7 score until late in the 4th quarter when the game absolutely exploded to result in a 31-14 finish. Freshman QB Matt Hersh got his first career start and established a semi-effective passing game for the Mules, accounting for 182 yards and 2 TDs while allowing 2 interceptions. RB Jake Schwern was the workhorse per usual, having nearly 30 carries but only resulting in 82 yards. CJ Hassan and Chase Goode were each able to record a pic for the Mules, both of which helped keep the game close until late. It’s very hard to win a football game when you turn the ball over 5 times and the Mules know that better than anybody. Ball security is a major issue and has not seemed to be addressed thus far this season. Colby should take this weekend as an opportunity to steal a game from a struggling Wesleyan team. As we learned last week, anything can happen.

Colby is coming off a surprisingly competitive game against Midd. Now they play a team with weakened spirits.

Score Prediction: Wesleyan 38 Colby 14

Williams (3-0) @ Bates (0-3)

Williams has to be feeling good after taking down defending champs Trinity in Williamstown last weekend. Their defense was terrific, holding Trinity to only field goals until a minute left in the 4th quarter. A previously intimidating Bantam offense looked weak against the Ephs. Ben Anthony and TJ Rothmann were both able to pickoff wonderboy Jordan Vazzano and their offense didn’t turn over the ball once. Williams has established their dominance in the CAC and should have an extremely easy time this weekend against a Bates team that has given up 47 and 52 points in their last two matchups. Bates gave up 59 to Trin and Williams beat Trin, by the transitive property, this game could be ugly. Expected QB Bobby Maimaron to continue being dominant and the Williams D to continue to shut down their opponent, this game should be an easy one for the Ephs.

Bates had another rough week in Medford, allowing 37 points unanswered in the second half. To give the Bobcats some credit, they did give Jumbos fans a scare with their 14-10 halftime lead. QB Brendan Costa was decent, throwing for 160 yards and a TD, but it was not nearly enough to counter Tufts. Their run game was abysmal, only picking up 38 yards as a team, 30 of which were Costa’s. When your QB accounts for 96% of your total offense, you’re going to be pretty easy to stop. Without a real running back, Bates’ offense is stagnant at best and the Jumbos were able to figure that out at halftime and exploit the hell out of it. If I were the Bobcats I would brace for impact because it’s going to be another rough week in Lewiston.

Score Prediction: Williams 52 Bates 13

Trinity (2-1) @ Hamilton (1-2)

Trinity needs to lock down this weekend to keep their championship hopes alive.

A week ago this time, this would’ve been a completely different ballgame. Trinity was 2-0 and absolutely rolling. They had scored 94 points and only given up 16 through two weeks, those are some wild numbers. It seemed as if nobody could stop them, until they took a trip to Williamstown. Jordan Vazzano looked completely different, throwing 2 pics and only completing 14 of his 43 attempts. RB Max Chipouras was held to 3.6 yds/attempt and 0 touchdowns. What happened to that electrifying offense that we know and love (or hate)? Their defense took a hit too, not recording a single turnover and allowing 4.5 yards/play. Has Trinity lost its edge, or is Williams simply far better than we had thought? We’ll have the answer to that question after Saturday’s game.

We witnessed an absolute stunner last weekend as Hamilton was able to pull out a last-second upset against Wesleyan. QB Kenny Gray was amazing to say the least, passing for 193 yards and 4 TDs. RB Joe Park made good use of his attempts, rushing for 103 yards on only 18 attempts. A Continental offense that had been held to only 16 points in their first two games had suddenly come to life. Now the question is, can this kind of offense be sustained against an elite defense such as Trinity? Despite their loss last week, Trinity has still only allowed 12.7 pts/game and it will not be an easy feat to take them down. Hamilton’s defense was solid, picking off QB Mark Piccirillo once and doing just enough to keep their newfound offense in the game. Although Wesleyan’s offense is solid, Trinity will be a whole ‘nother beasts for the Continentals to conquer. I’d keep this game on upset alert, but no promises.

Score Prediction: Trinity 31 Hamilton 17

Tufts (3-0) @ Bowdoin (0-3)

Another week, another win for the Jumbos. Tufts have continued to prove that they have one of, if not the best, defenses in the league. They made easy work of Bates in their 47-14 victory. Although fans may have had a bit of a scare at halftime, as they were down 14-10, a change of strategy allowed Tufts to put up 37 points while allowing none in the second half. The Jumbos spread the ball around efficiently, having 4 different players rush for touchdowns and 2 different receivers hauling in TDs. All in all, it was a pretty easy week for Tufts. Whenever you have nearly 350 more yards of offense than your opponent things are going well, and things are going very well in Medford. I think Tufts has the most well-rounded team in the NESCAC and they have proved that in every week of play. Similar to Bates, Bowdoin shouldn’t be much of a challenge for the Jumbos. Expect another crooked scoreboard and another solid week for Tufts.

Rounding out the 0-3 CBB teams is Bowdoin. One positive aspect that the Polar Bears can take away from last week’s 24-12 loss to Amherst is that QB Austin McCrum looks like he’s starting to settle in and had a much better week than his first two. His 242 yards and 2 TDs are a solid stat line, but unfortunately he didn’t have any help from the running game. After a monster week 2, RB Nate Richam just couldn’t get anything going in week 3. He rushed for a mere 30 yards on 16 attempts, miles away from his 288 yard, 2 TD performance against Midd. It seems as if Bowdoin has one side of their offense going one week and the other the next. If they were able to get both the running and passing game going simultaneously, this may be a completely different team. Defensively, there was not much to write home about. When you allow 493 yards per game, the worst in the league, you don’t give your offense much of a chance. For Bowdoin, and Bates and Colby for that matter, it’s pretty clear that they only thing they have to compete for this year is the CBB crown. For Bowdoin fans that means praying for upsets until the last two weeks of the season, when the games actually count.

Score Prediction: Tufts 54 Bowdoin 14

New Number One: Week 3 Power Rankings

Finally we got a little bit of excitement. NESCAC football can feel very predictable at times, but this weekend flipped the script on us. Williams gritted out a win over former #1 Trinity and Hamilton absolutely shocked Wesleyan to drop them to 1-2, essentially removing them from title contention. Bowdoin battled with Amherst, Bates led Tufts at halftime, and Colby stayed within 3 points of Middlebury until the fourth quarter. This type of weekend is exactly what we were hoping to see more of, and fortunately it took just three weeks to get here.

(3) 1. Williams (3-0)

Frank Stola ’21 is tied for the league lead with 4 receiving touchdowns

They say that in order to be the best you have to beat the best. Well, there’s no doubt that Williams earned it this week. The most potent offense in the league came to town following a 59-point outburst in Week 2 and was stymied by this young Eph defense. There’s no question that QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 put together a fine effort and WR Frank Stola ’21 had an outstanding game catching passes, but the story of this one was the defense. LB TJ Rothmann ’21 is putting together an early case for defensive player of the year, grabbing an interception and a fumble recovery against Trinity to go along with a game-high 15 tackles. Williams is hot right now and they’ll likely improve to 4-0 after their visit to Lewiston this weekend.

(2) 2. Tufts (3-0)

The Jumbos started out slow against Bates, even trailing 14-10 at the half. Whatever Coach Civetti said to his team at halftime clearly resonated, because they proceeded to score 37 unanswered points in the second half. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 had another solid game passing for 207 yards and adding another 161 on the ground. The receiving corps has looked very deep so far, with 5 different players who have caught at least 5 passes on the season. The defense continues to look solid, although a bit shaky at times against the Bobcats. LB Greg Holt ’20 is picking up right where he left off from his All-NESCAC campaign last season, pacing the team with 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks. They, too, should get to 4-0 after a date with Bowdoin in Week 4.

(4) 3. Amherst (3-0)

Amherst is one of the 3 remaining unbeaten teams, although I haven’t been particularly impressed with their body of work so far. A 24-14 win over Bowdoin is not the greatest win on paper, but they are getting the job done. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 had an incredibly efficient game against the Polar Bears in which he went 19-26 with 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding 78 yards with his legs. WR Bo Berluti ’19 continues to serve as the top target for Eberth, as he racked up 97 receiving yards and a touchdown in Week 3. What makes the Mammoths especially scary is their stout defense. Their pass defense isn’t anything particularly special, but they have only allowed 28 yards per game on the ground so far this season. I’m very intrigued to see what Amherst will look like when they face Middlebury in a much more difficult matchup than their first 3 weeks.

(1) 4. Trinity (2-1)

For the first time in a very long while, the Bantams looked very vulnerable. The problem is not their defense, as they’re top 3 in every major defensive category. The problem is that their offense seems very discombobulated right now. After obliterating Colby’s run defense, RB Max Chipouras ’19 hasn’t looked like the same all-world running back that he’s looked like in the past, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry against Bates and Williams. QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 completed just 14 of 44 passes against Williams, and he has a 41% completion percentage this season. Not only is this the lowest among all starters in the league, but it’s shockingly low for the starting quarterback on what is supposed to be one of the league’s best. 37 of Vazzano’s 43 completions have been to either Jonathan Girard ’21 or Koby Schofer ’20, so opposing teams are starting to realize that Trinity really doesn’t have a ton of offensive weapons at the moment. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond against a Hamilton team that is coming off a huge win in Week 3.

(5) 5. Wesleyan (1-2)

What a brutal 2-week stretch it has been for the Cardinals. After outplaying Tufts and losing on account of a pair of missed field goals, they respond by allowing a blocked punt to be returned 26 yards for a touchdown with a minute and a half left to lose to Hamilton. Yikes. Looks like special teams needs some work. The Wesleyan offense has looked pretty good, with QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 having another terrific season, and a group of receivers that has already somewhat exceeded expectations. It’s the other side of the ball that has really hurt them. Their allegedly intimidating defense looked awfully porous against a Continental team that had really been struggling to score coming into the game. Although their title chances may already have slipped away, I think the Cardinals are still a very talented team who will figure things out and get back on track. They’ve got a great opportunity to start doing just that with a matchup against Colby.

(6) 6. Middlebury (2-1)

The Panthers are very fortunate that they’ve had matchups with Colby and Bowdoin each of the last two weeks, because they clearly don’t know what’s going to be done about the quarterback position. QB Jack Meservy ’19 is clearly the guy they want, but he has struggled mightily, throwing just 5 touchdowns compared to 7 interceptions through parts of 3 games. Backup QB Will Jernigan ’21 has done a fine job so far, but he is more of a running threat and forces Middlebury to move away from the pass-heavy style that they love. The bottom line is whoever they choose needs to find their stud pass catchers. It’s also tricky that they face an Amherst team this weekend whose run defense has been light years better than their pass defense thus far. They’ve done just enough to win these past two weeks, but it’s time for the Panthers to face their first real test since they were smacked by Wesleyan in the season opener.

(9) 7. Hamilton (1-2)

The Continentals finally broke into the win column in a very big way this past weekend. After really struggling in their first two games, QB Kenny Gray ’20 had a much better outing, throwing for 4 touchdowns and evenly spreading the ball around to 5 different receivers. Freshman RB Joe Park ’22 had a breakout game, rushing 18 times for 104 yards and forcing the Wesleyan defense to respect the run so that their receivers were actually able to get open. This was a huge step up from having 7 total rushing yards through the first 2 weeks. The defense wasn’t perfect, but DB Ian Esliker ’21 came up with a timely interception and rookie DB Christian Snell ’22 made the play of the week by blocking a Wesleyan punt and recovering it for a touchdown with just a minute and a half left to play. This is the Hamilton team that I was expecting to see this season, so stay tuned to see if they can put together another huge performance against a Trinity team that’s reeling after their first loss this weekend.

(7) 8. Bowdoin (0-3)

WR/QB Griff Stalcup ’21 is making very smooth positional change

I have to admit I’ve been somewhat impressed by Bowdoin these last two weeks. QB Austin McCrum ’20 is steadily improving and former starting QB Griff Stalcup ’21 is finding his niche as one of the team’s most effective wide receivers. He caught 11 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown against Amherst, and he certainly opens up a plethora of options for trick plays. They held the Mammoths to 24 points, which is a respectable effort and they’ve found their defensive leader in LB Joe Gowetski ’20 who currently leads the league with 32 tackles. As we mentioned in their team preview, the Polar Bears are making an effort to stay the course. They continue to improve each week and develop different facets of their game. They’ll play host to Tufts this weekend, providing another opportunity to get better as they get to the back half of their schedule. Keep an eye on the score in Brunswick on Saturday.

(8) 9. Bates (0-3)

I was so excited when the Bobcats took a 14-10 lead into the locker room at halftime against the Jumbos on Saturday. I thought this could be the breakout win for a young team with a new coach. Alas, Tufts came out and poured on 37 points while not allowing Bates to get past the 50 yard line once in the entire second half. There were some positives, like seeing the emergence of WR Kody Greenhalgh ’20 (yes, the same Kody Greenhalgh that plays guard on the basketball team) who caught 6 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. DB Anthony Costa ’21 tallied his second interception of the season and continues to see success in his first season since being converted from QB. Unfortunately, the Bobcats are facing a similar problem that they have in recent years: the offense can’t seem to get anything going, so the defense stays on the field the entire game and gets run to death. Something needs to change and I’m sorry to say that the change will probably not start this weekend, as they’ll take on the new number one team in the league.

(10) 10. Colby (0-3)

Coach Cosgrove should be very pleased with what he’s seeing from his team right now. They certainly don’t have the same talent that some of the top teams do, but his team is competing and starting to find a rhythm. QB Matt Hersch ’22 went 20 of 35 for 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, which was a pretty good effort in just his first career start, especially against a strong team like Middlebury. The Mules rely heavily on RB Jake Schwern ’19 who is having a very fine year as he sits at 5^thin the NESCAC in rushing yards while adding 2 touchdowns. Their record may not indicate it, but things are starting to look promising up in Waterville. The Wesleyan Cardinals represent their next challenge, as they’ll make the trek up I-95 to visit Alfond Stadium.

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

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

Overview:

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

Key for Williams: Passing Game

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

Key for Trinity: Linebacker Play

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

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

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

Trinity X-Factor: QB Jordan Vazzano ‘21

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

Everything Else:

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

Final Score: Trinity 27, Williams 20

Figuring Things Out: Week 2 Power Rankings

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

(1) 1. Trinity (2-0)

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

(3) 2. Tufts (2-0)

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

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

(4) 3. Williams (2-0)

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

(5) 4. Amherst (2-0)

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

(2) 5. Wesleyan (1-1)

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

(6) 6. Middlebury (1-1)

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

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

(9) 7. Bowdoin (0-2)

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

(7) 8. Bates (0-2)

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

(8) 9. Hamilton (0-2)

The Continentals need more from QB Kenny Gray ’20

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

(10) 10. Colby (0-2)

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

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

Stock Report

Stock Up:

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

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

The Jumbos are hot with McDonald under center right now.

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

Stock Down:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overview

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

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

Key for Tufts: Passing game

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

Key for Wesleyan: Minimizing turnovers

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

Tufts X-Factor: WR Frank Roche ’19

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

Wesleyan X-Factor: LB Brandon Morris ’19

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

Everything Else

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

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

Prediction: Wesleyan 31, Tufts 23