Amherst (11-6, 2-2) vs. Hamilton (12-5, 1-3), 3pm, Amherst, MA
Both of these teams really need a win to get back on track. Amherst followed up a nice road win against Bates by getting smacked in the mouth by Tufts, then proceeded to drop another game to Williams to complete the season sweep (albeit this was the non-conference tilt). Hamilton has plummeted towards the bottom of the standings with a dismal 1-3 conference record, and Kena Gilmour ‘20 is getting absolutely no help from the rest of his starters. The Bobcats did a great job limiting Gilmour to just fifteen points, but the rest of the starters combined to shoot 28%. What’s even more alarming for the Continentals is that they let the Bobcats splat eleven threes – the night prior, Amherst held the ‘Cats to just one triple. That combination of lackluster defense and inconsistent offensive production is, quite simply, not good enough to beat a team like Amherst. As long as Eric Sellew ‘20, Fru Che ‘21, and company are patient on offense and knock down their open looks, the Mammoths will have no problem getting by the Continentals.
Writer’s Pick: Amherst 83, Hamilton 70
Conn College (3-12, 0-3) vs. Trinity (11-6, 1-2), 3pm, New London, CT
Two words to describe Trinity’s performance against Wesleyan last weekend: not good. The Bantams shot just 33.3% from the field, including a head-scratching 10-30 from two. Conversely, Wesleyan got just about anything they wanted from inside the arc. The good news for the Trin faithful is that they essentially have a bye week against Conn, who just got absolutely obliterated 98-59 against the Cardinals. Although everything is falling apart for the Camels, the defense is especially a problem as they’ve now allowed at least 83 points in each of their three conference games. Trinity seems to have some offensive woes, but it would take an especially poor shooting day (think in the 20’s) for Trinity to drop this one. I’ve got Donald Jorden ‘21 tallying a double-double as Trinity rolls by double digits.
Writer’s Pick: Trinity 85, Conn 64
Bowdoin (5-10, 1-3) vs. #5 Colby (16-0, 4-0), 3pm, Brunswick, ME
Just like Trin and Conn, this inter-state bout looks like it won’t be very close. Colby has asserted themselves as the alpha dog in the NESCAC after their road victories against Middlebury and Williams. The most important stat from those two games is that they only turned the ball over a combined 19 times, signaling that this group feels no pressure in some of the more hostile environments in the conference. Sam Jefferson ‘20 has to be considered the MVP of the league by a considerable margin at this point, and it helps to have three alternate (and equally as talented) scoring options in Matt Hanna ‘21 (14.8 PPG, 4.1 AST/G), Alex Dorion ‘20 (14.1 PPG) and Noah Tyson ‘22 (12.4 PPG, 8.7 REB/G). What’s more, they annihilated Bowdoin by 46!!! earlier this season. In the second half alone against the Polar Bears, Colby exploded for 67 points and knocked down eleven threes. While it won’t be that much of a route this time around, expect the Mules to blow their rivals out of the water by at least twenty.
Writer’s Pick: Colby 92, Bowdoin 68
#12 Middlebury (16-2, 2-2) vs. Williams (9-8. 2-2), 3pm, Middlebury, VT
While Tufts and Bates could be viewed as the game of the week, I’m casting my vote for this particular matchup due to the unfamiliarity in the standings for both teams. Both Williams and Middlebury sit at .500 in conference play, and a loss would drop either team near that #8 seed cut-off for the conference tournament. Both these teams will almost certainly make the tournament when it’s all said and done, but the situation still presents an intriguing scenario. The Panthers had to have a quick turnaround after dropping a tough home matchup against the Mules, and they successfully did so by throttling the Polar Bears 93-71. Five Middlebury players hit double figures, led by Max Bosco ‘21 and Tommy Eastman ‘21. The defense is still a bit of a concern as the Polar Bears were able to hang around until the Panthers’ offense pulled away in the second half, but luckily for the Panthers, the Ephs isn’t known for their explosive offense. Williams likes to grind out games with a stout defense, and while it didn’t work against Colby, they held both Bowdoin and Amherst to 62 and 60 points, respectively. Jovan Jones ‘22 found his shooting touch with seventeen points, and Cole Prowitt-Smith ‘23 continued to impress with fourteen of his own. If this game was at Williams, I would consider looking into the upset; in the end, however, Middlebury was ranked as highly as number five in the national polls for a reason, and they are too talented drop this one at home.
Writer’s Pick: Middlebury 75, Williams 66
#23 Tufts (13-3, 3-0) vs. Bates (9-6, 2-1), 3pm, Medford, MA
I honestly have no idea what to expect from this one. Tufts continues to to keep pace with Colby as the last two remaining unbeaten teams in the ‘CAC, having just recently throttled Amherst by 18 in Medford. Everyone is contributing – all five starters hit double digits against the Mammoths, and the Jumbos got an additional 17 bench points to cushion the win. Right now, Luke Rogers ‘21 is the best big man in the league, having eclipsed twenty points in each of his last four games (three of those were double-doubles). The Bobcats’ best kept secret (although at this point I think the cat might be out of the bag) is freshman Omar Sarr ‘23. I’ve been raving about Sarr before conference play started, and the big man has become the best rim protector in the league. He’s averaging an absurd five blocks per game in conference play to go along with eleven points and eleven rebounds. He’s the most important player on the Bobcats, because without him, they lack a reliable shot blocker and rebound getter. Both teams have their fair share of shooters, but in the end I think Bates’ inconsistencies on the defensive end will allow Tufts to work inside and out well, pulling away late. The ‘Cats have won three in a row against the Jumbos, however, so a road victory wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
Last week: W 83-50 vs. Conn College, W 91-77 vs. Trinity This week: @ Middlebury, @ Williams
I don’t care what the national polls say – at this point in the season, this is the best basketball team in the NESCAC. As a student at Bates, I’m not the most vehement supporter of the Mules, but it’s hard to ignore their impressive performance over the first thirteen games of the season. They’re the only undefeated team remaining in the conference, averaging a league-best 94.6 PPG. Another marker of dominance is the manner in which most of their contests were won; eleven of their thirteen wins have been by 14+ points. Some will point to their incredible three point percentage (41.9% with over 200 attempts already) as a reason why the Mules won’t keep up their first place standing, but with nearly 24 assists per game compared to just 14 turnovers, Colby is clearly taking care of the ball and finding open guys to knock down shots. They boast four of the top seventeen scorers in the conference, led by Sam Jefferson ‘20 (22.8 PPG). Noah Tyson ‘22 (13.8 PPG, 9 REB/G) opened some eyes as a freshman last season, and his quality of play has picked up against Colby’s first two conference games, tallying 16 points against Conn and 24 against Trinity. Rebounding may be a concern moving forward as the Mules tend to go with a smaller-than-average lineup, but this team is equipped with so many knockdown shooters that they can change a close game to a blowout in a blink of an eye.
(1) 2. #5 Middlebury (15-1, 1-1)
Last week: L 81-69 @ Amherst, W 77-76 @ Hamilton This week: vs. Colby, vs. Bowdoin
Panthers’ faithful might be a bit irked to find their squad at number two in this edition of the power rankings, but there is plenty to be excited about going forward. After a disappointing showing in both the NESCAC and NCAA Tournament(s), I am certain Coach Brown and his squad are hungry to bounce back and make a deep postseason run. Thus far, their play has garnered them a top five ranking in the national polls, with their sole blemish coming recently against Amherst in their first conference game of the season. Jack Farrell ‘21 leads a deep group of players in which five average double figures and another three chip in at least 5.5 points per game. Farrell has reached double digits in all sixteen games, including a season-high 31 against Endicott. Tommy Eastman ‘21 had a monster game against Hamilton, going for 23 points and 12 boards. If he continues to play at that level alongside Farrell, Max Bosco ‘21 and company, the Panthers have more than enough offensive firepower to upend the Mules and stake claim as the best team in the conference.
(3) 3. Tufts (11-3, 1-0)
Last week: W 92-85 @ Wesleyan This week: vs. Hamilton, vs. Amherst
It might be a surprise to see the Jumbos listed as high as number three on this list, but after a somewhat deflating 2018 regular season, Tufts has roared out to an impressive start. Few big men can match up with Luke Rogers ‘22, whose 15.7 PPG lead the Jumbos and his 12.7 REB/G lead all of the NESCAC. With Rogers garnering attention down low, it allows for veteran guards like Eric Savage ‘20 (14.8 PPG) and Brennan Morris ‘21 (11.7 PPG) to execute the offense at an efficient level, working inside and out to shuffle defenses around. In their opening win against Wesleyan, Rogers had another double-double (23 points to go along with 10 rebounds), and the Jumbos shot close to 55% from the field and sank 13 triples. If they can continue operating on offense in this manner while cleaning up the free throw percentage (converting only 15-24 against Wesleyan and 68% on the year), then this team will finish in the top four and garner some attention for an at-large bid when it comes time for NCAA Tournament selection.
(4) 4. #22 Amherst (10-4, 1-1)
Last week: W 81-69 vs. Middlebury, L 72-69 vs. Williams This week: @ Bates, @ Tufts
Don’t get me wrong – knocking off what was an undefeated Middlebury team is something that should be valued and highlighted when analyzing a team’s overall body of work. As strong of a win as that is, however, Amherst finds themselves fourth in the power rankings due to their inconsistent play against conference foes. Their game against Wesleyan was considered a non-conference affair; however, I personally don’t consider the Cardinals as a strong opponent this season, and that loss certainly was something Amherst could have avoided heading into their conference slate. The big victory against the Panthers was followed by a loss to rival Williams, who at 7-7 is looking to be more of a bottom-half finisher in the 2019-2020 NESCAC season. Similarly to the University of Virginia, Amherst wins with its prolific defense, holding opponents to under 64 PPG. They’re 7-0 when holding opponents under 65 points, but Williams and Wesleyan were both able to get into the 70’s range. Eric Sellew ‘20 leads the team in scoring thus far in conference play, but the Mammoths need someone or two to step up from long range and bring some variety to an offense that doesn’t score a ton from deep.
(5) 5. Hamilton (11-3, 1-1)
Last week: W 79-78 vs. Williams, L 77-76 vs. Middlebury This week: @ Tufts, @ Bates
It’s basically Kena Gilmour ‘20 vs. everybody when talking about the Continentals. The senior is tied with Jefferson of Colby as the conference’s leading scorer at 22.8 PPG, and no one other than the senior averages double figures (for the season) for Hamilton. It’s clear the offense revolves around him as evidenced by the sheer number of shots he throws up, but thus far the plan is somewhat working. The Continentals have split two conference games (each by a single point) with that one loss coming against Middlebury. Gilmour will most certainly need help around him as his supporting cast looks vastly different than the team that guided Hamilton to the Sweet Sixteen a year ago. Eric Anderson ‘22 seems the most likely candidate to become the Robin to Gilmour’s Batman, as the sophomore is putting in 14.5 PPG in their two conference matchups to date.
(9) 6. Bates (8-4, 1-0)
Last week: W 81-80 @ Wesleyan This week: vs. Amherst, vs. Hamilton
It was an absolute rollercoaster of a performance, but the Bobcats managed to escape Middletown with a win over the Cardinals in their preliminary conference tilt. Kody Greenhalgh ‘20 went from allowing a four-point play with eleven seconds remaining to give the Cardinals the lead, to then scoring a heavily-contested, game-winning layup. An overall record of 8-4 at this point in the season is pretty solid, and that victory over Wesleyan was imperative if Bates wanted to make some noise in the ‘CAC this season. Greenhalgh joins the veteran Spellman ‘20 (15.5 PPG, 4.2 REB/G) as the two leading scorers, but there are a plethora of guys who can explode on any given night. with some major opportunities to pick up quality wins in the recent future. Stephon Baxter ‘23 is a name to watch for rookie of the year consideration; although his scoring average (8.9 PPG) doesn’t jump off the page, the point guard is a tenacious defender, takes smart shots and is hitting close to 45% of his three point attempts. Thomas Coyne ‘20 is always a threat from behind the arc, and the emergence of Omar Sarr ‘23 as a shotblocker and rebounder has helped a team lacking height tremendously. Given that their next four NESCAC games are Amherst, Hamilton, Tufts and Colby, the Bobcats have plenty of opportunities to snatch up wins against quality opponents.
(7) 7. Trinity (10-5, 1-1)
Last week: W 84-70 @ Bowdoin, L 91-77 @ Colby This week: vs. Wesleyan
Aside from the Bobcats, the Bantams are a secondary selection as a dark horse to finish in the top five of the league standings. They boast one of the best rebounding squads in the league and four legit scorers. One name to watch is forward Donald Jorden ‘21 – the junior is shooting over 67% from the field, and given that he only averages 11.7 PPG, I’d advocate for a higher feature role for Jorden if he’s putting the ball in the basket that frequently. The Bantams were beating Colby by seven at intermission before the Mules exploded for 54 points in the second half, so this Trinity team does have what it takes to compete with the upper echelon of this league. Defensively, the Bantams will want to tighten up, and a date with Wesleyan will provide them that test.
(8) 8. Williams (7-7, 1-1)
Last week: L 79-78 @ Hamilton, W 72-69 @ Amherst This week: vs. Bowdoin, vs. Colby
This team experienced a ton of roster turnover from last year’s senior-laden team, but even with the emergence of fellow Nothing but NESCAC writer Max Karpowicz ‘20 as the team’s go-to scoring option, the Ephs struggled in their non-conference games heading into league play. The good news is that the level of play seems to have improved quite rapidly in their games against Hamilton and Amherst. Karpowicz’s (16.0 PPG, 9.1 REB/G) 21 point-performance paced the team in their hard-fought win over Amherst. The Ephs were also missing standout freshman Cole Prowitt-Smith ‘23 (13.3 PPG), validating the win as even more impressive given their offensive woes that plagued them early on. In no way is this ranking meant to indicate that the Ephs should panic, as there are plenty of opportunities in this league to rack up significant victories; moreover, I think this is the floor for Williams, and I expect them to move up given the talent they still possess.
(6) 9. Wesleyan (9-5, 0-2)
Last week: L 92-85 vs. Tufts, L 81-80 vs. Bates This week: @ Trinity, vs. Conn College
The loss of Austin Hutcherson ‘21 to the University of Illinois was undoubtedly a huge blow to a Wesleyan squad that had high hopes for the 2019-2020 season. A 9-5 record is nothing to be ashamed about, but the Bates game presented an opportunity to bounce back from a close loss to Tufts. Instead, the loss at home was especially deflating given the manner in which it happened, and a non-conference loss to Johnson & Wales pushed their losing streak to three. They’ve struggled to score for the most part, averaging under 74 ppg and shooting just 41% from the field. Jordan James ‘21 and Antone Walker ‘21 form a nice scoring duo, but the Cardinals lack depth to continuously push the pace and put the ball in the basket for 60 minutes. Additionally, they’ve allowed 80+ points in each of their two conference games, something that needs to be corrected quickly. A matchup against Trinity might not allow them the chance to fix their flaws on the defensive side, but it could allow them the chance to fine tune their offense.
(10) 10. Bowdoin (5-8, 1-1)
Last week: L 84-70 vs. Trinity, W 87-70 vs. Conn College This week: @ Williams, @ Middlebury
Apart from its past two games, the Bowdoin offense has been a disaster. They slot in ahead of only Conn in terms of points per game, and aside from David Reynolds ‘20, no one on this team is really playing up to the standard this team needs in order for them to be a serious contender for a top-eight finish. They lost to Trin by fourteen, right after getting absolutely pounded by rival Colby 108-62 (yikes). They did end their losing streak with a much-needed 17-point victory over Conn, scoring 87 points in the process. Reynolds carried the team with 29 points, and both Sam Grad ‘21 and Manav Randhawa ‘23 chipped in with fourteen points apiece. Maybe the offense has found some sort of groove these past two games, but it seems unlikely that they can compete with the likes of Middlebury or Williams this weekend.
(11) 11. Conn College (3-11, 0-2)
Last week: L 83-50 @ Colby, L 87-70 @ Bowdoin This week: @ Wesleyan
This team wasn’t very good last year, and with the departure of David Labossiere ‘19, many around the league would agree that not much was expected from Conn this season. At this point, it seems likely that they will go winless in conference play for a third consecutive year. Everything seems to be a problem: the Camels are averaging 62.8 PPG while allowing close to 75 PPG while committing close to 18 turnovers per contest. That recipe will certainly not win you many basketball games, and in this case, the Camels have just three wins on their schedule to date. Dan Draffan ‘21 (12.4 PPG, 7.5 REB/G) and newcomer Ben McPherron ‘23 (11.6 PPG) lead the way, but both are inconsistent and McPherron only shoots an abysmal 34% from the floor. Maybe they can pull a miracle win in their remaining league games, but every league game forthcoming will be quite the challenge for these bottom-dwellers.
The Bantams, who are playing great basketball right now after a rocky start, get the pleasure this Friday of visiting a Bowdoin team that is clearly still feeling the graduation of stud Jack Simonds. The Polar Bears had more than a few stumbles in their non-conference games, with some brutal losses (Southern Maine, Colby by 46) along with some wins that were too close for comfort (ME-Farmington by 4, Framingham State by 9). With the conference slate being clean for everyone, though, Bowdoin still has a chance to turn it around. They will need guys not named David Reynolds (21 PPG in his last two games) and Sam Grad ’21 to step up if they want to make any splash in the conference this year, or it’s going to be a long season in Brunswick. Trinity, a team for whom offense has been a question mark in the past, has been scoring the ball at a rate we have not seen out of them in some time – albeit against some weaker teams. If you’re Coach Cosgrove, you have to be ecstatic about a starting lineup in which all five guys are currently averaging double figures. The Bantams have averaged 90 points per game over their last five games, all wins. Kyle Padmore ‘20, recently named NESCAC POTW, has looked like an all-conference player on both ends. As we all know, however, this conference is a different animal in the world of D3 basketball. Even Bowdoin will likely be a step up from some of the teams the Bantams have been blowing out lately. If Trinity can keep up the hot shooting while playing Coach Cosgrove’s tough brand of defense, they’re going to be a force in conference play. This team is on too much of a roll for a hiccup against the reeling Polar Bears.
Writer’s Pick: Trinity 83 – Bowdoin 65
Williams (6-5) @ Hamilton (10-2), 7pm, Clinton, NY
Last year this game would have been a lock for game of the week and maybe even game of the year, but this year it pins two teams struggling to figure out their identities against each other. Williams has not scored at anywhere near the rate they were last season and they also find themselves with the second fewest assists per game in the NESCAC. Guys like Cole Prowitt-Smith ’23, Alex Stoddard ’23, and Spencer Spivy ’22 have shown that they’re capable of having big games, but none of them have displayed any level of consistency whatsoever. Big man Matt Karpowicz ’20 is the only guy on this team who has played significant time over the past few years and he’s sure to have a big game, but he’s going to need some help. The good news for Eph fans is that Hamilton is having a similar problem. Kena Gilmour ’20 is a stud, but it’s unclear who else is going to step up to fill the void left by all the players they graduated from last year. That said, the Continentals still average the second most points per game in the league (90.3) so it’s not all bad. This has the potential to be a pretty sloppy game given that these two teams are among the top 3 in turnovers and each of them have a slew of players that haven’t quite proven themselves yet. I expect this to be pretty evenly matched most of the way, but I don’t see the Continentals losing at home to an Eph squad that has been struggling as of late.
Writer’s Pick: Hamilton 77 – Williams 69
Connecticut College (3-8) @ #12 Colby (11-0), 7pm, Waterville, ME
If you’re the Conn College Camels, this is a very exciting point in the season. Everyone in the NESCAC is even in conference play, and you have an opportunity in front of you to put your past struggles behind and turn things around. The bad news for Conn is that they are starting off their conference slate with a Colby Mules team that is gaining attention nationwide for their offensive firepower, currently earning them the #12 spot in the country (only Middlebury is ranked higher among NESCAC teams). Not only is Colby 11-0, but they have also hit triple digits in six of those games. Sam Jefferson ’20 stands out right away with his absurd numbers – 24.5 PPG, 63% shooting from the field, and an unconscious 53% from deep. After Jefferson, guys like Matt Hanna ’21, Noah Tyson ’22, and Wallace Tucker ’21 have been scoring the ball at a high clip as well. The Mules will need to continue to take open threes and hit them in NESCAC play given that they have almost no size. Coach Strahorn has been running with a lineup of 7-8 guys, none of whom are over 6’4. This might work against some of the lowly Maine schools they have been playing, but it’s going to be a much bigger issue come NESCAC play. The one caveat to Colby’s success so far is their weak non-conference schedule. Conn, yes Conn, may very well be the best team they have faced so far. Conn should look to get 6’7 Dan Draffan and 7-footer Ryan Omslaer ’22 as many touches as possible to expose Colby’s lack of height. Defensively, the obvious emphasis needs to be on closing out perimeter shooters because Colby has plenty of them. I want to believe that Conn will make more of an impact in the NESCAC this year, but they just have not shown enough promise so far in their 3-8 season for me to feel good about their chances this weekend. The Mules have enough offense to roll at home.
This is a very important matchup for both of these teams. The Jumbos have started off the year very strong and Wesleyan is coming off of a statement win at home against Amherst. This Cardinal defense has looked outstanding, allowing the second fewest points per game of anyone while forcing a league-leading 9 steals per game. Jordan James ’21 is putting together another fantastic year so far, but he’ll go up against Luke Rogers ’21 who will certainly be the most talented big man he’s faced this season. That matchup will definitely be one to focus on. An interesting difference between these two teams is that Tufts has shot the ball very well so far as a whole, while Wesleyan is actually shooting a very low percentage, particularly from behind the 3-point line. This has worked so far for the Cardinals given that they play such good defense, but if the shots are falling for the Jumbos it’s tough to know who will respond for Wesleyan. Tufts has some very talented, athletic guards and we still haven’t really gotten a good read on the Cardinals’ young backcourt so it’ll be intriguing to see how they fare against one another. Tufts won this meeting last year in Medford behind a strong defensive effort and a hot shooting performance and at this point it’s hard to envision a different result this year.
Writer’s Pick: Tufts 78 – Wesleyan 74
Game of the Day
#3 Middlebury (13-0) @ #15 Amherst (9-3), 7pm, Amherst, MA
The surefire game of the week this week is taking place in western Mass tonight. These two perennial powers have played tough schedules so far and have looked very strong throughout. The Panthers’ combination of Jack Farrell ’21, Max Bosco ’21, and Matt Folger ’20 is one of the best scoring trios in the nation and they have showed no signs of slowing down. They have also benefitted greatly from the strong play of second-year center Alex Sobel ’22 who has stepped in to replace Eric McCord. He’ll have his work cut out for him when he goes up against this Mammoth team that is loaded with size. Middlebury’s offense looks incredibly hard to stop, but if anyone is going to do it then it’ll be the team with the league’s best defense. It’s hard to know exactly what to make of Amherst because most of their starters have played limited minutes so far. We know that Eric Sellew ’20, Fru Che ’21, and Grant Robinson ’21 are three of the best players in the conference, but first year Head Coach Aaron Toomey is still trying to figure out what is going to work to get these guys all involved. Robinson in particular hasn’t exactly looked like the same player from last season and there is speculation that he has been dealing with minor injuries in the early part of this season. Again, this is speculation, but something isn’t the same so far for the Mammoths. They’re also coming off a tough loss against Little Three rival Wesleyan, so it’ll be interesting to see which direction they go in their very difficult games this weekend. It’s difficult to open conference play with the best team in the league and I think that’s going to be quite a challenge for Amherst. This also may not be the last time these two teams square off this year…
It’s finally time for NESCAC basketball. The only thing that makes the New England winters bearable is packing the gym to watch our beloved basketball teams battle it out for a chance to get to the NCAA Tournament. We’ve been a bit behind on our basketball coverage so far with some writer turnover, but it looks like we’re back on track so it’s time to give everyone the first power ranking of the season. As we all know, NESCAC teams traditionally beat up on non-conference opponents, so it isn’t until conference play when we really get to learn a lot about where everyone stands. I mean when you’ve got 9 teams above .500 that’s pretty ridiculous. NESCAC teams are a combined 91-36 so far and I haven’t done my research, but I have a hard time believing any conference out there is doing better. Anyways, let’s get down to it:
1. #3 Middlebury (13-0)
Friday: at Amherst Saturday: at Hamilton
Not much of a surprise here. The Panthers have played one of the more challenging schedules in the league to this point and they still have yet to lose. Wins over Endicott, Stevens, and Springfield standout in particular as these are teams who have spent time in the national rankings recently. Coach Brown has built this team under the classic model – they’ve got the prototypical, crafty center in Alex Sobel ’22, the reliable wing in Matt Folger ’20, the star guard in Jack Farrell ’21, and a rotation of versatile scorers who, if left unchecked, will shoot you out of the gym. This is an incredibly well disciplined team that commits the fewest fouls per game of any team in the NESCAC and turns the ball over less than anyone besides Amherst. What is especially interesting is that Middlebury has potentially the most difficult matchups in the opening conference weekend, so we’re about to learn a lot about this team. Coming home with road wins in western Mass and upstate New York is a pretty good way to earn your no. 3 national ranking.
2. #12 Colby (11-0)
Friday: vs. Conn College Saturday: vs. Trinity
Without a doubt the biggest story of the year so far is whatever is happening in Waterville. I don’t know what they’re putting in the water up there, but the Mules have been playing out of their freaking minds. Colby is home to 2 of the league’s top 5 scorers (Sam Jefferson ’20 and Matt Hanna ’21), while Noah Tyson ’22 also cracks the top 5 in rebounding. These guys lead the conference in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, and total scoring, so you better be ready for a shootout whenever the Mules are in town. The only reason I’m at all skeptical is because they’ve only played 3 teams so far with winning records and none of these 3 (Gordon, New England College, ME-Farmington) are known for being basketball powerhouses. With that being said, there’s a reason they’re one of the only two undefeated teams left so this is their spot to lose. Things are looking pretty bright right now for the NESCAC’s northernmost school.
3. Tufts (10-2)
Friday: at Wesleyan
The Jumbos are off to a very nice start to the season with their only two losses coming against WPI and Babson, both of whom are in the nation’s top 25. Eric Savage ’20 is doing a terrific job leading this team as captain and lone senior, putting up 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. Luke Rogers ’21 has also had a fantastic start to the season, leading the NESCAC with 12.5 rebounds per game, while also chipping in 14.4 points per game as well. Like Middlebury, Tufts has the right formula for success – an outstanding center surrounded by guards (of varying sizes) who can all shoot the ball well and defend at a high level. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them crack the top 25 in the near future. They have a tough matchup tomorrow on the road against a hot Wesleyan team, so if they come away with a win that’ll really make some noise.
4. #15 Amherst (9-3)
Friday: vs. Middlebury Saturday: vs. Williams
The team formerly known as the Lord Jeffs probably would’ve found themselves a spot higher in these rankings if not for their setback on Tuesday at Wesleyan. Fortunately for them, their game with the Cardinals was technically non-conference and these rankings don’t actually mean anything so it looks like they’re in the clear. If anything this loss should light a fire under Amherst because they’ve got a very tough weekend ahead against Williams and Middlebury. Eric Sellew ’20 is quietly one of the most efficient players in the conference, averaging 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists per game while shooting over 50% from the field in just 22 minutes per game. Interim Head Coach Aaron Toomey has played a lot of guys so far and hasn’t overworked his starters at all, so I’d look for them to see more minutes this weekend now that the games really start to matter. I wouldn’t be surprised to wake up Sunday morning to find the Mammoths at 2-0.
5. Hamilton (10-2)
Friday: vs. Williams Saturday: vs. Middlebury
Hamilton is a team that has been pretty hard to read so far. We know they have the star power in Kena Gilmour ’20, the reigning NESCAC Player of the Year, but they still haven’t seemed to figure out who else is going to step up. No one besides Gilmour has had a 20-point game this season and he’s also the only starter to be averaging double figures in scoring. They need a more consistent secondary scoring option to have any success in NESCAC play. The Continentals also have a few solid wins under their belt, but also have a 21-point loss to a SUNY Purchase squad that isn’t anything to write home about. They have a chance this weekend send a message and prove that they belong, but if Gilmour is the only one who shows up then we may not see the Conts this high on the list next week.
6. Wesleyan (9-2)
Friday: vs. Tufts Sunday: vs. Bates
I’ll be the first to say that the Cardinals’ win over Amherst this week was very impressive, but I’m still not entirely sold. They’ve been blown out twice this year at the hands of Williams and Eastern Connecticut, neither of whom have had particularly hot starts to the year. They’ve done a solid job so far at replacing their top 3 guys from last season and junior guard Antone Walker ’21 showed that he has the clutch gene, hitting two free throws with just 5 seconds left to take down the 15th-ranked Mammoths. Jordan James ’21 continues to be one of the most effective big men in the league, recording 13.5 points and 8 rebounds per game on 63% shooting. With the momentum they have right now, I think Wesleyan could easily take 2 this weekend and prove that the Austin Hutcherson era has officially come and gone.
7. Trinity (9-4)
Friday: at Bowdoin Saturday: at Colby
The Bantams are probably the most frustrating team to cover because every year they’re remarkably inconsistent. Just when you’re ready to write them off they pull a huge win out of nowhere to make you think twice. All 5 of Trinity’s starters are averaging double figures in scoring, so it’s clear that they share the ball and have many ways to hurt you. Donald Jorden, Jr. ’21 is one of just two players in the league to be averaging a double double and he looks to be putting together an all-NESCAC effort so far. The biggest apparent flaw right now is that the Bantams are 0-4 in games decided by 10 points or less, so they’ve really struggled with the game on the line. This is a serious problem because there really aren’t any bad teams in the NESCAC (besides Conn) so the chances are good that they’ll be playing a good number of close games. If they can’t win a fair share of those games then it’s not going to be a fun season in Hartford.
8. Williams (6-5)
Friday: at Hamilton Saturday: at Amherst
One of the biggest surprises this year has been the struggles of the Williams College Ephs. I guess it’s not that surprising when you remember that they lost 6 seniors, 3 of which were starters and 2 of which were all-NESCAC honorees. That said, they’re still loaded with talent and a closer look shows you that they’re realistically a few bounces away from being 7-3 or 8-2. Cole Prowitt-Smith ’23 has emerged as the early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, but he gets a bit out of control at times and has shown some immaturity down the stretch in a few of their games. Matt Karpowicz ’20 is easily the best big man in the league and has had an excellent season so far, but he can’t do it all himself. The Ephs are still the Ephs and I think they’ll hit their stride eventually, but the question is how long will that take?
9. Bates (7-4)
Sunday: at Wesleyan
The Bobcats have pretty much beaten all the bad teams and lost to all the good teams that they’ve played so far, so I guess you could call them average. Ah, the NESCAC, where the 9th best team is 7-4 and considered “average.” Jeff Spellman ’20 is having another solid year but has shot a fairly low percentage and often looks like he’s trying to do too much by himself. Omar Sarr ’23 has improved every game and at times looks like an awfully good big man, but he hasn’t played a ton of minutes and gets into foul trouble a good amount. The backcourt duo of Kody Greenhalgh ’20 and Tom Coyne ’20 can hang 20 on you on any given night, but those games have been few and far between this year. The fun thing about Bates is that they have such an unbelievable home court advantage it makes for some surprising wins. Unfortunately they have to travel to Middletown on Sunday for their lone contest of the weekend, so expectations are a bit lower.
10. Bowdoin (4-6)
Friday: vs. Trinity Saturday: vs. Conn College
I didn’t expect the Polar Bears to be particularly good this year, but they’ve actually been quite bad so far. Zavier Rucker ’21, David Reynolds ’20, and Sam Grad ’20 are the only players that seem capable of scoring and they pretty much have to play the entire game since Bowdoin has less depth than LeBron’s early Cavs teams. The problem is that Bowdoin also doesn’t have LeBron on their team, so they haven’t won very many games. The good news is they have the easiest opening weekend schedule, so it’s an opportunity to forget their non-conference struggles and get on track for the most important part of the season. I don’t know exactly how you’re supposed to respond after a 46-point loss, but I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when the Bantams come to town. Thankfully for the Polar Bears, Conn College has a basketball team…
11. Conn College (3-8)
Friday: at Colby Saturday: at Bowdoin
The Camels are never very good and this year looks like the same old story. They graduated their best player from last year in David Labossiere and they don’t have a particularly strong senior class following him. Their best hope is the recent hire of their new head coach, Tim Sweeney, who came from Hobart where he had some very successful seasons. Dan Draffan ’21 is the team’s best player putting up 13 points and 8 rebounds per game and freshman Ben McPherron ’23 looks promising so far, but they’ve got a very long way to go. It would be very surprising to see this team win a game in conference play.
Cohen broke onto the NESCAC scene last year with a very fine season for a freshman. He posted solid numbers and displayed some truly impressive quickness and court vision, making him the Jumbos de facto point guard. Cohen has a very high basketball IQ and did a nice job minimizing turnovers last year, but there is definitely room to grow…literally. There were times last season when Cohen looked a bit undersized, making it difficult for him to matchup with bigger guards and making it difficult for him to be physical inside. It appears as though Cohen addressed this problem in the offseason because he looks noticeably more filled out this year and even grew an inch (according to the roster). Tufts might need to start looking out for those notorious random drug tests that the NESCAC is so well known for…
This guy is the X-Factor for Tufts this year, no doubt about it. Aronson is one of the most sneaky-athletic players in the league and it’ll really surprise you when he throws down a dunk in the lane despite being only 6’2”. He can also shoot the lights out, but didn’t really display that in his freshman campaign. This season Aronson is off to a blazing hot start, shooting nearly 50% from 3-point land and averaging almost 13 points per game. He has the potential to be one of the most talented guards in the NESCAC if he can harness his athleticism and stay under control because he does have a tendency to get a little ahead of himself and try to rush things. If Aronson can play within the system and stay under control he will be very difficult to stop given all the other weapons that the Jumbos have.
G: Eric Savage ’20 (16.0 PPG, 6.4 REB/G, 3.5 AST/G)
Aside from having the best last name in the league, Savage brings a lot to the table. He has been a leader for the Jumbos from the first day he set foot on campus and now he finds himself as the leading scorer and captain of this team. At this point there isn’t much left to ask of Savage besides putting up star-caliber numbers and that’s no small task. His numbers have steadily improved over the course of his career, but so far this year it seems like he has reached a plateau. As I said before it’s very challenging for a player of Savage’s stature to improve in any particular area, but that’s what Tufts is going to need him to do if they’re going to get to the next level. The Jumbos took a step back last year and seemed to descend into relative mediocrity, so the lone senior on the roster will have to get his back ready for one last chance to carry this team to the top.
Here’s a guy you really have to watch out for. Morris is a physical, 6’6” wing who is an absolute sniper. His 44.2% clip from downtown last season was good for 2nd in the league and this season he’s picking up right where he left off. Morris plays a unique role on this team because he’s really their only true wing so he has to spend a lot of time defending the NESCAC’s premier 3’s and 4’s. This can really take a toll on guys, so it’s essential that Morris gets enough rest to be able to play the most important minutes every game. He has also proven that he is someone who needs to be on the floor in crucial moments, as evidenced by his game winner with seconds remaining to take down the first place Middlebury Panthers a year ago. Morris may not be the flashiest or most explosive player on the team, but without him the Jumbos would be in a very different place.
C: Luke Rogers ’21 (14.0 PPG, 9.1 REB/G, 55.6% FG)
Rogers is one of the few centers in this league that has an enormous impact on every game he plays in. He’s a double double machine, with 15 in his career and 4 already this season – in fact he’s averaging 14 points and 12 rebounds per game through 9 games this year. Throw in his career 55.8% from the field and you can start to see how much of a threat he really is. This type of production will be very hard to sustain, but Rogers’ career arc seems to indicate that he’s up for the challenge. One thing I find very interesting is that Tufts lists each player’s major on their online roster and I couldn’t help but notice that Rogers majors in History and Entrepreneurship. I’m not sure if that’s the name of one joint major or if Rogers is a double major, but I certainly hope it’s the former. I’ve never been a particular fan of the Jumbos, but entrepreneurship as a legit major?? Come on, guys. If nothing else we’ll just have to watch and see how Rogers’ entrepreneurial skills manifest themselves in his on-court performance.
Everything Else:
Last year was a bit of a wakeup call for Tufts as they were faced with the loss of an enormous group of seniors who were all important contributors to their national powerhouse teams from years prior. In fact, they didn’t have a single senior on their roster last season and Eric Savage ’20 is the only senior this season, so it appears that the Jumbos are on an upward trend once again. That said, it’s hard to judge exactly where they’re at right now. They’re off to a solid 7-2 start including an impressive win over MIT, but for the most part it’s the same cast of characters that finished 12-14 last year.
Coach Sheldon is building a classic NESCAC basketball team in Medford, anchoring a true center in Luke Rogers ’21 in the paint and surrounding him with playmaking guards who can shoot you out of the gym. Will Brady ’21, for example, is a guy who frankly doesn’t offer much except for the fact that he’s lethal from downtown. At 6’1”, 190lbs he lacks the foot speed to keep up with guards and the size to matchup with wings. This means that they pretty much have to stick him in the corner and tell him to shoot when he catches the ball. Another guy like this is Justin Kouyoumdjian ’21 who takes care of the ball, but really doesn’t do anything besides hit a shot once in a while and give the starters some rest. Coach Sheldon also brought in Casey McLaren ’23 and Dylan Thoerner ’23, two freshman wings that he hopes will play a similar to Brennan Morris ’21, while bringing some much-needed size to their backcourt (and maybe bringing back some faint memories of Vinny Pace). The Jumbos also employ big Max Oppenheim ’21 off the bench who is essentially a slower Luke Rogers ’21 with a less refined skillset – he’ll basically only set foot on the court when Rogers needs a break.
Tufts is still a very young team that has a long way to go, but it’ll be interesting to see how competitive they are this year now that they’ve got a few years of experience under their belts. An interesting note about their schedule is that they have a brutal stretch of four road games at the end of the year in the final two NESCAC weekends – at Trinity, at Conn College, at Middlebury, and at Williams. This will be a very intriguing stretch for the Tufts because at that point in the season they could be going in any direction. If they get hot at the right time and gain momentum heading into the conference tournament, this will be a very dangerous team come postseason play. If they hit a few bumps in the road and decide to roll over, the end of the season will not be very kind to the Jumbos.
Now that we have such an interesting season of individual performances in the books, we thought it would be interesting to have two sets of eyes (Haven and Matt) tackle this year’s edition of postseason awards. With no clear and obvious offensive and defensive players of the year, we did our best to present what we felt were the best candidates for the biggest individual awards the league has to offer.
Matt’s note: I would prefer you not click this link, but if you are interested in seeing how our preseason picks did, here are my predictions from September: https://nothingbutnescac.com/?p=7618
Offensive Player of the Year:
Haven’s Pick: WR Frank Roche (Tufts)
Midway through this season, another Frank essentially had this award in the bag- Frank Stola from Williams. Teams started to figure out Stola after that point, though, and his production dipped dramatically. The opposite happened to Roche, a Tufts graduate student from nearby Arlington, MA who has remained with the team since 2015 despite lots of trouble with injuries. Anyone involved with sports has heard the old cliche: it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. While Roche did not exceed 100 receiving yards in any of his first four games, he never had fewer than 50 and he had a long catch of at least 35 yards in each game to go along with two touchdowns. His numbers after that point were simply unbelievable. He finished the season with at least 6 catches and 100 yards in each of his final five games. This included an absurd eight touchdowns over his final three games. In addition to being a frequent endzone visitor, Roche was also extremely dangerous after the catch. He had games this season where he averaged 37, 30, 27, and 23 yards per catch. Tufts realized over the course of the season that they were not going to be led to glory by their run game, so they began to air it out with QB Jacob Carroll and often liked to go long to Roche or OJ Armstrong. Roche’s phenomenal play during the second half of the season helped Tufts develop a lethal passing attack despite remaining a middle of the pack team. He led the NESCAC in receiving yards, yards per catch, and was second in touchdowns. What makes his stats more impressive is that he did not even lead his team in receptions- that honor went to Armstrong. Roche made himself known as a standout receiver when his senior class has been synonymous with names like Koby Schofer and James O’Regan. Next year’s league will also feature a strong group of receivers- Stola will be back, along with Trinity’s Jon Girard and Wesleyan’s Matthew Simco. Nobody produced down the stretch this season like Roche, though. In a year down on running back talent and with no real standout single QB like we have had in past years, Roche separated himself from the competition by stepping up his game down the stretch and being a dangerous big play/scoring threat on a mediocre team. He made the most of his fifth year and is our pick for OPOY.
Matt’s Pick: QB Bobby Maimaron (Williams)
Like Haven mentioned, there were not a lot of standout options for this award this year after Stola’s 2nd half. I picked Maimaron for a few reasons–the 20:2 TD:INT ratio is just ridiculous, and it is actually just the 10th season ever in which a NESCAC QB threw for 20+ TDs (Only the 3rd non Middlebury Air Raid season as well). He was 4th in the league in rushing yards, while orchestrating the devastating RPO that allowed the Ephs to run for 240 yards a game. The completion percentage (47.8%) and passing yards per game (162.9) are the obvious knocks, and while I’m not arguing that he’s Joe Burrow, those stats were largely affected by throwaways and the fact that they were a run first offense whose top receiver was double and triple teamed for the last month of the season. He was just 9th in the league in attempts, but despite the completion percentage, ranked 3rd in yards per attempt (8.0) and 2nd in yards per completion (16.7). And among the top teams in the league, who else would you pick?
Honorable Mentions: Frank Stola (Williams), Alex Maldjian (Middlebury), Will Jernigan (Middlebury), Ashton Scott (Wesleyan)
Haven’s Pick: LB Joe Gowetski (Bowdoin)
The fact that Bowdoin went 0-9 should not take away from the fact that Gowetski, a senior from Needham, MA, was all over the field every Saturday. While individual performances always look better with team success, guys like Gowetski and Polar Bears RB Nate Richam were standout players on bad units and were likely gameplanned for extensively. That makes their numbers even more impressive. What made Gowetski great this year was his knack for being around the ball. He was second in the NESCAC with 84 total tackles, first in tackles for loss with 21, and tied for third on the sacks list with 5.5. This is in addition to a forced fumble and fumble recovery. I agree with Matt that there was no clear standout defensive player this season like an Andrew Yamin last year, and I think Middlebury, Williams, and Wesleyan’s standout guys all deserve recognition for their contributions to their team’s success. However, I have a soft spot for guys who go into every game knowing their chances of winning are slim to none and still perform. Gowetski’s stats showed that he was constantly around the ball and probably affected countless plays that did not show up in the stat line. His individual efforts on a team where he did not get much help earn him Co-DPOY in his senior season.
Matt’s Pick: LB Jack Pistorius (Middlebury)
The DPOY race was much like the OPOY race–LB Joe Kelly of Amherst raced out to an early lead through the first half of the season, but injuries down the stretch cost him and opened this award to a ton of different guys. There are so many different options–Williams and Trinity had the two best defenses in the league, but none of their individual numbers stand out, while guys at Middlebury and Wesleyan ran up the numbers and finished with the two best records in the league. Ultimately I chose Pistorius, not just because of his terrific numbers–72 tackles (4th), 5.5 sacks (4th), and 11.5 TFL (10th)–but because of his performances in their biggest games of the season:
In their biggest games of their 9-0 championship season, the majority of which we expected them to finally lose, it was Pistorius who rose to the challenge and led their defense and their team to the 4 wins that defined their season.
Honorable Mentions: LB Pete Huggins (Middlebury), LB Luke Apuzzi (Williams), CB Ben Thaw (Wesleyan)
Offensive Rookie of the Year: RB Alex Maldjian (Middlebury)
Any NESCAC football fan that followed Middlebury’s success this season had to see this one coming. Not only was Maldjian the best rookie running back, he was also the best running back period by most accounts. A freshman out of Rumson, New Jersey, Maldjian led the conference in rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns. His ball security was impressive as well as he only lost one fumble all season. Maldijan was simply unparallelled as a NESCAC running back. He was the only player to register triple digit yards per game and the only player to record double digit rush touchdowns with ten in eight and a half games. Combine this with Middlebury quarterback Will Jernigan’s 511 rush yards and 8 touchdowns, and it makes sense why Midd gave us the first 9-0 season in league history. When the pass game faltered or the defense was gassed, the Panthers continually relied on Maldjian to gain tough yards, run clock and give the D some rest. Coach Bob Ritter clearly had a lot of faith in Maldjian from day 1, as he got 21 carries in his first college game against a league-best Williams defense. Maldjian did not need much time to adjust to the speed and physicality of the college game after that. He totaled 361 scores and two touchdowns in his next three games, two of which were against Trinity and Amherst. It became clear early in the season that Maldjian was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the next few seasons. His impact was even felt when he was off the field. On October 12 vs. Colby, Maldjian was injured in the first half and did not return, only registering five carries. This ended up being Middlebury’s closest game, a 27-26 win in which they were bailed out by multiple Mule missed kicks and frankly were outplayed. If he had played this whole game, there’s a decent chance we could be talking about a thousand yard rusher here. Maldjian would return next Saturday and put the Panther offense on his back. He was at his best when Midd became the team everyone wanted to take down. Over his last four games, Maldjian averaged a whopping 28.5 carries per game and totaled 471 yards with 7 touchdowns. Most NESCAC backs would be happy with 7 touchdowns over an entire season, but this kid did it in four games as a freshman. This level of production was more than enough to earn him OROY. With Maldjian in the backfield for the next three years, Middlebury fans should feel great about their team’s chances for another ring.
Honorable Mention: RB Joel Nicholas (Williams)
Defensive Rookie of the Year: S Drew Michalek (Williams)
A two man race for this award between Michalek and DL Nick Helbig, Wesleyan, ultimately goes to the Eph, who helped anchor their league best defense with 3 INTs and a fumble recovery, while also racking up an impressive 44 tackles from the secondary. The Williams defense did not force a ton of turnovers, but when they did, Michalek was often right in the thick of things–his team leading 5th pass break up on the 3rd play of the game against Amherst fell into fellow S Ben Anthony’s hands for a pick 6 in their 31-9 season finale win.
Honorable Mention: DL Nick Heptig (Wesleyan)
Coach of the Year: Bob Ritter (Middlebury)
It wasn’t just that Middlebury completed the first 9-0 season in NESCAC history. Or the fact that no one had Middlebury in their championship picture at the start of the season. It was the way they did it. Wins against Williams, Trinity, and Amherst in 3 of the first 4 weeks of the season put them firmly in the driver’s seat, but also painted a huge target on their backs. They played their best game of the season in a 45-21 blowout of Wesleyan in what proved to be the de facto conference championship game, and then showed their championship mettle in nailbiters down the stretch, winning 3 of their final 5 games by one possession or less. And on top of all of that, it was how they did it–reinventing themselves as a power run team after years of shattering passing records behind some of the most prolific arms in league history. Despite the lack of big arm, and even losing key OL to graduation, Ritter guided QB Will Jernigan’s development into the best big game QB in the league, and RB Alex Maldjian burst onto the scene as the best RB in the league in his first season of football. Returning most of their top offensive weapons, as well as their top 7 tacklers, Ritter should have a great chance to repeat next year.
Honorable Mentions: Dan DiCenzo (Wesleyan), David Murray (Hamilton)
Special teams Co-POY:
K Sam Thoreen (Hamilton)
(10/10 FGs, longest made FG of the season, 23/25 XPs, 2nd highest scoring kicker, 6th highest scoring player)
No surprises here – the Panthers capped off the first 9-0 season in NESCAC history with a convincing victory over Tufts in Medford. Rookie RB Alex Maldjian ’23 led the league in rushing with 905 yards on the season (100.6 per game) and he seems to be a shoe-in for the NESCAC Rookie of the Year award. The receiving corps took a big step up this year and that was in large part due to the enormous improvement of QB Will Jernigan ’21. The Georgia native must have spent the summer implementing the TB12 method because he looked like an entirely different quarterback this year than he did last year. As a sophomore in 2018, Jernigan was 8th in the league with 127 passing yards per game and 10 touchdowns on the year. In 2019 he finished 2nd in the league with 221 passing yards per game and 16 touchdowns. It’s starting to make sense why they went from 5-4 in 2018 to 9-0 this season.
It would also be impossible to talk about this Middlebury team without talking about the defense – this unit led the NESCAC in interceptions and sacks, terrorizing opposing teams all year. The junior LB duo of Pete Huggins ’21 and Jack Pistorius ’21 finished tied for 4th in the conference in tackles with 72 each, they were both top-10 in TFLs, and they each added an interception for good measure. These guys would both be the best linebacker on any other team and the Panthers have them both! DB Kevin Hartley ’20 finished tied for 1st with 5 interceptions on the year and both Michael Carr ’20 and Finn Muldoon ’23 were top-10 in the NESCAC in picks as well. There’s no controversy this year – it’s safe to say that Middlebury was the best team and they proved it. Of their 9 games on the year, 6 of them were decided by one score or less and those include a double overtime victory at Amherst and a one-point scare against Colby. No matter who they were up against the Panthers were able to do just enough to find a way to win and that’s what championship teams do. Congrats to Panther Nation.
(3) 2. Wesleyan (8-1)
We’ve taken a lot of heat from Wesleyan fans over the past few weeks and deservedly so. Not a single one of us here at NbN believed that the Cardinals would be able to go 8-1 or honestly even 7-2. Even after their 5-0 start I thought that they were going to finish 6-3 or maybe even 5-4 given that they closed out the season with Middlebury, Amherst, Williams, and Trinity. Well they absolutely proved us wrong and I’m willing to admit that. Ashton Scott ’22 looks like the next star quarterback of the NESCAC and he made a legit POY case with his 17:3 TD:INT ratio and a league-leading completion percentage. Scott couldn’t have done it without the help of fellow classmate and breakout star Matthew Simco ’22 who finished 4th in the conference in both receiving yards and touchdowns, while finishing 3rd in receptions. The duo of Ben Thaw ’20 and Danny Banks ’22 are likely the best DB combo in the NESCAC with Thaw leading the league in picks and pass break ups and Banks coming in at 2nd in picks and 3rd in PBUs. The fact that Wesleyan was able to take down Amherst and Williams in consecutive weeks and going to 3 overtimes in the process is incredibly impressive and frankly it’s a shame that they couldn’t put up more of a fight against Middlebury because that would’ve been a ton of fun to watch. Either way this was a very impressive year for the Cardinals and with all the youth on their roster I don’t think this will be the last we’re hearing from these guys…
(2) 3. Williams (7-2)
I just want to go on record and say that if they’re able to avoid any major injuries to key players next year, the Ephs are my pick to win the 2020 NESCAC Championship. Yeah they lost two games this year and they lost those two games fair and square, but I really think this is the best team in the league. QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 has my vote for Offensive Player of the Year with his league leading 20 TDs and 2 INTs (also good for the best TD:INT ratio), while also adding the 4th most rushing yards in the conference. These are pretty incredible numbers and they’re also very difficult to sustain given that Williams almost exclusively runs RPOs. This kid is a stud. WR Frank Stola ’21 got off to one of the best starts to a season in recent memory for a receiver and Coach Raymond took full advantage, often using Stola as a decoy to draw away defenders during a few of their games later in the year. What may have taken the most pressure off of Maimaron was the Ephs’ menacing defense that led the league in both yards and points allowed. That’s how you keep your team in games. They say that defense wins championships so if this defense can ride the momentum into next year then it will be a very long season for anyone not wearing purple and gold.
(5) 4. Trinity (5-4)
In hindsight I kind of feel like we made the same mistake for Trinity that we did for Wesleyan, but the other way around. Because of their recent history, we assumed that the Bantams were pretty much the favorite for every game they played in. It turned out that they really weren’t that good this year, at least not by their standards. We all know how Coach Devanney loves running up the score so they had some lopsided victories over the Maine schools but when it came to the upper echelon of the league they really struggled. It took the Bantams until the 4th quarter to put away Hamilton and their 21-7 win over Amherst isn’t as impressive as it usually is because the Mammoths weren’t that great this year either. They lost one-possession games to Tufts, Middlebury, and Wesleyan, exposing their immaturity and showing that they tended to panic when time was winding down. Realistically this year is probably nothing more than a speed bump for this perennial powerhouse, but with the re-emergence of Williams and the improvements of Hamilton it’s time for the Bantams to start watching their backs.
(6) 5. Hamilton (4-5)
I’m really torn about what to say here because I was fully prepared to write a rave review about this year’s Continental team until they totally blew it in their final game against Bates. If you’re up 21-0 in the first half against a team that has only won once in the last two years then there’s really no excuse not to close that one out. With that being said, there are still a ton of positive takeaways from this season for Hamilton. They were able to beat both Amherst and Tufts for the first time in a while and they battled with Trinity until the final whistle. The emergence of David Kagan ’20 as a legitimate threat out of the backfield was huge to ease the burden for QB Kenny Gray ’20 who has really carried this team for the last four years. They also benefitted from an experienced trio of receivers in Christian Donahoe ’20, Will Budington ’21, and Sam Robinson ’20, each of whom stepped up in big moments, particularly given that WR Joe Schmidt ’20 was battling injury. I also think kicker Sam Thoreen ’22 deserves recognition because this guy is truly the best kicker in the league – he was a perfect 10/10 on field goals and 23/25 on extra points, giving him 53 points on the year which trailed only Mason Von Jess ’23 of Wesleyan. Coach Murray has done an outstanding job with this program and they are absolutely headed in the right direction, but they lose a lot to graduation this year so now we’ll have to wait and see if they can continue this positive trend with a new generation of faces.
(4) 6. Amherst (4-5)
Much like the Bantams’ season, this one was a disappointment for the Mammoths. Their first losing season since 1993 is definitely tough to swallow, particularly when so many of their games were decided in the final minutes or even seconds. It sort of felt like they were losing steam every game – once they suffered their first loss in double overtime to Middlebury things really started to spiral out of control. They easily took down Bowdoin the following week but then blew an 11-point lead with 4 minutes left against Hamilton, lost in double overtime again, this time to Wesleyan, and were smacked in their final two games against Williams and Trinity to close out the year on a 4-game losing streak. It seems to me that we should have treated Amherst like we treated Wesleyan earlier in the year – they started the year with the easier portion of their schedule and took care of business, but struggled mightily against the top teams and at times seemed overmatched. This is pretty much what we expected the Cardinals to do, but instead they went the other direction and got better as the year went on, playing some of their best games late in the year and beating a few of the top teams.
It’s clear that they really felt the losses of RB Jack Hickey and LB Andrew Yamin from last season because those guys were two of the best playmakers in the league. It felt like the Mammoths were lacking star power at times and that really showed; QB Ollie Eberth ’20 saw his interception totals balloon from just 1 last season to 13 this season. Thirteen!! That’s a ridiculous increase and it’s pretty much because he was only throwing to one guy. WR James O’Regan ’20 had twice as many touchdowns (8) as any other player on their roster and he had more than double the amount of receiving yards as the next most on the team. It’s hard to make things happen when defenses know exactly who you’re trying to get the ball to. This is definitely a season to forget for Amherst and they’ll lose their top two offensive players to graduation this year so it’ll be interesting to see who they bring in to replace these key pieces.
(7) 7. Tufts (4-5)
This was a really weird year for the Jumbos. It felt like every week a different team came to play. They felt the high of beating the defending champion Bantams in Week 1 and the low of getting blown out by Hamilton at home in Week 7. QB Jacob Carroll ’20 quietly led the league with 247 passing yards per game and was 2nd with 19 touchdown passes, but was sloppy with the ball at times and threw more interceptions than anyone in the league besides Eberth. QB Trevon Woodson ’23 looked excellent in his short stints as the backup, so it’s possible that they have a more than capable replacement waiting for next season. WR Frank Roche ’20 had an outstanding year as he led the league with over 100 receiving yards per game and was 2nd with 10 touchdowns, but they didn’t have many other receiving threats and the run game was essentially non-existant. LB Greg Holt ’20 led the league in tackles and will soon receive another All-NESCAC selection, but the defense was nothing special and forced the fewest turnovers of anyone besides Bowdoin. It seems like Coach Civetti is faced with a similar challenge to some of the other coaches in the league: his first generation of star players (i.e. Chance Brady, Ryan McDonald) have come and gone and now he has to continue the trend. All the pieces are in place to do that, but it’s hard to know what to expect from the Jumbos moving forward.
(9) 8. Bates (2-7)
Easily my most controversial* pick in the end-of-season rankings is putting Bates ahead of a Colby team that beat them head-to-head and finished with an identical record. It’s easy to forget, however, that the Bates-Colby game was all but won by the Bobcats when they scored a would-be game-winning touchdown in the final minutes before it ended up being nullified by one of those classic phantom holding flags that we’re all accustomed to in the NESCAC. It seemed like they only gained momentum from there because they destroyed Bowdoin the next week and successfully orchestrated a 21-point comeback against Hamilton in the final game to end up with a more respectable 2-7 record. Brendan Costa ’21 is probably the most underrated quarterback in the league and he showed towards the end of this year that not only can he run and throw at a high level, but he can lead crucial drives late with the game on the line. This type of thing only comes with experience and that’s something that Costa surely has now that he’s spent nearly 3 full years as the starter. The Bobcats also showed that they have some real offensive threats, although nearly all of them battled injuries this year. Christian Olivieri ’22, Jackson Hayes ’22, Sean Bryant ’22, and Mohamed Diawara ’23 are the core of a receiving unit that has seen some serious improvements and their committee of running backs headlined by Liam Spillane ’21, Jaason Lopez ’21, and Tyler Bridge ’23 looked competitive with the best of them in spurts. As evidenced by the plethora of underclassmen mentioned so far, Bates isn’t losing much to graduation this year. If they can add a few more pieces and pick up where they left off then this will be a very different Bobcat team in 2020.
*Yes, I do believe that the words “controversial” and “biased” can be used interchangeably.
(8) 9. Colby (2-7)
I’d say this ended up being a pretty standard season for Colby football. They were mildly competitive in some games, beat Bates and Colby, and gave Middlebury their biggest scare of the season. When the dust settled they found themselves the winners of the CBB for the second year in a row and because I anticipate hearing from someone how it’s ludicrous to put Bates ahead of Colby, I will address it – I was at the Bates-Colby game and to be blunt the Bobcats were the better team that day. Yeah they lost, but outplaying Colby and having the referees take away a win does not go unnoticed. The better team doesn’t always win in sports and that was the case here. The Bobcats went on to solidify this claim by taking down Hamilton (who obliterated the Mules in Week 3) in their final game.
At the end of the day, this was not a terrible season for Colby. Winning the CBB is still something to be proud of and QB Matt Hersch ’22 had himself a solid second season, averaging over 200 yards per game through the air. Chris George ’20 emerged as the replacement for Jake Schwern out of the backfield and he had a solid year, as did receivers Andrew DeFranco ’20 and Rory Glavin ’21. LB Marcus Bullard ’21 finished 3rd in the NESCAC in tackles, but other than him the defense was unremarkable. The Mules were 2nd to last in the league in sacks so the defense really wasn’t able to get much pressure on opposing quarterbacks. They were also 2nd to last in rushing yards allowed per game, so the front 4 will need to be a point of emphasis heading into next season. Colby has nothing to be ashamed of after this season, especially after nearly taking down the league champs in Week 5. Coach Cosgrove now has 2 consecutive 2-win seasons, so the bar is set. 3 is the magic number.
(10) 10. Bowdoin (0-9)
It can’t be fun to be a Bowdoin Polar Bear football fan. Last in the almost every statistical category on both sides of the ball in 2019, 1 win over the last 4 years, and a new coaching staff that has an uphill battle every step of the way. RB Nate Richam-Odoi ’20 was 2nd in the conference in rushing yards; though he was pretty much the only bright spot on the offensive side except for maybe RB Brendan Ward ’22 who had a team-high 4 touchdown catches. LB Joe Gowetski ’20 finished with 84 tackles on the year, which was good for 2nd in the NESCAC, but the same could be said for him as Richam-Odoi – they didn’t really have anyone else on defense who made an impact and Gowetski couldn’t do it all himself, so it was a very long year. Hopefully Coach Hammer has a good recruiting class lined up for next year because things are looking grim otherwise.
Bates (1-7) @ Hamilton (4-4), 12:00pm, Clinton, New York
Saturday will be a huge day in Clinton as the Continentals have a chance to finish with a winning record for the first time since the NESCAC football records begin in 2000. Hamilton fought valiantly last weekend against Middlebury, allowing just two scores to one of the conference’s most potent offences. The game was neck and neck throughout but Middlebury took a 14-7 lead by the end of the 1st quarter and rode that to the final whistle. Despite this tough loss, the way that Hamilton has separated themselves from the CBB teams, as well as beating more historically successful programs like Amherst and Tufts, has been extremely impressive. The Continentals have the opportunity to display that separation even more this weekend as they invite a 1-7 Bobcat’s team to upstate New York. Coming into the weekend Hamilton’s Senior RB David Kagan ’20 is tied for 2nd in the NESCAC with 8 rushing TDs, sitting just one short of the leader. Against a Bates defense who gives up over 30 points a game, it looks very possible that Kagan could finish the season leading the conference. While the narrative looks good for Hamilton, nothing is a given.
Bates enters this weekend on a high note after taking their first win of the season away from rival Bowdoin. For the first time this season the Bobcat defense dazzled, allowing only 5 points to Bowdoin while putting up a 30 spot on them. QB Brendan Costa ’21 had his season-high with 3 touchdown passes, with 2 of those going to WR Jackson Hayes ’22, his only 2 catches on the day. While Bates would certainly love to finish the season strong on a second win, they will also be watching the Colby vs. Bates game with keen interest as a Colby loss means a share of the CBB crown for all 3 teams. Hamilton will be a whole different animal from the Polar Bear defense that Bates faced last week, and that may be a rude awakening for them. Against Colby the Continentals were able to pick off Matt Hersch 3 times, and the task will not be any easier for Brendan Costa. This is not the Continental squad of the past and Bates will have to figure out how to adjust to that this weekend.
Picks: HC: Hamilton 31, Bates 21 SS: Hamilton 38, Bates 23 CC: Hamilton 31, Bates 20 RM: Hamilton 31, Bates 23 MK: Hamilton 24, Bates 14
Writers’ Pick: Hamilton
Amherst (4-4) @ Williams (6-2), 12:00pm, Williamstown, Mass
Coming into the final week of the season Williams finds themselves unlucky to be eliminated from championship contention after a tough 27-21 loss at Wesleyan last weekend. The Ephs were able to bring a one score lead into the final minute of the 4th quarter but allowed a rushing TD with just 17 seconds remaining to force OT. Williams got the ball to start OT but a quick turnover on downs turned into a loss immediately as they allowed a Wesleyan score on their first offensive play of OT. Had that gone differently Williams would be sitting in 2nd instead of Wesleyan. For now though, the Ephs have the opportunity to improve their record to 7-2 and finish strong at home on senior day. Bobby Maimaron ’21 continues to lead the conference in touchdown passes with an insane 20:2 TD to INT ratio. These stats are possible only because of the help of WR Frank Stola ’21, who is 2nd in the conference in receiving yards/game (96) and conference-leader in receiving touchdowns with 12. This dynamic duo have been putting up huge numbers all season long and I wouldn’t expect it to slow down for their last home game of this campaign.
Amherst had a tough time last weekend as they hosted the Bantams, as they were able to rack up over 300 yards of total offense but that only translated to one score. Turnovers killed the Mammoths in the first half, with their first two drives ending in an interception and a fumble. They were able to reach the back of the end zone once in the first half, a 27 yard touchdown pass from Ollie Eberth ’20 to James O’Regan ’20, but that would be their only score as their second half drives ended in an unsuccessful combo of punts and turnover on downs. Their offense will certainly need to liven up this weekend if it wants a chance to compete with the Ephs, who average nearly 30 points a game. Eberth has been a solid quarterback this year but does not really separate himself as a top talent in the way that Trinity’s Seamus Lambert ’22 does with his efficiency or even as Bobby Maimaron ’21 does with his ability to find the back of the endzone. This team has played middle-of-the-pack football all year and that is evident in their record. It will take far more than business as usual for the Mammoths to come out on top and on Saturday we will see if Amherst is up for the challenge.
Picks: HC: Williams 34, Amherst 17 SS: Williams 31, Amherst 10 CC: Williams 31, Amherst 17 RM: Williams 27, Amherst 10 MK: Williams 24, Amherst 13
The Cardinals pulled out a shocker last weekend as a series of insane plays propelled Wesleyan past Williams to a 7-1 record and places them in a comfortable 2nd place position. Big plays were the name of the game and David Estevez ’22 was the name of the guy making the plays as he threw for a 52 yard touchdown pass, returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, rushed for a 2 yard touchdown to tie the game in the last seconds of the 4th quarter and finally rushed for a 25 yard touchdown with his first touch of the ball in overtime to win the game. It was a day to have a day for Estevez as he must’ve had a very sore back on Sunday. While the NESCAC crown is still out of reach, the Cardinals can aim to end the season on a high note by going into Hartford and handing the Bantams their first 4-loss season since 2001.
It has been an up and down season for Trinity as they have shown us that they simply are not the same dominant Bantam squad of the past few seasons. A big loss to Williams must’ve been a low point for the Bantams, as they had not had their score nearly doubled in quite some time. QB Seamus Lambert ’22 continues to be an extremely bright spot for this team, leading the conference in completion percentage (63.1%), passing yards (1904), yards per attempt (11.3) and QB efficiency rating which is an insane 182.2. He is a level above most other quarterbacks in the NESCAC and that is what has kept them competitive this season but the team as a whole does not have the ridiculous depth that allowed them to dominate as they have in the past. This game will be a statement from Trinity as 6-3 looks very different from 5-4, especially if you are a prospective student-athlete. Is this a rebuilding year for the Bantams or simply a few unfortunate losses? It will be easier to answer that question on Sunday.
Middlebury (8-0) @ Tufts (4-4), 12:00pm, Medford, Mass
The Panthers have already clinched this year’s title, but they have the opportunity to go out in style this weekend as they seek their first undefeated season in program history. Last week they held off a pesky Hamilton team in a 14-7 defensive battle for their final homestand. Midd’s pass rush continued to impress as their 4 sacks last weekend maintained their conference lead with 23 on the season. RB Alex Maldjian ’23 had yet another breakout game to lead the Panthers to victory, rushing for a season-high 145 yards and 2 touchdowns on a whopping 35 carries. Maldijan has been the workhorse that has propelled the Middlebury offense thus far, leading the conference in carries (177), rushing yards (769) and rushing touchdowns (9). QB Will Jernigan ’21 and his receiving core have helped take the pressure off of Maldijan, allowing him to put up these outstanding statistics. Along with having a defense that has been nothing if not consistent this season, the stage is all set for Middlebury to complete the perfect season and a Jumbo squad who has certainly seen better days may be their final victim.
This season has been up and down for Tufts but overall falls far below the standard that Jumbos fans are used to seeing. A loss to Hamilton must have been a real sting to the ego a few weeks ago but Tufts was able to save face and cruise to victory against a Colby team that simply wasn’t up to the challenge. RB Mike Pedrini ’21 showed signs of life in the first drive of the game, cutting through the Colby defense like butter for the first 70 yards of the game and a touchdown. The offensive attacked cooled off for the rest of the first half, with the exception of a 100 yard kickoff return, but the Mule offense was nowhere to be seen either. The second half was all about the passing game as Jacob Carroll ’20 and Frank Roche ’20 found the back of the end zone on 3 different occasions to give Tufts a comfortable victory. This storyline is much more reminiscent of Tufts teams of the past and should give Jumbo fans hope that there are great pieces to build on for the future. For now though Tufts faces their toughest challenge to date and it seems unlikely, based on their inconsistency, that they will rise up to it.
Colby (1-7) @ Bowdoin (0-8), 4:30pm, Brunswick, ME
It’s all on the line for Coach Cosgrove and the Mules this weekend as he looks to maintain his perfect CBB winning percentage. Last week was another tough one for Colby, getting run all over in the first half and then being torn up by QB Jacob Carroll ’20 and WR Frank Roche ’20 in the second half. A few forced fumbles and an impressive touchdown pass from QB Matt Hersch ’22 to former QB turned wide receiver Jack O’Brien ’20 were small victories but otherwise it was a game to put behind them before this weekend. The Mules have to go into this game with all the confidence in the world after seeing the way that Bates took care of the Polar Bears with ease. On paper, everything seems to be in their favor, but with CBB games the beauty is that you never know for sure.
It has been a tough season for Bowdoin and their woes continued last week as they were handed another lopsided loss by rival Bates. This game really went to show how far behind the rest of the NESCAC Bowdoin is compared to even the other CBB teams. Bates and Colby has both put up some respectable performances this season despite losing every game, with the exception of Colby over Bates, while Bates has shown lifelessness without fail. It is hard for me to believe that anything can change this narrative and that the Polar Bears can magically pull it together for this last game of the season. They have one more shot left at redemption this Saturday night, under the lights, at home, on senior day, against a CBB rival. If that does not give them enough to put up a fight than nothing will.
In the interest of full disclosure I just want to say that I’m a senior at Bates and I’ve been waiting to write this “stock up” for a very long time. It’s no secret that this has been a frustrating past two years – losing 16 games in a row after a coaching change definitely makes you scratch your head a little. There is also quite a bit of flukiness that comes with a losing streak that long – they were a blocked PAT away from heading to overtime with Middlebury last season, they nearly orchestrated a 19-point comeback against Tufts in Week 4 this year, a phantom holding call nullified a would-be game winning touchdown against Colby in Week 7, and the injury bug bit at the wrong time over and over again. Well, I’m very happy to say that the streak is finally over and Bobcat fans can sleep easy for the first time in 728 days.
In all honesty, Bowdoin came out on Saturday and looked like they were playing against the Max Chipouras-era Trinity Bantams. Bates absolutely steamrolled the Polar Bears, outgaining them in total offense 523-296 and shutting down Nate Richam ’20 who has really been the only reliable threat in Brunswick. Brendan Costa ’21 played another very nice game, hitting WR Jackson Hayes ’22 for two deep touchdown passes in the first half and connecting with WR Sean Bryant ’22 for a long score in the second half. Fortunately Costa only had to attempt 17 passes because freshman RB Tyler Bridge ’23 had himself a career day, rushing for 188 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. The Bobcat defense had by far their best game of the last two years, led by freshman Tony Hooks ’23 who looks to be a potential future All-NESCAC linebacker. Hopefully this is the spark that the Bobcats needed to start turning things around. It may be the end of the year, but getting your first win in a long time can start to change some attitudes. Bates will try their luck again this Saturday when they make the long drive to Hamilton.
Wesleyan’s ability to finish games
Last week I harped on Amherst’s late struggles this year, so it only feels appropriate this week to give this one to the Cardinals. We were very critical of Wesleyan early in the year when they started their schedule with the 4 (or maybe 5) worst teams in the league and then were trounced by Middlebury. They hadn’t proven much and I stand by our caution when assessing where they stood relative to the top teams. However, things are very different now. They just rattled off two overtime victories to win the Little Three Championship and have legitimately solidified themselves as the second best team in the league at this point. The Amherst game was a little fluky with both kickers hitting the upright in the first overtime, but the Cardinals have done it time and time again this year so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. Aside from these past two games, they also scored a touchdown with 6 seconds left to beat Tufts and they didn’t score the game winning touchdown against Bowdoin until there were less than 4 minutes left to play. Coach DiCenzo knows what he’s doing and this team knows how to win. They’ll head to Hartford this weekend to try and take down the Bantams for the first time since 2014.
Hamilton special teams
This is a unit we absolutely have not talked about enough this year. The Continentals easily have the best all around special teams in the league. Kick returner Sam Robinson ’20 is the most explosive return man in the NESCAC and he can flip the field position on you in a hurry. Their usage of Kenny Gray ’20 as a hybrid quarterback/punter has really paid off: Hamilton’s punt team has downed 20 kicks inside the 20-yard line this year and 7 of those kicks were inside the 5. Sam Thoreen ’22 is the only kicker in the league with more than 1 field goal attempt who is yet to miss and he’s 20-22 on extra points as well. These are the types of things that make the difference in games. Coach Murray has done an excellent job with the team this year and that is in large part due to his emphasis on special teams. If they can close out the season with a victory over Bates then they’ll be able to clinch their first winning season in a very long time.
Stock down
Trinity, Amherst, or Williams Winning the Championship
Since the year 2000 (when the NESCAC began recognizing a league champion for football) there have been 19 football seasons played. Trinity, Amherst, or Williams has won the championship outright in 16 of these 19 seasons, Amherst shared it with two other schools 2 of the years, and in 2007 Middlebury won the NESCAC Championship. That means this will be just the second time since most of the league’s freshmen and sophomores were born that one of these three schools won’t win the NESCAC title. The interesting thing is that each of these schools feels differently about this season based on the more recent past. For Amherst and Trinity (particularly Trinity) this year is a bit of a disappointment. These two have been consistently competing for the championship every year for as long as I can remember, but Williams is coming from a different place. Just 3 years ago they finished 0-8, then followed with a 6-3 and 5-4 over the next two years. If they can snag a win in their final game over the Mammoths then this will be their highest win total since they won the league in 2010. The final weekend will still bring a slate of good games, but it doesn’t feature the same crucial matchups between the teams that we are used to seeing at the top. Speaking of which…
Final weekend excitement
Unfortunately for us as fans, the final weekend of the year will not factor into deciding the league championship. Middlebury is 8-0 and Wesleyan is the only 7-1 team, but the Panthers defeated the Cardinals handily in Week 6 so they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the NESCAC decided to do away with the tiebreaker rule this season, so technically if the two teams finish tied they will be considered “co-champions.” It seems silly not to have a tiebreaker system when the league literally just moved to a 9-game schedule so that everyone now plays everyone. It’s even weirder that they waited until the 3rd year of the new schedule to remove the tiebreaker rule. Last year Trinity finished tied with Amherst at 8-1, but the Bantams were awarded the league championship because they held the head-to-head tiebreaker. I’m not sure what transpired that caused them to change this, but it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Fortunately NbN does recognize the head-to-head tiebreaker, so we would like to congratulate the Panthers on their well-deserved NESCAC championship.
Ultimately what this does is take away most of the excitement of the final weekend. The Amherst-Williams game is always fun, but it won’t help decide a Little Three or NESCAC Championship. Wesleyan-Trinity will be intriguing too, but it just doesn’t have the same implications that it has had in the past few years. The fact that the conference gives us so much week in and week out means that we don’t know what to do with ourselves when there is suddenly less on the line. That being said, I don’t plan on doing anything else this Saturday afternoon besides watching as many NESCAC football games at once as I can.
The first weekend in November signals the penultimate weekend of NESCAC football, with a chance to crown a champion by Saturday’s end. Will Middlebury solidify their place among the rest of the competition, or will they slip up and allow Williams or Wesleyan back into the picture? Elsewhere, the Jumbos have a trip to Waterville to face off with Colby, who just got their first win of the season last weekend against Bates. Speaking of the ‘Cats, they are set to finish up their CBB slate with a primetime night contest against the Polar Bears in what is sure to be an intense atmosphere. Let’s get to it.
For a quick update, here’s how each of our writers are doing in their weekly picks: Ryan Moralejo: 29-6 Haven Cutko: 28-7 Matt Karpowicz: 27-8 Cameron Carlson: 26-9 Spencer Smead: 24-11
Hamilton (4-3) @ Middlebury (7-0), 12:30pm, Middlebury, Vermont
For Middlebuty, the time is finally here: after weeks of clinging to the top spot, while most of the general public assumed they would eventually trip up, the Panthers have defied all odds and are one win away from claiming their first NESCAC Championship since they were crowned co-champions in 2013. It hasn’t been pretty by any means, but credit Coach Ritter and his staff for a fantastic season to date in addition to earning his 100th career win in their victory last week against Bowdoin. They put their guys in a position to disrupt plays and minimize their opponent’s strengths every weekend, and the players have remained level-headed and poised throughout the early gauntlet of their schedule. Now is not the time to sit back. The Panthers will be sure to not take the Continentals lightly after their recent surge up the standings. Their 36-21 victory against Tufts did not do Hamilton justice for their absolute dominating performance on the road, racing out to a 34-7 lead by halftime. Kenny Gray ‘20 is finally rounding into form, and he added to his recent uptick in quality play by throwing for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Although David Kagan ‘20 was held to just 39 yards, reserve tailback Joe Park ‘22 made it clear that there would be no drop off in production with a career-high 126 yard performance. The Continentals will need to keep their ground game churning against a stout Panthers’ front seven that is second in the conference in rushing yards allowed per game.
The biggest challenge will be Hamilton’s defense versus Middlebury’s offense; what was (for the majority of the season) a below-average defense has been performing well in recent weeks in large part because they’ve continued to force turnovers. Hamilton sits tied for second in the league with seventeen, including multiple takeaways in six of their seven games. WIth the offense finally clicking, those turnovers are being converted into points, and it is clear that this combination has transformed the New Yorkers into a legitimate upset pick for this Saturday. Given the fact that Will Jernigan ‘21 has a tendency to cough up the ball (6 interceptions and 6 fumbles to date), his focus should be on remaining patient and letting the plays develop in front of him; the Continentals are still allowing 373.4 yards and 28 points per game, so it’s more about making smart decisions and not forcing passes into tight windows or holding onto the ball too long. I really want to pick Hamilton just so the last week of NESCAC football is more entertaining, but I believe the Panthers will rally after digging themselves a hole early on, clinching the NESCAC Championship on Senior Day.
Picks: RM: Middlebury 33, Hamilton 27 HC: Middlebury 31, Hamilton 27 MK: Middlebury 35, Hamilton 20 CC: Middlebury 31, Hamilton 27 SS: Middlebury 35, Hamilton 20
Writers’ Pick: Middlebury
Tufts (3-4) @ Colby (1-6), 1:00pm, Waterville, Maine
I’ll be honest: I have no real confidence in either team. On paper, Tufts most certainly possesses the better team, but its plethora of individual talent hasn’t been nearly enough to win games. Tufts disappointing season is, in large part, due to the team’s inability to play a well-rounded game. The 49-0 drubbing they handed to Bowdoin gave me a slight indication that the Jumbos might have figured it out, but once again, the defense fell apart. The Jumbos must do something on that side of the ball to stifle the Mules’ offense, such as creating more blitz packages. Turnovers haven’t been in abundance for the defense this season (second worst with only 6 forced), but the Mules have coughed up the football 6 times over the past three weeks. Matt Hersch ‘22 played really well in the first half against Bates, but he was a no-show for the remaining 30 minutes. The special teams was an absolute disaster, with Moises Celaya ‘22 missing an extra point and having both a field goal and a punt blocked. Furthermore, a bad snap cost Celaya 15 yards and gave Bates a chance to tie or win the game in the final minute. Their special teams play has to be impeccable if they want to hang around with the Jumbos on Saturday. Colby is probably more fired up to play Tufts than vice-versa based on recent results, but I’m sticking with the Jumbos in a high-scoring affair.
It’s really quite odd to have both of these perennial powerhouses already eliminated from the NESCAC Championship race with two games remaining on the season, and they each suffered significant defeats this past weekend. For the Bantams, their three-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Ephs and its ferocious front seven, who constantly harassed quarterback Seamus Lambert ‘22 and bottled up running back Tijani Harris ‘22 (27 carries for 42 yards). Granted, Williams does boast the league’s best defense in terms of points allowed per game, but this is Trinity we’re talking about. With the talent that Trinity has, it’s simply a disappointment that the offense has looked so volatile, especially after exhibiting the capability to hang 60 points.
Amherst would, in theory, should present another tough challenge for the Bantams’ offense, but I’m not sure how much this team has left in the tank from an emotional standpoint. Of course they’ll be ready for next week’s rivalry game against the Ephs, but you have to think that their rather shocking loss to the Cardinals leaves them shaking their heads at what could have been. Although quarterback Ollie Eberth ‘20 turned the ball over twice in the first half, Amherst managed to find themselves leading the visitors 28-21 entering the fourth quarter. A Cardinals’ touchdown tied it with roughly twelve minutes remaining, and Eberth failed to gain a first down on his remaining possessions in regulation. In overtime, Henry Atkeson ‘20 had an opportunity to clinch the game with a 24 yard field goal after fellow kicker Mason Von Jess ‘23 nailed the right upright from 18 yards out, but the senior endured the same result. To make things worse, Eberth threw his third interception on the ensuing possession in double overtime, allowing the Cardinals to convert their own game-winning field goal. Amherst knows they shouldn’t have lost to Wesleyan, just like how they shouldn’t have lost to Hamilton or Middlebury. This team simply doesn’t know how to close out a game, and I’m more confident siding with the team who tends to respond after suffering defeat.
Williams (6-1) @ Wesleyan (6-1), 1:00pm, Middletown, Connecticut
This is our game of the week, but the Cardinals showed some life in their come-from-behind victory against the Mammoths. Ashton Scott ‘22 is the real deal, and Matthew Simco ‘22 is a big playmaker that will give any defense problems; but this is the best defensive unit in the NESCAC, and their double-digit road victory against Trinity reaffirms my belief that this is the best and most complete team in the league. In a battle of one-loss foes, it’ll be Williams who dominates the time of possession and makes life hard on Scott. Ephs fans will be simultaneously praying that Hamilton can knock off Middlebury and keep the championship race open for one more week.
Picks: RM: Williams 36, Wesleyan 20 HC: Williams 27, Wesleyan 13 MK: Williams 25, Wesleyan 16 CC: Williams 28, Wesleyan 14 SS: Williams 31, Wesleyan 21
Writers’ Pick: Williams
Bowdoin (0-7) @ Bates (0-7), 5:30pm, Lewiston, ME
Welcome to the 2019 Toilet Bowl featuring (for the second consecutive year) Bates and Bowdoin. All jokes aside, for the Bobcats, last week’s battle against the Mules gives me room for optimism heading into Saturday’s clash. Colby punched Bates in the mouth right from the get-go, racing out to a 23-0 lead. The Bobcats could have folded right then and there, but Jackson Hayes’ ‘22 47-yard touchdown reception as time expired gave the ‘Cats some momentum heading into the second half. For the remaining 30 minutes, Bates absolutely dominated the Mules on both sides of the ball. The defense stifled Colby’s offense to the tune of just 78 total second half yards, while Brendan Costa ‘21 and the offense nearly doubled that number. The special teams unit gave Celaya nightmares all second half, ignited by senior captain Jon Lindgren’s field goal block with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
The Bobcats were potentially one dropped pass away from forcing overtime, and while you have to account for the emotional toll the game had on the players, I see no reason why the ‘Cats won’t come out fired up for this game. Not only is it the last game for Bates in 2019, but the 5:30 pm kickoff will surely bring a large crowd ready to cheer their team to victory. In a similar scenario last season, Bowdoin embarrassed Bates 31-14 en route to their only win of 2018; you have to think for Bates, revenge is right at the forefront of their minds. It was only one game, but Costa looked much better against the Mules and should have success against a Polar Bears’ defense that is still allowing over 40 points and 465 yards per game. Emotions will be on full display during a physical first fifteen minutes, but I trust Bates’ offense to put up around 30 points on Bowdoin’s defense, a number Bowdoin’s offense hasn’t achieved in the score column all season. The Bobcats have lost 17 consecutive games, but that streak ends with an emphatic win this Saturday night.
