Bates – Page 23 – Nothing But NESCAC

Nothing But NESCAC’s Christmas Vacation

As I sit, curled up in my new Red Sox snuggie with a cup of hot cocoa and Star Wars on the TV, a feeling of deep contentment washes over

Fun fact: The NBA logo is not Jerry West, as many people believe. It’s actually two 10 year old boys dressing up as Jerry West to sneak into an R-Rated movie.

me. But soon I am disturbed by a thought, which gnaws and picks at my brain like a cockroach in a wall: Who are the frontrunners for the NESCAC Basketball awards, and who are their NBA counterparts? Such is the life of a sports blogger. So here I am, I haven’t showered in three days, and I’m presenting you with this article. It may still be too early for awards considerations, as league play has a tendency to change statistics a great deal, but I DON’T CARE. I have included the top three contenders for each award, as well as the NBA player whom I see as the closest comparison to the NESCAC player, based both style of play, role on their team and spot within the framework of the league. And by the way, I should be leading the NbN writer Power Rankings at this point. I don’t see Rory or Colby putting anything out here while on vacation.

Player of the Year

Bowdoin Guard Jack Simonds ‘19: Andrew Wiggins (Timberwolves)

Jack Simonds ’19 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

Just as there must always be a Stark in Winterfell, there must always be a NESCAC leading scorer in Brunswick. Simonds has picked up right where Lucas Hausman left off, leading the league in scoring at 23.6 points per game. Despite having the green light from pretty much anywhere on the court, he has gotten his buckets very efficiently, putting up a 47/37/89 shooting line and leading the league in free throws made per game. The Wiggins comparison stems largely from their style of play. The key to mini-leap Wiggins has made this season has been adding an outside shot to his arsenal, something that Simonds utilizes with extreme precision. However, both players are also at their best when going to the basket, as evidenced by the high amount of free throws that both players shoot. Simonds and Wiggins also both play alongside excellent distributors who are shooting liabilities, in Tim Ahn ‘19 and Ricky Rubio. And finally, both players will see their award recognition be largely dependent on where their teams finish, as they both carry teams that have struggled thus far.

Amherst Guard Jayde Dawson ‘18: DeMar DeRozan (Raptors)

Jayde Dawson ’18 (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

Dawson has catapulted himself into Player of the Year consideration on the strength of several strong performances in the last couple weeks. The junior guard has averaged nearly 27 PPG over his last four, including 32 points (and a game winner) in Amherst’s double overtime win over #2 Babson. Dawson has risen to the top of a very deep Amherst team, and has even become something of a volume scorer, taking 72 shots over the last three games. This is where the comparison to DeRozan becomes appropriate. DeRozan is in the top 5 in the league in scoring due to a relentless style that necessitates a lot of shots. Dawson, like DeRozan, subscribes to the “shoot your way out of it” approach to scoring. Additionally, both high scoring two guards play on very deep teams, with a point guard who is considerably more efficient in Johnny McCarthy ‘18 and Kyle Lowry. Dawson and DeRozan both keep their teams in games with their scoring ability, but also run the risk of shooting their teams out of games.

Williams Forward Daniel Aronowitz ‘17: Paul George (Pacers)

Image result for daniel aronowitz — Daniel Aronowitz ’17 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

One of the most versatile players in the league, Aronowitz has been the key to Williams’ strong start to 2016-2017. At 6’5”, Aronowitz is longer than many of the other guards in the league, which allows him to crash the boards and shoot over smaller defenders in the post. For all their perimeter depth, Williams has serious weaknesses inside. They lack a real interior scoring threat, and Wesleyan exposed their lack of rebounding toughness in their ten point win earlier in December. Aronowitz may well be the player who is most important to their team in the league, due to his rebounding and interior scoring responsibilities as well as holding down the perimeter. Aronowitz’s combination of post scoring, shooting and defense remind me of Paul George. George plays on a team (the Pacers) who lack a dominant inside scorer, as Myles Turner is only in his second year and is something of stretch-five anyway, and therefore he absorbs much of the rebounding burden. Like George, Aronowitz carries a very heavy load for his team. We will see if that is sustainable come league play.

Connecticut College Forward Zuri Pavlin ‘17: Nikola Vucevic (Magic)

Pavlin has been an excellent player for four years, averaging a double-double over his 20 year (it seems like) career at Connecticut College. But his senior season has seen him raise his game to a new level. Pavlin is again near the top of the league in rebounding, as he has been for his whole career, but his offensive game has taken a major step forward. He is averaging 14.6 PPG on 54% shooting, both career highs. Connecticut College leads the league in scoring despite being eighth in three pointers. Pavlin anchors this interior-focused offense. While the Orlando Magic’s offense is considerably less effective than Connecticut College’s (in relation to the rest of their league,) they share an offense that is highly focused on the paint, contrary to the direction that the game is going. Vucevic is an excellent rebounder despite being undersized, and is also a versatile offensive weapon. He and Pavlin share a tenacity on the boards and a versatile offensive game in the paint, although Pavin is far more crucial to his team’s success than Vucevic.

Defensive Player of the Year

Bates Forward Malcolm Delpeche ‘17: John Henson (Bucks)

While Delpeche’s offensive game has been a work in progress throughout his career, defensively he has always been a stud. He has averaged over 1.5 blocks per game three out of his four seasons, and has forced countless more missed shots due to his presence. This season he has been even better than his first three seasons, leading the league in blocks with 3 per game. He has paired with his brother Marcus to give Bates one of the most formidable defenses in the league (third in the league in opponents points and second in blocks.) And with Bates sitting dead last in the league in points per game themselves, their defense is critical to any success they may have. Delpeche’s shot-blocking ability stems mostly from his quick feet and tremendous wingspan, making him very reminiscient of former UNC and current Milwaukee Bucks big man John Henson. Henson uses his tremendous wingspan and footwork to anchor an elite defense that keeps his team in games even when they struggle to score, just as Delpeche does for Bates.

Hamilton Forward Peter Hoffmann ‘19: Paul Millsap (Hawks)

Former ESPN writer and current head of The Ringer (and chief role model of yours truly) Bill Simmons invented the statistic “stocks” in order to measure how destructive a player is defensively. The formula is kind of complicated, but see if you can keep up: blocks plus steals equals stocks. Hoffmann is dominating the NESCAC stocks race, averaging 4.3 stocks per game. Hoffmann is the only player in the league in the top five in both steals and blocks, and has been crucial in keeping Hamilton in the middle of the pack defensively. At 6’5,” Hoffmann has the size to outmuscle guards on the perimeter. And despite being undersized for a forward, he is long and athletic enough make an impact in the paint as well. This is where the Paul Millsap comparison comes to fruition. Millsap has made his mark in the NBA by being an undersized forward whose remarkably quick hands and feet allow him to guard perimeter players and get steals. He can also move down to the post and block shots, making him the centerpiece of an excellent Hawks defense. Hoffmann has been a dominating defensive force this season, and could vault into Player of the Year consideration if he can keep it up in league play.

Middlebury Guard Jack Daly ‘18: Marcus Smart (Celtics)

Jack Daly ’18 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

Middlebury’s greatest strength is their guard trio of Matt St. Amour ‘17, Jake Brown ‘17 and Daly. The three guards are fourth, seventh and second in the league in steals, and are also three of the top four scorers on the team. But with St. Amour’s recent shooting struggles and Brown’s responsibilities to run the offense, Daly has emerged as arguably Middlebury’s best player so far this season. He and Brown share defensive responsibilities on point guards, but Daly’s sneaky-long arms and and strong upper body allow him to body larger shooting guards and forwards. He is also possibly Middlebury’s best rebounder, averaging nearly 6 per game despite being only 6’2”. Daly is not an outside threat in any sense of the word, and yet averages 11 points per game due to pure tenacity and strength in the paint. Daly fills a similar role for Middlebury that Marcus Smart does for the Celtics. Both are devastating perimeter defenders who can guard nearly any position on the court, and also carry a great deal of rebounding responsibility on teams that struggle on the glass. They also both have the horribly cliche “nose for the ball.” If there’s a big play on defense for Middlebury or the Celtics, you can bet that Daly or Smart was involved.

Rookie of the Year

Hamilton Guard Kena Gilmour ‘20: Jaylen Brown (Celtics)

Hamilton is enjoying a youth movement in 2016-2017, and Gilmore looks like the freshman centerpiece. A 26 point outing against Clarkson has skewed his numbers towards the high side a bit, but he has been a consistent contributor all season for the Continentals. Here are his numbers if you project them out over 30 minutes (approximately, since I can’t find a calculator and can’t do math): 21 PPG, 6.0 REB/G, 1.2 A/G, 55.8% shooting. He has shown confidence, if not success, in his jump shot, taking 3 threes per 30 minutes. But his real skill is in the paint, where he gets to often due to his size and athleticism. Gilmore, as is the case with all freshman, has been turnover and defensive-lapse prone, but his offensive contributions speak for themselves. Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown plays a similar style. Despite being far from a threat from three, Brown is a very effective slasher, and has already had two or three monster dunks this season. Brown and Gilmore are both important contributors early in their careers, and Gilmore could be an x factor come league play.

Middlebury Forward Matt Folger ‘20: Domantas Sabonis (Oklahoma City)

Matt Folger ’20 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

The skill that stands out most about Matt Folger if you watch him in warm-ups is his feather soft jump shot. At the beginning of the season, Folger projected as a prototypical stretch four. However, this season has seen him struggle from three, shooting only 18%. But his struggles from outside have allowed him to showcase his other skills. Despite only playing around 12 minutes, Folger averages 1.1 blocks and .6 steals per game. He is also shooting a ridiculous 80% on two point shots, showing good hands and a soft touch around the rim, as well as from mid-range. Sabonis of the Thunder shows a similar skill-set. He entered the league as little more than a stretch four, but has shown already this season that he can be dangerous in the paint on offense and defense. Middlebury and Oklahoma City have problems at the five right now, but if Folger and Sabonis continue developing, they may not in the future.

It’s probably obvious, but there are A LOT of opinions in this article. I changed my mind on both the awards and the comparisons roughly a thousand times, and even now I’m not sure I like any of them. So I welcome any argument about either the NESCAC players in the running for the awards or their NBA counterparts. Arguing about NESCAC basketball is my second favorite thing in the world to do, and arguing about the NBA is first. So come at me on Twitter, on the blog post, on Facebook, or the blog email. I welcome it.

It’s Way Too Early For Power Rankings: Power Rankings 12/14

By popular demand (Pete’s note: pretty sure I’m the only one who even requested this,) here are the first NBN power rankings of the 2016-2017 basketball season. I have finals to study for, so I’m not going to spend time on a long-winded intro. NESCAC basketball has been great so far, but I just can’t wait for January so that we can see where everyone actually stacks up. Now, here are the rankings at a point in the season that is far too early to make rankings.

1.) Amherst (8-0, 0-0)

Image result for joey flannery babson — I feel like Joey Flannery is basically a NESCAC player at this point with the amount of love that we’re giving him lately, but the kid can ball.

They’re the number one team in the country, and they’re obviously the number one team in NESCAC as well. Amherst has been dominant so far this year against mostly far inferior competition, but they have also picked up the most impressive win in the country so far in a double-overtime thriller against #2 Babson last week. While Babson’s Joey Flannery ‘17 dropped 42 to put away Tufts just a few weeks prior, Amherst was able to withstand Flannery’s 41 thanks to some late-game heroics from Johnny McCarthy ‘18 and Jayde Dawson ‘17. Though it wasn’t the most efficient 32 (13-30 from the field), Dawson showed that he could put the ball in the basket when it counted. He’s now third in the league with 18.3 PPG, the leading scorer for Coach Hixon’s team. Amherst relies on Dawson and McCarthy primarily on offense, but the rest of their scoring is spread pretty evenly between the seven other players averaging 12+ minutes per game. Balance, balance, balance – that is what Amherst is about at this point in the year

2.) Wesleyan (9-0, 0-0)

Speaking of balance, Wesleyan is displaying just that through their first nine games. The Cardinals have four players averaging double-digits so far (Jordan Bonner, Salim Green, Harry Rafferty, and Joseph Kuo), and three others averaging over 7.0 PPG (Nathan Krill, Andrew Gardiner, and Kevin O’Brien). This widespread attack has given opposing defenses headaches, and these headaches have even carried over to the other end of the court. Wesleyan is allowing the fewest points per game so far this season. They’re not blocking an ungodly amount of shots, they’re not forcing a ridiculous amount of turnovers, the Cardinals are just baiting their opponents into tough shots, leading to league-bests in opponent’s FG% (34%) and opponent’s three-point FG% (28.5%). They also took down a strong Williams team at home on December 3rd, showing that the Cardinals are far from rebuilding, as we thought they might this year.

3.) Middlebury (7-1, 0-0)

If you’ve been keeping up with our sparsely posted articles, you know a lot about the Panthers since the Middlebury section takes up half of every one of Pete’s articles. Like Pete noted on Monday, the Panthers are a very solid 7-1 right now, with their lone loss coming to Endicott, who only just dropped out of the Top 25. What concerns me in the long run for Middlebury is that they allow opponents to shoot 42.5% from the field, the worst mark in the league. However, Middlebury’s own shooting percentage, 49.7%, goes for the best shooting efficiency in the league, so the Panthers will probably be alright. One reason they shoot so well is because they lead the league in assists. They are the only team in the NESCAC who can boast 20+ AST/G. If Jake Brown ‘17 and Jack Daly ‘18 remain among the ranks of the top 5 dime-droppers in the conference, Middlebury will be pretty tough to shut down offensively.

4.) Tufts (8-2, 0-0)

I’m not saying I jinxed the Jumbos in my most recent post, but I’m not not saying it. As soon as I posted about how Tufts and Amherst deserved more credit for their play, Tufts nearly gave away a game to Brandeis, they got worked by Joey Flannery and the Babson Beavers, and then lost on a buzzer beater to a far less talented UMass-Boston team. Nonetheless, Tufts bounced back against Wentworth on Saturday with a nice 15-point victory led by a four-pronged attack of Vinny Pace ‘18, Tarik Smith ‘17, Everett Dayton ‘18, and Tom Palleschi ‘17. One of the issues in their slide last week was that they relied far too heavily on Pace to bail them out, an issue that started all the way back against WPI. Well, Dayton must have realized this as well, because in the last two games he has gone for 16 and 14 points while shooting 50% from the field. If the Jumbos want to stop dropping in the rankings, Tufts is going to need Dayton to keep playing well, because so far they have lacked the consistent offensive punch in the interior that they possessed last winter.

5.) Williams (8-1, 0-0)

I feel bad putting the Ephs in the five spot since their only loss came against #22 Wesleyan, but for a very young Williams team, things are looking good so far. Dan Aronowitz ‘17 is leading the way once again for Coach App’s squad with 18.6 PPG, 2.2 AST/G, and 4.3 REB/G, and he has positioned himself nicely in the Player of the Year race as we head into winter break. Aronowitz is aided primarily by Cole Teal ‘18 and Kyle Scadlock ‘19 on the offensive end, while Bobby Casey ‘19 and James Heskett ‘19 have also chipped in quite a bit. The post is what we figured would be the weak spot for the Ephs, and in their lone loss to Wesleyan, they were outscored 34-18 in the paint. Now I know that not all points in the paint come via post players, but lack of an imposing defensive presence down low begs questions about whether Williams will be able to maintain their current success. If they can figure it out, however, the Ephs will be alright.

6.) Hamilton (6-2, 0-0)

Image result for hamilton cast — OH you didn’t mean this “Hamilton cast?”

I’ll be honest, Hamilton has been the biggest surprise for me so far this season. I know they have not been too competitive in NESCAC play in recent years, but I truly believe this is a different Continentals team than we’ve seen in awhile. The Hamilton offense is led by a very young cast: Tim Doyle ‘19 (20.0 PPG, note that Doyle has only played in three of Hamilton’s eight games), Peter Hoffman ‘19 (16.3 PPG), and Michael Grassey ‘19 (16.0 PPG) do the bulk of the damage, while Kena Gilmour ‘20 also chips in with 10.0 PPG. The Continentals are a pretty solid rebounding team, led by Grassey and Andrew Groll ‘19, who are 7th and 9th in the NESCAC respectively. Hamilton is one of the youngest teams in the league, but they were last year as well, which allowed the class of 2019 to gain valuable on-court experience. I think that Hamilton will have at least one big upset this year, but I don’t think they’re quite mature enough to topple some of the beasts at the top of the conference. I suppose we’ll see when league action begins.

7.) Conn College (7-1, 0-0)

Conn College looked pretty good at this point last season, but they fell off when NESCAC play rolled around as they were unable to finish some games the way they wanted to. However, Conn looks to be a much more cohesive unit thus far, and they’ve been scoring in bunches this year. The Camels lead the league with 86.8 PPG, and it has a full team effort on the offensive end as six (!!) different Conn players are averaging at least 11 PPG through their first eight contests. However, one cause of concern, and maybe where the challenges of NESCAC play will catch up to Conn, is that their bench is not very deep. It’s more or less a seven man rotation for Conn, which will be thin when conference action begins in January. Additionally, the Camels are fully reliant on their ability to score the ball – they are last in the league in points allowed, and as we saw against Wesleyan, when Conn doesn’t score well, they don’t play as well (Pete’s Note: Pretty sure this is how it works for most teams.) Conn looks to be a potential threat as of now, but unless they figure out their defense they will struggle in NESCAC play.

8.) Trinity (5-4, 0-0)

Very classic Trinity allowing just 64.8 PPG so far, but what’s a bit uncharacteristic is that they have not had the scoring to reward their defense. I will admit, their losses have not been the worst defeats in the history of Division III hoops – Southern Vermont was an NCAA tournament team last winter and Susquehanna is currently ranked 18th in the country, but regardless, I think the Bantams are scarily dependent on Ed Ogundeko ‘17. Trinity plays 9-10 deep, but Ogundeko is the only consistent scorer, and when he struggles, so does the team. In two of his three lowest scoring games, Trinity has lost. Their biggest issue offensively is without a doubt ball control. The Bantams are committing a dreadful 19.8 TO/G,and if this type of sloppy ball security continues, it would be hard-pressed to envision Trinity in the playoffs.

9.) Bowdoin (5-3, 0-0)

Though Bowdoin looked very pretty solid early on, it has become clear after eight games that this team is completely reliant on Jack Simonds ‘19. To a certain extent, this is fine – Simonds does lead the NESCAC in scoring after all, with 23.6 PPG – but it is to the point where Bowdoin refuses to even take him off the court. Simonds plays 35.1 minutes on average…I believe that that’s simply an unsustainable amount of playing time. What’s worse, Bowdoin doesn’t really have anyone else who can take over the scoring duties if he has an off day, and in the one game the sophomore scored less than 19 points (he scored 12), Bates handed Bowdoin their biggest loss of the season. The Polar Bears are just not that deep, and while Simonds has explosive potential on the offensive end, relying on one player is generally not the formula for success in the NESCAC.

10.) Bates (5-3, 0-0)

Marcus and Malcolm Delpeche are currently leading the Bobcats with 15.0 and 13.3 PPG respectively. Marcus is also second in the conference in rebounding (10.5 REB/G) while Malcolm is tied for fourth (9.4 REB/G), and Malcolm leads the NESCAC with 3.3 BLK/G. With all these positive signs, I can’t help but think back to previous years where the Delpeche twins have been solid during the non-conference portion of their schedules and then fallen off once January rolled around, but I’m hoping that this is the year that the two finally get over the hump and lead Bates back to the playoffs. The Bobcats did trounce Bowdoin by 14 last week, but they then suffered a devastating loss to Colby on Saturday after the Mules’ Patrick Stewart ‘17 converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 0.2 seconds left in regulation. Bates is a decent defensive team, but they rank last in points scored, so expect Bates to show off their Lewiston toughness come conference play.

11.) Colby (5-4, 0-0)

After losing what feels like a million seniors that graduated in May, the Mules are young. Really young. They only have two seniors and two juniors. They have eight (yes, eight) freshmen. So as not to leave out the class of 2019, I’ll note that there are three sophomore Mules on their roster, but I think my point is clear – this team lacks maturity, and that is one of the most important features for a NESCAC basketball team. Patrick Stewart ‘17, however, has captain(Kirk)ed Colby this season to the tune of 16.2 PPG. Unfortunately, he’s really been the only consistent threat for Colby, leading to some pretty inconsistent play. When the Mules took on Bowdoin in a nonconference matchup (who obviously know each other pretty well), Stewart was just 2-18 from the field with 7 points. Conference opponents are going to be able to shut down Stewart, so someone else is going to need to pull some of the scoring load. In each of their four losses, Colby has been outscored in the paint. That’s only happened one time when Colby has won, so they’re either going to need to figure out how to keep teams out of the paint, or they are going to have to start shooting higher than 32.8% from three-point land.

Playing Catch-Up: Highlights from Our Time Off

Everyone knows that the hardest thing about sports blogging is fighting off all the people trying to date you because of your articles (ladies, ladies, please, one at a time.) But the second hardest thing is balancing the rest of your college life with blogging responsibilities. It’s a delicate balance that we writers strike between writing and other college activities, and

Image result for shawshank redemption — Hope is a good thing, and we HOPE that finals don’t kill us so we can keep writing about sports.

finals season (as well as a play in which I had to dress like a bear) has that balance considerably out of whack. But we’re almost to the end of the tunnel of ****-smelling foulness that is finals, and ready to reach the Zihuatentejo that is NESCAC basketball.

Annoyingly for our purposes, the league did not stop during our break. In fact, there were several huge matchups, including a non-league tilt between Williams and Wesleyan, and two matchups featuring Babson and the class of NESCAC, namely Tufts and Amherst. Wesleyan continued to dominate, Hamilton and Conn College continued to make their leaps forward, and Middlebury struggled at times but ultimately came out with two quality wins. Here are the highlights from the last week and a half or so of NESCAC basketball.

Tufts/Amherst vs Babson

Tufts and Amherst both played Babson (#2 in the country). At the time of their games, Tufts was #3 in the country, and Amherst has been #1 all season, so both games were marquee matchups. Tufts took on Babson on December 3rd in the final of the Big Four Challenge in Waltham, MA. Babson dominated the game throughout, winning 91-78 and holding Tufts to 40.5% shooting. Tufts was particularly weak on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 49-39 despite their reputation as one of the bigger, tougher teams in the league. The loss appears to have triggered a mini-slide for the Jumbos, who dropped their next game 76-74 to UMASS-Boston (definitively NOT the #2 team in the country.) They were out-rebounded again in that game 49-42, but this was a much more embarrassing disparity according to Rory, who attended the game. UMASS-Boston has nobody over 6’4″ on their roster, and Rory told me that the Beacons really took advantage of Tufts overlooking them. Tufts, a generally aggressive team, definitely looked more tentative, and as a result they only got to the line nine times, making just five. Tufts has “dropped” to #5 in the country (champagne problems, am I right), and they need to regain some of their toughness to avoid falling further.

Image result for joey flannery — Joey Flannery ’17 averaged 41.5 points in their games against Tufts and Amherst.

The Amherst/Babson game, on the other hand, was an all-time classic. I was lucky enough to turn it on for the last five minutes of regulation and both overtimes, so I saw many of the big plays leading up to Amherst’s 99-97 win. Babson’s leading scorer Joey Flannery ‘17 had 41, after having 42 against Tufts. But the real star of the game was Amherst senior guard Jayde Dawson, who had 32 points, including the game tying layup at the end of the first overtime and the game winner in the second. Johnny McCarthy ‘18 also had two huge threes, including the game tying shot at the end of regulation. Babson appeared to have the game won four or five times, but, like the show Two Broke Girls, Amherst simply would not die.

The Maine Schools come back to Earth

On paper, the Maine schools (Bowdoin, Bates and Colby) look to be the three weakest teams in the league. But early in the season they looked poised to surprise. Jack Simonds ‘18 leads NESCAC in scoring, and the Delpeche twins had Bates looking scary. However, the last week or so has seen the league become more and more stratified. Colby in particular has returned to earth, with a terrible loss to perennial power Maine-Presque Isle on Wednesday being the lowlight.

Because of the lack of colleges or civilization in general in Maine, these schools have played games against each other in order to fill out their non-conference schedules. Bates took care of Bowdoin 74-60 on Wednesday, holding Simonds to just 12 points. And on Saturday, Colby beat Bates 55-54 in a game that middle schoolers would have watched and said “this seems sloppy.” Neither team shot over 40% from the field, and the teams combined for an abysmal 14-50 from three. Of course, official league-play doesn’t start until after the holidays, but it seems that the Maine schools will be towards the bottom once it gets started.

Wesleyan and Williams Need Some Love

To be clear, when I say they “need love” I’m saying both from NbN and the shadowy listmasters over at D3Hoops. Williams has flown under the radar largely due to their unsexy style of play. The Ephs are towards the middle of the league in points per game, and towards the bottom in rebounding, blocks and quality of nickname. And yet, thanks to an efficient offense and stout defense, Williams sits at 8-1. The Ephs average just 11.9 TO/G (third in the league) and have the second highest shooting percentage, despite taking a league leading 27 threes per game. And on defense, they allow the fourth fewest points per game despite their tremendous struggles on the boards. Williams has real struggles defending the paint, but their strong perimeter players, led by POY candidate Daniel Aronowitz ‘17, place them in strong position to continue succeeding in the guard-heavy NESCAC.

Wesleyan has also had great success this season at 9-0, but they have done it in a much different fashion than Williams. The Cardinals are very deep, with ten players averaging over 10 minutes per game. This talent off the bench allows them to play a fast, exciting style. Sophomore guard Salim Green started off the season as the sixth man, but has moved into the starting lineup and uses his tremendous speed to kickstart the Wesleyan offense. He leads the team in scoring at 12.0 PPG. He is joined by several other talented perimeter players, including fellow sophomore Jordan Bonner and senior Harry Rafferty. Senior forward Joseph Kuo holds down the middle, along with junior forward Nathan Krill. The Cardinals really excel on defense, where they lead the league in rebounding margin and are second in opponent points per game.

Men's Basketball Remains Undefeated with 72-62 Win Over Williams — PJ Reed ’17 drives the lane against Williams.

Williams and Wesleyan met in Middletown for a non-league tilt on Saturday the 3rd, and to put it simply, the Cardinals beat the Ephs up. Wesleyan outshot Williams 53.2% to 37.5%, and outrebounded them 41-23. However, this impressive performance hasn’t translated to any recognition for Wesleyan in the national rankings. D3Hoops has them outside the top 25 by a considerable margin. Wesleyan should post these rankings all over their locker room, because they are being disrespected by the powers that be.

Middlebury Struggles (Kind Of), Succeeds (Kind Of)

Let me speak now to my fellow Middlebury fans who read this blog:

Guys, calm down. We do not get to complain, nor should we panic, about being 7-1 and leading the league in field goal percentage. A tough loss against #20 Endicott is not a bad loss, and a close win over maybe-should-be-ranked Skidmore is a good win. Relax, have a beer, everything is gonna be okay.

Jake Brown poured in a career-high 22 points during Saturday's thrilling win. — Jake Brown ’17 has been playing like a First Team All League Candidate lately.

Alright, now that we took care of that, let’s get serious. Middlebury has come through a difficult non-conference stretch in which they played Endicott (#20), Southern Vermont on the road (beat Trinity) and Skidmore (was ranked for a time). The Panthers came out of this stretch 2-1, dropping a 93-89 heartbreaker to Endicott before beating Southern Vermont on the road and Skidmore at home in a thriller. There were many bright spots for Middlebury in these games. The play of point guard (or Point “God” if you want to go by his instagram handle) Jake Brown ‘17 is chief among them. Brown had a double-double of 11 points and 10 assists against Southern VT, and then put the team on his back Greg Jennings-style against Skidmore, with 22 points, 9 rebounds and the game winner on a putback after an offensive rebound. Matt St Amour ‘17 struggled mightily against Southern Vermont and Skidmore, going 5-25 from the field in the two games. However, it must be noted that he did block the potential game winner for Skidmore, putting to rest any rumors of defense being his weakness. The play of Brown, along with bench mob members Matt Folger ‘20, Nick Tarantino ‘18 and Bryan Jones ‘17, helped the Panthers weather St. Amour’s inconsistencies.

Now for the bad. Of course, St Amour’s struggles are worrying, although he may simply be tired from carrying a heavy load early in the year. Break will be a good time for him to reset himself a bit and come back strong for league play (said the biased Middlebury fan, hopefully.) Additionally, against both Endicott and Skidmore, the Panthers blew double digit leads in the second half. After crisp, high scoring first halves, Middlebury looked discombobulated at times on offense in both games, and let opponents back into the game with defensive lapses. Both those opponents are very good teams who would be expected to make runs, but Middlebury shows signs of being able to crush even teams of that quality. Therein lies the frustration with Middlebury’s play of late: they are winning, but they could be winning more solidly. A neutral site matchup with #16 Illinois-Wesleyan will be a good test for Middlebury coming out of break. If they can tweak some of their issues with second half play, and St Amour returns to his early season form, Middlebury is every bit as good as Amherst, Tufts and Wesleyan.

The Return of the ‘CAC (Sports Blog): Five Talking Points Regarding NESCAC Basketball

Zach Baines helped Middlebury hold on to beat RPI 79-72 on Tuesday.

Thanksgiving break was an exciting time for a lot of people. Rory got weirdly competitive with his mom, I watched 3 seasons of VEEP in four days, and there were also a couple NESCAC basketball games that we should mention. The upper crust of the league continued to play well for the most part (although Middlebury had a wakeup call that we will get to momentarily), while Bowdoin and Connecticut College continued to rise from the lower ranks. There are star performances to be discussed, questions to be raised, predictions to get wrong, and it’s just really good to be back. We’re rested, refreshed and 10 to 15 pounds heavier, so let’s get down to it with this week’s talking points.

Connecticut College

Terrible nickname, good team? Connecticut College has appeared ready to make a leap for several years now. A win over eventual champion Middlebury last season marked the Camels as a potential Cinderella team, but they never again reached that point, missing the tournament entirely. But so far they have looked very much like the team that shocked the Panthers in 2016. Senior forward (and charter member of the ‘How Long Has He Been in College’ All Star Team) Zuri Pavlin has held down the boards and provided a strong post presence with averages of 12 points and 11 rebounds per game. Indeed, the Camels have done much of their damage in the paint, averaging 84 points per game despite only making 7 threes per game (third to last in the league) and shooting 65% from the line. It is very possible that Connecticut College’s success is unsustainable once league play begins, as their poor shooting could cost them in close games. But it is also possible that the Camels are over the hump (I’m so sorry) and will contend for the rest of the year.

The Delpeches

Image result for mary kate ashley olsen full house — Which is Malcolm and which is Marcus?

A brilliant and handsome basketball analyst predicted before the season began that, if Bates had any hopes of contending in the league this season, the Delpeche twins would have to combine to carry the team on their shoulders. Alright fine, not exactly a brilliant insight. “Oh really Pete? For a team to be good, the two best players have to be good? You’re a genius!” But the fact remains Malcolm and Marcus are putting up the best twin performance since Mary Kate and Ashley Olson in Full House. The Brothers Delpeche have combined to average 31 points and 22 rebounds per game, and Malcolm is the early leader for Defensive Player of the Year thanks to his 4 blocks per night average. The joint success of Malcolm and Marcus has Parent-Trapped (because they’re twins!) opponents on both ends, and if they keep it up, Bates could turn some heads come league play.

Wesleyan’s Bench

Salim Green ’19 (Courtesy Wesleyan Athletics)

To use an understatement. the Cardinals appear to be weathering the departures of Rashid Epps and BJ Davis fairly well. Wesleyan has jumped out to a 5-0 start, using a balanced attack led by senior forward Joseph Kuo. However, what sets Wesleyan apart from some of the other top teams in the league is their deadly second unit. Sophomore guard Salim Green is the most explosive sixth man in the league, average 12.4 in 24 minutes. Fellow guard Jordan Sears ‘18 and forward PJ Reed ‘17 follow Green and give coach Joe Reilly maybe the most versatile second unit in the league, along with Amherst. Green in particular will clearly push for starters’ minutes as the season goes on, but keeping him on the bench could be a lethal weapon for the Cardinals.

Middlebury

The Panthers have hit a bump in their road to a second consecutive league title. On Sunday they blew a 17 point lead and dropped a heartbreaker at home to an excellent Endicott team 93-89, and on Tuesday night they again threatened to lose a double digit lead at home before big plays by Matt St. Amour ‘17, Zach Baines ‘19 and Adisa Majors ‘18 led them to a 79-72 win over RPI. The main problems for the Panthers have been defensive, as a lack of communication and poor rebounding led to many easy looks and second chances in both games. Middlebury has also had virtually no bench production. The second unit has only scored 15 points total in the last two games. This is partially due to the loss of Hilal Dahleh ‘19 with a back injury, but Middlebury desperately needs some life off the bench. It is of course beneficial in the long run for the Panthers to work out these kinks by playing good teams before league play begins, but Middlebury has some real problems to solve before Amherst and Tufts come calling.

Peter Hoffmann ‘19

Hamilton has been another team off to a surprisingly hot start in 2016, and that is thanks in large part to the play of sophomore Peter Hoffmann. After missing the first two games, Hoffmann has come in and dropped 20 points and 5 rebounds per game, as well as 3.3 steals. A versatile forward, Hoffmann does most of his damage in the paint and from the mid-range. Interestingly, he has struggled tremendously from the line, shooting only 45% despite attempting nearly 8 per game. That number will have to improve, or else he may have the ignomious status of being both Hamilton’s best player and biggest liability come league play.

And That’s a Wrap!: The Final 2016 NESCAC Football Power Rankings

Devon Carrillo '17 was a force for Wesleyan all year long (Courtesy of Steve McLaughlin/Wesleyan Athletics) — Devon Carrillo ’17 was a force for Wesleyan all year long (Courtesy of Steve McLaughlin/Wesleyan Athletics)

1.) Trinity

Well, there weren’t any ‘fluke’ losses this year for Trinity. For those of you NESCAC old timers, yes, I am referring to Bob Smith’s Middlebury football shirts he made in 1992 after Midd went 7-1 to win the league and deemed their only loss to Trinity a ‘fluke.’ There’s simply no argument that can be made against the mighty Bantams here. They are the kings of the ‘CAC and had the success all year to back it up. Spencer Donahue ’17 had a monster year and could easily win Defensive POY as a part of the secondary that terrified opposing QB’s all season. Sonny Puzzo ’18 improved drastically from his 2015 campaign, decimating the TD:INT ratio of last year that was below 1:1 to improve to 16:4. He also made a great case for First Team All-‘CAC. Max Chipouras ran over everybody in his path for the Bantams all year, finding holes and blasting through defenders en route to 910 yards, 5.8 yds/carry, and 7 TDs, only second to Tufts’ Chance Brady. You want to know what their secret formula to winning the league was? Just dominate offense, defense, and special teams. Undefeated.

2.) Tufts

Chance Brady is in the history books. According to Babe Ruth in The Sandlot, legends never die, and in every sense of the word, Brady’s 17 rushing TD season (19 total) is legendary. He won two more Gold Helmets and managed to lead his team to a 7-1 season just two years after breaking a preposterous 31 game losing streak. Despite their resurgent season that only Rory could’ve predicted, they did lose to Trinity and the Bantams showed they had the better team. But last week in Middlebury, VT, Brady couldn’t be stopped, and the Tufts secondary gave Lebowitz all he could handle. They battered him all day and tallied 2 fumbles, 3 INTS, and three painful looking sacks. The Jumbos will still have Ryan McDonald ’19 next year who played well when he started, tallying a 5:1 TD:INT ratio and a crazy 602 yards rushing, good for 5 TDs and 6.2 yds/carry. The Jumbos won’t stop here and the Bantams better watch out, there’s a stampede on the way in 2017.

3.) Wesleyan

In mutual games, Wesleyan largely played better than Middlebury. These two teams were the closest in talent level this season, both losing to Trinity and Tufts for their only losses, knocking off Amherst, and all the other teams that we expected them too. However, the Cardinals blew the Purple and White out, and could’ve easily beaten Tufts in Week 1, and frankly the fact that they went 6-1 in their final games shows that even without any assurance that they could get back into the championship run, they still put a great season together. Puzzo, Lebowitz, and Piccirillo are the top 3 QB’s in the conference and Piccirillo is arguably the best of the bunch. His 10:2 TD:INT ratio and 62.3% completion rate led the league, and he was second in passing yds/game to Lebowitz who benefitted from a system conducive to more passing attempts. Their defense also allowed the least yds/game and put them in a position to win a share of the league championship in the final game. They earned this ranking and nearly earned a ring.

4.) Middlebury

It’s tough for me to put Midd below Wesleyan here as I rooted for them all year and still thought they could win up until the final minutes against the Jumbos. However, the box scores don’t lie—the Panthers barely knocked off Amherst and Trinity rolled right over them. Lebowitz had a great season, especially considering that it was his first season starting in the NESCAC, but slowed down at the end of the year. A big loss to Trinity after a 5-0 start proved to be somewhat of a reality check, and pretty much crushed the Panthers’ hope of going to titletown. However, this team still had a great season, putting up a 6-2 record, and was hurt big time by injuries in the final weeks heading into their two biggest games against Trinity and Tufts. The fire in the hearts of this Midd team showed up in the final minutes against the Jumbos when they frantically put a rally together, sparking hope in the parents and fan section. Diego Meritus ’19 improved on his first season and looks like he could step up to another level next year; Conrado Banky ’19 proved me right in that he is a fast twitched receiving animal; and Lebowitz broke out in a big way. The good news for Panthers fans is that these three guys will be back, and they will be hungry for the ‘ship.

5.) Amherst

Nobody expected Amherst to be fifth on this list at the end of the year, but not even Amherst’s fans could argue for a better ranking. A tough 27-26 loss to Middlebury in week three would spiral the Purple and White’s season out of control, leading to a 2-4 finish. Granted they struggled with injuries all year as both their first and second string QB’s Reece Foy and Alex Berluti were out, Foy for the entirety of the season and Berluti for a large part of it. Some highlights were that they extended their winning streak to a historic 21 games, WR David Boehm had a fantastic senior campaign good for 660 receiving yards and 6 TDs, and the defense held opponents to a league best 79 rushing yards per game. On the positive side, Reece Foy will be back next year, and when he is on the field, he is always a candidate for POY. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence, but this is the first year Amherst didn’t have a mascot during football season and was also the year that their winning streak ended. Is this the new curse of the Billy Goat?

6.) Bates

This is where the rankings start to get a little trickier. The margins between Bates, Hamilton, and Colby are fairly narrow, as they all played pretty evenly against each other. Bates showed flashes of what is to come with their Sophomore QB Sandy Plashkes who broke off some big rushes despite a lack of passing consistency. Bates took the CBB crown, beat Colby and Bowdoin, and while that isn’t saying too much, they put up a good game against Tufts (12-7 loss) and jumped up to a 9-0 lead against Middlebury. And if they managed to beat Hamilton, they would’ve been tied with Amherst! Throughout the season, I put a lot more faith in the Bobcats than their success warranted, and maybe their season doesn’t deserve this ranking considering they did lose to Hamilton, but based on their games against some of the tougher teams, they are the best of the bottom tier of NESCAC teams.

7.) Hamilton

Continental fans might not be too happy with this ranking since they beat Bates by a considerable margin in week 8. However, that’s not a great selling point when you lose to the other 3-5 team, Colby. Once again, the distance between these 6-8 ranked teams is minimal, and if Hamilton put up a solid performance against any of the top NESCAC teams they would be ranked higher. But there isn’t a great argument to be bumped up when they got absolutely blown out against Middlebury, Amherst, Trinity, and Wesleyan. Mickey Keating ’18 was arguably Hamilton’s best defender with two picks and 72 total tackles to lead his squad, while Colby Jones ’19 also added two INTs, showing what the NY squad’s defense could showcase next year. QB Kenny Gray ’20 had a tough rookie season, but his experience this year should give him a lot to work on and a bunch of improvements going into his sophomore year. This is obvious but if their defense can allow less than 26.9 ppg next year, they’ll have a much better chance.

8.) Colby

Similar to Hamilton, nothing really stands out with the Mules’ season in terms of wins and losses. 3-5 is respectable, sure, but they only competed against Bowdoin, Williams, Hamilton, and Bates. They beat the Continentals but lost to Bates in a close game, and won against the Ephs in what was a poorly played Week 1 game. They did show some real offensive pieces unlike Bates and Hamilton, as Jabari Hurdle-Price ’18 rushed for 91 yds/game and six scores while roping in the most catches (30) on the team. Sebastian Ferrell ‘19 and Christian Sparacio ‘18 looked like Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison at times, especially towards the end of the season. Good news for the Mules is that their QB, top RBs, and top WRs are all staying put for next year, so if Gabe Harrington ’18 or another signal caller can figure it out, they might actually compete against some of the big dawgs.

9.) Williams

I tried to spin off the Ephs as a better team than their record after they played well against Middlebury, but a winless season doesn’t leave a whole lot of positives. Jansen Durham could be a legit QB in the ‘CAC the next few years if he makes a Puzzo-esque transition into 2017; the two are definitely show some similarities in their career trajectory. Do-it-all playmaker Adam Regensburg showed off his athleticism time and time again as he led the team in receptions (37), receiving yards (319), field goals, punts, and points (he also put in time as a DB and a kick returner). CB Ben Anthony also had a promising first season with 44 tackles and 2 picks, showing that he will be a threat to opposing QBs in the years to come, but overall, this team has some work to do. They lost three games by less than two possessions, so if they bring in some more playmakers, they could get over the hump into the win column.

10.) Bowdoin

Well, not a lot to say here. Bowdoin went 0-2 in the CBB series and 0-8 overall, so they pretty much put themselves in this position. Their closest game was against Hamilton in a one point heartbreaker, and other than that, it was a pretty ugly season. The lone bright spots for the Polar Bears, who must be feeling pretty cold right about now, were Joe Gowetski ’20 and Nate Richam ‘20. Gowetski represented the future of NESCAC linebackers with a ludicrous 92 tackles to open up his career, and Richam displayed some promising work out of the backfield. These two will both solid for the winless squad going forward. Better luck next year.

No More Boornazian, How Will the Bobcats Respond?: Bates Basketball Season Preview

Marcus Delpeche '17 is hoping to turn Bates around after their struggles during the 2015-2016 season (Courtesy of Bates Athletics) — Marcus Delpeche ’17 is hoping to turn Bates around after their struggles during the 2015-2016 season (Courtesy of Josh Kuckens/Bates College)

Editor’s Note: While 99% of the work on these previews is done by the writers, the projected records for all NESCAC Men’s Basketball teams were decided upon by the editors collectively, not decisions of the writers themselves. So, if you want to be mad at someone about the record projections, be mad at us.

The Bobcats were destined to struggle from the start in 2015-2016, as the graduation of point guard and team engine Graham Safford ‘15 was a difficult storm to weather. Despite a stellar season from forward Mike Boornazian, Bates was unable to make waves in an especially deep NESCAC talent pool, finishing at 2-8 in the league and missing the postseason tournament. And unfortunately, 2016-2017 doesn’t look any easier for the Bobcats, as Boornazian has also moved on to greener pastures. Combined with the marked improvements of Hamilton and Connecticut College, Bates is in danger of again finishing towards the bottom of the league.

However, Bates has two tall beacons of hope in the persons of senior twins Marcus and Malcolm Delpeche. Two of the most athletically gifted big men in the league, neither Marcus nor Malcolm has ever quite dominated like they seem to have the ability to. But this season is their last chance. Marcus has consistently shown a wider array of offensive skills, while Malcolm has proved to be more of a defensive and rebounding force. For Bates to have any chance at success this year, both big men will have to become threats on both ends of the court.

Projected Record: 1-9

2015-2016 Record: 10-14, 2-8, did not make NESCAC tournament

Coach: Jon Furbush, 6th year, 104-99 (.512)

Returning Starters:

Forward Marcus Delpeche ‘17 (11.1 PPG, 6.2 REB/G, 55.8% FG)

Forward Malcolm Delpeche ‘17 (8.4 PPG, 6.4 REB/G, 1.1 BLK/G)

Guard Shawn Strickland ‘18 (8.4 PPG, 3.5 A/G, 33.9% 3FG)

Key Losses:

Forward Mike Boornazian ‘16 (15.0 PPG, 5.8 REB/G, 2.9 A/G)

Guard Josh Britten ‘16 (7.5 PPG, 1.1 STL/G, 38.2% 3FG)

Projected Starters:

Guard Shawn Strickland ‘18

Shawn Strickland ’18 (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

Standing at 5’9” with his high tops on, Strickland is not the most imposing figure on the court. But in an impressive sophomore season, he showcased a variety of skills that make him a key member of the Bates team this season, and next season as well. He averaged 8.4 points and 3.5 assists per game last season after only appearing in five games as a freshman. He even flashed a solid outside shot, hitting 33.9% of his three pointers. In a team that is low on both outside shooting and experience at the guard position, the keys to the offense should be in Strickland’s hands.

Guard Justin Zukowski ‘18

Justin Zukowski (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

Bates still has a lot of uncertainty at the guard position leading up to the first weekend of games, but Zukowski is a serious contender for one of the starting spots. Zukowski appeared in 23 games as a sophomore, earning two starts and an increase in playing time as the season went on. The high point of his season came when he scored 19 points (on 5/9 shooting from three) against Trinity on February 6. As I mentioned earlier, Bates has a severe lack of outside shooting, so Zukowski has a major role to play if he can hit shots like he did that day against Trinity.

TBA

Forward Malcolm Delpeche ‘17

Malcolm Delpeche ’18 (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

It can be really tough to be a twin, especially when your brother gains the reputation as “the better twin.” For his whole career, Delpeche has been a step behind his brother Marcus in terms of offensive development. Last season was no different, as he averaged only 8.4 PPG to Marcus’ 11.1, and shot only 46.3% from the field. Both those numbers are lower than Bates would like to see them given his talent. Bates’ offense this season should largely run through the two brothers down low, giving Malcolm more opportunities on offense. His biggest role for the Bobcats is on the defensive end, where he averaged 0.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He is a smarter, more versatile defender than his brother, and is Bates’ truest rim protector.

Forward Marcus Delpeche ‘17

Breakout Player: Forward Marcus Delpeche ‘18

Bates will most likely run their offense largely through the Delpeche twins. And as the more offensively polished of the pair, Marcus should get tremendous offensive opportunities. At times last season he showed excellent footwork on the block, and has had the athleticism and touch to be an elite finisher at the basket. One area in which he needs to improve if he wants to make a first team run (which is within reason) is passing out of double teams. It was too easy last year to force him into turnovers by applying pressure. His defense and rebounding numbers will also need to go up. His brother takes some blocks and rebounds away of course, but Marcus is too often slow on help defense. If he can average 1.5 blocks and 8 rebounds, very reasonable numbers for a player of his skills, he could be a legit first team candidate. And more importantly, Bates could be considerably better than we predict.

Everything Else:

Bates has a very unconventional team for the current structure of the NESCAC. They are short on guards, and led by two big men in Malcolm and Marcus Delpeche. This obviously gives them some advantages, as there aren’t many teams in the league that can match up athletically with that frontcourt. However, even if both those guys become scoring threats inside, teams that have three point shooters will probably outscore Bates pretty consistently. You can’t shoot threes from the low block (Editor’s Note: Fact).

The fifth starting spot for Bates is still up for grabs. It will probably have to be a guard, as neither Delpeche brother is skilled enough to play on the perimeter as a 3. In that case, the starter will most likely be a freshman. Bates has a strong class of guards, all of whom will compete for minutes and possibly that starting spot. Nick Gilpin ‘20 may have the edge given his good size for a guard (6’3”, 185.) There are also several returning candidates to fill out the starting lineup. Quin Leary ‘17 (who I won a Hoop Camp championship with in 2008, no big deal) and Jerome Darling ‘17 would both provide experience at that spot. It may honestly come down to a game time decision between the freshman, Leary and Darling for the final starting spot. Given Bates’s need for perimeter scoring, the decision will probably be based mostly on whoever shows the most offensive firepower over the next couple days of practice.

I want to close this article with a love note to Bates’ Alumni Gym. It is, quite simply, the best gym in the league. Not in terms of quality (in fact, there are several weird dead spots on the court where the ball bounces half as high) but in terms of character and viewing experience. There’s something about Alumni Gymnasium that makes basketball seem purer than other gyms around the league. Maybe it’s the way that a miss off the back rim makes every pipe in the building vibrate, or the brick walls that seem straight out of Hoosiers, but Alumni Gym is in tune with the natural rhythms of the game. That feeling is only exacerbated during the season, when Bates’ loyal fans pack the bleachers, creating the most aggressive fan environment in the league. The insanely close proximity of the bleachers to the court increases the intensity. It’s an incredible experience to watch a game there, and I highly recommend it. Bates has a tough road to climb this year, but improvements from the Delpeche brothers and the unwavering support of their fans could make for some surprises out of the Bobcats.

A Look Back at the 2016 NESCAC Football Season

The Trinity Bantams - your 2016 NESCAC football champs (Courtesy of Trinity athletics) — The Trinity Bantams – your 2016 NESCAC football champs (Courtesy of Trinity athletics)

What. A. Year. Seriously, NESCAC football was absolutely outstanding this year, and an enormous part of that was the competitiveness at the top of the league. We saw plenty of blowouts, but we also saw last second comebacks, epic defensive stands, and back and forth shootouts throughout the past eight weeks. The range of outcomes kept us on our toes throughout the year, and while some teams were much better than others, every team had at least one game that came down the wire, which definitely made things interesting as a fan.

I want to first congratulate Tufts on their first 7-1 season, their best season since 1998. While it’s true that I’m a fan of the Jumbos, objectively, I think that it’s just amazing how far this team has come since my freshman year. I will never forget my first Parent’s Weekend game as a Tufts student. Down by 3 with under a minute to go, Tufts had the ball on the 2 yard line for First and Goal. Deep into their eventual 31-game losing streak, I stood in a crowd of baseball players that were all trying to figure out what to do in the case of what looked to be the first Tufts victory any of us had seen. Well, fate was not on the side of the Jumbos that day, and an interception in the end zone ended their chances of finally adding a tally to the win column. I never imagined that just three years later, Tufts would be 7-1 and the lone team in 2nd place in the NESCAC. Congrats to the Jumbos on a great year.

Middlebury and Wesleyan, two more successful programs of late, kept up their winning ways. After a tough defeat at the hands of Tufts in the night-opener, Wesleyan rolled through the rest of the league, destroying everybody in their path from Weeks 2-7. By the numbers, Wesleyan was right up there with Trinity, and they put themselves in a position to be crowned NESCAC champs with a Week 8 win. Middlebury was also in the running for NESCAC champs in Week 8, but they took a very different path to get there. After blowing out their first two opponents in a display of aerial expertise, Jared Lebowitz and company faced a daunting task in taking on the dreaded Amherst, who were riding into Vermont on their 21-game win streak. Well, the game was an absolute classic, and Middlebury prevailed. Unfortunately, Middlebury was later dominated by Trinity and in a must win game, Chance Brady absolutely dismembered the Panthers, putting Middlebury in a tie for 3rd place with the Cardinals.

That streak-ending loss to Middlebury in Week 3 was the start of a fall from grace for Amherst, who had a disappointing .500 season. I don’t know if it was their lack of mascot or what, but Amherst just couldn’t find an identity this year, and their inconsistent play, especially on the offensive side of the ball, left them with a number of questions heading into the offseason. Luckily for Amherst, Reece Foy will be back next year to retake the reigns under center, a position that proved to be a weak spot for the Purple and White due to injuries and inconsistent personnel.

Bates, Colby and Hamilton were the next three in order. While 3-5 is improvement from 2015 for each of these squads, none of them beat a team with a better record from them. Until one or more of these teams can demonstrate the ability to beat a better team, we will continue to see a league of two tiers. At the bottom of this tier is Bowdoin and Williams, both of whom had disappointing seasons. Neither could ever string together a game where both the offense and the defense played well, it was always one or the other…or neither. Hopefully this year teaches these two squads what they need to do to compete next year.

Am I forgetting anyone? Oh yeah, the juggernauts from Hartford, CT of course! The Bantams were an unstoppable force this year, and there was no immovable rock in the league to counter the multi-faceted attack that Coach Devanney was able to roll out there on offense. Max Chipouras will benefited greatly from the effectiveness of the Trinity passing attack, and Sonny Puzzo reaped the benefits of the sophomore back’s effectiveness on the ground. Darrien Myers and Bryan Vieira proved that they are two of the best wide receivers in the league, and they lit up opposing defenses week in and week out. The Bantams averaged 38.1 PPG this year and it’s absolutely because of how ridiculously talented their offensive weapons were.

However, the scoring numbers for Trinity would not have been as high as they were without the incredible defense they had. Coach Devanney’s defense consistently set up Puzzo and company with terrific field position, and the Bantams frequently capitalized on the short field. Yet it wasn’t just field position that the Bantams provided the offense, Trinity also scored four defensive touchdowns – FOUR!! No other team scored more than one this year. Spencer Donahue, Archi Jerome, Paul McCArthy, Liam Kenneally, Yosa Nosamiefan…the list goes on. This defense was incredible, and they deserve all the credit in the world for their contributions to this powerhouse’s undefeated season.

Finally (and much less importantly), let me apologize for failing to post the writers’ predictions for this weekend. Frankly, I just dropped the ball on it. I’m not an excuse guy but I’ve never had more work in my life than I did last week. Schoolwork, job apps, baseball and blog life ate me up, plain and simple. However, everyone did get their predictions in before Saturday, and here is what they were (the final standings are below):

Trinity @ Wesleyan

Rory: Trinity 30, Wesleyan 24 W

Pete: Trinity 45, Wesleyan 14 W

Liam: Trinity 22, Wesleyan 17 W

Colin: Trinity 33, Wesleyan 30 W

Colby: Trinity 28 Wesleyan 20 W

Sid: Trinity 42 Wesleyan 38 W

Nick: Trinity 38, Wesleyan 14 W

Hamilton @ Bates

Rory: Hamilton 14, Bates 28 L

Pete: Hamilton 7, Bates 10 L

Liam: Hamilton 14, Bates 26 L

Colin: Hamilton 21, Bates 14 W

Colby: Hamilton 10, Bates 17 L

Sid: Hamilton 14, Bates 28 L

Nick: Hamilton 14, Bates 27 L

Williams @ Amherst

Rory: Williams 10, Amherst 21 W

Pete: Williams 13, Amherst 17 W

Liam: Williams 10, Amherst 28 W

Colin: Williams 10, Amherst 35 W

Colby: Williams 10, Amherst 35 W

Sid: Williams 16, Amherst 35 W

Nick: Williams 10, Amherst 31 W

Bowdoin @ Colby

Rory: Bowdoin 7, Colby 21 W

Pete: Bowdoin 0, Colby 30 W

Liam: Bowdoin 13, Colby 17 W

Colin: Bowdoin 17, Colby 14 L

Colby: Bowdoin 14, Colby 17 W

Sid: Bowdoin 12, Colby 16 W

Nick: Bowdoin 19, Colby 20 W

Tufts @ Middlebury

Rory: Tufts 28, Middlebury 21 W

Pete: Tufts 24, Middlebury 30 L

Liam: Tufts 27 Middlebury 24 W

Colin: Tufts 20, Middlebury 27 L

Colby: Tufts 21, Middlebury 24 L

Sid: Tufts 28, Middlebury 27 W

Nick: Tufts 25, Middlebury 30 L

That leaves the final standings as follows:

1.) Liam (31-4)

2.) Rory (29-6)

3.) Nick (28-7)

3.) Sid (28-7)

5.) Pete (27-8)

6.) Colby (26-9)

6.) Colin (26-9)

Though I’m bitter about my loss, I was taught not to be a sore loser. Congrats to Liam on a great season – a well deserved championship title after 7 weeks of picking games (if we had picked in week 1 I would have beat you).

Put It Over the Fireplace: The Postseason Awards Blog

Darrien Myers and Trinity ran away with the title this weekend in Hartford (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics)

First of all, congratulations to Trinity on an amazing season. In a league that featured four real threats to win the NESCAC title this year, Trinity was dominant from start to finish. The Bantams had the most consistency of any team, and it was this consistency that brought the championship trophy back to Hartford. This marks Trinity’s 7th 8-0 season in the current format, with Amherst and Williams being the only two other schools to put together perfect seasons. Congrats Trinity on another phenomenal season. We’ll discuss your accomplishments in greater depth tomorrow, but for now, let’s get to the awards.

The actual awards will be coming out presently, so these are less of a blog necessity and more of an excuse for Rory and I to talk about NESCAC football all day on a Sunday instead of doing homework. The main evidence that we used to make our decisions was statistics, as our biggest weakness as bloggers is our inability to watch every game at once. However, we also tried to spread the wealth fairly evenly throughout the league. There is of course a natural bias towards more successful teams (better teams tend to have better players), but we looked to get every school represented. The toughest call was probably QB, as Middlebury’s high volume passing attack led to Jared Lebowitz having by far the highest numbers. But we couldn’t overlook Puzzo’s consistency and performances in big games. As always, any complaints can be directed to our “Suggestion Box.”

Image result for recycling bin — We recycle our suggestions here at Nothing But NESCAC.

First Team Offense:

QB: Sonny Puzzo (Trinity)

(16 TD, 4 INT, 186.5 YD/G, 60.1)

RB: Chance Brady (Tufts)

(17 TD, 1099 YD, 137.5 YD/G, 5.4 Y/A, 0 fumbles lost)

RB: Max Chipouras (Trinity)

(7 TD, 910 YD, 113 YD/G, 5.8 Y/A)

WR: Conrado Banky (Middlebury)

(925 YDS, 115.6 YDS/G, 12 TD)

WR: Darrien Myers (Trinity)

(485 YD, 69.8 YD, 8 TD)

WR: Bo Berluti (Amherst)

(498 YD, 62.3 YD/G, 8 TD)

WR: Devon Carrillo (Wesleyan)

(349 YD, 49.3 YD/G, 13 TD *twelve rushing*)

TE: Bryan Porter (Bowdoin)

(310 YD, 14.1 Y/C, 2 TD)

OL: Chris Simmons (Trinity)

OL: Joe Wilson (Wesleyan)

OL: Beau Butler (Wesleyan)

OL: Joe Farrah (Trinity)

OL: Gian Calise (Tufts)

First Team Specialists

PK: Eric Sachse (Trinity)

(13-13 FG, 38-38 XP)

P: Justin Foley (Bates)

(81 P, 37.9 Y/P, 20 IN20)

RET: Darrien Myers (Trinity)

(9 KR, 22.7 Y/KR, 1 TD, 17 PR, 14.6 Y/PR)

First Team Defense

DL: Tyler Harrington (Bates)

(34 TKL, 6.5 SCK, 9 TFL)

DL: Micah Adickes (Tufts)

(32 TKL, 4.5 SCK, 5.5 TFL)

DL: Robert Wood (Middlebury)

(28 TKL, 5 SCK, 9.5 TFL)

DL: Patrick Fabrizio (Bowdoin)

(19 TKL, 4.5 SCK, 7.5 TFL)

DL: Jordan Stone (Wesleyan)

(26 TKL, 4.5 SCK, 7 TFL)

DL: Niyi Odewade (Amherst)

(32 TKL, 4.5 SCK, 9.5)

LB: Mark Upton (Bates)

(87 TKL, 7 SCK, 14 TFL, 1 INT)

LB: Greg Holt (Tufts)

(98 TKL, .5 SCK, 6 TFL)

LB: Parker Chapman (Amherst)

(66 TKL, 2 SCK, 2 FF, 1 INT)

LB: John Jackson (Middlebury)

(61 TKL, 7.5 SCK, 11.5 TFL, 2 FF, 1 INT)

DB: Spencer Donahue (Trinity)

(46 TKL, 3 SCK, 3 FF, 2 INT, 5 Break-ups)

DB: Tim Preston (Tufts)

(28 TKL, 5 INT, 6 Break-ups)

DB: Ian Dickey (Colby)

(52 TKL, 1 FF, 3 INT)

DB: Kevin Hopsicker (Middlebury)

(37 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 INT)

DB: Nate Taylor (Wesleyan)

(19 TKL, 1 TFL, 3 INT)

DB: Joe Frake (Bates)

(43 TKL, 2.5 TFL, 3 INT)

Offensive POY: Running Back Chance Brady ‘17 (Tufts)

If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of picking Brady for this award, just ask any of the corpses he left strewn all over Middlebury’s field on Saturday. Middlebury and Tufts’ matchup had tremendous championship implications, but it also effectively decided the Offensive POY race. Brady and Jared Lebowitz were the two front runners heading into the game. Lebowitz struggled in the first half before mounting an impressive comeback in the second, and Brady absolutely buried the Panthers throughout afternoon. He had five total touchdowns (three rushing, two receiving), including three in the decisive second quarter that saw Tufts take a 34-7 lead into halftime. Brady eviscerated the entire league this season, and his work put him in the NESCAC history books – on Saturday, Brady set the record of most rushing touchdowns in a single season with 17. What a stud.

Defensive POY: Defensive Back Spencer Donahue ‘17 (Trinity)

It is the mark of a truly great defensive back when they can have an impact on the activity in the backfield as well as in coverage, effectively putting their finger on the pulse of the game in all areas on the field. At times this season it seemed like there were three or four Spencer Donahues running around all over the field; that’s how dominant he was from the safety position. He was particularly effective at getting into the backfield, recording three sacks and 6.5 tackles for a loss. Donahue wraps up a tremendous career with an 8-0 season, and we think he should take home some personal hardware as well.

Rookie of the Year: Greg Holt ‘20 (Tufts)

Greg Holt ’20 (Courtesy Tufts Athletics)

As one great defensive player leaves in Donahue, another one rises up in Greg Holt. Holt led the entire league in tackles with 98, and was the centerpiece of a defense that helped the Jumbos surprise many in the league and finish at 7-1. Early in the season Holt didn’t really get into the backfield, recording no sacks or forced fumbles in the first four games of the season despite 14 and 20 tackles in his first two college games. However, something clicked in the second half of the year, and Holt tallied .5 sacks and six tackles for loss over the final four games. Holt gives the Jumbos a player to build a defensive dynasty around.

Image result for steve holt — There is no relation between Greg Holt and Steve Holt…that we know of.

Coach of the Year: Jeff Devanney (Trinity)

Not a very tough call here. If your team finishes 8-0 with an average margin of victory of over 24 points, your status as coach of the year is pretty hard to argue. Trinity was the best team wire to wire this season (even though it took a couple weeks for the geniuses over at NbN to put them at #1 in the power rankings), and look poised to continue their run next year.

An Ungodly Amalgamation of Styles: Week Eight Weekend Preview

Trinity Vs. Wesleyan Football — This picture is from several years ago, but Trinity and Wesleyan meet again tomorrow in the game that decides most of the championship scenarios. Also, this is a really fly picture. (Courtesy Hartford Courant)

Here we are, the final weekend preview of the season. It’s been a lot of fun tag-teaming these posts with Rory; he does a nice job of making my writing look better by forcing terrible puns. We did it one last time this weekend, with Rory analyzing the championship scenarios for each of the top teams, while I handled the games in the bottom of the league in a more traditional weekend preview style. Think of this as a “Post-Modern Preview,” a pastiche of different styles that ultimately reflects the chaos and unreliability of NESCAC football and the insane lack of a head-to-head playoff system.

Championship Scenarios:

Trinity – I think it’s pretty clear that the Bantams need to win to take home a solo championship belt. No one else has a 7-0 record, and only 3 other teams have the potential to end the season with a 7-1 record, so Trinity will be NESCAC champs no matter what. But that right there is the trap for Trin. If they play this game to not lose instead of playing it to win, Trinity will be in trouble. And guess what, Wesleyan is waiting for just that. The Bantams have an opportunity to finish out another undefeated season tomorrow, but they have to come out flying if they want to be the lone champions of the NESCAC this year

Wesleyan – also pretty obvious, Wesleyan needs to win in order to become NESCAC champs. The Cardinals’ last win against Trinity came in a 20-19 battle back in 2014 when Wesleyan finished in a 3-way tie for first place. If Mark Piccirillo can will his team to a win this weekend, they will once again prompt a 3-team tie for first place. I’m going add in my two cents here: the fact that head-to-head is irrelevant in the NESCAC football standings is bananas. Mix in some common sense over there at NESCAC HQ so we don’t have 3 champions every other year.

Middlebury – while the Panthers need to win in order to be in consideration for a championship, they will need a bit more help than that on Saturday. Midd also needs a Wesleyan W. Not too crazy, right? But Middlebury needs to take on the Jumbos, and Wesleyan needs to beat Trinity, so Middlebury winning a championship is a little easier said than done. They’ll surely try to beat Tufts via aerial attack, but Jared Lebowitz better be careful if he throws to his man Conrado Banky, as he will likely be matched up with Jumbo ball-hawk Tim Preston. This should be a thriller.

Tufts – same thing here for the ‘Bos, they need a Wesleyan win and a win of their own. No easy task, Middlebury is a solid squad, but the Panthers also struggled defending the run against Trinity a couple weeks ago. Maybe Chance Brady can take Tufts to the promised land? Regardless, a 7-1 season for a Tufts team that had lost 31 games in a row just two years ago would be pretty unbelievable. You can bet Brady and crew will be fired up for this matchup

The Best of the Rest: Lower Tier Games in Week Eight

Hamilton at Bates, 12:00 PM, Lewiston, Maine

Bates has quietly been on a real tear to end the season, overcoming a slow start to be within one win of finishing .500. Sure, they haven’t exactly been playing the Dillon Panthers lately (their wins are over Williams,

Matt Golden ’20 gives the Bobcats a weapon out of the backfield. (Courtesy Bates Athletics)

Bowdoin and Colby) but they also only lost 12-7 to Tufts, who has a chance now to finish tied for the league championship. Bates may have discovered a new offensive weapon last weekend in Matt Golden ‘20, who passed for 50 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown. Golden offers a valuable change of style from starter Sandy Plashkes ‘19, whose penchant for big plays is often overshadowed by a lack of accuracy. It will be interesting to see how much Golden plays this weekend. If he has another strong week, Bates will have a fascinating quarterback battle brewing next season.

Hamilton, on the other hand, has been something of a disappointment this season. At the beginning of the season they seemed primed for a big step forward this season, and they have had some impressive performances. But the Continentals have ultimately been unable to shake the stink of the last few seasons. A road win here would be nice way for Hamilton to close the season, but Bates has all the momentum. I see Bates finishing this season off strong at home.

Williams at Amherst, 12:00 PM, Amherst, Massachusetts

It’s strange to write about NESCAC’s fiercest rivalry when neither team is in contention for the league title. However, this may well make for an even more exciting game. Both these teams are playing for nothing but the glory and bragging rights that come from winning this historic match-up. To me, that’s thrilling. These teams will be unhinged, with nothing but animal intensity to guide them. Amherst should have the edge in this game on paper, despite all their injuries. But games are not played on paper, and Amherst has been reeling, losing three in a row including a crushing loss last weekend to Trinity in which they blew a 14-3 lead in the second half. Williams, of course, comes in on a seven game losing streak. But if they can perform like the did for the first three quarters against Middlebury earlier this season, when they were only trailing 28-23, they have a chance to turn this from a disappointing season for Amherst to a truly disastrous one. And one can only imagine how gratifying that would be for the Ephs during this difficult year of transition.

Bowdoin at Colby, 12:30 PM, Waterville, Maine

Sebastian Ferrell — Sebastian Farrell ’19 has been burning secondaries all year, and should do the same to the Polar Bears on Saturday. (Courtesy Colby Athletics)

The final game of the CBB series features two teams who are looking for their first CBB win. Colby comes in having lost two in a row, including a demoralizing 21-19 defeat to Bates. However, the last two games have seen a rise in the star of wide receiver Sebastian Farrell ‘19, who has put up over 285 yards in the last two weeks. Bowdoin, of course, has been consistently the worst team in the league, especially on defense, where they give up over 450 yards and 35 points per game. This is not the sexiest game on paper, but we have a chance to see a real explosion out of Farrell, possibly catapulting him into All League team consideration.

After the Fall: Week Seven Power Rankings

It is not my job, nor is this blog the place, to preach any sort of political ideology. And more than that, it might not even be productive. We are all now on the same side, the side of America. I’m speaking now not from a political pulpit but from a mental health pulpit. To any readers who are feeling broken down, hollowed out and left cold next to the curb by the results of the election, then there are two things that I feel we should remember. Firstly, the sun rose yesterday morning. There are still sunrises, sunsets, puppies, period TV shows about the 80’s, hugs from your mom, pizza, that feeling of waking up and realizing you still have time to sleep, someone playing with your hair, pickup basketball games, toddlers wearing hilariously mismatched outfits, YouTube videos of babies sleeping on cats, and millions of other beautiful things in the world. They still exist, and we should treasure them now more than ever.

And secondly, the fight is not over. The results of this election will bring social issues to the forefront in a way that many have never been before. It is our job now to keep them there. Whether you picket every day on the lawn of the White House or just treat everyone you know with love and respect, there are many ways still to make the world a better place. And more than that, there are many people still who will try their best to do it. Nothing can silence them. Be one of those people.

Anyway, contrary to that long-winded and preachy opening, we are still a sports blog. Week Seven’s games were notable in that they offered absolutely no clarity heading into the final weekend. Trinity, Wesleyan, Middlebury and Tufts all won handily, putting several possibilities in play for the final standings. Trinity of course still controls their own destiny and can end all the drama by taking care of business against Wesleyan, but if they don’t, all hell could break loose. There are also interesting scenarios in the second tier of the league, as Bates has a real chance to finish fifth in the league at 4-4. And as if that isn’t enough, NESCAC’s oldest rivalry rises again, as Amherst and Williams battle for literally only pride at this point. Here’s how the teams stack up heading into the dramatic final act.

Trinity's Donahue Earns Third NESCAC Football Defensive Player of the Week Honor — Spencer Donahue ’17 led the Trinity defense to huge comeback win against Amherst

Trinity

The Bantams had by far their toughest test of the season last weekend against Amherst. Trinity trailed 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter, as Amherst’s defense shut down the dynamic duo of quarterback (and leader of a lovable gang of street kids in 1930’s Brooklyn) Sonny Puzzo and running back Max Chipouras. However, Trinity, as great teams do, capitalized on Amherst’s mistakes, scoring a fumble return touchdown and an interception return touchdown to escape with a 24-14 win. They kept the Chipouras-Puzzo pair to just one touchdown between them (a pass from Puzzo to Darrien Myers ‘17) just a week after they combined for five against Middlebury. Amherst laid down a blueprint on how to shut down Trinity, and I’m sure Wesleyan was paying close attention.

Tufts

Tufts has been the closest thing NESCAC has to a Cinderella story this year, riding the broad shoulders of running back Chance Brady to a 6-1 record this season. The Jumbos have also made use of tremendous team chemistry this year, as evidenced by their ELECTRIC contribution to the growing #mannequinchallenge trend:

Back at the locker room after the win like… #MannequinChallenge pic.twitter.com/RRUCVEEPJj

— Tufts Football (@tuftsfootball) November 5, 2016

Just terrific execution all around. Tufts slaughtered Colby last weekend 44-12, with Brady putting up his standard 167 yards and three touchdowns. The Jumbos travel down to Middlebury this weekend for a matchup that will determine which team has a shot at sharing the league title. And having seen what Max Chipouras did to Middlebury when they played Trinity (186 yards and three touchdowns) you have to like Chance Brady’s—and the rest of the team’s—chances. Keep an eye on Brady’s pursuit of the single-season TD record…he needs 2 to tie, 3 to break it…very possible.

Middlebury

Image result for jared lebowitz — Jared Lebowitz ’18 hopes to lead the Panthers to a share of the league championship this weekend.

After a demoralizing loss to Trinity, the Panthers were in dire need of a bounceback win heading into their showdown with Tufts. They got that and then some against Hamilton. Quarterback Jared Lebowitz rediscovered the form that made him a POY favorite early in the season (412 yards and four touchdowns,) and the powerful secondary recorded five interceptions and three sacks. These are the two most crucial areas for the Panthers against Tufts. The offense will need to have long, sustained drives in order to keep Chance Brady off the field, and the defense will have to get

in the backfield to stop him from breaking off big plays downfield. Stopping Tufts basically means stopping Brady, as their quarterback play is shaky at best. Brady and Lebowitz’s matchup this weekend might well decide the POY race, depending on how well Max Chipouras and Sonny Puzzo play against Wesleyan. Should be worth checking out.

Wesleyan

I have a bad habit as a writer of ascribing too much importance to my articles. I have absolutely no idea if the greater Wesleyan football community is reading these articles, but I assume they are, and I assume they’re royally ticked off at me for keeping them at #4 even though they’ve scored 98 points in their last two games. But I would advise the Cardinals to use this as motivation, because they’re the other side in the biggest game of the year. Wesleyan put up the biggest offensive performance of the year last week in Williamstown, scoring 56 points in just the first half! QB Mark Piccirillo accounted for five touchdowns in the half in by far his most impressive outing of the season. The Cardinals offense is really humming right now, making them well suited to match Trinity’s dominant defense.

Amherst

Amherst put up a valiant effort last weekend, soundly outplaying Trinity for three quarters. But as has been their tendency during their recent struggles, turnovers undid their good work. Trinity scored two defensive touchdowns off of an interception and a fumble by quarterback Nick Morales ‘17. That crushing loss pretty much sums up what has been a very disappointing season for the team that came into the season on a 19 game winning streak. For the Purple and White, pride is all that remains to play for. But don’t underestimate the power of that motivator. Amherst takes on hated rival Williams as their final act of the season. The two teams are closer in the standings than is often the case, but that won’t change the passion with which each team plays. Amherst-Williams is always a must see, even if it has little effect on the final standings.

Bates

I feel like I’ve written this 30 times in my last three columns, but it’s still blowing my mind. Just listen to this sentence: “By the end of this Saturday’s games, Amherst and Bates could finish tied in the NESCAC standings.” Woah. Bates has won two in a row over Colby and Bowdoin, using a solid defense and rushing attack. Last week Bates added a new dimension to their offense, as freshman quarterback Matt Golden ‘20 tallied 126 rushing yards and a touchdown, as well as a passing touchdown. Bates now has a quarterback to push and compete with Sandy Plaschkes ‘19. They have to take down Hamilton this weekend to finish at .500, proving that even the lower tier games have stakes.

Colby

The Mules have a bona fide star in sophomore wide receiver Sebastian Farrell ‘19. Despite only being tenth in the league with 28 catches, Farrell ranks fourth in yards with 510. By nature of basic mathematics, this places him first in the league in yards per catch at 18.2. With a knack for making big plays, Farrell has been instrumental in many of Colby’s wins and close losses. The Mules have a winnable matchup with Bowdoin to close their season, and another big game from Farrell could position him to contend for some post-season hardware.

Hamilton

Hamilton ran headlong into the Middlebury revenge machine in Week Seven, losing at home 45-10. Middlebury’s passing offense tore the Continentals apart, but turnovers from Hamilton’s quarterbacks didn’t help. The Panthers tallied five interceptions, making any chance Hamilton’s defense had of stopping Jared Lebowitz very difficult. Hamilton faces a difficult test in the final week, traveling to the den of the suddenly-hot Bates Bobcats. They certainly have a chance to win, but it looks like it’s another year towards the bottom of the league for Hamilton.

Williams

The two highest scoring performances of the season have come against Williams: 49 points for Middlebury and 59 points last week for Wesleyan. To use an understatement, this is not a stat of which the Ephs are very proud. The Ephs have one last chance to get a symbolically crucial win, and there would be no more gratifying team to get it against than hated rival Amherst. Williams has shown the ability to put up a fight against tough teams, forcing several turnovers against Jared Lebowitz when they matched up with Middlebury. As we saw last week from their game against Trinity, turnovers can be the great equalizer for all of Amherst’s weapons on defense. Williams has a path to success. A thin one, to be sure, but a path nonetheless.

Bowdoin

Bowdoin is 0-1 so far in the CBB series, and 0-7 overall on the year. The main undoing for the Polar Bears has been defense, as they give up a league-worst 459 yards per game. Bowdoin wraps up the CBB series and the season as a whole with a game against Colby. Bowdoin seems destined to finish the season at 0-8, as their rebuilding season reaches its natural conclusion.