So this past week was the first week of the NESCAC Fantasy Football Playoffs. We have playoffs because NESCAC football doesn’t. There is nothing like the thrill of … OK, I’ve got to say something real quick.
This whole thing was rigged. Rigged, I say! Let’s start at the beginning , shall we? The order for picking the Fantasy draft was decided by a random number generator. Who ran the number generator and told us the results? That would be Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16). Who was awarded the No. 1 pick? Oh, that would be Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16).
Fast forward to AFTER the draft, and Joe explains how the scoring is going to work exactly. Wouldn’t it make sense to use the standard system to make it straight-forward? That’s not what Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16) did. Using some bogus, back of the napkin calculations talking about the number of passing and rushing touchdowns and yards in the NESCAC, Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16) boosted up the scoring you get from throwing passing yards and touchdowns.
So whatever, same rules apply to everyone right? Yes, but who did Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16) take with that stolen No. 1 pick? That would be Matt Milano ’16, Middlebury quarterback and easily the most productive passer in the NESCAC. Isn’t it a little suspicious that Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16) would make that change to the rules after he knew he had the best quarterback in the NESCAC, thereby giving him an enormous advantage?
Who guards the guards? Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16) was the man that Nick DiBenedetto, Carson Kenney, and I, Adam Lamont, trusted. That trust was betrayed by Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16). Let this be a reminder to all to keep CONSTANT VIGILANCE at all times. Even in matters of NESCAC Fantasy Football.
Spoiler: I lost to Joe in our playoff matchup.
Matchup One: #1 Joe MacDonald over #4 Adam Lamont 119-95
| Joe MacDonald | Adam Lamont | ||||
| QB | Matt Milano | 31 | QB | Austin Lommen | 11 |
| QB | Alex Snyder | 10 | QB | Reece Foy | 13 |
| RB | Kenny Adinkra | 10 | RB | Nick Kelly | 3 |
| RB | Jabari Hurdle-Price | 10 | RB | Chance Brady | 37 |
| WR | Devin Boehm | 7 | WR | Darrias Sime | 6 |
| WR | Charles Ensley | 15 | WR | Mike Rando | 0 |
| TE | Bryan Porter | 4 | TE | Alex Way | 0 |
| FLEX | Lou Stevens | 10 | FLEX | Nick Vailas | 6 |
| FLEX | LaShawn Ware | 7 | FLEX | Jackson McGonagle | 8 |
| D/ST | Middlebury | 12 | D/ST | Wesleyan | 9 |
| K | Charlie Wall | 3 | K | Ike Fuchs | 2 |
| Total | 119 | Total | 95 | ||
| BE | Devon Carrillo | 0 | BE | Gernald Hawkins | 14 |
| BE | Cole Freeman | 7 | BE | Pat Donahoe | 1 |
| BE | Jon Hurvitz | 0 | BE | Shaun Carroll | 0 |
Analysis: Surprise, surprise, Milano was the leading scorer for Joe this week. He got good production from other players too, most of it fueled by cheap touchdowns that made their numbers look better than reality (I swear I’m not bitter). Chance Brady ’17 was almost able to pull out the victory for me all by himself, and I would like to think that there are discrepancies in the Colby box score that suppressed his numbers. Well, this stuff happens I guess.
Matchup Two: #3 Carson Kenney over #2 Nick DiBenedetto 87-52
| Carson Kenney | Nick DiBenedetto | ||||
| QB | Sonny Puzzo | 9 | QB | Noah Nelson | 5 |
| QB | Jared Lebowitz | 0 | QB | Gabe Harrington | 4 |
| RB | Frank Williams | 1 | RB | Jaylen Berry | 14 |
| RB | Max Chipouras | 13 | RB | Diego Meritus | 4 |
| WR | Matt Minno | 35 | WR | Darrien Myers | 7 |
| WR | Mark Riley | 15 | WR | Dan Barone | 7 |
| TE | Rob Thoma | TE | Trevor MIletich | 4 | |
| FLEX | Ian Dugger | 4 | FLEX | Bryan Vieira | 3 |
| FLEX | Jack Cooleen | 0 | FLEX | Matt Hirshman | 1 |
| D/ST | Amherst | 10 | D/ST | Trinity | 3 |
| K | Charlie Gordon | 0 | K | Eric Sachse | 0 |
| Total | 87 | Total | 52 | ||
| BE | Neil O’Connor | 0 | BE | Connor Harris | 0 |
| BE | LaDarius Drew | 0 | BE | Ben Kurtz | 0 |
| BE | Nick Gaynor | 0 | BE | Raheem Jackson | 0 |
Analysis: I don’t think enough can be said about Matt Minno ’16 and his production from the wide receiver position. His performance this weekend of 171 yards and three touchdowns is his finest yet, and it was the difference for Carson beating Nick. I think the Middlebury offense will really suffer next year as a result of losing him. Nick’s hot streak at the beginning of the season turned out to be mostly mirage, though he definitely got unlucky with some players underperforming as the season went along.
Well, we have Carson vs. Joe in the championship. You know I’m rooting for you, Carson!