Mark Riley – Page 2 – Nothing But NESCAC

Offense Needs to Make Strides for Mules: Colby Season Preview

ColbyAmherst — The Colby defense makes a goal line stand against Amherst on October 11, 2014. (Courtesy of Mark Box of Clarus Studios)

Editors’ Note: While 99 percent of the work done in these previews is credited directly to the author, the projected records are a decision made together by the editors, Adam and Joe. So if you don’t like it, blame us.

Projected Record: 2-6

Offensive Starters (*Seven Returning)

QB: Gabe Harrington ’17*
RB: Jabari Hurdle-Price ’17*
FB: Rob Murray ’16*
WR: Ryder Arsenault ’17*
WR: Mbasa Mayikana ’18
TE: Glenn Parsons ’16*
LT: Jesse Eddy ’16*
LG: Drew Choos ’16*
C: Mike Roberts ’17
RG: Andrew Ferraro ’16
RT: Larry Patrizio ’17

Projected Defensive Starters (*Four Returning)

DE: Ryan Ruiz ’16*
DT: Chris Marano ’17*
DT: Harry Nicholas ’16*
DE: Henry Wallrapp ’17
OLB: Connor Rozinsky ’16
MLB: Stephen O’Grady ’16*
OLB: Ryan Neville ’16
CB: Adam Balaban ’18
SS: Justin Lamere ’17
FS: Ian Dickey ’18

Offensive MVP: Running Backs Jabari Hurdle-Price ’17 and Carl Lipani ’17

Optimism for this season begins with the talented pair of junior running backs. Lipani has played a lot from day one, and he started off last year in a big way with 133 yards on 20 carries against Trinity. Then he was lost for the season after the second game against Middlebury. Hurdle-Price showcased his skills the rest of the season and finished the season fourth in the NESCAC with 553 yards. Both are also capable pass-catchers and will be used there also to help make things easier in the passing game. There will be a lot of carries to go around, and these two could be on the field at the same time at points too. They have pretty overlapping skill sets, but those skill sets are both very diverse and will present defenses with a lot of problems.

Defensive MVP: Linebacker Stephen O’Grady ’16

At least he better be. OK, that is putting too much pressure on the senior, but the biggest weakness for Colby is their back seven on defense, and O’Grady can do a lot to help shore it up. He missed the first four games of 2014 with injury but returned in the second half to record 19 tackles and help Colby to their 2-2 finish . The Mules lost their top two tacklers and need to fill that production immediately. O’Grady had 39 tackles as a sophomore, and he figures to have even more than that from his middle linebacker position. The good news for Colby fans is that O’Grady has looked great in camp and has taken well to being a leader on defense.

Biggest Surprise of Camp: Smoothness of Transition to New Coaches

So this isn’t your usual pick for this, but Colby has gone through a lot of turnover in its coaching staff in recent years. The Mules are technically on their third Offensive Coordinator in as many years as Head Coach Jonathan Michaeles takes over the play-calling duties. Long-time Defensive Coordinator Tom Dexter is also still around in Waterville. Overall, Michaeles is more than happy with the additions of Coaches Matt Dugan, Sean Conerly, and Alex Kretzschmar. The coaching staff has been able to focus on the players, both on and off the field, and Michaeles is excited about what this group can do going forward.

Biggest Game: Bates at Colby, 1:00 PM October 31, Waterville, Maine

The Mules once again start their season with a murderers row of Trinity, Middlebury, Wesleyan and Amherst. From there the schedule gets easier, and this game represents the beginning of the CBB. The game last year was a classic with Bates coming back to win 34-28 in overtime in front of a big crowd in Lewiston. QB Gabe Harrington ’17 had one of the more interesting stat lines in this one, going 13-38 (34.2 percent) but also throwing for 234 yards and four TDs. A major challenge for Colby will be slowing down Bates receiver Mark Riley ’16 who had five catches for 109 yards last year. Colby will be primed for this game in a big way, and a win is essential in order to wrest the CBB away from Bates.

Summary:

Last year’s squad was sunk in large part because the front end of their schedule decimated the depth chart with injuries. Even still, Colby was a late Bates comeback away from taking the CBB, and they will have a chance to capture that crown this season if their offense clicks. Harrington is of course the key to all of this. Last year he showed flashes of the phsyical ability to make all the throws, and he finished the season fifth in the league in YPG with 177.9. However, he forced way too many balls and had an 11:9 TD:INT ratio and an ugly 48.5 completion percentage. Michaeles is focusing on letting Harrington make simpler throws. The Head Coach thinks it took the QB a little time to settle into the position, but he was more willing to take what the defense gave him and even began to run the ball a little in the second half. Harrington needs to be more consistent and let his skill players make plays

Elsewhere on offense, the wide receiver position is fine despite the graduations of Luke Duncklee ’15 and Nick Joseph ’15. Ryder Arsenault ’17 takes over as the primary target and will be the first place Harrington looks on most downs. Arsenault ended up leading the team in catches last year with 25 and should surpass that total. Across from him, one of our Breakout Players, Mbasa Mayikana ’18, will also get a lot of chances, especially on deep balls where the track athlete excels. Fullback Rob Murray ’16 has had a very productive camp and will help as a lead blocker and a receiver. Tight End Glenn Parsons ’16 is used primarily as a blocker, but he could become a crucial safety valve in the passing game. Finally the offensive line has the chance to be good, but they could struggle with depth (a concern for many NESCAC teams) as the season goes along even though Michaeles wants to start the season rotating some positions along the line.

As mentioned above, the defense lost a lot of talent, and the strength of the unit is clearly on the defensive line where four year starter and captain Ryan Ruiz ’16 is the anchor. The Colby defense struggled in part because of their inability to create turnovers or sacks, and they lose defensive back Jason Buco ’15 who was responsible for seven of the nine total turnovers. The defensive line will have to be not only stout against the run, but also find a way to consistently get to the quarterback in order to keep the inexperienced back end of the secondary get exposed too often. Jack Muntu-Caron ’17 might not start at defensive end, but he is an intriguing talent after having three sacks in just five games.

The secondary is going to be an adventure early on, and the game against Middlebury in Week 2 will be extremely difficult. Ian Dickey ’18 and Justin Lamere ’17 finished the season starting a couple of game, and their experience is important there. Neither registered much in the way of pass defense, but they did a good job coming up against the run. Last year receivers Joseph and Duncklee both saw time at defensive back to help shore up the back line. The Mules were a middle of the road pass defense a season ago, and the hope is that the new guys are coached up quickly.

Michaeles has shown he is more than flexible and will work hard to get the 22 best athletes on the field in some way. That might mean moving somebody like backup QB Michael Ecke ’17 to wide receiver or cornerback if the need arises. The Mules have some talent and they could find themselves in some exciting high scoring games if Harrington develops in his second year. Ultimately that tough schedule and inexperienced defense will cause issues and keep the Mules from climbing back into the middle of the pack.

Best Tweet: This is what we call ‘playing to your strengths.’

Benching for Waterville is on! The fieldhouse come to life as we raise money to support the community pic.twitter.com/TCf8n4z1Fj

— Colby Athletics (@themules) April 24, 2015

Previewing the Player of the Year Races

If you have a better picture from the paper, by all means use that Joe — Matt Milano ’16 looks to defend his POY title (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

Yesterday we tackled all the players who have a chance to rise from relative obscurity into stardom. Now it’s time to talk about the ones who already are big names and might take home the shiniest hardward at the end of the season.

Offensive Player of the Year Race

The question is whether a non-QB will be able to win this award. Eight of the last nine Offensive Player of the Year Awards have gone to a QB with Amherst’s Evan Bunker the only running back to win in 2011. In the six years from 2000-2005, non-QBs won the award in four of the six years. As you will see below, among our five favorites, only one is a QB, Matt Milano ’16. Of course, Milano is the odds-on favorite to win the award provided he stays healthy, but if for some unforeseen reason he does not put up amazing statistics, there does not appear to be another QB ready to win the award. While it is possible someone like Austin Lommen ’16 (Williams) makes a big jump, it is probably Milano or bust in terms of QBs, so that is something to keep in mind.

Running Backs LaDarius Drew ’15/Lou Stevens ’17 (Wesleyan): Stevens enjoyed a strong end to the 2014 season to earn First Team All-NESCAC honors in 2014, and Drew was First Team All-NESCAC in 2013 before missing all of last year because of a foot injury so both of these guys are very talented. In the end, these two might be each other’s worst enemies. There are only so many carries to go around. However, in 2013 with Drew and Kyle Gibson ’15 splitting carries, Drew still finished second in the NESCAC in YPG. If these two were one player, LouDarius Drevens would be the favorite to win the award.

Running Back Tyler Grant ’17 (Bowdoin): The league’s leading rusher from 2014, and the only player who averaged more than 100 YPG, Grant racked up an incredible amount of carries over eight games. He finished the year with 226 rushing attempts, 76 more than the next highest total by Trinity’s Chudi Iregbulem ’15! Grant surely will not run that much this year, but he could benefit from a more open scheme that will put him in space more often where he is best. Health is a definite concern after all of the carries a year ago. He was banged up for much of the offseason and is out of practice now, though he is expected to be fully healthy by the time Week 1 rolls around.

Quarterback Matt Milano ’16 (Middlebury): Milano is the reigning co-Offensive Player of the Year (he split the award with Wesleyan QB Jesse Warren ’15 a year ago) so he is an obvious choice for this list. We are pretty sure that he will be starting Week 1 over transfer Jared Lebowitz ’17 because Milano has more experience with the offense. Make no mistake, Milano was amazing last year. After an uneven first start against Wesleyan, he threw 22 TDs against one INT over the final seven games of the season. He does have to play more consistently against the top defenses in the league, as he had average or subpar games against Wesleyan, Amherst and Williams. Middlebury will rely on him even more than they did last year with the team’s leading rusher from a year ago, Drew Jacobs ’18, out with a Lisfranc fracture.

Running Back Nick Kelly ’17 (Amherst): Kelly entered 2014 splitting carries with Kenny Adinkra ’16, but with Adinkra injured for the final five games of the season, Kelly became the feature back. A tall back, Kelly is somewhat in the mold of a Derrick Henry from Alabama who possesses breakaway speed once he gets moving downhill. His 59-yard touchdown against Middlebury last year was the difference in that game, and he had a run of at least 20 yards in each of the first five games of the season. Kelly did struggle mightily down the stretch averaging less than 3.0 yards per carry in his final three games. He will also have to fight off a lot of talented backups including a healthy Adinkra.

Wide Receiver Mark Riley ’16 (Bates): Having a wide receiver from Bates, a school known for their triple option running attack on offense, as a preseason favorite for this award is unusual. Then you have to realize that Riley has the statistics to more than back up his inclusion. He led the league in receiving YPG and was second in catches. He has the speed to run past defenders and also runs good routes underneath. With no other clear passing option, he will have to overcome a lot of double teams. New QB Patrick Dugan ’16 is known as a good passer so I’m not worried about a big drop in targets for Riley. Winning this award as a wide receiver is hard, but Riley has a lot of the ingredients to make it happen.

Others to Watch: Wide Receiver Matt Minno ’16 (Middlebury), Quarterback Austin Lommen ’16 (Williams), Quarterback Sonny Puzzo ’17 (Trinity), Running Back Jabari Hurdle-Price ’17 (Colby)

Defensive Player of the Year

The past winners of this award exhibit a lot more variety than the QB-heavy Offensive award, but the most common position to win it is linebacker because of the big tackle totals. This season there are more than a fair share of worthy competitors for DPOY, and we left off a lot of players who will make a run at it.

Cornerback Jaymie Spears ’16 (Amherst): The best corner in the NESCAC, no questions asked. A year ago Spears was second in the league with six interceptions, tied for first with eight pass breakups, and blocked two kicks, just because he can. One worry for Spears’ candidacy? That teams simply ignore his side of the field and target other receivers. You see that in the NFL for corners like Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis. NESCAC teams haven’t done that yet, but if Spears’ numbers drop precipitously it might be because he simply isn’t getting opportunities.

Linebacker Mark Upton ’17 Bates): The presence of multiple senior linebackers on Bates couldn’t keep Upton from racking up 84 tackles a year ago. Now, as the centerpiece of the Bates defense, he could have eye-popping numbers from the middle linebacker spot. He is more than just a steady player in the middle too. He led the league with four forced fumbles and had the most sacks on Bates with 3.5. A severe drop in the overall talent of the Bates defense could spell trouble for Upton, but he has a very good shot if he plays at a similar level to what he did last season.

Linebacker Tim Patricia ’16 (Middlebury). Patricia is just one of several Middlebury defenders who could make a run at this award. He gets the nod because of his job as the middle linebacker. He is nothing if not consistent with three NESCAC Second Team honors back-to-back-to-back years. Some might worry that Patricia has hit his ceiling as a player already, but he improved his play-making ability by doubling his TFL total from 2013 to 2014. Patricia’s greatest skill is a nose for the ball. He just knows how to make tackles. And even if he doesn’t win the award, one of his teammates, the Pierce bros (they’re not actually brothers), S Dan and LB Addison, just might.

Safety Mike Stearns ’17 (Tufts): Nobody had more solo tackles than Stearns’ 60 in 2014, and the fact that they came from the corner position makes it all the more impressive. Now at safety Stearns should have even more opportunities to make tackles. A great instinctive player, Stearns will be all over the field as a safety. Of worry is a significant tapering off of production as the year went along. He had only 18 tackles in his last four games. At safety, Stearns will have to show that he can make plays in the air and not just on the ground.

Defensive End James Howe ’16 (Williams): Joe and I talked about this in our video on Monday (Williams part begins at 3:40), but there is no bigger enigma than Howe entering this season. After totaling 10 sacks as a sophomore, he had zero all of 2014. He still had 38 tackles, a good amount for a defensive end, but a year ago I was ready to call Howe the JJ Watt of the NESCAC. I put him on this list because he obviously has the talent to make a ton of plays. He might not be quite as much of a focus for opposing offenses this season, which could give him more opportunities to get into the backfield.

Others to Watch: Linebacker Alex Daversa-Russo ’16 (Wesleyan), Safety Dan Pierce ’16 (Middlebury), Linebacker Addison Pierce ’17 (Middlebury), Linebacker Frank Leyva ’16 (Trinity), Linebacker Thomas Kleyn ’16 (Amherst)

20 Stats from 2014 That You Need to Know

MIDDLEBURY, VT (October 17, 2009) - Aerial images of the campus of Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont. (Photo © Brett Simison) — An aerial view of the Middlebury field. (Photo © Brett Simison)

The time has come, football season is finally upon us. FBS college teams begin games tonight, meaning we will get football non-stop for months now. While teams throughout the NESCAC have turned the page on the 2014 season, we want to take one last look at last year and tell you what stats will be crucial to know heading into the 2015 campaign.

17. No better place to start than the defending champs. The steel-curtain defense of the Amherst Lord Jeffs accrued a league leading 17 interceptions last season. Going into this year, three out of the four defensive backs will be returning as seniors – Jaymie Spears ’16, who led the league with six picks last year, Chris Gow ’16 and Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn ’16. Look for this trio to continue to wreak havoc for opposing NESCAC quarterbacks this year.

2,004. While the DBs of Amherst held him to only 67 yards when they played each other last October, Middlebury quarterback Matt Milano ’16 was the only QB in the conference to throw for over 2000 yards in the 2014 season, amassing 2,004 yards through the air. The next closest was Wesleyan’s Jesse Warren ’15 with 1513.

1. On the other side of the spectrum, the Bowdoin offense had a lowly one passing touchdown in 2014. That touchdown went to fullback Jack Donovan ’15, meaning the Polar Bear wide receivers had zero receiving touchdowns all season. With the entrance of JB Wells as the new head coach of the Polar Bears, along with the change in personnel at the quarterback position with Tim Drakeley ’17, look for a drastic improvement from last year’s lowest-ranked offense.

74.6. The number of tackles per game for Tufts. While the Jumbos had the most tackles per game in the NESCAC, they also were the last-ranked team in terms of passing yards allowed (225.1 per game).

34. The Middlebury Panthers, who were among the league’s best offensively, hired a new offensive coordinator in Dave Caputi for 2015. After graduating from Middlebury himself in 1981, 34 years later he finds himself back as a member of Panther football.

33:38. Wesleyan’s lengthy time of possession per game last year, made possible by their second-ranked 18 first downs per game. They will again look to hold the rock for long periods with their talented running back duo of LaDarius Drew ’15 and Lou Stevens ’17.

16. The number of consecutive losses for Hamilton. Although it’s not quite as impressive as Tufts’ 31 straight which ended last year, second year head coach Dave Murray will rest much easier if that 16 doesn’t turn into 24 after this season.

61. Touches for Trinity RB/QB Spencer Aukamp ’18 last season. Expect that number to rise, but it’s unclear whether that will be via the run or passing game. Aukamp is a weapon and will see a lot of snaps for the Bantams, but they most likely won’t take place under center this season.

71.5. Receiving yards per game for Bates’ Mark Riley ’16, who led the league in this category as well as total receiving yards with 572. The Bobcats are also in the midst of a change at the quarterback position, so it’ll be interesting to see how the loss of Matt Cannone ’15 affects Riley’s 2015 numbers.

2. Straight years Williams has been below .500, an occurrence that had not happened for 15+ years.

533. Total yards for Colby RB Jabari Hurdle-Price ’17, who broke out his sophomore year as the Mules’ premiere back. Keeping an eye on Colby, it will be interesting to see how the ground load will be split for Hurdle-Price and fellow classmate Carl Lipani who, although he had fewer carries (37 compared to 131), averaged more yards per touch (4.9) than Hurdle-Price (4.1). Lipani is healthy again after missing the second half of the season.

23. Fourth down attempts were not rare for Middlebury, and they led the league converting 12 of their 23 tries. The next closest team was Bates with 12 attempts. Keep in mind the change at O-coordinator for the Panthers this season, and consider whether that might have an impact on their fourth down strategy.

226. Bowdoin running back Tyler Grant ’17 had his work cut out for him last year, carrying the ball 226 times, the most of any back in the league. In addition to having his number called early and often, he produced, leading the league in both yards (893) and yards per game (111.6). Don’t expect Bowdoin to lean quite so heavily on him this year.

54. That’s how many points top-ranked Wesleyan kicker Ike Fuchs ’17 had in 2014, who was good for 10 out of 13 field goals on the year. With the amount of time the Cardinal’s offense had possession of the football, coming away with points at the end was a big part of their game last season.

4. Number of sacks for Amherst’s 300-pound defensive tackle Paul Johnson ’17. With the graduation of defenders Chris Tamasi ’15 and Max Lehrman ’15, who had five and 4.5 sacks last year, respectively, the pass rushing load will depend even more on Johnson this season.

60. The number of solo tackles for Tufts’ sophomore defensive back Mike Stearns ’17, which put him at the top of the conference in that category. It is incredibly rare for a defensive back to led the league in tackles, and Stearns might shift from corner to safety this year.

3653. The top-ranked average amount of fans in attendance for Amherst. The real question is do championships help bring the fans, or do the fans help bring the championships? Either way, the Lord Jeffs will go into the 2015 season looking to capture their third consecutive conference championship.

299. Hamilton’s LaShawn Ware ’18, who, despite starting in only one game last season, led the Continentals in rushing yards with 299.

50%. Colby’s red-zone touchdown percentage, which was the worst in the NESCAC. Not only could the Mules not get the ball in the end-zone, but also they failed to kick any field goals from inside the 20 as well.

298. Days since the last NESCAC football game was played, only 24 more to go.

Welcome to 2015

Amherst reigned at the end of last year, but 0 promises much uncertainty. — Amherst reigned at the end of last year, but 2015 promises much uncertainty. (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

Eight games. The NESCAC football season lasts all of eight games. That is nothing. Eight games is half of an NFL season, at which point we usually think the Giants still have a shot at the playoffs and are also debating whether Tom Brady is no longer an ‘elite’ quarterback. Yet eight games is all we get in the NESCAC, for reasons that extend well off of the playing field. In an average NFL game, only 11 minutes of actual live action happens. So if that holds true for the NESCAC (there are reasons why the NESCAC might have slightly more time per game), a team has less than 100 minutes of actual live football in their entire season. All of the weight room sessions, preseason practices, positional meetings, late night calls by coaches to recruits around the country, and the countless hours of watching tape boil down to less live action than the length of your typical popcorn movie.

That of course is a very reductive way of looking at things, and it makes the amount of time and effort poured into NESCAC football by players, coaches, parents and fans seem silly. Not to mention what it says about us, the people who spend long hours writing about that 88 minutes of actual football. What the short season does mean is that every little thing matters, and things that might appear inconsequential can quickly become season-changing.

Take for example the rainstorm that befell northern Vermont on October 4, 2014, interferring with the Middlebury vs. Amherst game that afternoon. The headline from that game read something like this, “In a big rainstorm, Amherst escapes with win to remain perfect while the loss drops Middlebury to 1-2.” By the end of the season and with 20-20 hindsight, the headline could have read, “Rainstorm grounds Middlebury aerial attack and robs Panthers of share of the NESCAC title.” Scribes of the first title did not foresee that Middebury would end the season on a five-game winning streak that included snapping Trinity’s 51-home-game winning streak to end the season as the hottest team in the league. Amherst went on to finish the season undefeated and won another league title.

Turning to 2015, that same Middlebury team enters the season as (spoiler alert!) our favorite to climb all the way to the top and capture the league title and complete their first undefeated season since 1972. Not that there aren’t questions around the roster. The biggest one is at the quarterback spot where normally one would presume Matt Milano ’16 would remain the signal-caller after a spectacular finish to his first season as a starter. However, the arrival of transfer Jared Lebowitz ’17 from UNLV means Milano is not guaranteed that starting spot. One should still consider Milano the favorite given that he is entrenched as the starter currently. That Middlebury has the most enviable quarterback situation in the league only two seasons removed from Mac Foote ’14, one of the greatest NESCAC quarterbacks ever, is ridiculous. The offensive line has to replace all three interior starters, and the defense lost some valuable contributors. Yet the core of that defensive unit returns in defensive end Jake Clapp ’16, middle linebacker Tim Patricia ’16, and safety Dan Pierce ’16.

The main competition for Middlebury should be the reigning champs, Amherst. The Lord Jeffs have made it a habit of making prognosticators look silly by continually exceeding already high expectations, so I don’t feel comfortable putting Amherst anywhere besides the favorite. The Jeffs have to replace their linebacker duo of Chris Tamasi ’15 and Ned Deane ’15 that led their defense, as well as three offensive lineman and quarterback Max Lippe ’15 who provided a huge spark for the offense last year. Having skill players like running back Nick Kelly ’17 and receiver Jackson McGonagle ’16 around should make things easier, and a straight-up filthy secondary will make throwing the ball a dangerous proposition (look out, Midd). Amherst always plays its backups a decent amount so all the new starters have game experience.

The Connecticut teams, Wesleyan and Trinity, have to answer questions about whether they should still be considered in the elite echelon of the NESCAC. Wesleyan transitions to new Head Coach Dan DiCenzo, though the transition is not a hard one as DiCenzo was the Defensive Coordinator for former HC Mike Whalen. The real transition is on the field where the Cardinals lost more significant contributors than it is possible to count. Having running back LaDarius Drew ’15 return after an injury knocked him out of all of last year will be a huge help, but running back was the only position where the Cards returned any depth. In Hartford, Trinity lost an unfathomable three games and saw that home winning streak turn into a two-game losing streak. The return of several skill players like Sonny Puzzo ’17 after a year away from Trinity will be critical to getting the Bantams back on top of the NESCAC. The defense lost seven starters and will need the back seven to improve mightily by the time the heavy weights at the back end of the schedule come around.

The return of a healthy LaDarius Drew buoys Wesleyan's optimism. Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics) — The return of a healthy LaDarius Drew ’15 buoys Wesleyan’s optimism. (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

Those four represent the teams with a realistic shot at the NESCAC title, but the other six teams have plenty to be excited about. Multiple NESCAC Head Coaches have said they believe the bottom of the league is stronger than it has ever been. The team that for a long time represented that basement, Tufts, will look to reprise whatever alchemy made them go 4-0 at home last year. Alex Snyder ’17 looks to be the new starting quarterback, though he could be pushed by Dartmouth transfer Jonathan DiBiaso ’17. The Jumbos can also get their first road win in forever opening week at Hamilton, but the Continentals will fight hard trying to get second year coach Dave Murray his first win at the helm. Hamilton has almost every starter returning as the program hopes to make strides in Central New York.

Williams was the biggest disappointment a year ago, and a season without clear improvement will make the rumblings for a coaching change in Willy World harder to ignore. The hopes of the Ephs hinge largely on a big season from quarterback Austin Lommen ’16 and a talented and big group of receivers. On defense, defensive end James Howe ’16 has to regain his 2013 form and get some help from those around him.

Finally, the CBB (Colby, Bowdoin, and Bates) appears to be wide open. Bates has been ascendant in the series and has controlled the crown for the past three seasons, but they lose quarterback Matt Cannone ’15 and eight of their starters from a very good defense. Receiver Mark Riley ’16 and linebacker Mark Upton ’17 have to be leaders, and the replacements have to grow up fast on defense. Colby will want to take the pressure off of quarterback Gabe Harrington ’17 by relying on the two-headed attack of running backs Carl Lipani ’17 and Jabari Hurdle-Price ’17. Bowdoin enters a new era with Head Coach JB Wells coming from Endicott College. Wells will have to find other options on offense besides workhorse running back Tyler Grant ’17.

As excited as we are to watch some DIVISION III FOOTBALL!, we have the same level of excitement about the group of writers we have for this fall. We have six people who are some of the most knowledgeable people about the league as a whole. With that being said, that doesn’t mean we aren’t still looking for more. If you are interested in writing, or know someone who might be, or would like to help out in other ways – web design, graphic design, Tweeting games, reporting games, etc. – email us at nothingbutnescac@gmail.com. We are constantly striving to improve our coverage, so if you have any suggestions or article ideas that we should do, please email us also.

Looking forward to a great year – Adam Lamont (Bowdoin ’16) and Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16)

Football End-of-Year Awards: The Definitive Edition

The committee of two has met and after much deliberation has made their decisions. All decisions on awards are final and complaints should be addressed to 472 Smith Union, Bowdoin College. Or the comments section works, too. If you want, take a look at our Mid-Season Awards to see what’s changed. Lastly, these are our own personal opinions of who should win each award. They are not predictions on what we think the NESCAC coaches will decide.

Offensive Player of the Year: Quarterback Matt Milano ’16 (Middlebury)

“Another Middlebury quarterback? Really original pick there guys.” Well, Milano didn’t really leave us with much of a choice given how he performed in the month of the year. In fact here are Mac Foote’s stats from last year and Milano’s from 2014.

Player A: 179-289 (61.9 percent), 2004 yards, 6.9 yards per attempt, 24 touchdowns, 3 interceptions.

Player B: 259-421 (61.5 percent), 2766 yards, 6.6 yards per attempt, 26 touchdowns, 12 interceptions.

Player B has a huge lead in yards overall and a slight lead in touchdowns, but Player A was better in yards per attempt and threw a quarter of the interceptions. You could probably tell, but Player A is Foote and Player B is Milano. We don’t put the comparison there to argue that Milano had a better year than Foote did last year, but we just want to put the numbers there so people don’t say Milano was merely a product of the Middlebury system.

The junior took a little time to get settled, but once he did, Middlebury morphed into the hottest team in the NESCAC. Milano put up 18 touchdowns over the last four weeks to go with just one interception, and his yards per attempt rose every week from Week 3 until the end of the season. His play is made even more impressive by the fact that the Panthers averaged only 2.6 yards per rush, worst in the NESCAC, putting even more pressure on the gunslinger. Milano should be even better next year when he and most of his receivers return.

Also considered: Tyler Grant ’17 (Bowdoin), Chudi Iregbulem ’15 (Trinity), Jesse Warren ’15 (Wesleyan) and Mark Riley ’16 (Bates)

Jake Bussani '14 (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics) — Jake Bussani ’14 (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

Defensive Player of the Year: Safety Jake Bussani ’14 (Wesleyan)

The NESCAC website only lists the top 50 tacklers, and Bussani falls well short of making that with only 30 tackles on the year. So how does a player who was only sixth on his own team in tackles win DPOY?

Well, first of all, Bussani won by the narrowest of margins over a host of other worthy players. Then it is important to understand Bussani’s role in the Wesleyan defense; a role that requires him to patrol the deep part of the field. He did that to near perfection with seven interceptions and five pass breakups. Bussani also returned two of his interceptions all the way back for touchdowns. Also, he was part of a secondary that was a good rung or two above everyone else and allowed a minuscule 124.0 yards per game through the air.

Bussani and teammate Justin Sanchez '17 smother Alex Way '16 in the Cardinals' Week 8 shutout. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics) — Bussani and teammate Justin Sanchez ’17 smother Alex Way ’16 in the Cardinals’ Week 8 shutout. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Conference coaches know how good of a player he is considering he has made the All-NESCAC team three times already. Last year his stats were even less impressive with 27 tackles and four interceptions. Given how he has been even better this year, the coaches should recognize him once again.

Also considered: Chris Tamasi ’15 (Amherst), Jaymie Spears ’16 (Amherst), Dan Pierce ’16 (Middlebury) Mark Upton ’17 (Bates)

Coach of the Year: EJ Mills (Amherst)

Head Coach EJ Mills (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

Below is the conversation that we had when talking about Coach of the Year. We weren’t planning on publishing it at the time, but it’s just so juicy that we could not resist.

Adam: Alright, Coach of the Year is another interesting one. Ritter has a strong argument because of how well Middlebury did, but I think Mills deserves it.

Joe: Amherst was expected to be near the top again and Middlebury was supposed to be much worse this year.

Adam: Maybe so, but Amherst went through a lot to be undefeated. They played three QBs and switched their lead running back as the season went along. In close games they went 5-0 which is a testament, too, to Mills’ coaching. When I look at Amherst’s season it seemed like they always played a little better than I was expecting or somehow managed to win games when they got outplayed. The coach deserves credit for that.

Joe: I guess. I just feel like the Coach of the Year award is almost equivalent to a team overall achievement award, because we can’t quantify from the outside how much of a team’s success is due to the coach. I expected Amherst to beat everyone but Trinity and Wesleyan at the beginning of the year. As the year went on I got to realizing that Amherst was the best team, but I was always skeptical of Middlebury. I had them middle of the pack but they clearly overachieved. I don’t want Mills to win just because he coached the best team.

Adam: My argument would be that it wasn’t necessarily clear that Amherst really was the best team. Middlebury got better as the year went along and I think mostly because Milano got more comfortable. I didn’t expect he would get so good so fast and that is why I think Middlebury finished with six straight wins. Obviously coaching matters there, but just seems like the player still has a lot of agency, also.

Joe: True….splitting hairs here at this point. I think both are great coaches and just like talking about it.

Drew Jacobs (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

Rookie of the Year: Running Back Drew Jacobs ’18 (Middlebury)

There wasn’t an absolute standout first year this season that burst onto the scene like QB Sonny Puzzo last year or LB Tim Patricia ’16 the year before, but Jacobs was productive for the pass-heavy Panthers, and among first-year players he was first in rushing yards and third in receiving yards. His production was all over the map, as his total yards went 113, 55, 43, 154, 62, 82 and 8, as he left the game early in Week 7 and sat out all of Week 8. With another year under his belt, though, Jacobs could turn into one of the league’s best backs, but he will still have to fight off the presence of teammate Jonathan Hurvitz ’17 and classmate John Jackson ’18 for playing time.

Also considered: Slotback Frank Williams ’18 (Bates), K Zach Altneu ’18 (Hamilton), RB/KR Amman Weaver ’18 (Hamilton), WR Mbasa Mayikana ’18 (Colby)

Zach Trause (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

Special Teams Player of the Year: KR/PR/RB Zack Trause ’15

Ike Fuchs ’17 made a push for this award in Week 7 when he broke a Wesleyan record with five field goals in one game (and by going 7-7 FG and 8-8 XP in the last three weeks), but Trause’s body of work is enough for him to get the nod. Though most of the fireworks came in Week 2 when Trause followed up his third quarter kick return TD with a punt return TD early in the fourth quarter to seal the Jumbos’ victory, he was an explosive returner all year. His 32.1 yards per kickoff return were tops in the NESCAC and seventh in all of Division-III. Players need 1.2 attempts per game to qualify for leaderboards, so Trause failed to qualify with only eight punt returns, but if he had qualified, his 19.6 yards per punt return would have placed him fifth in the nation.

Trause taking back a punt 49 yards to the house against Bates in Week 2. (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

Also considered: Ike Fuchs ’17 (Wesleyan), WR/KR/PR Ryan Rizzo ’17 (Middlebury) and K Phillip Nwosu’ 15 (Amherst)

Feel free to tell us how wrong we are in the comments section.

Power Rankings 11/5 Edition

The penultimate Power Rankings offer us our clearest picture yet of where each team in the NESCAC stands. Amherst now sits clearly on top, even if their victories have come by the slimmest of margins.

1. Amherst (7-0): The Jeffs don’t win pretty, that’s for sure. Their margin of victory against Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Trinity was 11 points total. Even against Bates, Amherst struggled to pull out the victory. And yet, they are 7-0 and appear to be on their way to the NESCAC title. If we use halftime of the Colby game as the starting point of Max Lippe’s ’15 time as the QB this year, Amherst was averaging 14.6 points per game before Lippe became the starter. Since he took over, the Jeffs have averaged 30 points per game.

2. Wesleyan (6-1): This Wesleyan team did another thing that a Cardinal football team has not done in a long time last week as the Wesleyan victory at Williams was their first in Williamstown since 1984. The Cardinals also are trying to snap a 13-game losing streak against Trinity on Saturday. On his way to winning NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week Honors (along with a host of others) last week, Ike Fuchs ’17 kicked five field goals, the most ever in a single game by a Wesleyan kicker.

3. Middlebury (5-2): Structure the schedule a little differently so you don’t play Wesleyan Week 1 and don’t play Amherst in a driving rain storm and maybe Middlebury is the class of the NESCAC. They are certainly playing as well as any team in the NESCAC right now. An underappreciated part of that success has been their veteran offensive line. Four of the five starters are seniors, and that has been a big part in making the Panthers an offense capable of both throwing and running the ball.

4. Trinity (5-2): Has Trinity slipped after losing two games in a season now in consecutive years? The Bantams did only have five losses total from 2008 to 2012. More likely, however, these last two years are more just an unusual string of unfortunate events converging. After having 10 touchdowns in the first four games of the year, Chudi Iregbulem ’15 has none in the past three in large part because of injury. Just like they did last year, Trinity will look to end their season on a high note by spoiling Wesleyan’s final game of the year.

5. Tufts (4-3): Anybody who said Tufts would be 4-3 at this point in the season can come collect their $1000 dollars right now. Offer excludes coaches and players for Tufts, though I am guessing even some of them are at least a little surprised by how successful they have been. And their level of play has risen throughout the season. A year after finishing last in the NESCAC with 11.8 points per game, the Jumbo offense has turned it around and is third in the NESCAC with 22.6 points per game.

6 Bates (3-4): After falling to 1-4, Bates turned the season around in the CBB beating Colby and then Bowdoin in hard fought victories. Another home victory to close out the season would bring Bates to 4-4 and mark the third consecutive season the Bobcats have finished .500 or better. Mark Riley ’16 has continued his great play all season and has been the best wide receiver in the NESCAC with 95 yards more than the next closest player.

7. Williams (2-5): The Ephs did not look competitive last week against Wesleyan, but as seen above, Amherst tends to play tight games. The offense has been good against most teams, but the elite defenses (Trinity and Wesleyan) have shut them down. James O’Grady ’16 has emerged as one of the better middle linebackers in the league and leads the Ephs with 58 tackles

8. Bowdoin (2-5): The Whittier field magic did not appear on Saturday for Bowdoin as the Polar Bears could not mount a late comeback against Bates. Inconsistency in the passing game, a problem all year, reared its head again because of the weather. The linebacker trio of Brendan Lawler ’16, Branden Morin ’16, and Bjorn Halvorsen ’17 have settled into their roles and are the three top tacklers on the Bowdoin defense.

9. Colby (1-6): The Mules offense broke out in Week 6 going for more than 400 yards after not going over 300 in their first five weeks. Two weeks ago Colby was again above 300 yards, but things went south again as they only managed 190 yards against Tufts. Gabe Harrington ’17 is the only qualified passer completing less than 50 percent of his passes.

10. Hamilton (0-7): Barring an upset of Bates, the Continentals will have gone two straight years without a win, but the arrow appears to be pointed in the right direction. Five of the top six tacklers on a sneaky good defense will be back in 2015. John Phelan ’16 has played an All-NESCAC caliber season with two fumble recoveries and two interceptions to go along with his team-leading 57 tackles.

Panthers Make Rude Guests in Hartford: Stock Report 10/26

Every streak will end at some point, and Trinity’s vaunted home winning streak of 53 games finally came to a stunning finish on Saturday. Like any streak of such length, the Bantams endured many close calls before Saturday, but the Panthers sucked out any potential drama long before the final whistle. Middlebury scored the first 20 points of the game, and a Brendan Rankowitz ’15 touchdown catch with 6:07 left made it 27-7, essentially ending the game.

So just how did Middlebury manage to take down the unbeatable Bantams? Well, considering the margin of victory, the simple answer is that Middlebury just outplayed Trinity. From a more philosophical point of view, this was speed beating size. The Trinity starting offensive line averages 280 pounds while the three down lineman for Middlebury average 247 pounds. That didn’t matter as Middlebury was still able to get to the ball.

Trinity finished the game with 85 yards rushing on 38 attempts, a 2.2 yards per carry average. The last time Trinity was held to under 100 yards rushing was October 2, 2010 when Williams held the Bantams to 87 yards rushing. Not coincidentally that was also a loss for Trinity. The 85 yards was the lowest total in a game since October 11, 2008 when Tufts (yes, Tufts) held the Bantams to 50 yards rushing. (Of course in that game Trinity threw for 470 as well to win a wild overtime game 28-27.)

The fact that the two top tacklers for Middlebury were defensive backs tells us that while the Panthers won the line of scrimmage, they didn’t do it conventionally. Waves of defenders threw themselves at the point of attack on running plays without exposing any lanes for cutbacks. Trinity’s longest run in the game was 19 yards.

Matt Minno '16 hauls down one of his three touchdowns in the Panthers' victory. Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball) — Matt Minno ’16 hauls down one of his three touchdowns in the Panthers’ victory. Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball)

Not having Sonny Puzzo on the roster for Trinity hurt the Bantams because Foye is not a runner. Puzzo gave the Trinity offense a little more diversity and defenses had more difficulty keying on one player. Spencer Aukamp ’18 has the running capabilities to replicate Puzzo, but Aukamp is not as polished of a passer. Henry Foye ’15 was able to come back from a touchdown deficit last week against Bowdoin, but he is not a quarterback capable of leading a team back from the hole Trinity found themselves in early in the second half.

Meanwhile, Matt Milano ’16 played a nearly perfect game. He went 25-36 for 286 yards. Though he threw one interception, he made up for it with four touchdowns. Matt Minno ’16 reemerged from the shadows last week against Bates, and he confirmed that he is back with his best game of the season: a three touchdown, 90 yard day. Milano actually played better than Mac Foote ’14 did last year when Middlebury beat Trinity in Vermont. Throw out the debacle against Amherst, and Milano has been stellar.

The running game led by Drew Jacobs ’18 was nothing special, but it did enough to keep Trinity honest. The Bantams could not load up on 3rd and long and come after Milano, especially because the Middlebury offense is designed to get the ball out quickly.

Finally, credit should be given to the Middlebury special teams which had two big plays early in the second half. The first was a gutsy on-side kick call coming out of the half. Rather than giving Trinity the ball back with the score 13-0 Middlebury, the Panthers dialed up an onside kick that they recovered. Two plays later, Milano hit hit Minno for his third touchdown of the game. The next drive Trinity tried a fake punt on 4th and 2 from their own 43-yard line, but Middlebury was not fooled at all. Michael Budness ’15 gained only one yard and the Trinity gambled failed.

Great onside call by Coach Ritter, with field position risk reduced by a 15-yard Trinity penalty at the end of the first half.

— Panther Nation (@MiddPantherBlog) October 25, 2014

The last time Trinity lost at home was to Williams in September of 2001. Every Trinity football player starting with the class of 2006 until the class of 2014 was undefeated at home. The thing for Trinity is that their path to a NESCAC championship remains unchanged. If they can rally and beat Amherst and then Wesleyan, they will at least earn a share of the NESCAC title. With only two weeks to still go, both Connecticut schools have now lost when before the season it looked possible that both would go undefeated until they faced each other.

Stock Up

Safety Dan Pierce ’16 (Middlebury): Seems like every week we highlight another Panther defensive player that has emerged as a cog in a defense that has become the strength of Middlebury. Pierce had a great all around game totaling 12 tackles and two interceptions. He had the play of the game midway through the second quarter. With Middlebury up 7-0, the Bantams drove the ball down to the five yard line. Then Pierce picked off Henry Foye ’15 in the end zone and returned it 71 yards to the Trinity 29-yard line. Four plays later, Middlebury punched it in to go up by two touchdowns forcing Trinity out of their comfort zone. Pierce now leads the Panthers in tackles on the season and is fourth overall in the NESCAC. We know it is early, but given that players like Pierce, Tim Patricia ’16, and Nate Leedy ’17 will all be back on defense along with Milano leading an offense that will return all of its playmakers with the exception of Rankowitz, Middlebury should be the favorite entering next year.

Wide Receiver Steven Kiesel ’15 (Williams): Saturday was just another ho-hum day for the senior receiver as he finished with five catches, 62 yards, and a touchdown that ended up being the difference in Williams’ 21-14 victory. Kiesel’s performance was notable because of how normal it has become. He has had at least five receptions in all but one of Williams’ games and now leads the NESCAC in receptions for the year. With the Ephs backed up on their own one, Austin Lommen ’16 went to his favorite target and hit Kiesel for a 32-yard gain that ended with Kiesel’s touchdown catch. The Williams running game has struggled for long stretches of this season, and Kiesel has been the most reliable source of offense for the Ephs. It might be a longshot given they are only 2-4, but Williams can salvage their season starting Saturday with a big upset over Wesleyan.

Quarterback Matt Cannone ’15 (Bates): The CBB picked up right where it left off last year in terms of excitement. The Bobcats QB returned just in time to get the Bates offense moving. He was still bothered by his ankle so that he was not much of a threat out of the pocket, but Cannone still played admirably. He went 18-32 for 203 yards and four touchdowns. His main target was Mark Riley ’16, but with the game on the line he used Riley as a diversion and went to Frank Williams ’18. On 4th and goal, Cannone found Williams for the game tying touchdown with under a minute left. Then in overtime the same connection worked again for a 25 yard touchdown and the victory. The win gives Bates the early lead in the CBB with the Bobcats visiting Bowdoin this week. Now Cannone will look to seal the CBB.

Running back LaShawn Ware ’17 (Hamilton): Sometimes, you have to admit that you’ve made a mistake. At the beginning of the season, in our Breakout Players of 2014 article, we highlighted Hamilton backs Rico Gonzalez ’16 and converted safety Jeff Hopsicker ’15. Gonzalez hasn’t been much of a factor all year, and had two carries against Williams. Hopsicker started out as the team’s primary back, but has seen his carries total dwindle ever since Week 2. When we spoke with head coach Dave Murray at the beginning of the year, he highlighted the speedy Ware as someone who could make an impact, but we just saw too much competition in the backfield. Well, Ware now leads the team in rushing yards and yards per carry, and racked up a career-high 115 yards against Williams. It looks like Murray has settled into a two-headed attack, with Ware moving the ball down the field and Amman Weaver ’18 getting the chances to punch it in near the goal line. It’s another lost season for the Continentals, but there will be weapons back in 2015.

Stock Down

Tufts Offensive Execution: A few stats from the Tufts-Amherst game: Tufts first downs – 11, Amherst first downs – 12. Tufts total yards – 249, Amherst total yards – 244. Tufts return yards – 78, Amherst return yards – 93. So how was this game 30-3 in favor of the Jeffs? As the Tufts website notes, every single Amherst scoring drive started in Tufts territory. Seventy-nine of those return yards came on interceptions for Amherst, with Chris Gow ’16 returning one Alex Snyder ’17 pass to the house. The Lord Jeff defense is very good and known for their takeaways, but this was another level. A big reason for that was because Jack Doll ’15 did not start and only threw the ball six times. It would have been extremely difficult for the Jumbos to upset Amherst at home with the Jeffs smelling a conference championship, but the offense let down a defense that played much better than the score indicated.

Bowdoin Secondary: One week after allowing Henry Foye to enjoy his best game of the season, Jesse Warren ’15 threw for five touchdowns against the Bowdoin secondary. Early in the game Bowdoin was getting pressure, but Warren converted two third downs of more than 12 yards on the first touchdown drive. For the game Wesleyan was 10-17 on third down. The Polar Bears have had problems slowing down the opposition’s passing attack all year with teams finding ways of making big plays consistently. Though Jay Fabien ’15 was slowed, Josh Hurwitz ’15 stepped up and had three touchdown catches. The Bowdoin secondary will have to rise to the occasion and stop Bates’ Riley on Saturday.

Colby’s Depth: The brutal opening schedule robbed Colby of a good deal of their players, and in an effort to get their best talent on the field, wide receivers Luke Duncklee ’15 and Nick Joseph ’15 have started playing on defense as well. Many NESCAC players went both ways in high school so they are somewhat used to it, but doing it in college is especially hard because it is much harder to take any plays off. The duo played well Saturday totaling 14 tackles between them, but it was not enough for Colby to hold off Bates. Advocates for expanding the current roster to more than 75 players might point to Colby’s issues as evidence. It is possible that the issue comes up again in conversations between coaches and administrators, but schools are unlikely to look at this one instance and consider it enough reason to change a longstanding rule.

Fantasy Report – Week 5

The cream has risen to the top. Despite a pair of inactives on my roster, a handful of huge performances added up to the most prolific week of the season for Foye Story which topped Team Lindholm for the second time this year.

In the other matchup, The Bantams put up a monster week of their own, which was crucial because it evened the head-to-head matchup between Meekins and Lamont.

Foye Story (MacDonald) vs. Team Lindholm

Why, hello, Mr. Harrington. The Colby sophomore broke out in a big way last week, racking up four touchdowns in the Mules first win of 2014. What’s more, I think I found an answer to my defensive woes. Middlebury’s D destroyed Bates and tallied 31 fantasy points.

Meanwhile, Lindholm’s squad put up a healthy 117 points, but almost three quarters of that came from Matt Milano ’16, Jay Fabien ’14 and Zack Trause ’14. The rest of Lindholm’s roster was pretty unproductive, and a few roster moves are in order as he’s got some non-factors from a fantasy standpoint (whether for reasons related to injury or otherwise) still in his starting lineup.

Foye Story (MacDonald)			Team Lindholm
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	G. Harrington	37	M. Lippe	10
QB	H. Foye	22	M. Milano	38
RB	A. Scyocurka	6	K. Adinkra	0
RB	C. Iregbulem	0	R. Hislop	0
RB	C. Brady	8	J. Semonella	0
WR	G. Luna	0	H. Murphy	0
WR	S. Kiesel	18	J. Hurwitz	10
WR	M. Minno	21	J. Fabien	24
TE	B. Kurtz	1	J. Day	1
FLEX	J. Hurdle-Price	5	Z. Trause	25
FLEX	D. Jacobs	6	M. Budness	3
K	I. Fuchs	6	M. Dola	3
D/ST	Middlebury	31	Williams	3
		161		117

The Bantams (Meekins) vs. Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship (Lamont)

It was a tough week for Lamont’s squad, in part because his attempted waiver claim that would have replaced the injured LaDarius Drew ’15 in his lineup was blocked by yours truly. Scoreless games from Pat Donadio ’15 and Mark Riley ’16 really hurt as well, and solid production up and down the lineup for Meekins’ squad was too much for the Fellowship.

The Bantams (Meekins)			Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship
Position	Player	Points	Player	Position
QB	J. Warren	25	M. Cannone	6
QB	M. Caputi	4	J. Doll	22
RB	K. Gibson	14	T. Grant	6
RB	G. Ackley	8	C. Lipani	0
RB	N. Kelly	26	L. Drew	0
WR	G. Garay	9	B. Ragone	-1
WR	I. Dugger	6	L. Duncklee	24
WR	C. Ragone	10	M. Riley	0
TE	D. Von Euw	0	A. Way	7
FLEX	J. McGonagle	0	P. Donadio	0
FLEX	D. Sime	10	M. Rando	2
K	P. Nwosu	16	Scheepers	2
D/ST	Trinity	7	Wesleyan	5
		125		73

Tyler Grant is brought down by Trinity's Spencer Donahue. How representative of The Bantams' (Meekins) domination of The Fellowship is this? Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball) — Tyler Grant is brought down by Trinity’s Spencer Donahue. How representative of The Bantams’ (Meekins) domination of The Fellowship is this?
Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball)

With only one week remaining in the regular fantasy season, the standings are as such:

Team	Record	Points
Foye Story (MacDonald)	4 – 1	526
The Bantams (Meekins)	2 – 3	473
Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship (Lamont)	2 – 3	414
Team Lindholm	2 – 3	385

The Halfway Pole – Stock Report 10/13

If you missed it, we recapped every game Saturday in our wrap-up, and now in the Stock Report we get into some hard analysis of the weekend. The top three of Wesleyan, Amherst, and Trinity, had to sweat things out for about a half before their superior depth and skill wore down their opponents attempting big upsets.

With half of the NESCAC season now over, trends are clear. New players are still emerging, and injuries are beginning to really be felt. Here’s your Stock Report.

Stock Up

Quarterback Max Lippe ’15 (Amherst) – After seeing the vast majority of the snaps in 2013, Lippe did not see the field at all in the first three and half games this year. That was until Coach EJ Mills turned to Lippe with the offense unable to generate anything against the Colby defense. The senior responded brilliantly in his first snaps completely changing the look of the Amherst offense. The Jeffs scored four offensive touchdowns in the second half with Lippe going 7-9 for 142 yards and throwing two touchdowns. Mills said that injuries limited Lippe early and that is a big reason why he had not played yet this year, but the senior was still the third quarterback to come off the bench on Saturday behind Alex Berluti ’17 and Reece Foy ’18. From his first throw Lippe looked completely in control, and played some of his finest football at Amherst. The Jeffs have been unable to settle on any QB in the last two years, but the reemergence of Lippe could not have come at a better time. This Saturday Amherst travels to Wesleyan in the biggest game of the season so far.

Courtesy of Megan Robertson (Amherst '15) — Courtesy of Megan Robertson (Amherst ’15)

Wesleyan Defense – We have mostly concentrated on the negatives with Wesleyan because they are not playing at the same level that they were in 2013. Those struggles however have been limited mostly to the offensive side of the ball. The defense is playing as good, if not better than last year. They are allowing the same amount of points, 14.0, and 16.1 (256.6 to 240.5) fewer yards per game compared to last year. Also, they are making more big plays as they are on track to finish with 20 takeaways and 18 sacks (17 takeaways and 15 sacks in 2013). The biggest difference is the three defensive touchdowns they have already recorded. Jake Bussani ’14 has returned two interceptions for scores. And it would be four defensive touchdowns at this point if a block in the back penalty had not negated a Donnie Cimino ’15 interception return on Saturday. The final third of the Wesleyan secondary’s triumvirate, Justin Sanchez ’17, recovered the fumble that led to Wesleyan’s clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter.

https://twitter.com/rebrown37/status/521096119695446016

Running Back Drew Jacobs ’18 (Middlebury) – The Panthers got the thrilling overtime victory over Williams on Saturday, and Jacobs was the player who kept the offense moving. He rushed for 81 yards and caught eight passes for 68 yards. He also caught the tying touchdown pass with under a minute left in the game. Jacobs has been huge for a Middlebury team that lost a lot of its talent in the ground game after last year’s starting running back Matt Rea graduated and dual threat Joey Zelkowitz ’17 decided not to play this year and focus on lacrosse. The Marblehead, MA native leads the Panthers in rushing yards and is second in receptions and yards. Middlebury has shown much more commitment to the running game. Jonathan Hurvitz ’17 also carried the ball 18 times on Saturday and it looks like Middlebury has found two backs they can rely on and keep fresh.

Stock Down

Receiver Mark Riley ’16 (Bates) – We don’t associate great receivers with run-heavy Bates, but Riley brought consecutive games of more than a 140 receiving yards into Saturday. Then the Wesleyan secondary shut him out holding him to no yards. Riley was working without his starting QB Matt Cannone ’15. Backup Patrick Dugan ’16 performed admirably filling in, but Wesleyan made it a point of emphasis not to let Riley behind them and make big plays. Without Riley to lead the passing game, the Bates offense only mustered 164 yards. Despite not getting any yards on Saturday, Riley still leads the NESCAC in receiving yards with 349 – 77 more than anyone else.

Bowdoin Special Teams – When Tyler Grant ’17 showed off some top end speed to go 39 yards and put the Polar Bears up 30-17 with 2:06 remaining in the game, it looked over in Clinton. Then Amman Weaver ’18 took the kickoff 85 yards to bring Hamilton back to within one score. Then Bowdoin couldn’t keep Hamilton from blocking a punt with under 15 seconds left to give the Continentals one last chance at the victory. Those few mishaps nearly wiped out another good performance from the Bowdoin offense. Grant and Dan Barone ’16 have emerged as go-to playmakers for the Polar Bears who are now back to .500 after sneaking out the victory over the Continentals

Teams that Kick to Zack Trause ’15 (Tufts) – Will NESCAC teams ever learn? Trause is a beast in the return game, and letting him get the ball in space is asking for a big play for Tufts. Trause only touched the ball twice on special teams Saturday, but one was a 77 yard punt return. DON’T KICK HIM THE BALL! The schemes that Tufts runs on these returns are also top notch as they give a lot of misdirection. It did not make a big difference in the game Saturday because the Trinity run game once again showed that stopping it might require a brick wall being installed on the field. Still, teams should stop giving Trause any chances. If they do try to, don’t be shocked if Tufts starts to do crazy things like lateral the ball back to him if it’s a pooch kick.