Max Lippe – Page 2 – Nothing But NESCAC

Fantasy Report – Weeks 2-4

For the better part of two weeks, my time was occupied by swimming with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef and cruising around the beautiful Whitsunday Islands on a sailboat, among other activities (Editors Note- That sentence made me die a little inside). Admittedly, NESCAC football took a backseat on the list of my priorities for a short time. But no longer! Even while I was away, the season soldiered on, as did our fantasy teams. I must say, even in my absentee status, I run a damn good squad.

Week 2

Foye Story (MacDonald) vs. Team Lindholm

My team (read: Chudi Iregbulem ’15) put up solid numbers in Week 2, but the matchup was really sealed more by Peter’s ignorance than my own management. Thanks, bud!

Foye Story (MacDonald)			Team Lindholm
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	G. Harrington	7	M. Lippe	0
QB	H. Foye	13	M. Milano	26
RB	A. Scyocurka	4	K. Adinkra	3
RB	C. Iregbulem	36	R. Hislop	0
RB	D. Jacobs	11	J. Semonella	0
WR	M. Minno	3	H. Murphy	0
WR	G. Luna	17	J. Hurwitz	4
WR	S. Kiesel	0	J. Fabien	2
TE	B. Harasimowicz	6	J. Day	5
FLEX	C. Brady	9	M. Budness	0
FLEX	N. Joseph	3	Z. Trause	9
K	J. Mallock	0	M. Dola	9
D/ST	Bates	-5	Williams	-8
TOTAL		104		50

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

Meekins puts up 82 in Week 1 and 93 in Week 2 and can’t vulture a win either week. The Fellowship was carried by Lamont’s dominant QB duo, as Matt Cannone ’15 and Jack Doll ’15 alone outscored Lindholm’s team this week.

Jack Doll went 29-39 for 267 yards, 3 TD's and 0 INT's as Tufts went 2-0 for the first time since 2008. Courtesy of Tufts Athletics — Jack Doll went 29-39 for 267 yards, 3 TD’s and 0 INT’s as Tufts went 2-0 for the first time since 2008.
Courtesy of Tufts Athletics

The Bantams (Meekins)			Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship (Lamont
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	J. Warren	17	M. Cannone	25
QB	M. Caputi	7	J. Doll	31
RB	K. Gibson	25	T. Grant	8
RB	J. Rivers	2	C. Lipani	11
RB	N. Kelly	11	L. Drew	0
WR	G. Garay	9	B. Ragone	2
WR	I. Dugger	4	L. Duncklee	3
WR	C. Ragone	2	E. Drigotas	1
TE	B. Oliver	0	A. Way	1
FLEX	D. Von Euw	0	D. Barone	6
FLEX	D. Sime	1	M. Rando	3
K	P. Nwosu	6	Scheepers	1
D/ST	Trinity	12	Wesleyan	15
TOTAL		93		109

Week 3

The Bantams (Meekins) vs. Team Lindholm

There were a pair of blowouts in Week 3, and Meekins got his first victory despite a few goose eggs on his scoresheet. Nick Kelly ’17 has proven to be a big pickup for Meekins, and his contributions grew every week over the first three weeks.

Team Lindholm			The Bantams (Meekins)
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	M. Lippe	0	J. Warren	19
QB	M. Milano	3	M. Caputi	10
RB	K. Adinkra	4	K. Gibson	14
RB	R. Hislop	0	J. Rivers	0
RB	J. Semonella	5	N. Kelly	20
WR	H. Murphy	0	G. Garay	2
WR	J. Hurwitz	8	I. Dugger	1
WR	J. Fabien	8	C. Ragone	2
TE	J. Day	7	D. Von Euw	0
FLEX	M. Budness	-2	B. Oliver	0
FLEX	Z. Trause	15	D. Sime	0
K	M. Dola	0	P. Nwosu	0
D/ST	Williams	10	Trinity	12
		58		80

The Bantams (Meekins) got their first W in Week 3 as the Trinity D, shown here swarming QB Chase Rosenberg '17 and blanketing his receivers, racked up 12 points. Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball) — The Bantams (Meekins) got their first W in Week 3 as the Trinity D, shown here swarming QB Chase Rosenberg ’17 and blanketing his receivers, racked up 12 points.
Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball)

Foye Story (MacDonald) vs. Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship (Lamont)

I didn’t get the usual 30+ points from Iregbulem in Week 3, so I was bound to take my first loss. Tyler Grant’s ’17 Offensive Player of the Week performance was nearly enough to top my team on its own.

Foye Story (MacDonald)			Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship (Lamont)
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	G. Harrington	1	M. Cannone	18
QB	H. Foye	11	J. Doll	15
RB	A. Scyocurka	16	T. Grant	44
RB	C. Iregbulem	6	C. Lipani	0
RB	D. Jacobs	3	L. Drew	0
WR	M. Minno	0	B. Ragone	1
WR	G. Luna	1	L. Duncklee	1
WR	S. Kiesel	6	E. Drigotas	0
TE	B. Harasimowicz	0	A. Way	1
FLEX	C. Brady	8	D. Barone	4
FLEX	N. Joseph	-2	M. Rando	0
K	J. Mallock	-1	Scheepers	1
D/ST	Bates	13	Wesleyan	19
TOTAL		62		94

Tyler Grant '14 had the game of his life against Tufts. Forty-three carries for 208 yards and 4 TD's. Courtesy of CIPhotography (http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/fball/2014-15/photos/0002/index) — Tyler Grant ’14 had the game of his life against Tufts. Forty-three carries for 208 yards and 4 TD’s.
Courtesy of CIPhotography (http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/fball/2014-15/photos/0002/index)

Week 4

Foye Story (MacDonald) vs. The Bantams (Meekins)

I finally gave up on Gabe Harrington ’17 and subbed in the rookie Reece Foy ’18. I was hoping the rhyming combination of Foy and Foye would finally get me some production out of the QB slots. Alas, I was disappointed, but Iregbulem once again carried my team to victory. I also have to give a shoutout to Alex Scyocurka ’14, who’s averaging 15.0 points per week for me. I need to start getting some QB and TE production, and my rotating defenses haven’t been doing me much good, but nonetheless I’m feeling pretty good atop the league standings to date.

Meanwhile, Meekins was yet again topped despite a strong showing. He’s put up 348 points through four weeks, good for second-most and just 17 behind myself, and yet is 1-3. Tough luck. One interesting note, Jesse Warren ’15 is just as consistent in fantasy as in real life. He’s put up scores of 20, 17, 19 and 19.

Foye Story (MacDonald)			The Bantams (Meekins)
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	H. Foye	3	J. Warren	19
QB	R. Foy	1	M. Caputi	17
RB	A. Scyocurka	16	K. Gibson	9
RB	C. Iregbulem	42	G. Ackley	1
RB	C. Brady	17	N. Kelly	11
WR	G. Luna	5	G. Garay	11
WR	B. Berey	0	I. Dugger	4
WR	S. Kiesel	3	C. Ragone	0
TE	T. Miletich	0	D. Von Euw	0
FLEX	D. Jacobs	20	J. McGonagle	0
FLEX	J. Hopsicker	3	D. Sime	0
K	I. Fuchs	4	P. Nwosu	3
D/ST	Tufts	-4	Trinity	18
		110		93

Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship (Lamont) vs. Team Lindholm

Lindholm’s “loyalty” to Max Lippe ’15 finally paid off, as the senior QB led his team with 20 points, and despite a few zeros, and even some inactives, in his lineup, Lindholm bested Lamont for the second time this season. Matt Milano ’16 rebounded from a clunker against Amherst to have a solid fantasy week, and Lindholm even got a few points from Mike Budness ’15 who completed a 28-yard pass in Week 4.

On the other side, The Fellowship continues to suffer from the injury bug. LaDarius Drew ’14, Carl Lipani ’17 and Mike Rando ’17 were all inactive. That’s too much lost production for which to make up. Grant put up another strong week, though, and is looking like a back than can be relied upon now.

Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship			Team Lindholm
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	M. Cannone	0	M. Lippe	20
QB	J. Doll	2	M. Milano	19
RB	T. Grant	21	K. Adinkra	0
RB	C. Lipani	0	R. Hislop	0
RB	L. Drew	0	J. Semonella	0
WR	B. Ragone	6	H. Murphy	0
WR	L. Duncklee	0	J. Hurwitz	6
WR	E. Drigotas	3	J. Fabien	12
TE	A. Way	0	J. Day	1
FLEX	D. Barone	9	M. Budness	4
FLEX	M. Rando	0	Z. Trause	1
K	L. Scheepers	5	M. Dola	5
D/ST	Wesleyan	20	Williams	6
		66		74

After four weeks of NESCAC football, the standings are as follows. Lindholm holds the tiebreaker over Lamont for beating the latter twice. There are two more weeks in the regular season before the fantasy playoffs commence, so stay tuned.

Team	Record	Points Scored
Joe	3 – 1	365
Pete	2 – 2	268
Adam	2 – 2	341
Sean	1 – 3	348

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.

Contenders All Survive – Saturday Wrap-up

Well, we watched a good twelve hours of sports yesterday that made us remember why we love October so much (how was your Saturday?). The first five hours were spent with a NESCAC game (or a few) streaming on a computer. We said it would be a somewhat boring day so of course two of the crazier games this year happened. Here is your wrap-up.

Bowdoin (2-2) 30, Hamilton (0-4) 24

The first game of the day was a wild one at the end. The teams scored 22 points in the final 2:24 with three attempted onside kicks and a Hail Mary to boot. The craziness started when, after a Hamilton TD made it 22-17, the Continentals recovered an onside kick, only to see it erased by an offsides penalty. Bowdoin managed to recover the next attempt and Tyler Grant ’17 scored two plays later to put Bowdoin up 30-17 with 2:06. Then Amman Weaver ’18 took the ensuing kickoff back to the house, but Bowdoin once again recovered the onside kick attempt. Bowdoin had to punt with under 30 seconds left and saw Hamilton block it to take over at the Bowdoin 27 yard line with nine seconds left. Bowdoin finally clinched it when Dan Johnson ’15 intercepted Chase Rosenberg ’17 in the end zone with three seconds left.

Bowdoin has a complete game recap or you can watch the entire game on the Hamilton stream. Start it at the 2:48:00 mark to see the end of game craziness.

Wesleyan (4-0) 24, Bates (1-3) 10

The Cardinals sweated this game out as the Bobcats proved to be worthy adversaries despite playing without their starting quarterback Matt Cannone. Wesleyan struggled to move the ball on the ground except in the wildcat as Devon Carillo ’17 gained 92 of their 143 yards as the wildcat quarterback. This was a 17-10 game in the fourth quarter before Wesleyan converted a short field off of a fumble recovery into a touchdown on a screen from Jesse Warren ’15 to Jay Fabien ’15. The Bates website has a full recap and photos from the game.

Amherst (4-0) 35, Colby (0-4) 10

This was a 3-0 game in favor of Colby after one half, but quarterback Max Lippe ’15 entered the game for his first appearance of the season and changed the Amherst offense. After a Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn ’16 interception, Lippe entered and on his first attempt completed a 68 yard pass to Brian Ragone ’16 to set up the first Amherst touchdown. From that point on Amherst rolled with a Ned Deane ’15 interception return for a touchdown to make it 28-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter essentially ending it. For Colby, the game was like a broken record of their entire first half where they stayed close for a while before fading late. Amherst has a complete game recap or you can watch highlights featuring analysis from Head Coach EJ Mills below.

Trinity (4-0) 35, Tufts (2-2) 14

We came within one point of exactly nailing this score (we had Trinity 34-Tufts 14), as the Bantams used a big second quarter to move past Tufts. The Jumbos took the lead after another long Zack Trause ’15 punt return led to a short touchdown, but after that Trinity’s run game took over. Chudi Iregbulem ’15 led the way with 184 yards and four touchdowns. The home winning streak for Trinity now stands at 53 games. A fake punt pass from Michael Budness ’15 to Bryan Vieira ’18 helped give Trinity their second touchdown and the lead they would never relinquish.

Here is the full game recap.

Middlebury (2-2) 23, Williams (1-3) 20

The last game of the afternoon was also the closest as it took overtime to decide this one. The first half was a defensive battle with another 3-0 score, this one in favor of Williams. The Panther defense, like they have done all year, got Middlebury going with a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Will Bain ’15. Williams was up a touchdown late in the fourth quarter but could not close the game out on offense giving the Panthers back the ball with a little over two minutes remaining. That was all the time Matt Milano ’16 and company needed to tie up the game. In overtime Williams got the ball first and stalled inside the five yard line before settling for a field goal. A beautiful pass from Milano to Brendan Rankowitz ’15 won it for Middlebury and sent the entire Panthers team into the end zone in celebration.

Complete game recap and photos can be found if you follow the link.

Fantasy Report – Week 1

Week 1 of the NESCAC football season is in the books. There will be plenty of “real” news and analysis coming later on in the week, but let’s kick Monday off with what everyone really cares about. Fantasy football.

The Bantams (Meekins) vs. Foye Story (MacDonald)

Meekins’ two controversial early picks of “back up” running backs looked pretty good this week. Kyle Gibson wasn’t spectacular, but Nick Kelly broke away for a 42-yard TD on his way to 77 yards over nine carries, and both was his team’s leading rusher on the day. Wesleyan and Meekins got pretty much what is to be expected from Jesse Warren, who posted 20 points by throwing for 163 yards and two TD’s, and Gene Garay made good on his first round status, outscoring all other wide receivers in play besides Jay Fabien (Team Lindholm).

However, Foye Story edged The Bantams, ironically, on the strength of Chudi Iregbulem’s NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week-winning performance. Well over half of my points came from Iregbulem and Alex Scyocurka, and I’m excited for both of their potential this season. The bad news: I started the wrong Hamilton tailback (Rico Gonzalez over Jeff Hopsicker) and Middlebury wide receiver (Matt Minno over Grant Luna), but a win’s a win.

Alex Scyocurka tore up the Bowdoin defense for 128 yards and two TD's. — Alex Scyocurka tore up the Bowdoin defense for 128 yards and two TD’s.

The Bantams (Meekins)			Foye Story (MacDonald)
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	J. Warren	20	H. Foye	6
QB	M. Caputi	5	G. Harrington	10
RB	K. Gibson	6	A. Scyocurka	24
RB	J. Rivers	2	C. Iregbulem	32
RB	N. Kelly	8	I. Reese	1
WR	G. Garay	11	M. Minno	2
WR	I. Dugger	4	G. Lanzillo	0
WR	C. Ragone	7	N. Joseph	10
TE	B. Oliver	0	B. Harasimowicz	1
FLEX	D. Von Euw	0	R. Gonzalez	0
FLEX	D. Sime	2	S. Carroll	2
K	P. Nwosu	1	J. Mallock	3
D/ST	Trinity	16	Colby	-2
TOTAL		82		89

Team Lindholm vs. Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship

How ’bout those Ephs?! The Williams defense carried Team Lindholm, scoring more than everyone else in the matchup besides Panthers QB Matt Milano. Pretty amazing that Lindholm pulled off the victory despite four goose eggs on the board. Two of those are pretty glaring, as Lindholm (and the rest of us) assumed that Max Lippe and Ryan Hislop would be starting for their respective squads, but it looks like both could be looking at reserve duty unless injury or bad performance strikes. Kenny Adinkra, too, will need to step up his play after Kelly’s breakout day.

As for Team Lamont, he should be encouraged by a solid showing from Austin Lommen in his first NESCAC game, and Carl Lipani looked great in Colby’s season opener. Other than that though, Lamont got a lot of mediocre performances. The Wesleyan D/ST was good not great, and unfortunately Mike Rando didn’t accrue any points for his return duties, causing Team Lamont to pull up just short.

Matt Cannone, downed at the two here, and the triple option had little success against the Amherst defense.

Team Lindholm			Lord of the ‘CAC – The Fellowship
Position	Player	Points	Player	Points
QB	M. Lippe	0	M. Cannone	10
QB	M. Milano	21	A. Lommen	15
RB	K. Adinkra	2	L. Drew	0
RB	R. Hislop	0	T. Grant	4
RB	J. Semonella	1	C. Lipani	13
WR	H. Murphy	0	B. Ragone	5
WR	J. Hurwitz	0	E. Drigotas	0
WR	J. Fabien	14	L. Duncklee	1
TE	J. Day	10	A. Way	2
FLEX	M. Budness	1	D. Barone	4
FLEX	Z. Trause	16	M. Rando	5
K	M. Dola	2	L. Schweepers	0
D/ST	Williams	19	Wesleyan	13
TOTAL		86		72

The Weekend Preview: Time For a Little Football

We have waited a long long time for this. The NESCAC football season kicks off officially at 1 PM tomorrow. To get you ready, we take inspiration from former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield who famously talked about the differences between known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. We will switch around the format a little in order to also include things we think to be known. If that didn’t make any sense to you… don’t worry about it.

Things We Know We Know

LaDarius Drew ’15 and Kyle Gibson ’15 will get a lot of carries- Coach Mike Whalen has successfully built Wesleyan into a powerhouse behind a strong running attack. QB Jesse Warren ’15 will not be asked to win the game against Middlebury. Drew and Gibson will have success against a front seven that was used to playing with the lead for most of last season.
Williams has some nice new digs- If you haven’t seen them yet, Williams gives you a sneak peek here. The opening also coincides with Williams finishing a new library. Whether students actually went to school there the last two years or the campus was merely a construction site is still a matter of debate amongst scholars
A streak will end- Either Hamilton or Tufts will get the monkey off their back in week 1. More pressure is on Tufts as the Jumbos carry a 31 game losing streak into the weekend.

Things We Think We Know

Amherst can slow down the triple option- For football tacticians, the Amherst-Bates game features a veteran interior line for Bates going up against a great front seven in Amherst. The Jeffs have the strength in Robert Perdoni ’16 and speed in guys like Tyler Mordas ’16 to make Bates struggle.
Austin Lommen ’16 will give the Williams offense a new look- A team that mostly relied on running the ball with Alex Scyorcurka ’14 and Marco Hernandez ’14 gets a shot of life with Lommen distributing the ball. Suddenly big play opportunities could abound for the Ephs given their size at receiver and tight end.

Things We Know We Don’t Know

The total impact of Mac Foote ’14- By this I don’t just mean the effect Foote’s arm had on the offense but also the D. Teams had to adjust their game against the Panthers because of him. They would often be conservative early in the game to try to give their defense a rest before being forced to throw the ball a lot in late game situations. Think of how the Colts defense suddenly looked helpless once Peyton Manning got hurt.
Mental Preparation of teams- Every coach says they like how their team has been playing in preseason. Yet we don’t know how ready every team is for their first game until they get out onto the field. A slow start in the first game of the season can lead to week 1 upsets.

The Picks

Colby at Trinity: Trinity 27-Colby 16

Play this game in three weeks in Waterville, and the Mules could pull the upset, but Trinity takes every home game seriously because of the streak. Expect Gabe Harrington to move the ball up and down the field, but the Trinity defense will tighten up in the red zone. A late Trinity rushing touchdown against a tired Colby team should seal it.

Wesleyan at Middlebury: Wesleyan 34-Middlebury 21

There is simply too much talent back on the Wesleyan sideline for the Panthers to compete for four whole quarters. We were robbed of this game last season, but this edition will lack drama. Expect the different in philosophies between the two teams to be clear as Wesleyan controls the line of scrimmage while Middlebury is forced to air it out. The entire Wesleyan secondary is licking their chops at the opportunity of playing a first time starting QB.

Bowdoin at Williams: Williams 23-Bowdoin 13

Williams will come out fired up to get a victory in their first game at the new field. Both defenses might take a little time to settle down. The key for Bowdoin is finding a way to slow down the defensive line of Williams. QB Mac Caputi ’15 will try to get the ball out early to avoid the rush. In the end Williams will find a way to attack a Bowdoin secondary that does not have the height to stop Darrias Sime’16 all game.

Bates at Amherst: Amherst 17- Bates 10

Amherst will leave this game with more questions on offense than they had going in. The game is going to be a slog for most of the time. Max Lippe ’15 is already at risk of losing his spot to one of the talented young guns, and Alex Berluti ’17 will see time at some point in the game. The good thing is the Amherst defense will pick up the slack and shut down Bates. The Jeffs will escape but not without a scare.

Hamilton at Tufts: Tufts 35- Hamilton 31

I think this will be the most entertaining game to watch. Both defenses will struggle to get off the field on third down. The difference will be which QB, Jack Doll ’15 or Chase Rosenberg ’17, makes fewer mistakes. The streak will end at 31 and the Jumbos will celebrate.

Amherst Team Preview – The Jeffs Look to Keep Rolling

2013 Record: 7-1

Returning Starters: 16 (six offense, eight defense, two specialists)

Offensive Overview:

2013 was a down year for the Amherst offense. Though they still finished fourth in points per game with 21.1, Middlebury was third with 29.8 points per game. That meant Amherst came exactly as close to finishing ninth in points per game as they came to finishing third. The main problems were at the quarterback position where Head Coach EJ Mills could not settle between Alex Berluti ’17 and Max Lippe ’15. Lippe started the season as the starter and saw the vast majority of the snaps, but his occasional struggles led to Berluti seeing some significant playing time as well. Lippe brings size and experience to the position and should once again have a chance to be the undisputed starter. Running back is a strength with Kenny Adinkra ’16 and Nick Kelly ’17 possessing a good complement of skills. Adinkra is stronger and can run over defenders while Kelly is a very tall 6’2″ for a running back.

Receivers Jake O’Malley ’14 and Wade McNamara ’14 will have to be replaced with Brian Ragone ’16 inheriting the top outside position. Jackson McGonagle ’16 will see an uptick in playing time and is a big target at 6’3″. In the slot Gene Garay ’15 will give teams fits with his quick pivot routes while also returning kickoffs. Henry Falter ’15 will be the primary tight end. The offensive line lacks depth with only sixth upperclassmen so sophomores and freshman might have to play earlier than Mills would like. Scott Mergner ’15, Colman Duggan ’15, and Jonathan Woodrow ’15 have a lot of experience and will be invaluable breaking in the two new starters. Lippe and Berluti were only sacked eight times combined, and the line should be able to replicate that type of protection.

Defensive Overview:

The top four tacklers from 2013 are all back to lead a unit that should once again be one of the very best. Like so many other teams in the NESCAC, the strength of the defense is in the front seven. Amherst runs a 3-4 scheme that can shut down run attacks. Max Lehrman ’15, Robert Perdoni ’16, and Sam Caldwell ’16 all return as starters on the line that has several other upperclassmen returning for depth. In the middle Chris Tamasi ’15 enjoyed a first team All-NESCAC season in 2013, and an argument could be made that other inside linebacker Ned Deane ’15 had as good a season even though he did not earn All-NESCAC honors. Tyler Mordas ’16 returns after stepping into a starting role because of injury, and Tomas Kleyn ’16 looks to fill the other outside position after injury cut his 2013 short. Many other talented linebackers are on the roster like Parker Chapman ’17, so Mills will have the luxury of rolling out different packages for passing and running downs.

The secondary has more questions in it after the graduation of Landrus Lewis ’14 and Max Dietz ’14. Talent is still plentiful with Jaymie Spears ’16, Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn ’16, and Chris Gow ’16 combining for 8 interceptions last season. The other corner spot across from Spears is wide open with Stefan Soucy ’17 possibly capable of making a huge jump of playing time. The secondary has to tighten up some of the holes it had despite all the interceptions they had as a group.

Three Big Questions:

1. How good can the junior class be?

Because of the depth of talent Amherst brings in every season, each class takes time to gain playing time, but the 2016 group has already stepped into major roles especially on defense. In total 11 starters could come from the junior class with many of them already having starting experience. There are plenty of senior stars like Tamasi and Garay, but the success of Amherst will come down to their juniors.

2. Can a QB step up?

The one thing that can hold back great programs is mediocre quarterback play. And make no mistake that Amherst is a great program with the most wins of any team in the last five seasons. Berluti has great physical tools, but Lippe is the QB who Amherst will ultimately depend on because of his experience. If he can play better then the Jeffs will be right there once again in the title mix.

3. Can they continue to force turnovers?

Amherst led the NESCAC with 23 defensive turnovers with a whopping 20 of those coming as interceptions. Expecting that same number of interceptions is foolish, but an uptick in fumble recoveries could offset that. Turnovers is a statistic that can see a lot of variation year to year, and a steep drop could cause more yards and points to be scored against the Jeffs.

Team MVP: Kicker Phillip Nwosu ’15 is an unusual choice for MVP, but consider the type of team Amherst was last season. They thrived behind a strong defense and offense that didn’t mess up too often. The importance of kickers is increased in low scoring games, and Nwosu is as good as they come in the NESCAC. He is a threat from anywhere within 50 yards and will force touchbacks on most of his kickoffs.

Biggest Game: Oct. 18 at Wesleyan

Amherst needs to avenge their only loss of 2013. Last season Wesleyan came in and ruined homecoming for the senior Jeffs, and in the process the Cardinals announced they had arrived. Both Wesleyan touchdowns came after they started the drive in Amherst territory, so field position will be a point of concentration this time around. Ultimately it was losing the turnover battle by four that doomed the Jeffs last time. This time around could be a different story.

Best Tweet of the Offseason: No word on who ended up winning the Open.

2014 Amherst Football Open pic.twitter.com/S5XBN0uieX

— Amherst Football (@AmherstCollFB) August 31, 2014

This is a team with a lot of pride and talent that is more than capable of running the table.

What the Best Games of 2013 Could Mean for 2014

Obviously the best place to start when prognosticating for 2014 is last season. We don’t really have anything else to go on. Yet remember these games can only tell us so much. A large amount of randomness is at play especially with 18-22 year olds.

Without any further ado, here are the five most important games of last season along with what stories and statistics carry importance into this season.

5. November 2: Williams 14 (2-6) at Wesleyan 16 (7-1)

Wesleyan survived a major scare in this game as their offense had major struggles against Williams. The only Cardinal touchdown of the game came on a one play four yard drive after a freak series of events led to Williams punting from their one yard line. Donnie Cimino ’15 returned the punt all the way to the four yard line, and LaDarius Drew ’14 ran it in the very next play. A late Williams rally fell short when Jake Bussani ’14 intercepted a pass with less than three minutes remaining.

What it means: People point to the improvement Williams made each week when they talk about a possible rebound this year. This game stayed close mostly because Wesleyan could not convert in the red zone settling for three field goals. Still Williams got nothing from their running game and lost the turnover battle by 2. Combine that with the game being at Williams this season, and this could be the hardest game on Wesleyan’s schedule.

4. October 19: Wesleyan 20 (7-1) at Amherst 14 (7-1)

People still didn’t quite believe that Wesleyan was for real when they faced off against Amherst. After this game everyone knew the Cardinals were a threat to run the table. Though Amherst slowed down Drew and Kyle Gibson ’15 a good deal, Jesse Warren ’15 played flawlessly while his Amherst counterparts at QB struggled. Wesleyan was up 20-7 before Amherst scored a touchdown in the fourth, but Max Lippe ’15 threw an interception to seal it for Wesleyan.

What it means: The same reason why Wesleyan should worry about the Williams game should comfort them for the Amherst one: it will be in Middletown. A lot of other factors however, point to Amherst having a better shot in 2014. The 2013 game is a hard one to figure out. Wesleyan won the turnover battle 4-0, time of possession 35:56-24:04, and had three fewer penalties for thirty less yards. Yet Amherst won the first down battle 19-14, third down efficiency (Amherst 7-14, Wesleyan 3-15), and total yardage 355-310.

This was the game where Amherst’s quarterback struggles were most apparent, and it cost them the game. Head Coach EJ Mills has said he hopes and expects one of Lippe or Alex Berluti ’17 to grab the reins this year. If they do that, then the Amherst offense will be able to offset any possible drop in play from what was a fantastic Jeff defense in 2013.

3. October 26: Trinity 24 (6-2) at Middlebury 27 (7-1)

This was another wildly entertaining game that came down to Mac Foote ’14 making all the throws in the final drive before Nate Leedy ’17 sealed the win with an interception as time expired. The game appeared to be over when Middlebury turned the ball over on downs with less than three minutes remaining. The Panther defense stood tall and forced a punt before Foote took over. The two teams combined for eight attempted fourth down conversions. It took Foote 64 attempts to throw for his 310 yards because he only completed 29 throws. Evan Bunker ’14 had one of his worst games as a Bantam rushing for 28 yards on 13 attempts.

What it means: The biggest reason Trinity lost was ten penalties for 115 yards including four that lead to first downs for Middlebury. They controlled the line as 23 of Middlebury’s 100 rushing yards came on a broken play where Middlebury punter Michael Dola ’15 rushed for a first down. Middlebury will have to rely much more on their running game, but they will struggle against the best defenses in the NESCAC.

Another big takeaway was that Puzzo really carried the Trinity offense in this game. He made plays with his arm and legs accounting for 287 yards of offense. With him, the 2014 Trinity offense could have been very good, but now there a lot of questions surrounding that side of the ball for the Bantams.

2. November 2: Trinity 16 (6-2) at Amherst 17 (7-1)

Trinity had just lost a heartbreaker to Middlebury, but this was even more devastating. The Bantams allowed only 56 yards rushing, had seven more first downs, and held the ball for 36:44. Yet this was a close game that, in the words of Lee Corso, came down to special teams. Amherst converted a short field after a poor punt into a 44 yard Phillip Nwosu ’15 field goal. Then after Trinity scored a touchdown to go down one, Ben Rosenblatt ’17 missed the extra point to give Amherst the stunning victory.

What it means: 2013 was a down year for Trinity, but the two games that they lost were by the thinnest of margins. Consider the fact that Trinity only went 3-15 on third down conversions yet still outgained Amherst by 113 yards. Trinity did just about everything you want to do when you are on the road except win the turnover battle.

Amherst relied so heavily on their defense in 2013 to make plays in big moments. Landrus Lewis ’14 and Max Dietz ’14 are both gone after snagging three interceptions apiece, but a lot of talent remains including corner Jaymie Spears ’16 and safety Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn ’16. If Amherst is once again hard to throw on, then their defense should be elite given the amount of returning talent in the front seven.

1. November 9: Wesleyan 10 (7-1) at Trinity 40 (6-2)

Trinity blitzed Wesleyan in what many expected to be a crowning day for the Cardinals as the only undefeated team in the NESCAC. Instead, Trinity dominated in all facets of the game on their way to a blowout. The Trinity defense held Wesleyan to under 100 yards on the ground while intercepting Warren three times. Meanwhile, Trinity ran at ease against the Wesleyan front seven averaging over five yards a carry and 249 in the aggregate.

Warren proved many of his detractors right as he failed to rise to the occasion when Wesleyan needed him. The back-breaking sequence for Wesleyan came late in the second quarter down 16-3. After a Trinity field goal, Wesleyan had the ball on their 37 with 3:07 left. Since Wesleyan would get the ball back to start the second half, a score here would have put them right back in the game. The play sequence went incompletion, completion for loss of a yard, interception on third down. Trinity converted the short field into a touchdown on a trick play pass from Evan Bunker to QB Puzzo. They never looked back after their 23-3 lead at half.

What it means: This game, like most others, was won in the trenches where Trinity just walloped Wesleyan. Drew didn’t have one run of more than ten yards and averaged only 2.9 yards in the game. Both Amherst and Williams got close to beating the Cardinal earlier in the year by completing half of the equation and slowing down Wesleyan’s run game. Trinity was the only team that was also able to run the ball up the gut for consistent gains. A large part of the running success came from the ability of Puzzo to rush for 53 yards, but obviously Puzzo is no longer on the roster. Presumed starter Henry Foye ’15 barely ran in 2013.

Unfortunately most teams don’t have the players in order to compete with Wesleyan in a slug ’em out fight. Trinity might not even be able to this year. In fact one of the biggest questions entering the season is just how much we should take away from this game. It’s pretty clear Trinity was ready to play, and they executed their game plan to perfection, but we just don’t know if Wesleyan was over-matched or simply didn’t show up. If it was only an off-game for Wesleyan, then we should expect the Cardinals to run through the NESCAC this season.