Tag: Bobby Maimaron

Can the Madness Continue?: Weekend Preview 9/21

The inaugural week of the NESCAC football season was one of the more unpredictable and exciting weeks of football we’ve had in quite some time. Trinity losing on the opening week? Check. Trinity somehow not scoring double digits? Check. Multiple first-time starting quarterbacks impressing in their debut? Yup. A game-winning drive with well under a minute on the clock to ensure an upset? You got it. Once the dust settled, behemoths Trinity and Williams found themselves in the cellar of the conference standings, essentially needing to win out in order to get back in the race for the NESCAC Championship. This week’s slate features some important matchups with title implications, and a few trap games in which relatively large favorites will have to hit the road for the first time this season. Let’s get right into it. 

Amherst (1-0) @ Colby (0-1), 1 pm, Waterville, ME

It wasn’t pretty, but the Mammoths found a way to take down the Bobcats after trailing at the half for the second consecutive season. Quarterback Ollie Eberth ‘20 connected with his favorite target James O’Regan ‘20 (five receptions for 140 yards) early and often, including a pair of 40+ yard touchdown passes. Eberth’s passing efficiency was slightly alarming considering the senior completed less than fifty percent of his passes; nonetheless, he finished with 234 yards through the air and another 68 on the ground, which isn’t too shabby for an opener. Along with O’Regan, Luke Mallette ‘20 caught five passes for 49 yards and sophomore tailback Brandon Huff ‘22 emerged as a solid receiving option out of the backfield, snagging three receptions for 43 yards. On the defensive side, the Mammoths came out a little sluggish but locked things down in the second half, shutting out the Bobcats for the remainder of the game. Defensive backs Matt Durburow ‘21 and John Ballard ‘20 combined for 20 tackles, and Joe Kelly ‘21 brought the heat on the defensive line with seven tackles and a forced fumble. More impressively, sophomore linebackers Matt Schiano ‘22 and John Schiano ‘22 answered any questions about the uncertainty at the position entering the season, combining for 14 tackles (2.5 tackles for loss) and 1.5 sacks. 

Many (including myself) expected Colby to compete with Wesleyan this past Saturday, but the defense looked like swiss cheese against a sophomore quarterback making his first career start. The Mules D’ allowed a porous 454 yards in their opener, and failed to generate any sort of pressure for the entirety of the game. The run defense was especially pitiful as the Cardinals gashed their way to 237 total rushing yards at around 6 yards per carry. That’s not good news considering the Mammoths averaged 4.5 yards per carry against a much more stout Bobcat defensive line. One bright spot for the Mules was senior running back Chris George ‘20; the first-year starter totaled 104 yards on 18 carries, and the Mules should make it a priority to feed their tailback in order to make life easier for quarterback Matt Hersch ‘22. 

Amherst improves to 2-0 as they total over 225 yards on the ground and catch the Mules secondary napping with some deep shots to O’Regan. 

MK: Amherst 28-7
RM: Amherst 34-17
SS: Amherst 28-17
HC: Amherst 34-21
CC: Amherst 31-13

Writers’ Pick: Amherst

Wesleyan @ Hamilton, 1pm, Clinton, NY

Not many people knew what to expect of sophomore quarterback Ashton Scott ‘22 considering he did not complete a pass his freshman season, but boy is he on every single NESCAC coaches’ radar after his performance against the Mules. Scott threw for 217 yards with three touchdowns and added 76 yards on the ground on just 13 rushing attempts, one of the best performances from the quarterback position of the week. A multitude of sophomores contributed in the offensive onslaught against Colby, including a pair of running backs in Charlie McPhee ‘22 (nine carries for 53 yards along with four receptions) and David Estevez ‘22 (ten carries for 54 yards). Ten different Cardinals caught a pass from Scott, led by Matthew Simco ‘22 (4 rec, 65 yds, TD) and Delando Clarke ‘21 (3 rec, 59 yds, 2 TD’s). Scott’s arm might be asked to do more this time around against Hamilton, who stifled Bowdoin’s ground game and held them to under 100 yards rushing. Linebacker Carmine Bruno ‘20 made plays all over the field with a whopping 15 tackles (two TFL), and defensive lineman James Ball ‘21 registered 1.5 sacks. Running back David Kagan ‘20 exploded against the Polar Bears to a tune of 195 yards and three touchdowns on just 20 carries, and I expect his workload to increase by 5-10 touches in order to slow the game down and wear down Wesleyan’s defensive front. 

Quarterback Kenny Gray ‘20 had a disappointing performance having completed less than 50 percent of his passes this past weekend, but the senior avoided turning the ball over and found the endzone through the air and on the ground. He’ll have to improve upon that performance a significant bit in order to spring the upset against the visiting Cardinals, but with Scott entering his first road game as a starter, the Continentals will surely be confident they can pull out a victory. In the end, however, I think Wesleyan’s offense looked too explosive against Colby, and Hamilton’s offense putting up 37 points is more of an indictment of Bowdoin’s atrocious defense. Scott once again completes over 60% of his passes for 220 yards and two scores while adding 50+ yards on the ground, and the Cardinals pull away late to escape Clinton, New York with a win. 

MK: Wesleyan 27-17
RM: Wesleyan 31-20
SS: Wesleyan 31-10
HC: Wesleyan 24-10
CC: Wesleyan 28-14

Writers’ Pick: Wesleyan

Bowdoin @ Trinity, 1pm, Hartford, CT

Seamus Lambert struggled under center in Week 1, but will he still be there in Week 2?

The second worst defensive performance of the NESCAC football slate in Week 1 belonged to the Polar Bears. Allowing 403 total yards against the Continentals is not what Coach Hammer wanted to see with a matchup against a very ticked-off Bantams squad, who lost their NESCAC opener for the first time since 1995. In the upset of the week (and possibly the 2019 season), Trinity failed to eclipse double digits and fell to Tufts 14-8. Neither quarterback found any success: Seamus Lambert ‘22 was 15/26  for a mere 111 yards (1 TD, 1 INT) before being benched in favor of last year’s opening-day starter Jordan Vazzano ‘20. Vazzano wasn’t much better, throwing an interception with less than three minutes left as the Bantams were marching deep into Jumbos territory. Despite their offense being stagnant for a majority of the game, Trinity had three chances in the fourth quarter to take the lead, and blew each opportunity. Brian Casagrande ‘22 penetrated the Jumbos’ offensive line and recorded a safety to make it a one score game with about 12 minutes remaining. After receiving the ball back inside the Jumbos 40 yard line, the Bantams were stifled on a 4th and 1 attempt and turned the ball over on downs. Vazzano’s interception would turn out to not be the game-clincher as the Trinity defense would force a quick stop in order to give the offense one more crack. After leading a drive all the way inside the Jumbos’ 10 yard line, Vazzano was sacked and the game-clock ran out of time. 

The defense played extremely well in limiting the Jumbos to under 300 yards of total offense and will have no trouble shutting down Austin McCrum ‘21 and Nate Richam-Odoi ‘20. The latter needs to be a focal point this week for the Polar Bears, as he had a tough time sledding against the Continentals. McCrum was relied on to throw the ball way too much last week, and as we saw last season, the junior quarterback is prone to turnovers when his throwing volume increases. Moral victories will be all the Polar Bears are concerned with on Saturday.

MK: Trinity 34-0
RM: Trinity 48-7
SS: Trinity 35-6
HC: Trinity 45-13
CC: Trinity 42-6

Writers’ Pick: Trinity

Middlebury @ Bates, 1pm, Lewiston, ME

Middlebury’s 17-13 upset of Williams was dwarfed in significance due to the Tufts-Trinity game, but the Panthers’ defense made a statement to the rest of the NESCAC world that their squad is a serious contender for the Championship in 2019. They did exactly what was needed to be done in order to take down the Ephs: shut down Bobby Maimaron ‘21 and the running game. The Panthers limited the Ephs to just 101 yards on the ground, and Maimaron ran 16 times for a mere 39 yards. Linebacker Pete Huggins ‘21 was flying around the backfield constantly, totaling 13 tackles (five TFL’s) and two sacks. Linebacker Wyllis McKissick ‘21 recorded his first interception of his career as well as his first offensive touchdown on a two-yard reception from quarterback Will Jernigan ‘21. With no Pete Scibilia ‘21 for reasons unbeknownst to the Nothing But NESCAC writers (assuming some sort of injury), Jernigan did more than enough to will the offense to victory; trailing by 3 with just 30 seconds left, the junior scored on a five-yard quarterback keeper to propel the Panthers into the win column. Jernigan found success on the ground (21 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown), but freshman running back Alex Maldijan ‘23 struggled in Scibilia’s absence (21 carries, 49 yards).  

Liam Spillane had a very solid Week 1 out of the Bobcat backfield

The same offensive and defensive formulas will be applied this week when the Panthers hit the road and take on the Bobcats. Junior quarterback Brendan Costa ‘21 is respected as more of a runner rather than a thrower; despite completing 23 of his 38 attempts, most of his completions were either of the wide receiver screen variety or swing passes. I thought Bates came out with a solid game plan against the Mammoths, but shortened offensive possessions due to turnovers forced the defense to take the field on short rest. Running back Jaason Lopez ‘21 had two of those fumbles in the second half in addition to one at the beginning of the game, but expect him to bounce back in a big way on Saturday, ready to atone for last week. Liam Spillane ‘21 (11 car for 55 yds, 2 rec for 10 yds and a TD) and Tyler Bridge ‘23 (4 car for 40 yards) round out the trio of tailbacks for the ‘Cats, and all three are capable of changing the game with a single carry. 

Costa has weapons on the field if he can get the ball downfield to them. Christian Olivieri ‘22 (6 receptions for 58 yards) is turning into a reliable ball-catcher and tight end Isaiah Saunders ‘21 has the potential to catch 3-5 passes a game if he can consistently get open. Freshman Mohamed Diawara ‘23 is electric when in space and caught three passes against Amherst, but he showed his physicality with an absolutely thunderous crackback block in the second quarter. He’s an immediate impact player, and Bates will need him ready to go in order to pull off the upset. 

It’s no surprise that Middlebury’s defensive plan will be to stack the box and keep an eye on Costa’s scrambling ability, forcing the junior to beat them with his arm. I really do think this is a trap game for the Panthers because of the volatility of their offense (specifically Jernigan), but I just can’t pull the trigger. Middlebury’s defense will once again win them the game, but it won’t be easy. 

MK: Middlebury 20-10
RM: Middlebury 24-20
SS: Middlebury 24-10
HC: Middlebury 35-24
CC: Bates 27-21

Writers’ Pick: Middlebury

Tufts @ Williams, 1:30pm, Williamstown, MA

I’ll keep this one short because it’s our Game of the Week, but no one could have predicted Tufts to knock off the three-time defending champions in Week 1. What an awesome feeling that must have been for first-year starter in senior Jacob Carroll, who waited his turn behind Ryan McDonald and finally got his chance on the big stage. Tufts has everything going for them heading into Williamstown, but my gut tells me the high from beating Trinity won’t last past Saturday. After stumbling on their own feet against Middlebury, Williams knows this game is a must win. Starting the season 0-2 is essentially a death sentence, so expect Maimaron, Frank Stola and co. to set the tone early and grind out some yards against a solid Jumbos defensive front. 

Also shoutout to OJ Armstrong for the Jumbos, Go Raiders*

MK: Williams 20-13
RM: Williams 23-17
SS: Tufts 17-7
HC: Williams 30-24
CC: Williams 24-16

Writers’ Pick: Williams

Where Do They Go From Here?: Tufts vs. Williams Game of the Week Preview

This week’s best matchup pits two teams against each other that both surprised us last week. We knew Tufts was going to be pretty good, but not “hold Trinity to eight points and beat them for the first time since 1995” good. Williams, a team that many are high on coming into the season due to their strong returning talent, fell to Middlebury on a touchdown in the last minute by Panthers QB Will Jernigan ‘21. Both of these games produced results that none of our writers predicted. While it’s unfortunate that good teams like Williams and Trinity could have their title hopes dashed with a single bad day in Week One, it’s exciting to already have parity in the league that we did not see last season. This week’s matchup in Williamstown will tell us a lot about where these two teams stand.

Key #1 for Tufts: Defensive Line Pressure 

X-Factor: Jovan Nenadovic ‘22

A big reason this team was able to shake up the league with their upset last week was their defensive front. They sacked Trinity’s QBs 6 times and forced them into 2 interceptions. Trinity had several weapons at receiver, but it’s hard to get them the ball when there are guys constantly in the backfield that aren’t supposed to be there. Tufts also did not allow many lanes for runners, as the Bantams’ new starting RB was only able to get 2.3 yards per carry and had fewer than half the rushing yards of his quarterback. If Tufts’ D-line can get this production against a massive offensive line that is usually one of the NESCAC’s best, it should bode well for this Saturday. Nenadovic, piling up three sacks and five tackles for loss, will be counted on again to get after Williams QB Bobby Maimaron ‘21. Maimaron is an experienced and talented dual threat quarterback, so it will be a tall task for the Jumbos to keep him in check. If Tufts’ defensive front can be in the backfield as much as they were last week, the Ephs could be starting off 0-2. 

Key #2 for Tufts: All Gas No Brakes 

We’ve seen it countless times in sports. A team pulls off a massive upset, and then in their next game they rest on their laurels and falter against a lesser opponent. If Tufts gets complacent this week and does not come out with the same effort they did against Trinity, their title chances could take a major hit in Williamstown. This year’s Ephs team is not much of a drop off from Trinity- if at all (only time will tell). Tufts won this game last year, so that would be more reason to underestimate the Ephs, but Coach Civetti will certainly not have his boys overlooking what has been one of the NESCAC’s best teams in recent years. Tufts will need to bring the same intensity this week and not get complacent, or they could take one on the nose in a hurry. 

Key #1 for Williams: Let Maimaron Rip 

Eyebrows were raised around the league last week when Williams only put up 13 points against Middlebury, a team not traditionally known for their defense. Ephs QB Bobby Maimaron ‘21 is arguably the NESCAC’s best signal-caller this year, so it was surprising to see him not put up better numbers against a secondary that has been suspect in the past couple of seasons. However, his talent and pedigree should give Coach Raymond all the more reason to trust him to make plays this week against what will likely be a better defense than Middlebury’s. Maimaron has the ability to escape the pocket and make plays on the run, which will be vital against a Tufts defensive line that was all over Trinity’s QBs last week. He also had 39 rushing yards…which led the team. That statistic doesn’t bode well against the team that shut down Trinity’s run game last week. Because the prospects of pounding it up the middle do not look ideal, Maimaron should get lots of opportunities to find his weapons and make some plays with his feet this Saturday. He has proven himself in the NESCAC already, so all he needs is a few big plays against the Jumbos to get his confidence back up and his offense humming. 

Key #2 for Williams: Clean It Up

Last week, Williams topped Middlebury in total offense and time of possession while only turning the ball over once. Middlebury was not outstanding in any one area. So how did the Ephs come up short on the scoreboard? Well, for starters, Williams kicker Andrew Schreibstein ‘22 missed his only field goal attempt and one of his two extra point attempts… leaving the four points that Middlebury won by on the field. That being said, I know that kicking is not an easy thing to take on and that it’s a team game- so I won’t put all the blame on my guy here. The TEAM was flagged 9 times for 55 yards, certainly not insignificant in a tight game. Williams will need to be more disciplined if they want to have their way this weekend. I don’t think IQs have dropped too much in Williamstown since last season, so expect kicks to be executed and football rules to be followed to a higher degree on Saturday.

Everything Else: 

This game gained exponentially more intrigue after last weekend, because it went from a key matchup of teams gunning for second place to possibly having title implications. For Williams, a second loss would likely kill any prospects of a championship- which takes a lot of the fun out of the season when expectations are so high. Tufts now knows they’re right up there with the big dogs of the league, so expect them to have a swagger this weekend reflecting that. It will be very exciting to see Williams’ offensive weapons go head to head against a Tufts defense that proved last week it can play with the best. Last year these two teams played one of the NESCAC’s most competitive games of the season, a 28-21 win for Tufts on their home turf. This year’s result should be just as tight. I’ll take the Ephs in a tossup.

Prediction: Williams 30-24

Do or Die: Middlebury vs. Williams Game of the Week Preview

I can’t recall many instances in which the inaugural game of the season is an absolute must-win, but for Williams and Middlebury, Saturday’s tilt in Vermont absolutely falls in this category. For the Ephs, their roster is finally turning into a scary bunch of upperclassmen, with 15 returning starters ready to launch themselves into title contention. For the Panthers, an injury-plagued 2018 season saw them limp to a 5-4 record, and Coach Bob Ritter knows he has certain pieces that can give any team in the NESCAC problems. The first step in this sort of rebuilding process, however, is winning their home opener against one of the most talented teams in the ‘CAC. FOOTBALL IS BACK BABY!

Key #1 for Williams: Establish the Passing Game 

X-Factor: Bobby Maimaron ‘21

Do-it-all quarterback Bobby Maimaron ‘21 is right up there with a few other signal callers in terms of being the best in the NESCAC, but the junior will have to prove on Saturday that he can toss the pigskin more often and efficiently. In five of eight contests from 2018, Maimaron completed less than 53% of his passes, including some sub 40% performances against Colby, Trinity, and Hamilton. Despite having a very balanced offensive approach in 2018, Williams’ overall success is predicated on its ground game; Maimaron led the team in rushing a season ago, and the Ephs return their top two backs. In order for Williams to soundly put away Middlebury (and set the precedent for the rest of the 2019 season), Maimaron must attack a pass defense that, in 2018, was slightly better than just two NESCAC teams: Bowdoin and Hamilton. The safeties and linebackers should be much improved for the Panthers, but they’re breaking in two new starting corners and have essentially zero proven depth at the position. Top reciever Frank Stola ‘21 and tight end Justin Burke ‘21 will be salivating at the thought of going 1v1 on some of Middlebury’s defenders. 

Key #2 for Williams: Clog up the Run Lanes

At the time Middlebury visited Williams last season, the Ephs were undefeated and had upset the mighty Bantams two weeks prior to cement themselves as the frontrunners for the 2018 Championship. That all came crashing down when the Panthers stifled an Ephs’ offense that (to that point) was averaging over 32 ppg, and Jernigan registered 256 all-purpose yards en route to a 21-10 road upset. Running back Pete Scibilia ‘21 had one of the best games of his career to date, totaling 143 yards on 29 carries. The Ephs allowed a total of 278 yards on the ground to the Panthers last season, and if they don’t shore up those running lanes this time around, Williams will have to find a way to score 30+ to win. 

The good news? Williams returns a ton of production within their linebacking core. TJ Rothmann ‘21, Jarrett Wesner ‘21, Luke Apuzzi ‘21 and Colston Smith ‘22 (Williams runs a 3-4-3 defense) are among the best in the league, and will be tasked with containing Jernigan and Scibilia. The defensive line has some question marks, however, as Oscar Unobskey ‘20 is the only returning starter; moreover, none of the other returners registered more than 10 tackles a season ago. 

Key #1 for Middlebury: Restrict Maimaron’s ground success

X-Factor: Pete Huggins ‘21

The team’s second-leading tackler a season ago, Huggins will most likely be tasked with spying on Maimaron tomorrow afternoon. He’ll be in charge of reading the delayed handoff exchange between Maimaron and running back TJ Dozier ‘21, as well as keeping the quarterback in check when on quarterback-designed runs and scrambles. Senior linebacker and 2018 All-Conference Second Team Defense nominee Kevin Maxwell played an instrumental part in this game a season ago, registering six sacks and a tackle for loss. Huggins and the rest of the linebacking core need to stay disciplined and force Maimaron into obvious passing downs to make things easier on their inexperienced corners. 

Key #2 for Middlebury: Get their Playmakers the Ball

Despite finishing a paltry 5-4, make no mistake: the Panthers have weapons all along the offense. In addition to the uber-productive ground game led by Scibilia and Jernigan, Middlebury has a plethora of receiving options. The only tight end better than Burke is Middlebury’s Frank Cosolito, a two-time selection on the All-Conference First Team Offense. Cosolito had a relatively quiet day against the Ephs last season (three receptions for 25 yards) but I’m expecting a much more impactful performance this time around. Receivers Maxwell Rye ‘20 and Maxim Bochman ‘20 will have a similar opportunity to their counterparts on Williams in that the Panther duo will be going up against inexperienced defensive backs. Junior corner Jake Kastenhuber ‘21 is making the move from safety this season, and as my colleague Matt Karpowicz pointed out, this is a key indicator concerning the lack of depth at that position. If Jernigan can just get his playmakers the ball in space and let them work, the Panthers will have a good chance of pulling off the upset. 

Everything Else:

Everyone thought Williams finally turned the corner with their upset of Trinity last season, only to suffer defeat at the hands of Middlebury. That inaugural loss sent the Ephs in a spiral, losing four of their last five gives and culminating in a 45-14 thrashing against Amherst. You have to think the Ephs are out for revenge, ready to spoil the Panthers’ home opener. Still, it’s a task that is much easier said than done; both teams are nearly identical on paper – two dual-threat quarterbacks who are better with their legs than their arms, a whole bunch of offensive weapons, and defenses with major holes (notably at the cornerback position). What it comes down to is simple: which team can pass the ball better? Both defensive gameplans will be centered around taking the running game away, so it will be up to Maimaron and Jernigan to win the game with their arms. The kicking situations will be a key factor to watch as well, since Middlebury’s Carter Massingill was only 1/3 on field goals a season ago; however, the quarterback that can keep the opposing defense honest throughout the entire game will leave Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium with their first win of the season. Give me the more polished thrower in Maimaron to shake off a slow first half and lead his squad to a victory.

Final Score: Williams 27, Middlebury 17

It’s Finally Here: Weekend Preview 9/14

This year we’ve decided to tweak the weekend previews during football season. Instead of having one writer make every pick and write the article, we had 5 of our writers pick the winners and scores of every game. These picks are included at the end of the write up for each game. I then wrote each preview knowing which team our writers had selected as the winner. This week’s slate of games wasn’t very exciting because there was only one game where we didn’t all agree on a winner, but hopefully it gets more exciting when the standings get messy in the middle of the season. For now we’ll just have to see who gets the closest score!

Hamilton @ Bowdoin, 1pm, Brunswick, ME

This is an interesting one to start off with. Neither of these teams had good seasons in 2018 and they’re both looking to bounce back in 2019 – Bowdoin even added a new head coach. On the Hamilton side, I love the Kenny Gray-Joe Schmidt QB-WR connection, and Joe Park ’22 had a terrific rookie season out of the backfield in 2018. Hamilton has a sneaky offense but they’re going to need their defense to compete in order for them to stay in games. Lafayette transfer Austin McCrum ’21 didn’t have a particularly impressive first season for the Polar Bears, but they return their entire receiving corps so hopefully they’ll be a bit more on the same page in year two. Nate Richam ’20 has proven to be one of the league’s best running backs when he gets good protection and he is likely the team’s deadliest offensive weapon. The only reason Hamilton gets the edge here is that they have proven slightly more in the past – and they haven’t lost to Bowdoin in 4 years. These two teams played an absolute shootout last season, so this one could be very exciting to watch.

MK: Hamilton 28-21
RM: Hamilton 32-21
SS: Hamilton 35-10
HC: Hamilton 28-14
CC: Hamilton 38-21

Writers’ Pick: Hamilton

Bates @ Amherst, 1pm, Amherst, MA

On paper this is a game that looks fairly lopsided. The Bobcats are coming off an 0-9 season, while Amherst was the league runner-up last year and is a perennial NESCAC powerhouse. One of the biggest problems for Bates in 2018 was that their offense wasn’t able to get much going, so the defense spent the entire game on the field. They have very solid skill players such as QB Brendan Costa ’21 and RB Jaason Lopez ’21, but the offensive line needs to give those guys a chance to shine or else it doesn’t matter. Everything isn’t all sunshine and rainbows in Western Mass either, because the Mammoths lost their top two rushers and their top receiver from last season. They’ve still got seasoned vet Ollie Eberth ’20 under center and James O’Regan ’20 out wide, but aside from them the offense is largely up in the air. Amherst has always been known for their defense and if that unit can get the job done then they won’t have any offensive questions to worry about. Should be a lot of purple on Saturday.

MK: Amherst 42-0
RM: Amherst 27-13
SS: Amherst 38-6
HC: Amherst 48-7
CC: Amherst 21-13

Writers’ Pick: Amherst

Colby @ Wesleyan, 1pm, Middletown, CT

If there’s one thing I can say about this game it’s that Colby has come a very long way. During my freshman year in 2016 this game was a blowout – 37-6 in favor of Wesleyan. The result wasn’t much better the following year, then in stepped Jack Cosgrove. Coach Cosgrove helped lead the Mules to a 3-6 season last year, including a 28-20 loss to the Cardinals in a very well played game. Heading into this season this game is very much in the air. Our writers gave the edge to Wesleyan, but let’s not look past this game too quickly. Wesleyan’s offense wasn’t particularly impressive last season and now they no longer have Mark Piccirillo taking snaps, so who knows what direction they’ll go. Colby, on the other hand, seemed to be just putting things together towards the end of 2018, settling on Matt Hersch ’22 as their quarterback. He saw some success there, but it will be interesting to see how he does without all-NESCAC running back Jake Schwern this season. Colby is still the underdog, but all I’m saying is this isn’t your classic Wesleyan-Colby football game.

MK: Wesleyan 28-17
RM: Colby 24-20
SS: Wesleyan 28-24
HC: Wesleyan 28-24
CC: Wesleyan 27-14

Writers’ Pick: Wesleyan

Trinity @ Tufts, 1:30pm, Medford, MA

This game follows nearly the opposite trend of the last one. Over the last three seasons Tufts-Trinity was a great game, but this year I’m not so sure. The Jumbo defense is always excellent but the loss of QB Ryan McDonald and their top three pass-catchers makes the offensive unit a hell of a lot less scary. The Bantams look as good as ever, returning two of the league’s best wide receivers in Koby Schofer ’20 and Jonathan Girard ’21 and their quarterback, Seamus Lambert ’22. And if for some reason Lambert isn’t doing the job, URI transfer Jordan Vazzano ’20 is ready to go. They’ll obviously suffer the loss of Max Chipouras, one of the best running backs in the history of the NESCAC, but Spencer Lockwood ’22 is in position to have a fine season as his replacement. All signs point towards Trinity for this one.

MK: Trinity 35-10
RM: Trinity 31-13
SS: Trinity 38-10
HC: Trinity 35-13
CC: Trinity 42-21

Writers’ Pick: Trinity

Williams @ Middlebury, 2pm, Middlebury, VT

There’s no doubt that this is the best game of the weekend – that is, best matchup combined with best title chances. Williams returns nearly everyone, headlined by QB Bobby Maimaron ’21, WR Frank Stola ’21, and LB TJ Rothmann ’21, who make up just a small part of this outstanding Eph junior class. They hoped to have a better year last year but were bit by the injury bug at the wrong time and the rest was history. Now they’re all healthy and ready to compete for a championship in Williamstown. You can never count out Middlebury, although I have to admit that this does not appear to be one of the better Panther teams in recent years. They return QB Will Jernigan ’21, TE Frank Cosolito ’20, and RB Peter Scibilia who were all key pieces of their offense last season, but the bar is set pretty high at Midd. Jernigan will have to navigate the passing game a bit better if he wants Midd to be able to compete with the top dogs of the NESCAC and I’m curious to find out if he can do that. Keep an eye on the score from the Green Mountain State.

MK: Williams 28-14
RM: Williams 27-17
SS: Williams 24-17
HC: Williams 38-14
CC: Williams 31-24

Writers’ Pick: Williams

Familiar Faces: Preseason Awards Watch List

Coach of the Year: Jeff Devanney, Trinity

With the exception of Williams Head Coach Mark Raymond’s 2017 season in which he guided the Ephs to a 6-3 season just one year after going 0-8, this award has been given to the title-winning coach every year since 2012, and even then Trinity won the league and Coach Devanney split the award with then Bates HC Mark Harriman, whose Bobcats went 5-3 and posted their first winning season since 1981. I say all of this to say that this award is almost guaranteed to go to the winning coach, and why would I pick against the Bantams?

Defensive Player of the Year:

3. Greg Holt ’20, LB, Tufts

My pick to win this award last year, Holt had the unfortunate luck of taking the field in the same year as Amherst DE/OLB Andrew Yamin ’19, who will finally vacate this honor after taking it home in his final two seasons. Strangely enough, Holt’s numbers have dropped every year since he arrived in Medford—from a staggering 98 tackles in 8 games his freshman year, to back to back years of 84 and 72 in the now longer 9 game seasons. However, his 2.5 sacks last season and 8.5 TFL were more than his first two seasons combined. This tells me he has grown into a more disruptive role where he can cause much more damage in opposing teams’ backfields.

2. TJ Rothmann ’21, LB, Williams

Rothmann has been a disruptive force for Ephs since he stepped foot on campus, logging 83 tackles his freshman year and 58 tackles his sophomore season, which essentially amounted to 6 healthy games. He’s arguably both the most talented football player and best athlete on his team, and that should be in full force this year. Some injuries in the past provided a setback, but this guy is back and better than ever. Williams has boasted a top defense the last two years, and if they are contending for a championship then Rothmann, too, will be contending for DPOY.

1. Taj Gooden ’21, DL, Wesleyan

The best interior lineman in the league, by a mile. Gooden was second in the league with 9 sacks (half a sack behind Yamin) and first in the league with 17.5 TFL in 2018. In any other season, he wins this award with ease because guys like Yamin don’t roll around in the NESCAC very often. This season, where he should take his biggest expected leap in production as he transitions into being an upperclassman, we could see record breaking numbers. The only question is whether or not the Cardinals have the team success to go with it.

Offensive Player of the Year:

3. Ollie Eberth ’20, QB, Amherst

I’ve always seen Eberth in more of a glorified game manager role, in charge of taking care of the ball and letting the Amherst RBs go to work, but it would be tough to deny that his numbers last year told a different story. Eberth was second in the league in passing yards per game with 181.6, threw 10 touchdowns to just 1 interception, while also finding the end zone 9 times on with his feet, tied for 2nd in the league. It remains to be seen whether or not the weapons on Amherst’s offense will allow him to continue to thrive in this role, with the graduations of two-time first team RB Jack Hickey ’19 and loss of RB Biafra Okoronkwo ’20 to a semester abroad.

2. Bobby Maimaron ’21, QB, Williams

Pretty straightforward logic here—for Williams to reach its ceiling, Maimaron has to play like a first team all-league guy. Probably the most talented dual threat QB returning to the NESCAC season, Maimaron should have the weapons and the system to put up the numbers everyone knows he is capable of. He has now had two full season to gel with this talented offensive unit and get accustomed to Coach Raymond’s system, so the sky is the limit now that Maimaron jumps into an upperclassmen role. His 17 total TDs were third in the league last year behind Eberth and co-OPOY Ryan McDonald ’19 of Tufts—that number should be in the 20s this year if he stays healthy.

1. Jonathan Girard ’21, WR, Trinity

There have been 3 seasons in NESCAC history in which someone has recorded more receiving yards than Girard’s 1005 in 2018, just the 4th 1000-yard season since the league began keeping records in 1992. It feels like it got swept under the rug because of the Bantams’ overall dominance, but Girard was as good as anyone last year—as a sophomore. Additionally, you would think it would be the case that now that Girard presumably an entire season paired with QB Seamus Lambert ’22, but the numbers tell a different story. Girard’s 5 100-yard games were the 1st 5 games of the season—the 5 that Jordan Vazzano ’21 played before being replaced by Lambert. His 3 lowest receiving games were the last 3 games—totals of 74, 49, and 58, against Middlebury, Amherst, and Wesleyan, respectively, a far cry from beating up on the CBB. But I’m going to bet that Girard strikes a more consistent partnership with Lambert this season, and although RB Spencer Lockwood ’22 appears to be more than ready to replace Max Chipouras at lead back, more of the production will fall to Girard.

Is This the Year?: Williams Football Preview 2019

2018 Record: 5-4

2019 Projected Record: 7-2

Projected Offensive Starters (*9 returning)

QB – Bobby Maimaron ‘21*

RB – Carter Begel ‘22*

RB – TJ Dozier ‘21*

WR – Frank Stola ‘21*

WR – Justin Nelson ‘21*

TE – Justin Burke ‘21*

LG – Pat Watson ‘21

LT – Jeremy Subjinski ‘20*

C – Jeff MacArthur ‘20*

RG – John Rooney ‘20*

RT – Ryan Pruss ‘20

Projected Defensive Starters (*6 returning)

S – Ben Anthony ‘20*

S – Ed Manzella ‘21

CB – Jake Kastenhuber ‘21*

CB – TBD

OLB – Coleston Smith ‘22

ILB – TJ Rothmann ‘21*

ILB – Jarrett Wesner ‘21*

OLB – Luke Apuzzi ‘21*

DE – Oscar Unobskey ‘20*

DT – TBD

DE – TBD

Projected Specialists (*2 Returning)

K/P – Andrew Schreibstein ‘22*

KR/PR – Frank Stola ‘21*

Offensive MVP: QB Bobby Maimaron ‘21

There are so many people who need to perform at a high, high level for the Ephs to have a chance to win the league this year, but none moreso than their junior signal caller under center. It was a weird sophomore season for Maimaron, who earned ROY honors in his magical freshman season that saw Williams go from 0-8 to 6-3. He was one of the top ball carriers in the entire league, finishing 4 th in rushing yards per game (68.4) and 5 th in rushing TDs (8). But his yards per carry only jumped from 3.4 yards to 3.8, the only evident change in his rushing numbers was due to the number of carries. There were a number of reasons outside of his control for why he went from throwing for 200 yards per game and completing 58% of his passes to just 143 yards per game and a 53% completion percentage—lack of weapons, playcalling, line play, etc., but those numbers need to look a lot more like his 2017 numbers than his 2018 numbers. Luckily, Maimaron could be the most talented QB in the league, or most talented player in the league for that matter, he just needs to prove it.

Defensive MVP: CB Jake Kastenhuber ‘21

Kastenhuber makes the move over to cornerback this season after spending his first two patrolling the secondary as a safety. Williams graduated both of its starting corners last year, and the fact that they felt the need to move a two-year starter over to fill a need speaks to their lack of confidence in being able to find other CBs on the roster. Hopefully it is a seamless transition for Kastenhuber because the Ephs have struggled with locking down the top wide receivers around the league in recent years, and their lack of depth on the defensive line means they cannot afford to have any holes elsewhere.

Biggest Game: September 14th @ Middlebury

This is an absolute must win for both teams, and I would imagine they know that. But especially for the Ephs with the way their schedule is so backloaded. I’m sure most people are aware and will be made more aware as the season progresses, but for those who don’t know, Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan, and Trinity all play each other in the last 3 weeks of the season. If any of those teams have serious championship aspirations, they better plan on showing up for their Week 7 matchup with an unblemished 6-0 record. Beating Middlebury on the road Week 1 and defending home turf against Tufts the following week is certainly doable for Williams, who really could be 6-0 when that last stretch rolls around. It all starts on Saturday.

Everything Else:

It was a weird 2018 season for Williams, which makes forecasting this season pretty tough. On one hand, they were the only team to beat Trinity last year. On the other hand, they went 1-4 in their final 5 games, a combination of catching the injury bug and a touch of complacency following their big win against the eventual champs. The good news is that they return all but 6 of their points, and their 8 leading tacklers. On paper, they should be poised to take a huge leap forward. But the bad news is that they do not appear to have improved their weaknesses from last season—namely the defensive line, cornerbacks, and the ability to stay healthy. The front 3 is still largely up for grabs, as is one of the starting CB spots, and they already lost their expected starting RT, freshman John Freeman, for the year.

WR Frank Stola ’21 evades a Middlebury tackler during a 2018 game

So, one of two things (preferably both) needs to happen. The first is that the studs they have been able to rely on for 2 or 3 years now need to really carry this team—Maimaron, all-league WR Frank Stola ’21, and their arguably league-best linebacking core, led by all-league juniors Jarrett Wesner and TJ Rothmann. These guys need to ball out and stay healthy. The other thing is that guys whose names we don’t know yet need to have breakthrough seasons. The overwhelming individual talent in the junior class across the board for Coach Mark Raymond has made it tough for other guys, namely in the sophomore and senior classes, to find playing time, but injuries and graduation have finally opened some holes up.

This team is one of the best in the league, without a doubt. They just need a little bit more help if they hope to achieve what they really want to achieve. This might not be the year yet, but then again, they are arguably the favorite to win each of their first 7 games, if they ever get over their mental block against Wesleyan. Show up 7-0, give Trinity a run for their money in Week 8, and defend their home turf against Amherst in the finale? Maybe go 8-1 and see what happens? Crazier things have happened.

Forget About Parity: End of Season Power Rankings


End of Season Power Rankings

Now that the season is officially over, we can talk about how this season was a microcosm for NESCAC football in recent years. Trinity won, Amherst wasn’t far behind, and Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams, and Middlebury were all right there as well. Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, and Hamilton might as well be in a completely different league because they really don’t look anywhere near ready to compete with the top tier. Nevertheless, it was a fun year that had some very exciting moments, so take a look at the final power ranking of the 2018 football season:

(1) 1. Trinity (8-1)

It’s always sad to see the end of a career as great as that of Max Chipouras ’19

We’ve all heard this one before: the Trinity Bantams are your NESCAC football champions. There’s no doubt that they earned this one, securing the title with a horribly ugly 9-0 victory over Wesleyan in Week 9. Led by RB Max Chipouras ’19, the Bantam offense saw a quarterback change in the middle of the season and still finished first in the league in total points, total yards, passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns. Their defense also finished first in points allowed, total yards, passing yards, and rushing yards. I’d call that a pretty complete team. Coach Devanney continues to prove that as long as he’s at the helm, there’s no such thing as a “down year” in Hartford. These guys are already the clear favorites to take home a 4th consecutive championship in 2019.

(2) 2. Amherst (8-1)

The Mammoths were right there every step of the way but a visit to the Coop in Week 8 proved to be a bit too much, so they’ll have to settle for another second place finish. The story for this team all year was defense, because they finished second in nearly every category that I mentioned where Trinity finished first. LB Andrew Yamin ’19 terrorized opposing offenses, ending the season first in the league with 9.5 sacks and second in the league with 17 tackles for a loss. The offense wasn’t quite as eye-popping as that of Trinity, but it was still in the top half of the league and was good enough to keep them in every game. The focus for Amherst at this point should be on how to beat Trinity, because the Bantams are currently the gold standard for NESCAC football. If you can beat them, there’s no reason you shouldn’t take home the title. (Sorry Williams)

(3) 3. Tufts (7-2)

Though they didn’t take home any hardware, 2018 was a good season for the Jumbos. They beat everyone except for the top two teams and battled admirably in those two losses. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 is looking like the frontrunner for offensive player of the year as the only quarterback averaging over 200 passing yards per game with a league-leading 17 passing touchdowns, while adding another 9 touchdowns and 50 yards per game on the ground. By almost every measure Tufts had the third best defense in the league, which certainly makes sense given where they finished the season. Coach Civetti continues to prove why he is one of the NESCAC’s premier coaches and as long as he’s around, Tufts will always be in the hunt. The only question now is what they’re going to do in the post-Ryan McDonald era.

(4) 4. Wesleyan (5-4)

RB Sean Penney ’21 is already excited for the 2019 season

If you take away the Cardinals’ fluke loss to Hamilton in Week 3, they actually had a pretty solid year. D-lineman Taj Gooden ’21 had an excellent second year, leading the league with 17.5 tackles for a loss and coming in second with 9 sacks. He looks like the only man challenging Andrew Yamin for DPOY at this point. QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 didn’t have the year they were hoping for as he threw for just over half the amount of yards he threw for last year, and the offense never really got going this season because of it. Wesleyan is another team that has a very big hole to fill under center next season, but aside from the quarterback position they have all the pieces in place for another strong year.

(5) 5. Middlebury (5-4)

By Middlebury standards, a 5-4 season is nothing to write home about. They started the year with a crushing 52-21 loss to Wesleyan and suffered from very poor quarterback play by senior Jack Meservy. Eventually they made the switch to sophomore Will Jernigan and their offense began to find its identity. Even with the switch they were shutout by both Trinity and Amherst, which is a very bad look from a team who is usually competing for a championship. While they might be able to build around Jernigan’s slightly more run-oriented style, they are also supposed to get a couple of transfer QBs who should keep things interesting in Vermont, perhaps creating a Jared Lebowitz 2.0. I expect a bounce back season from the Panthers in 2019.

(6) 6. Williams (5-4)

It really was the tale of two halves of the season for the Ephs who started 4-0 and handed Trinity their only loss, then followed that up by going 1-4 in their final 5 games. Injuries certainly didn’t help, as they saw stud LB TJ Rothmann ’21 and stud QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 each go down with injury late in the year. Last year’s fairytale run was a tough act to follow, and the freshman that took the league by storm last year went through a bit of a sophomore slump in year two. Fortunately for Eph fans, these sophomores will soon be juniors and Coach Raymond will bring in another outstanding recruiting class beneath them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Williams take home the crown in one of the next two years.

(8) 7. Colby (3-6)

And now we get to the bottom tier. No disrespect to Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, and Hamilton, but they’re simply not as good as the top six teams. This season honestly went about as well as it could have for the Mules. Yes, they took their lumps, but beating the bottom three teams is a huge step in the right direction for a new coach who is trying to resurrect this program. They have a promising young quarterback in Matt Hersch ’22 who looked excellent at times leading an offense that is certainly not as talented as some of the teams they were up against. It’ll be interesting to see how Colby will fare in the run game with the departure of RB Jake Schwern ’19, who had a terrific career in Waterville. The defense actually finished the year allowing the second fewest passing yards per game, but also the most rushing yards per game so they have areas of focus as they head into next season.

(7) 8. Hamilton (3-6)

I really hoped to see more out of Hamilton this year. I thought they could potentially be in the mix with Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Williams in the middle of the conference. Overall on defense they were relatively average, but their pass defense was atrocious. Nearly every team they faced could air it out at will against their secondary and they couldn’t do anything to stop it. I was disappointed with the effort put forth by QB Kenny Gray ’20 because I really thought this would be his breakout year. He has put up some big numbers in the past and he returned his top targets, but he threw for just 177 yards per game and posted a TD:INT ratio of 13:12. They have a lineup of capable players, so the Continentals just need to put everything together to see more success in the future.

(9) 9. Bowdoin (1-8)

Nate Richam ’20 is one of the most explosive running backs returning to the league next year

It’s all about progress for Bowdoin. They came into the year riding a 17-game losing streak and they finally put that streak to bed. It wasn’t an amazing year, but Bowdoin had some flashes of very strong play, like RB Nate Richam’s 288-yard outburst against Middlebury. QB Austin McCrum ’20 didn’t have the year they were hoping for and he actually led the league with 17 interceptions. He’ll have to seriously increase his level of play in order for the Polar Bears to be competitive next season. LB Joe Gowetski ’20 finished second in the NESCAC in tackles, while LB Franny Rose ’21 and DB Nick Leahy ’21 finished sixth and eighth respectively. With some individual performances to feel good about and a win under their belt, Bowdoin can feel much more confident heading into 2019 than they were in 2018.

(10) 10. Bates (0-9)

What a tough year for the Bobcats. They had been competitive in recent years and hadn’t lost the CBB outright since 2012, but this was definitely not their year. A new coach and new offense felt promising heading into the season, but the wrong personnel combined with a few poorly timed injuries made the year spiral out of control. DB Jon Lindgren ’20 followed up a strong sophomore year with an excellent junior year in which he led the conference in tackles, but aside from him there really weren’t any outstanding individual performers. Williams showed us that a new coach doesn’t always mean immediate success when they hired Coach Raymond and went 0-8, then followed that up by going 6-3. Hopefully Coach Hall will be able to work some magic because there wasn’t a whole lot of it in Lewiston this season.

Destiny Awaits: Week 9 Weekend Preview

Well, NESCAC fans, it’s been a fun season with a surprising amount of upsets, full of talented new faces and the continued dominance of veterans. We have one last ride together this season, and this preview should help cap it off. We still have some championship implications alive here as Trinity needs to beat Wesleyan on the road to secure their third straight NESCAC championship, and I’m sure that Mark Piccirillo won’t want to head off into the sunset of his football career on a low note. Expect some fireworks there. If Trinity loses and Amherst wins, then the Mammoths will retake the NESCAC crown, although they have no cake walk either with a game against a volatile Williams squad. I’m excited thinking about it and you should be too. Cold weather football is the best and it’s finally here.
Hamilton @ Bates 12:00
I can’t really imagine how deflating that loss to Bowdoin must’ve felt for Bates last week, but I would imagine it hurt. Bates officially lost its chances to retain part of the CBB for the first time in 5 years and were on the receiving end of Bowdoin’s first win in 24 tries. All they have left now is playing to avoid a winless season, but it doesn’t look like they have a quarterback to do it, losing their first two stringers and leaving WR/DB Kevin Claflin ‘19 to take snaps under center. Plus, it feels like the type of day where the good Kenny Gray ‘20 shows up for Hamilton. Look for the Continentals to end the season on a high, and the Bobcats on the lowest of lows.
Final Score: Hamilton 34, Bates 6
Trinity @ Wesleyan 12:00
The Bantams take their shot at a three-peat in Middletown on Saturday while the Cardinals look to play spoiler and pull off what feels like an improbable 6-3 season, coming off their big win over Williams. The Cardinals defense can play with anyone, but they’re going to get their money’s worth against this Trinity offense. The other problem too is that Wesleyan simply can’t hang in a shootout with Trin. QB Mark Piccirillo ‘19 was 9-17 for 151 yds and 1 TD against Williams and 75 of those yards came on one pass. Those numbers don’t equate to much success against this Trinity D. A dynasty will he cemented on Saturday.

Rivalry weekend in CT, so get ready.

Final Score: Trinity 38, Wesleyan 14

Williams @ Amherst
On paper this game seems like a forgone conclusion with Williams QB Bobby Maimaron ‘21 missing the Biggest Little Game in America with a knee injury. They haven’t had the offensive success they thought they’d have this year with Maimaron under center so why would QB Jackson Bischoping ‘22 have any luck against this fearsome Amherst defense? Well Bischoping in his brief time as Eph understudy has shown an uncanny ability to find WR Frank Stola ‘21, and this Williams defense is humming along lately as well as they have since they were fully healthy. Upset on the cards? Not quite, this Amherst team will just be better on Saturday, but this game has always been close lately and this one will be no different.

John Callahan is an under appreciated stud for the Amherst defense.

Final Score Amherst 24 Williams 20

Tufts @ Middlebury 12:30
Two teams without much to play for except bragging rights and being able to go out with a W. At this point we have no idea what Middlebury team is going to show up, and this Tufts team has done nothing but come to play every weekend, only dropping two respectable contests to the two best teams in the league, Amherst and Trinity (both away). QB Ryan McDonald ‘19 has been spectacular all year (as some of us said he would be) and still has an outside shot at winning Player of the Year, especially if they finish 7-2. Middlebury’s offense has never been able to replicate the rhythm they found in Williamstown, and Will Jernigan ‘21 has been the most inconsistent quarterback in the league not named Kenny Gray. Theoretically this could be a great game but in actuality Tufts has been better on both sides of the ball all season and it isn’t going to change Saturday.
Final Score Tufts 27, Middlebury 10

Looks Like a Threepeat: Week 8 Power Rankings

 

Week 8 Power Rankings

Week 8 brought us some of the most excitement we’ve had this season with Trinity defeating Amherst in the quasi-championship game, Wesleyan taking down Williams, and Bowdoin getting their first win since 2015. Unfortunately, Trinity looks like they’re going to take home the crown again. Although I’m not sure that Amherst winning would have been that much better. Either way it was an exciting week, so take a look at where everyone falls heading into the final games of the season:

(2) 1. Trinity (7-1)

You don’t want to miss an opportunity to see this guy

Here we are again. The Bantams find themselves in the driver’s seat for the league championship after taking down Amherst, 27-16. QB Seamus Lambert ’22 had a fine game under center, but the story of this game was the effort by RB Max Chipouras ’19. The (soon to be) four-time all-NESCAC honoree carried the ball 24 times for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. This performance also came against a defense that was holding opponents to fewer than 70 rushing yards per game, which was the best in the league. What an effort. If Trinity can put away Wesleyan in their final game, Chipouras will finish his career with 3 NESCAC championships (with one runner-up) and 4 all-NESCAC appearances (3 first team), while simultaneously becoming the conference’s all-time leader with 40 (and counting) rushing touchdowns, shattering the previous record of 27. He also currently has 3,565 career rushing yards, just 263 behind Evan Bunker (Trinity ’14) for the all-time NESCAC record. Needless to say, this kid is pretty special. I would highly suggest tuning in to their matchup with Wesleyan this weekend for one last chance to see one of the most decorated players in NESCAC football history before it’s too late.

(1) 2. Amherst (7-1)

The Mammoths are surely disappointed after their first loss that will likely prevent them from taking home the championship, but this one didn’t come down to one play or one drive. Don’t get me wrong it was a tight game the whole way, but Trinity was simply the better team on Saturday. RB Jack Hickey ’19 wasn’t able to match the performance of his counterpart on the other sideline as he rushed 14 times for a mere 54 yards. Due to the lack of a run game, QB Ollie Eberth ’20 had to attempt a season-high 35 passes and only completed 17 of them. WR Bo Berluti ’19 caught 9 of these passes for 142 yards and added another 23 yards on two carries, but he accounted for about half of Amherst’s offense. It’s not that they couldn’t move the ball up the field, it’s that they couldn’t finish drives. A few costly turnovers in Bantam territory ended up really hurting them, and the defense that we’ve raved about for weeks wasn’t able to force a turnover of their own. Amherst is still in a great position to win the Little Three when they take on Williams this weekend, and if Wesleyan pulls off the upset against Trinity, they have a chance to be crowned champions.

(3) 3. Tufts (6-2)

Tufts put together a very impressive effort against Colby in Week 8. The Mules aren’t the most talented team, but they had won two in a row and were looking like they were putting things together. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 was a very efficient 19 of 23 or 223 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the team rushed for total of 265 yards. Scoring 48 points is a very legit performance, but the defense may have actually had the more impressive feat. Shutouts in football are few and far between, and Colby’s offense had been on the rise in recent weeks. LB Greg Holt ’20 continued his impressive junior campaign by adding a team-high 8 tackles (7 solo) and lineman Nmesoma Nwafor snagged the team’s lone interception. After a few bumps in the road this unit has hit their stride again, giving the Jumbos a good chance to finish off their strong season on a positive note. They’ll head to Vermont to take on a solid Middlebury squad in Week 9.

(5) 4. Wesleyan (5-3)

It’s been an up and down year, but Mark Piccirillo ’19 finds his team in a decent position heading into Week 9

The Cardinals took home potentially their biggest win of the season in a really ugly game against Williams. Neither team eclipsed 300 yards of total offense, and Wesleyan QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 (who we’ve given a lot of praise over the years) only threw for 151 yards on 9 completions. With an even closer look you’ll see that 75 of those passing yards came on one touchdown pass early in the 4th quarter. Take out this pass and Piccirillo was 8-16 for 76 yards. Yikes. The good thing for Coach DiCenzo’s team is that wins come in all shapes and sizes so while this one may not have been pretty, it still counts the same in the standings. It also ensures that Williams will have to wait at least one more year to have a shot at a Little Three championship, which has to make Cardinal fans happy. Wesleyan could potentially make things really interesting if they were able to defeat Trinity in their final game, but do they want to give rival Amherst a chance at a NESCAC title? I have to believe there’s a moral dilemma going on in Middletown right now…

(6) 5. Middlebury (5-3)

I had no idea what Middlebury was going to bring against Hamilton given how hot and cold they’ve been over the course of the year, but the result pretty much ended up how we probably would have expected. The offense looked very well rounded and despite throwing 2 picks, QB Will Jernigan had one of his best games as the starting signal-caller, completing 21 of 36 passes for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns. Linebacker Pete Huggins ’21 and defensive end Ian Blow ’19 had big games for the Panthers, pacing the team with 7 and 6 tackles respectively while each adding an interception. Hamilton relies heavily on the arm of Kenny Gray and Middlebury has struggled a bit against the pass this year, so the fact that the Panther secondary held him to 19-40 for 180 yards is a promising sign. Facing Ryan McDonald in Week 9 will be an even more challenging task, so it’s good news for Midd fans that they’re trending in the right direction. A win over Tufts could potentially put the Panthers in third place to end the season.

(4) 6. Williams (5-3)

It’s been a bit of a fall from grace for the Ephs who at one point were 4-0, had beaten Trinity, and even found themselves at the top of our power rankings. Since then they’ve gone 1-3 with losses to Middlebury, Tufts, and now Wesleyan. I know these are good teams that they lost to, but if you beat Trinity then the expectations are going to be a little bit higher. To make matters even worse, Williams suffered the loss of starting QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 who went down with an injury. Jackson Bischoping ’22 did a decent job, but Maimaron is a very tough guy to replace. WR Frank Stola ’21 had a big game, snagging 9 passes for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns, accounting for nearly half of the team’s total offense. We talk a lot about how good TJ Rothmann is and rightfully so, but LB Jarrett Wesner ’21 is quietly putting together a potential all-NESCAC season, leading the team and sitting at 4th in the conference with 64 total tackles, including 5 for a loss. He’s been a stud for a unit that is going to continue to develop and get better with all the youth they have. Williams will try to take down Amherst for the second straight year in the 2018 Biggest Little Game.

(8) 7. Hamilton (2-6)

Well here we are at the end of the season saying the same thing we pretty much always say about Hamilton. They’re not quite good enough to compete with the top teams, but they’re a little better than the worst teams. Granted they lost to Colby this year, but they also beat Wesleyan so we’ll call it a wash. QB Kenny Gray ’20 isn’t having the year that I thought he would have and because they rely so heavily on him, the whole offense has suffered. RB Joe Park ’22 has found a role as the lead runner out of the backfield despite Mitch Bierman ’21 being initially in line for the job. They played a decent game against Middlebury and only trailed by 4 at halftime, but they just aren’t quite ready to really compete with the best teams in the league. They have a very favorable matchup against a Bates team that is not trending in the right direction for the last game of the season, so a 3-6 finish is definitely within reach.

(7) 8. Colby (2-6)

I know, Colby and Hamilton have the same record and the Mules won the head-to-head matchup, so how could they possibly be ranked lower? A 48-0 loss to Tufts is how. Colby played a terrible game against the Jumbos and paid the full price. Their defense had absolutely no success against Ryan McDonald and Matt Hersch had his worst game under center since he became the starter. RB Jake Schwern ’19 couldn’t really get anything going to follow his outstanding performance last week against Bates, so it really was an all-around disappointing effort for the Mules. They’ll take on Bowdoin in their final game for a chance to bring home their first CBB title since 2005.

(10) 9. Bowdoin (1-7)

Bowdoin fans celebrate the end of the 24-game losing streak

The Polar Bears finally grabbed their first win in almost 3 calendar years with a 31-14 victory over Bates. It wasn’t very pretty, but behind the strong effort of RB Nate Richam ’20 who finally returned from injury they were able to get it done. Richam ran for 130 yards on 32 carries and found the end zone twice and basically ran the entire offense because QB Austin McCrum ’20 only threw for 93 yards and added two interceptions. The defense actually looked pretty solid for once, albeit against Bates’ second and third string quarterbacks. The Polar Bears have every reason to be excited now given that they, too, have a chance to win their first CBB championship since 2010. They’ll make the short trip up to Waterville on Saturday to try to get things done.

(9) 10. Bates (0-8)

It has been a nightmarish end of the season for the Bobcats. They lost starting quarterback Brendan Costa ’21 to injury against Colby, and backup quarterback Jack Bryant ’22 left the game with an apparent concussion in the third quarter after getting hit with a brutal cheap shot by a Bowdoin defender. Since they only had two quarterbacks on the roster, this left them with WR/DB Kevin Claflin ’19 under center and he understandably struggled to mesh with the offense. Really the only highlight for the Bobcats was that safeties Anthony Costa ’21 and Jon Lindgren ’20 continued their stellar seasons in the secondary, each of them with 7 tackles and Costa adding an interception. It doesn’t look good heading into the final weekend for Bates, but they’ll hope to make something crazy happen when Hamilton comes to town.

Top of the Podium: Week 8 Stock Report

Week 8 Stock Report

Stock Up

Dynastic Control: The Bantams have won again and as their parents pointed out after we predicted them to be 6-3 in our season preview article, they really don’t lose often. Not only are they on the up and up, getting better year to year relative to the rest of the NESCAC competition, but even their holes, which we thought would be at QB this year, are ridiculously easily filled. They have had not one but two elite QBs under center this year in Jordan Vazzano and Seamus Lambert and clearly will have the reigns on the NESCAC for the near future. The other contenders of Amherst and Tufts were no match in their head to head with Trinity and Williams, who kind of seems to own the Bantams, cannot reach any level of consistency to bring the title home to Williamstown.

Ellie Greenberg after scoring the winner in the NESCAC championship.

Predictive Power: I am giving credit where credit is due today. Matt Karpowicz hit the nail on the head with his game preview of Amherst at Trinity last weekend. Max Chipouras blitzed the Amherst defense and had a career game, nearly capping off his incredible run at Trinity with a clutch 203 yard, two TD performance. He averaged a nasty 8.5 yards per carry and showed that the league’s best D isn’t so unstoppable. Or maybe the Bantams are just that good. Either way, we got one right, we finally got one. Actually, we got two. Ryan Moralejo deserves a shoutout too for his prediction in the women’s soccer NESCAC championship game, calling the Midd over Williams upset, that, quite frankly, nobody saw coming. I will say I have no idea how he ever thought that the score would be 2-1 with each team having such a stellar back line, but I’ll cut him some slack. Roll Pants.

Stock Down

Eph Leadership: This week’s 21-14 loss to Wesleyan is a tough one to swallow for the Williams team as they were riding in off a recovery win against Hamilton into their senior day and final home game of the season. They played against a Cardinal team that has looked unprepared all season and couldn’t get anything done once Bobby Maimaron left the game with an injury. They got destroyed by Middlebury, who has looked different week to week, only after TJ Rothmann exited the contest. The change of play after losing their leaders is what separates this still talented team from a program like Trinity. For the Bantams, when one guy goes down another takes his place, for Williams those spaces continue to be vacant.

Jackson Bischoping has promise, but he allowed two fatal turnovers against Wesleyan.

Mule Muster: I titled last weekend’s preview article “Trap City,” and it turned out that we were right, although not regarding the game that I imagined. Wesleyan beat Williams 21-14 and Bowdoin got their first win by knocking off Bates 31-14, but I thought Colby would at least give Tufts a slight run for their money coming off two good weekends of football. I couldn’t have been more wrong about that one. The Colby team put up a real dud to say the least, falling 48-0, managing just 124 yards of total offense. Their defense was useless in this game as the Mules offense only turned the ball over one time! that means that the defense was responsible for each of the five rushing and two passing TDs allowed.