Tag: Matt Hersch

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.

Trap City: Week 8 Weekend Preview

Week 8 Preview:

Middlebury (4-3) @ Hamilton (2-5)

Midd wasn’t expected to roll into Hartford and beat Trinity, but losing 48-0 was not a good showing for the program. Only 73 yards of offense? How does that even happen? I know Trinity is a really good team but an over .500 team like MIddlebury should have at least put up some sort of fight. Along with their non-existent offense the Panthers also surrendered over 500 yards of offense to Trinity, showing that they didn’t have it together on either front. Midd needs to be careful this weekend against a Hamilton team that has shown that they can steal a win against a better opponent. A 5-3 record looks much better than 4-4 heading into the final week of the season so Midd will need to have a short memory and bring their A game, or even their B game honestly, in order to take down this Continental squad.

The Panthers need their offensive weapons to put up some numbers this weekend.

Hamilton had a pretty decent showing against a very good Williams team last weekend in their 27-17 loss. QB Kenny Gray continued to be a consistent piece for the Continentals, racking up 2 TDs and 256 yards of total offense. What I forgot to mention about Gray though is that he got picked off 4 times. When you give the ball away as freely as he did last weekend, it’s essentially an automatic loss. It is more than obvious at this point in the season that Hamilton relies heavily, and perhaps too heavily, on Gray’s arm for their offense. Their running game is lackluster and it more often than not is Gray leading the team in rushes with less than 50 yards. This one dimensional offense can cause problems for Hamilton as other teams are well aware that their is not much of a threat on the ground and can therefore focus on pass defense. The defense has a solid game, picking off QB Bobby Mamarion once and recovering a fumble, but it wasn’t quite enough to keep their offence in the game. One thing that the Continentals should keep in mind is after being thrashed last weekend Midd’s spirits may be low and Hamilton could try and take advantage of this out of the gate and come guns blazing at them. This is a winnable game for Hamilton but certainly not guaranteed.

Score Prediction: Midd 27 Hamilton 21

Colby (2-5) @ Tufts (5-2)

The Colby Mules have won two games in a row since who knows when. Coach Cosgrove really seems to be doing the best with what was given to him in his first year in charge and is oh so close to capturing the CBB title that hasn’t been in Waterville for quite a few years. The Mules were able to beat Bates last weekend with ease, jumping out to a 21-6 halftime lead and maintaining that score until the end of the 4th quarter. Against Bates they didn’t have an offense, they had Jake Schwern. Schwern ran for 226 yards and all 3 of Colby’s TDs, earning his NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. On a cold, slippery, snowy day it was tough for freshman QB Matt Hersch to get anything going in the air so they elected to force feed Schwern the ball and it payed off. Defensively they clearly overmatched Bates, one Brendan Costa TD run being their only blemish. While they were easily able to the down the Bobcats, the Jumbos are a completely different ballgame. Schwern has proved much less effective against better NESCAC teams so I would be surprised to see him get anywhere near his numbers last weekend. The best chance the Mules have is to hope for nicer weather and hope that QB Matt Hersch can solidify his name in Rookie of the Year talks by orchestrating the upset of the season.

Tufts had their chance last weekend to remain in title contention in their game against Amherst but nearly missed out in their 19-13 loss. Amherst seemed to be a step ahead all game, just has they’ve been a step ahead of the league this entire season. QB Ryan McDonald’s 2 interceptions played a crucial part in how the Jumbos were quite able to keep up with Amherst. When you’re playing an undefeated team with unmatched confidence, giving away the ball will kill you. Tufts relied heavily on McDonald but he was only able to throw for 137 yards on 34 attempts. It was going to be a tough matchup for the Jumbos no matter what, nobody has dethroned Amherst yet and Tufts just didn’t have what it takes to effectively break down Amherst’s defense. Defensively Tufts fared pretty well, allowing Amherst less than 300 yards of total offense. It’s a harsh reality for Jumbo fans but Amherst was simply a better team than Tufts and deserved to take home the win last weekend. What matters now is going forwards and trying to become the best of the rest. After playing the Mammoths last weekend Colby will be a welcomed foe in Medford. This should be a fairly easy win for the Jumbos barring some serious mental errors and lack of concentration.

Score Prediction: Tufts 30 Colby 13

Wesleyan (4-3) @ Williams (5-2)

Wesleyan didn’t even break a sweat last weekend, taking down the still winless Bowdoin 24-0. It should’ve been an easy victory for the Cardinals and it was. QB Mark Piccirillo threw for 2 of Wesleyan’s TDs while RB Glen Smith has a day of it, going for over 100 yards and snagging a TD of his own. This game was another example of one opponent out classing the other out of the gate. It seemed as if Bowdoin never had a shot a winning from the kickoff. The Cardinal defense held the Polar Bears to exactly 100 yards of total offense, making getting into Wesleyan territory an accomplishment. Although Wesleyan was able to take care of Bowdoin with ease, Williams will almost certainly be a much more interesting contest. Wesleyan has a chance to surpass Williams in the standing this weekend if they play their cards (pun intended) right.

Time for Piccirillo to show us what he’s made of.

Williams took the long trek to Clinton last weekend and came back home with a dub. QB Bobby Mamarion had a solid overall game, tossing 2 much needed TDs for the Mammoths. RB Cartel Begel piled on with over 100 yards and a TD of his own to put an exclamation point on the game. This was a game that Williams should have, could have and did win. Their defense managed to pick off Hamilton QB Kenny Gray not once, not twice, not three times but four times! Luke Apuzzi was able to snag 2 of those interceptions which swung the momentum very favorable for the Ephs. K Andrew Schreibs was knocking down his extra point attempts as well as his 2 field goals with ease, which actually managed to make a solid difference in the contest. It was a huge team effort overall by the Ephs and the will need that again this weekend as the face a potentially underrated Wesleyan team.

Score Prediction: Williams 24 Wesleyan 21

Bates (0-7) @ Bowdoin (0-7)

The Bobcats may have been hyped for their snowy home game (https://twitter.com/Bates_Football/status/1056228141037948928) but they are yet to find the win column.

It’s CBB time once again. You have to love the CBB, it’s the only contest where you can lose almost 80% of your games and still have the chance to take home a trophy. That is what the Bobcats will do this weekend as they head into Brunswick to face Bowdoin. The biggest story of the game last weekend for Bates was the exit of their QB, Alex Costa, due to injury. Costa has been the biggest piece, arguably the only piece, of offense that Bates has had this season. With Costa I would say that Bates should have no business losing to Bowdoin but now it is anyone’s ballgame. QB Jack Bryant took over for Costa after he left but was a non-factor as both teams were just running the ball up the gut the entire game. If the weather favors a little better this weekend and the passing game comes more into play, Bryant will need to show that he is an equally effective distributor to Costa and keep Bate’s CBB hopes alive for another week.

Bowdoin’s season had been bad. Their offense and defense both rank last in many major categories and they have not showed signs of improvement throughout the year. Golden arm QB Austin McCrum has done essentially nothing since joining the Polar Bears and had another lackluster game last weekend, racking up only 80 yards and a pick. That being said, this is Bowdoin’s opportunity to right the ship. A win against Bates will be all the momentum they need to carry into the next weekend against Colby to potentially steal a CBB ‘ship out of absolutely nowhere. Now do I think that they can actually do this or is this just a description of die hard Polar Bear fans’ dreams, you tell me. It all starts and could potentially end this weekend for the Polar Bears so why not throw it all out on the line and try some new things. I’m not, and never will be, a football coach but I can tell you that business as usual has not and will not work for Bowdoin.

Score Prediction: Bates 17 Bowdoin 6

 

Scrapping to Stay Alive: Week 7 Weekend Preview

Weekend Preview

With each passing week the conference standings are getting clearer and clearer. With only 3 games remaining, 3 true contenders remain. Our other 6 are left to fight for the scraps—some for regional pride, some for the sake of nothing but wins and losses, and a few in hopes of a Week 9 Miracle. This week doesn’t appear to have huge implications outside of Amherst and Tufts, but it has implications nonetheless.

Bowdoin @ Wesleyan

Neither of these teams is going to come into this game feeling very good about themselves. Bowdoin, besides the 23 obvious reasons, was served a 48-6 pasting by Trinity, while Wesleyan was downright embarrassed by their Little Three rival Amherst 33-3, on their own turf. Wesleyan obviously hasn’t had the year it was hoping for, unable to account for WR Mike Breuler ‘18’s departure, but I don’t think they’ve dipped to ‘lose to Bowdoin’ levels of bad. Their defense is strong but for Bowdoin it continues to be all about quarterback play. Austin McCrum ’21 just hasn’t been able to get anything going, most notably in last week’s 17-38, 99 yards, and 4 INT performance. You could make an argument to go back to Griff Stalcup ’21, but he’s been their best WR since switching positions. It’s a lose-lose for Bowdoin and as long as these struggles continue, their chances of winning outside of the state of Maine will be stagnant. Wesleyan shouldn’t feel confident enough in themselves to focus all of their energy on their Week 8 visit to Williams, but they can channel that energy into running up the score on Bowdoin in hopes of building some momentum. QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 will look like a better version of himself this week, and the Cardinals will roll.

Final Score: Wesleyan 38, Bowdoin 9

Colby @ Bates

The Bobcats are going to come in hot looking to lay the hammer like Mac Jackson used to, but Colby is the only team with a win in this matchup!

Finally some CBB! Love me some CBB. Two of the three rivals in Maine square off this week as they open up the annual battle for bragging rights and an extra edge in in-state recruiting. Bates is still winless, and Colby grabbed their first win last week behind the increasingly emerging arm of QB Matt Hersch ’22, who is ever so quietly beginning to pop up in the Rookie of the Year conversation. Hersch threw for 288 yards and 1 TD and 1 INT on 27-39 in their 23-21 win over Hamilton, his third straight week of 200+ yards and a score. Colby’s offensive line continues to be porous, allowing another 5 sacks last week. They need to protect Hersch to win this game. It would be easy to take the hot hand and the team that finally won a game, but despite this I’m taking Bates. The Bobcats have owned this rivalry and the CBB as a whole, as last year they became the first team since Colby in 1988-1992 to win it four years in a row. It’s a home game, and these seniors are not going to be the class that ends this streak. I’m not really sure how, but they’re going to find a way to win this game.

Final Score: Bates 27, Colby 20

Middlebury @ Trinity

Midd will look to bring pressure to whatever QB suits up for Trinity this weekend.

This could be a fun one. Middlebury has really turned it around the last few weeks, although a one point win against Bates might not show it. The Will Jernigan ’21 train has left the station, and their spread offense has clicked. Jernigan had his best collegiate game as a passer last week, going 17-26 for 266 yards 3 TDs and 1 INT. But opposing them in Hartford is Trinity and the home of the best offense in the league so far. Trinity switched it up under center last week, opting for QB Seamus Lambert instead of Jordan Vazzano ’21, and it worked as well as they could have hoped, with Lambert going 22-29 for 280 yards and 3 TDs. WRs Koby Schofer and Jonathan Girard reeled in a combined 14 of those balls for over 200 of those yards, announcing that they clearly don’t care who’s throwing it to them. I would imagine Lambert’s accuracy is what got him the starting job and it’s going to keep him there. It’s going to be tough to pick a team that allowed 34 points to Bates, and while Midd has turned things around, they’re not going to beat the Bantams in a shootout.

Final Score: Trinity 42, Middlebury 24

Williams @ Hamilton

Hamilton has been wildly inconsistent in 2018, so can they peak this weekend against Williams?

Is this a trap game for the Ephs? It’s hard to imagine losing two games in a row and still overlooking your next opponent, but after their trip to Clinton, Williams will only have arch rivals Wesleyan and Amherst remaining on the schedule, and their first Little 3 title in almost a decade is all they have left to play for, barring a miracle (I went through all the outcomes in my head and it doesn’t look good). What’s left of this defense is a far cry from the group that held Trinity to 16 points, a feat that is looking more and more impressive by the week. Star LB TJ Rothmann ’21 continues to be on the injury report with a sprained jaw, and they’ve lost DE/LB Austin Thomas ’19 for the season with a concussion. They need some pieces to come together if they want to beat Wesleyan and shock Amherst, but they still have too much talent not to take care of Hamilton, who can’t be feeling great coming off a loss to Colby. Until we know which Kenny Gray ’20 is going to show up for the Continentals, I won’t feel comfortable picking them.

Final Score: Williams 35, Hamilton 10

Can’t Stop the Stampede: Week 6 Power Rankings

 

Week 6 Power Rankings 

Not a lot has changed from last week, although there were a few notable results from Week 6. Tufts grabbed a big win from Williams and Wesleyan looked like they had absolutely no fight in them at all. Even Colby finally got into the win column in a thrilling victory over Hamilton. Unfortunately Amherst is still number one, but we’ve still got a ton of excitement ahead of us in the final 3 weeks. See where each team is as the title race heats up:

(1) 1. Amherst (6-0)

Now that the Mammoths have reached the back half of their schedule, they deserve a lot more recognition for what they’re doing. Wesleyan is a good team that has put up a lot of points this year, and they could only muster 101 total yards against this terrific defense. To take this a step further, 104 of those yards were passing yards. Yes, this means that Amherst held the Cardinals to -3 rushing yards. This entire defensive unit is downright scary, especially when it comes to the run game. They currently lead the league in total yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, points allowed, and sacks which basically means that if you want to beat them then you’ll have to throw the ball, but you also won’t have very much time to do that so you’ll probably end up losing anyways. Things start to get pretty exciting this weekend when Amherst hosts Tufts in a game that will definitely have an effect on the league championship.

(2) 2. Trinity (5-1)

There is only one takeaway from Trinity’s 48-6 victory over Bowdoin but it’s a big one: 6 games into the season the Bantams went with a different starting quarterback. I don’t know whether it was due to injury or the poor play of Jordan Vazzano, but rookie QB Seamus Lambert ’22 got the start and went 22 of 29 for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns to just 1 interception. He spread the ball around to 7 different receivers and given his 76% completion percentage, he essentially solved the two largest problems that the Bantams were facing at the quarterback position. A matchup with Middlebury isn’t a cakewalk, so keep an eye on who’s under center this weekend for Trinity.

(4) 3. Tufts (5-1)

RB Dom Borelli ’19 did it all against the Ephs

Congrats to the Jumbos who kept their title hopes alive by knocking off Williams on Saturday. It wasn’t easy however; with the game deadlocked at 21 going into the half, both defenses came out of the locker with much more energy. A passing touchdown by starting RB Dom Borelli ’19 in the third quarter ended up being the only score of the second half and was enough to propel them to victory. Tufts is a team I’d be very afraid of because they clearly can find all sorts of ways to score and they relentlessly keep pressure on opposing quarterbacks with their outstanding group of linebackers. They have a real shot at taking home the crown, but they need a win this weekend at Amherst in our game of the week.

(3) 4. Williams (4-2)

The past two weeks haven’t been good to the Ephs who have now dropped their last two games. QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 ran for 135 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as he could only manage 107 yards through the air. Leading WR Frank Stola ’21 caught 9 passes but for just 44 yards and no scores, showing the lack of vertical threats present in the game against Tufts. As a fan (and as a fellow human being) I’m bummed that TJ Rothmann ’21 is out with a broken jaw because he is an impact player on the defensive end and this unit is reeling without him. Williams now finds themselves in the same position they were last year – the good news for us is that last year they took down Amherst in their final game to prevent the Mammoths from winning the championship. Could it happen again this year? They say history repeats itself…

(5) 5. Middlebury (4-2)

What a wild turn of events for the Panthers. One week after bringing home a huge win against Williams they were just an extra point away from heading to overtime against a winless Bates squad. It was a pretty solid effort on the offensive end, but the defense wasn’t really able to stop a Bobcat offense that ranked last in the league in almost every category. It’s possible (and I certainly hope) that this game says more about Bates than it does about Middlebury, because the Panthers have just started putting things together. QB Will Jernigan ’21 is really coming into his own, going 17-26 for a career-high 266 yards and 3 touchdowns on Saturday. I think this game was just a stumble and that Midd is surely going to be prepared for a big matchup against Trinity.

(6) 6. Wesleyan (3-3)

It’s never a good thing when you’re punting out of this formation

Losing 33-3 to one of your rivals on Homecoming Weekend is a bad look. Finishing a game with negative rushing yards is a bad look. Possessing the ball for 10 fewer minutes than your opponent is a bad look. Week 6 was not a good one for the Cardinals, to say the least. As the streakiest team in the league Wesleyan has had a lot of ups and downs, so we’ll go ahead and throw this one in the “down” category. The defense wasn’t good, Piccirillo couldn’t get anything going vertically, and there was no rushing attack whatsoever. I don’t mean to be too harsh, but this team was supposed to be a title contender. No way did anyone think that they’d have 3 losses before playing Williams and Trinity. They do still have one game left with Bowdoin, but all I’m saying is that ending with a losing record is a bad look.

(7) 7. Hamilton (2-4) 

The long bus ride must have gotten to them because the Continentals did not show up to play against Colby this weekend. The Mules have been playing well and are certainly on the rise, but Hamilton has more talent and frankly should have won this game. QB Kenny Gray ’20 couldn’t get anything going in the air and a solid effort running the ball wasn’t enough to make up for it. WR Joe Schmidt ’20 hasn’t been the same difference maker that he was last year and it’s hard to say whether that’s a result of a down year from him, Gray, or both. Probably both. Whatever the case may be, Hamilton has to refocus for their matchup with Williams or else they’re in danger of really embarrassing themselves.

(8) 8. Colby (1-5)

RB Jake Schwern ’19 is doing a great job taking some of the pressure off of first year quarterback Matt Hersch

I’m going to say nearly the exact opposite for Colby that I said for Hamilton. Things are looking good in Waterville. First of all, the Mules’ secondary receives more credit than it has gotten this year. This unit allows just 159 passing yards per game, which is second to just Trinity for fewest in the league. They did a terrific job containing the prolific arm of Kenny Gray and have quietly been putting together a fantastic season. On top of this, QB Matt Hersch ’22 continued to look excellent, orchestrating several impressive drives culminating in the final drive that resulted in the game-winning field goal. Whatever Coach Cosgrove is doing up there is working and they’ll look to keep it up this weekend in their first CBB matchup with Bates.

(10) 9. Bates (0-6)

They had their chances. The Bobcats trailed 28-6 late in the first half and came roaring back within 1 before ultimately losing 35-34 to the Panthers on Saturday. They had 3 full possessions while down a point and were unable to put the finishing touch on a remarkable effort. It turned out that the blocked extra point from Bates’ first touchdown of the day made the difference, and Middlebury escaped with this one. QB Brendan Costa ’21 looked very legit, finding 6 different receivers for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding another 111 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Bates’ offense goes as Costa goes, and on this day Costa had it going. All they can ask for is another performance like this one, and they could really use it in a rivalry matchup with Colby in Week 7.

(9) 10. Bowdoin (0-6)

I know you can’t expect much when you’re a weak team playing against one of the league’s best, but the Polar Bears have to be disappointed with what they’ve gotten out of QB Austin McCrum ’20 so far this year. When you transfer from a Division I school there’s obviously a lot of hype, especially at a position as important as quarterback. With a league-worst 13 interceptions to go along with the fewest yards per attempt and lowest efficiency rating among starters, McCrum is showing us why he ended up in Division III after all. Bowdoin takes on Wesleyan this Saturday, followed by Bates and then Colby in the final two weeks. That gives them 3 chances to end their losing streak that currently sits at 23 games. Good luck, fellas.

Changes to Tradition: Week 6 Stock Report

Stock Report 10/22/17

Stock Up

Tufts’ Title Chances

Obviously this isn’t a slight to Amherst, they are still the favorite and will be at the top of tomorrow’s power rankings, but Tufts is making serious moves. After handing Williams their second consecutive loss by a score of 28-21, Tufts now sits at 5-1 and is just one game back from first place. Since they play Amherst this weekend, they control their own destiny if they win out. Now, I still don’t think that the Jumbos would be the favorite this weekend as the game is in Mammoth territory, but Ryan McDonald and the strong Tufts receivers are looking ready to take us all to upset central this weekend.

Tufts is playing as a team like Chance Brady ’17 did as an individual.

Colby’s CBB Chances

Although Hamilton has been consistently inconsistent, they are far more talented than some of the other Maine teams, and Colby’s win last weekend (23-21) was a turning point in their program history. This was their first win over a non-Maine team since October 22nd, 2016, and shows that perhaps Coach Jack Cosgrove has something in the works for this team. Matt Hersch ’22 threw for nearly 300 yards and connected with ten different receivers to lead them to a win against the Continentals who were fresh off of a win against Wesleyan, who beat Midd, who beat Williams. Does that mean Colby beat all those teams by the transitive property? Not quite, but it was a big win, and the first one of the Cosgrove era.

Bates QB Brendan Costa ‘21

I had never seen Costa play in person until last weekend, and after looking at the box scores in his career, I had assumed he was just a run first player. I thought that last year, his stats were the product of the system Bates ran, and although they tried to switch to more of a pass first system this year, I thought their lack of pass success was due to Costa’s inability to throw. Although he hasn’t thrown for over 177 yards, reaching that season high this weekend, his arm is big and once he gets more on the same page with his receivers Bates could have a dangerous offense. He had several impressive touchdown passes, leading his receivers well and throwing an incomplete downfield bomb showing his arm strength. He also clearly has speed and is super shifty, so once the Bobcat blocking improves, they could be dangerous.

Stock Down

Wesleyan’s…everything

The Cardinals have lost a lot of credibility in recent weeks.

It’s been all downhill for Wesleyan since their week one win against Middlebury. They are 2-3 for the last five weeks and have only beaten teams from Maine. The previously beastly Mark Piccirillo has looked not only human but even weak at some points, throwing for just 104 yards against Amherst last weekend. Yes, Amherst has the best defense in the NESCAC (yes, I said it, Amherst parents) but he really dropped the ball, ensuring their elimination. He didn’t account for a touchdown and neither did anybody else on the Cardinals, and the entire team rushed for just 3 yards. Wait, no, they rushed for -3 yards. Yikes.

Williams’ Grit

I’d like to exclude TJ Rothmann from this stock down on the disappointment of how Williams has played in recent weeks. They have looked young, undisciplined, and overmatched against teams they are simply more talented than. Reports said Rothmann was only questionable last week rather than designated as out after suffering a broken jaw…so he is definitely not soft. Bobby Maimaron threw for just 107 against Tufts and no receivers tallied up over 44 yards. Yes, Maimaron ran for 135 yards on the ground, but that’s the point—they have the talent to win every game they play, but unless they figure it out and put a whole game together, especially on defense in the secondary with their linebackers, they will be just a team with potential.

Big Spreads and Small Hopes; Week 6 Weekend Preview

 

Well folks we are just over halfway through the season and are getting a pretty clear idea of how the conference is going to shake out. Teams have separated into three tiers and it is pretty easy to see where each team lies. The top four teams all have at least four wins, Amherst leading the way with five. Secondly, there are the 3 mid-tier teams, all hovering right around the .500 mark. Finally, we have the three winless teams, all of whom happen to reside in the same state. These three tiers make predictions much easier, almost always if a higher-tier team is playing a lower one, they will win by a significant margin. That being said, it is football and there are some unexpected upsets every now and then. Let’s hope for more unexpected results as we roll into the final half of the season.

 

Hamilton (2-3) @ Colby (0-5)

 

Hamilton found themselves on the right side of a blowout for the first time in a long time. The Continentals dropped 62 points on Bowdoin, the second highest total in their 128 years of football.  QB Kenny Gray was absolutely incredible. He completed 74% of his passes, totalling 293 yards and 4 touchdowns in their air. Additionally, he contributed 8 rushes for 87 yards. David Kagan and Mitch Bierman added a touch down each while Joe Park added 2 of his own. Will Budington was Gray’s main endzone target, hauling in three touchdowns on the day. It was clear that Bowdoin had no answer for the Hamilton offense and Hamilton took advantage of that. Bowdoin tried to stay in the game initially, only trailing by 11 at halftime. After a few second half adjustments Hamilton was able to shut down the Polar Bears completely, not allowing a single point in the second half. Hamilton has now established itself as a middle of the league program and they have another opportunity to trash a lesser team this weekend. If the Continentals are in similar form on Saturday, things may go their way in Waterville.

 

Colby has lost 5 straight games to start the season, but not all losses are created equal. Their 35-9 loss to Amherst last weekend was to be expected, but they seem to have more and more positives to build off of as the season goes along. QB Matt Hersch continued to look solid for the Mules despite playing arguably the best team in the conference. Hersch completed 28 passes, resulting in 212 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers are not too shabby considering that he is a freshman, in his 3rd ever start, playing an undefeated team. Their defense left more to be desired as they allowed Amherst to jump out to a 28-0 lead at the half. A much improved second half saw the Mules only allow 7 points and even record a turnover, but the damage had been done a while ago. Colby has been overpowered from the start in each of their previous matchups, but perhaps that is not true this weekend. Despite their blowout last week, Hamilton seems to be the weakest opponent that the Mules have faced to this point. With constant improvement and a decrease in opponent quality, maybe the the Mules can pull off a surprise win at home.

 

Score Prediction:

Hamilton 31 Colby 24

 

Bates (0-5) @ Middlebury (3-2)

 

Conrado Banky might just have his way with the Bobcat defense at home this weekend.

Bates was clearly overmatched by Wesleyan last week, dropping the contest 44-13. The big play plagued their defense, allowing 4 touchdowns on plays of 30 or more yards. Although their defense did give up quite a few big plays, they made one of their own on a 68 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. In fact, their defense scored half of their points. QB Brendan Costa was basically a non-factor in the game, only amassing 78 yards in the air. Their ground game was equally unimpressive, totaling 79 yards between 5 different carriers. With only 157 yards of offense as a team, Bates never give themselves a chance. After a surprising victory, as a result of much improved defense, Midd will be another tough task for the Bobcats.

 

Middlebury’s victory over a previously undefeated Williams has to be the upset of the season so far. After Williams beat Trinity, it seemed as if they were the lead candidate for conference champs. Midd was able to turn that narrative around by handing them a clinical 21-10 loss. QB Will Jernigan took over the game, running for one of Midd’s touchdown and throwing for the other two. RB Peter Scibilia was fantastic as well, putting up 143 yards on the ground. The defense is truly what shined for the Panthers this weekend. They held Williams to their least points scored on the season and was able to pick off QB Bobby Maimaron twice as well as force a sack-fumble. Midd was able to shut down the player with the most combined passing and rushing touchdowns in the league, a big turnaround from giving up 52 points to Wesleyan opening weekend. Midd is red hot right now and I would not expect an 0-5 team like Bates to be able to stop them. This should be a fun weekend for Midd fans up in Vermont.

 

Score Prediction: Middlebury 38 Bates 9

 

Trinity (4-1) @ Bowdoin (0-5)

The Bantams are going to keep chugging along this weekend.

Trinity bounced back nicely last week, earning themselves a 38-24 come from behind win against Tufts. The Bantams allowed Tufts to jump out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, but were able to take control after that. The majority of Trin’s scores came on their ground game. QB Jordan Vazzano rushed for 2 while Max Chipouras and Devante Reid added scores of their own. Vazzano tacked on 220 yards and a touchdown in the air for good measure. After the first quarter the Bantam defense took over, not allowing Tufts a point in the second or third quarter. This was a great momentum shifter for Trinity after suffering their first loss of the season in the previous weekend. The Bantams have proved that they can still beat anyone in the conference and still have an opportunity to clinch yet another conference championship. After last week, Bowdoin should make for very light work.

 

There are not many positive comments to make about the Polar Bears after they allowed themselves to be demolished by mid-tier program such as Hamilton. Their defense could do absolutely nothing to slow down the Continentals and it more than showed in the scoreline. QB Austin McCrum was able to record 3 touchdowns but continues his woes by being picked off 3 times as well. RB Brendan ward couldn’t get much going either, picking up 81 yards and not reaching the end zone. When you turn the ball over 4 times, as Bowdoin did, you don’t give yourself much of a chance to win. When you allow over 500 yards of offense and 8 touchdowns, you give yourself absolutely no shot at a win. It probably won’t get much better this week as Bowdoin has to face a Trinity team that may be the most talented in the league.

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Score Prediction: Trinity 55 Bowdoin 17

 

Amherst (5-0) @ Wesleyan (3-2)

Andrew Sommer and the Stampede are coming to take their sixth win in as many chances this weekend.

Amherst continued their dominance last week in a 35-9 win over Colby. Amherst played a very simple and efficient game and was able to take home an easy win. QB Ollie Eberth continued to look excellent for the Mammoths, he threw for 194 yards and completed 3 touchdowns. Eberth was able to add another touchdown on the ground to add on to an excellent day. RB Biafra Okoronkwo had an absolute day of it, rushing for 185 yards and a touchdown of his own. Everything about Amherst’s offense was working and they were able to manipulate Colby’s defense with ease. The defense was equally as impressive, forcing the Mules to punt 5 times as well as forcing them to turn the ball over on downs on 4 separate occasions. This Amherst team seems to be the most complete program in the conference and the fact that they are undefeated reflects that. Although Wesleyan is a better team than Colby, there is nothing to prove that Amherst have slowed down at any point this season, or that anyone can beat them.

 

Wesleyan didn’t face many challenges in their 44-13 win over Bates last weekend. The Cardinals were able to put up 23 points in the third quarter alone while limiting the Bobcats to only one score in each half. It only took QB Mark Piccirillo 10 completions to find the back of the endzone on 3 separate occasions. Piccirillo, Charlie McPhee and Sean Penny were also able to score on the ground, rounding out the 6 touchdowns for the Cardinals. 2 of Piccirillo 3 touchdowns went to WR Dario Highsmith, making him the most targeted red zone receiver on the day. Defensively, Wesleyan was terrific. They only allowed the Bates offense to score on them once, while their other touchdown was on a fumble recovery. Wesleyan stuck to their game plan and it played dividends. Although everything seemed to go Wesleyan’s way last weekend, it will likely be a different story this weekend. Nobody is yet to be Amherst and the Cardinals are likely not going to be the first one. While Wesleyan has appeared to be a dominant team at points in the season, they have not shown that against the top-tier teams in the conference. This weekend is another chance for them to dismiss that narrative and show they can run with the big dogs.

 

Score Prediction: Amherst 28 Wesleyan 13

Everybody Likes a Spoiler: Week 5 Stock Report

Stock Report 10/15/17

Just when we get over the halfway point of the season and think we know what’s going on, something changes. Middlebury came out of nowhere to upset one of the league favorites in Williams, and Hamilton erupted for the most dominant offensive performance of 2018. While we still got most of the picks right (4/5), the next few weeks will be all the more unpredictable with higher stakes.

Stock Up

Hamilton’s Legitimacy

Hamilton was one of my picks to move up to the top half of the league this year given their aggressive number of returning players. With such a veteran presence on the playing field, they should be able to beat some younger teams (Bowdoin, Bates, and maybe Midd and Williams) due to lack of mistakes and experience. They should at least put up a fight against some of the tougher teams in the league. While they were dominated by Tufts, Amherst, and Trinity, those are three of the four most talented teams in the league who also have heavy veteran presences. They had four passing and four rushing TDs last weekend against a Bowdoin team that nearly knocked off an inconsistent but talented Middlebury team. They also beat one of the league favorites in Wesleyan, and as a result, while they are clearly not on par talent wise with some teams, I wouldn’t be shocked if they finished above .500.

Middlebury’s Game Management

Peter Scibilia is showing us that he is a NESCAC back to be reckoned with following his 140+ yard performance against Williams.

The first four weeks against Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Colby, and Amherst, the Middlebury Panthers looked rushed, unorganized, and uncertain about their offensive identity. Their talented skill players, depth at both WR and TE, and capable rushers, were not utilized the way anybody envisioned they would be. An injury to senior captain and starting QB Jack Meservy opened the door for Will Jernigan to manage the entire game against Williams. While Meservy flashed talent in the pocket last year and at times this year, their system using both Meservy and Jernigan made it so neither QB could get any kind of rhythm. They out-talented Colby and Bowdoin, but were beat by comparably talented and better managed Amherst and Wesleyan teams. They couldn’t have looked more different against Williams in their 21-10 victory. Jernigan may not have had a sexy passing day in his starting debut, throwing for just 162 yards, but his use of the RPO and QB designed runs had the Eph defense reeling. The Panthers rushed for 278 yards and ate up the clock. They don’t really have a shot at a title anymore, but they could be some scary spoilers and bring the heat in trap games against Trinity and Tufts. Also a not so talked about aspect of the game–their blocking was phenomenal.

The Way Things Should Be

I said that Max Chipouras was the Trinity X-Factor in their game against Tufts. I stand by that pick, and also questioned whether he lost a step after some recent duds of performances. Well, if there’s anything I’ve learned from covering NESCAC football for my four years of college, it’s that Chipouras is the best back in the league and that he should dominate. Thankfully, after his game against Tufts, everything makes sense again. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry on the ground and accumulated 164 yards and a TD, showing us once again exactly what he’s made of.

Stock Down

Williams Rush Defense

Apparently Rothmann broke his jaw on Saturday, and if so, can the Eph defense control the run without him?

After writing that Amherst, Trinity, and Tufts had the best run defenses in the league, Karp gave me a hard time about how his boys in Williamstown deserves some more recognition. He had a good point that some of those other teams hadn’t faced many competent rushers and Williams did limit Chipouras to less than 4 yards per carry, but his claims didn’t hold up against the Panthers. Williams lost their biggest defensive playmaker, TJ Rothmann, to a jaw injury in the first quarter, leaving them without a leader on the field and without any confidence against a young Middlebury rushing attack. Middlebury kept their pace of play quick, and the Williams linebackers and defensive lines got lit up all afternoon, losing control of the game. If Rothmann isn’t good to go next weekend against Tufts, Ryan McDonald could have a big game running a similar style offense to Will Jernigan.

Maine Football

Nate Richam had us all excited after his week two performance against Middlebury, but where has he (and Bowdoin’s O Line) been since then?

I guess this one isn’t as much of a stock down as it is a ‘stock not up,’ since Maine football hasn’t really been too hot lately. Bowdoin gave us all some hope earlier this year when Nate Richam dominated Middlebury on the ground, while Griff Stalcup and Austin McCrum have showed both talent and chemistry with their unique offensive scheme. Colby has made some changes by starting first year QB Matt Hersch and coach Jack Cosgrove has attempted to make his mark on the NESCAC, failing thus far to turn around the Mules program. Bates, like Colby, had high hopes with their new head coach, Malik Hall, but have struggled to transition to the ‘air raid’ offense that was promised, likely due to the lack of a talented passing QB. Colby allowed 35 points with no turnovers on offense, Bowdoin allowed eight touchdowns (although they did turn the ball over 5 times), and Bates allowed 35 points also without turning the ball over on offense. While we don’t expect these teams to have great offensive performances against tough defenses, they will never have a chance if they can’t limit even the not-so-scary offensive attacks that the NESCAC has to offer (Amherst and Hamilton this week). Maybe nobody should win the CBB this year as all the Maine teams are 0-5 and at this point, nobody wants a participation trophy, right?

What We Expected: Week 4 Power Rankings

Week 4 Power Rankings

This was about as boring a weekend of football as you can possibly get in the NESCAC. Colby kept things somewhat close with Wesleyan, but it only became a one-possession game again with 14 seconds remaining. Every game went more or less exactly the way we thought, and the one game that seemed like it could be interesting ended up with Amherst shutting out Middlebury. I guess it’s good that we’re getting the boring weeks out of the way so that we can get some good end-of-season drama. Fingers crossed.

(1) 1. Williams (4-0) 

The Ephs took care of Bates this weekend with relative ease, 31-7. Williams actually threw the ball just 19 times the entire game, as QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 was 11-19 for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is a modest stat line by his standards, but his arm wasn’t really needed since RB TJ Dozier ’21 pummeled the Bates run defense with 12 carries for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. Not much has changed for Williams in the past week, but one notable stat is that they haven’t allowed a single point in the third quarter of any game all season. This really is a testament to the halftime coaching adjustments as well as simply a very stout defense. They host Middlebury in Week 5 looking to stay atop the rankings.

(2) 2. Tufts (4-0)

QB Ryan McDonald ’19 is showing off his versatility as a runner much more this season

At the start of the year, I don’t think anyone could have envisioned Tufts’ defense looking as prolific as they have thus far. Bowdoin may not be the most talented team in the league, but a shutout in football is very hard to come by. As a unit they lead the league in sacks (14), allow the second fewest rushing yards per game (58.3), and allow the fourth fewest passing yards per game (173). Senior defensive lineman Jared Ashler ’19 is 3rd in the NESCAC with 3 sacks on the year and with the help of guys like DL Nmesoma Nwafor ’19 and LB Stephen Timmins ’20, this Jumbo defense* is consistently getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The defense will have to bring their A-game this weekend when they travel to Hartford to take on the league’s top offense.

*Being called the “Jumbo defense” makes it sound like they have a wall of 6’5”, 280 lbs studs not letting anyone by. I wouldn’t want to have to play against them.

(3) 3. Amherst (4-0)

Amherst pulled off a very convincing win over Middlebury on Saturday. After losing to the Panthers by a combined 5 points in the last two years, the Mammoth defense* was suffocating, not allowing a point over the full 60 minutes. The offense looked good, although star RB Jack Hickey ’19 did not play the entire game, meaning he must be injured. If he is out for an extended period of time then this would be a huge blow for the Amherst offense that is built around the run game. The good thing is that they’re getting exactly the type of quarterback play that they need. If you were to Google search “game manager quarterback” you’d find a picture of Ollie Eberth ’20 right under a picture of AJ McCarron. Eberth doesn’t throw for a ton of yards, but he’s yet to throw an interception this season and he leads all starters with a 64% completion percentage. The formula is there for the Mammoths, and they’ll have one last dress rehearsal this weekend against Colby before they get to the challenging portion of their schedule.

*Ok so “Mammoth defense” is probably the only thing that sounds more intimidating than “Jumbo defense.” Well done NESCAC and your weird mascots.

(4) 4. Trinity (3-1)

The Bantams got back to what they do best with a 44-7 spanking of Hamilton. QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 continues to have an unsettlingly low completion percentage, but his job isn’t so hard since it basically just requires him to throw the ball in the general vicinity of either Jonathan Girard ’21 or Koby Schofer ’20, who are first and third respectively in receiving yards per game and receiving touchdowns. The defense is having another terrific season, as they’ve allowed the fewest passing yards and total yards, as well as third fewest rushing yards in the conference. After the loss to Williams in Week 3, Trinity needs to win out and hope for a couple of Eph losses if they want a chance at the title. The road continues with a marquee matchup against Tufts this weekend.

(5) 5. Wesleyan (2-2)

WR Hallvard Lundevall ’20 has emerged as Wesleyan’s top receiving threat

I can’t quite figure out the Cardinals this year. They looked like the team to beat this year after they blasted Middlebury in Week 1, but they’ve seemed very shaky since then. Although they led the entire way, a 28-20 victory over Colby is not a particularly definitive result. Wesleyan’s run defense has been excellent, but they haven’t done a great job defending the pass and this trend continued against the Mules when they allowed 277 pass yards and 3 touchdowns to freshman QB Matt Hersch ’22. QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is having a good year, but the Cardinals haven’t really showed many threats on offense. They’ll look to figure things out this weekend when they head up north to take on Bates.

(6) 6. Middlebury (2-2)

The struggles continued for the Panthers who were embarrassed at home by a very strong Amherst squad. Since taking over the starting role, QB Will Jernigan ’21 has had a tough time getting anything going with his receiving corps. He was only able to muster 133 passing yards on 15 completions against the Mammoths, and although this was technically his season high, it isn’t much considering how much talent they have at receiver. Allowing 301 yards and 21 total points isn’t a bad defensive effort at all, but the offense needs to produce a lot more than it has. They’ve got another tough matchup this Saturday as they’ll head down to take on the Ephs in Williamstown.

(7) 7. Hamilton (1-3)

Not to say that I expected Hamilton to beat Trinity, but after sneaking away with win at Wesleyan I at least expected a better performance. The Continentals looked just like they did in the first three weeks of the season, only managing to accumulate 213 yards of total offense while allowing 503. I haven’t played a down of football in my life but I know that isn’t going to win you a lot of games. The defense hasn’t been as good as it should be given the talent that Hamilton has on that side of the ball, and QB Kenny Gray ’20 simply hasn’t been very impressive this season. I thought this was going to be his big breakout year, and that just hasn’t happened. If the Continentals weren’t excited before then now is the time because they host their weakest opponent of the season so far in Bowdoin on Saturday.

(10) 8. Colby (0-4)

The 3 Maine schools could really be put in any order, but for the sake of excitement I’m judging them on a week-to-week basis. Week 4 was a big week for Colby. A loss is a loss, but they have a lot of reasons to be excited moving forward. First of all, rookie QB Matt Hersch ’22 completed a career-high 23 passes for a career high 277 yards and a career high 3 touchdowns. Not a bad day, huh? Second of all, the defense allowed a season-low 28 points. Wesleyan is a good team, so it was impressive that this defense could compete and keep the Mules in this game. D-lineman Nick Wilcox ’22 has looked very impressive as he had 7 tackles and 1 sack on Piccirillo, and is second on the team overall in tackles. Colby will take on Amherst this weekend in another very challenging matchup, then finally they’ll play some more winnable games against Hamilton and Bates in the following weeks.

(9) 9. Bates (0-4)

RB Liam Spillane ’21 tallied a career high in carries and yards against Williams

I’d say the Bates vs. Williams game went exactly how we would have expected. Williams was clearly the better team but the Bobcats hung around, only trailing 17-7 at the end of the third quarter before ultimately losing 31-7. It was the same story we’ve seen for Bates; they stay in games for a little while until the defense eventually gets too tired from being on the field all game so they fade at the end. DB’s Jon Lindgren ’20 and Anthony Costa ’21 continue to be the team’s standout defensive players and the real problem is that they don’t have any standout offensive players. Liam Spillane ’21 took over as lead running back against Williams, rushing 24 times for 72 yards. This is a respectable stat line, but the problem is the passing offense more than the running game. Their next game is against Wesleyan who has struggled against the pass, so we’ll see if Bates can come up with a better effort on Saturday.

(8) 10. Bowdoin (0-4)

We were seeing improvements from the Polar Bears, especially on offense, but they ran into a very hot Tufts team and were run right over. QB Austin McCrum ’20 threw the ball 47 times but completed just 21 of those passes for a mere 162 yards. I don’t think this game is indicative of how Bowdoin will be moving forward, but it definitely is a step in the wrong direction. They were without starting running back Nate Richam ’20 so the running game took a hit, but getting shut out is a bad look no matter what. The defense wasn’t great, but it hasn’t been great all season and Tufts is a strong team. This was one to forget for Bowdoin. On to Hamilton.

Can we keep the upsets coming? Week 4 Weekend Preview

Week 3 brought us some score lines that were not be expected to say the least. Hamilton came out of nowhere to take down Wesleyan and Williams was able to keep Trin at bay, which previously seemed impossible. I, for one, am extremely excited about these upsets which changed the landscape of a previously extremely predictable NESCAC football season. Here’s to week 4, and hopefully a few more unexpected results.

Wesleyan (1-2) @ Colby (0-3)

The last time that Wesleyan had a losing record through week 3 was all the way back in 2009, after a week 3, 16-13 overtime loss to none other than the Colby Mules. Wesleyan’s poor start was not expected to say the least. After coming out guns blazing in week 1 versus Midd, the Cardinals just haven’t had what it takes to finish out a game. A wildly unexpected loss to Hamilton last week has brought Wesleyan to a crossroads They can either devolve as a team here and turn a potential NESCAC championship season to a wate, or they can analyze their issues and salvage what they can. Wesleyan allowed Hamilton QB Kenny Gray to tear them apart last weekend, accounting for 4 TDs. Although Colby is not known for their passing game, there is clearly some sloppy D that needs to be corrected by the Cardinals. Additionally, the run game has looked below average for Wesleyan, averaging barely over 3 yards an attempt last weekend. We know Wesleyan’s offense can be potent based upon week 1 but they just haven’t seemed to have the same fire the last two weeks. A game against the Mules should be a good opportunity for Wesleyan to work on their issues and figure out what needs tweaking. Despite this, don’t sleep on Wesleyan against teams like Amherst and Williams, they still may have what it takes to dethrone the top teams in the league.

Wesleyan has very little shot at a ring after their shocking loss in week 3, but how will they respond?

Colby comes in to this contest 0-3, which is never a good sign. The Mules certainly made progress against Midd last week, which was a close 10-7 score until late in the 4th quarter when the game absolutely exploded to result in a 31-14 finish. Freshman QB Matt Hersh got his first career start and established a semi-effective passing game for the Mules, accounting for 182 yards and 2 TDs while allowing 2 interceptions. RB Jake Schwern was the workhorse per usual, having nearly 30 carries but only resulting in 82 yards. CJ Hassan and Chase Goode were each able to record a pic for the Mules, both of which helped keep the game close until late. It’s very hard to win a football game when you turn the ball over 5 times and the Mules know that better than anybody. Ball security is a major issue and has not seemed to be addressed thus far this season. Colby should take this weekend as an opportunity to steal a game from a struggling Wesleyan team. As we learned last week, anything can happen.

Colby is coming off a surprisingly competitive game against Midd. Now they play a team with weakened spirits.

Score Prediction: Wesleyan 38 Colby 14

Williams (3-0) @ Bates (0-3)

Williams has to be feeling good after taking down defending champs Trinity in Williamstown last weekend. Their defense was terrific, holding Trinity to only field goals until a minute left in the 4th quarter. A previously intimidating Bantam offense looked weak against the Ephs. Ben Anthony and TJ Rothmann were both able to pickoff wonderboy Jordan Vazzano and their offense didn’t turn over the ball once. Williams has established their dominance in the CAC and should have an extremely easy time this weekend against a Bates team that has given up 47 and 52 points in their last two matchups. Bates gave up 59 to Trin and Williams beat Trin, by the transitive property, this game could be ugly. Expected QB Bobby Maimaron to continue being dominant and the Williams D to continue to shut down their opponent, this game should be an easy one for the Ephs.

Bates had another rough week in Medford, allowing 37 points unanswered in the second half. To give the Bobcats some credit, they did give Jumbos fans a scare with their 14-10 halftime lead. QB Brendan Costa was decent, throwing for 160 yards and a TD, but it was not nearly enough to counter Tufts. Their run game was abysmal, only picking up 38 yards as a team, 30 of which were Costa’s. When your QB accounts for 96% of your total offense, you’re going to be pretty easy to stop. Without a real running back, Bates’ offense is stagnant at best and the Jumbos were able to figure that out at halftime and exploit the hell out of it. If I were the Bobcats I would brace for impact because it’s going to be another rough week in Lewiston.

Score Prediction: Williams 52 Bates 13

Trinity (2-1) @ Hamilton (1-2)

Trinity needs to lock down this weekend to keep their championship hopes alive.

A week ago this time, this would’ve been a completely different ballgame. Trinity was 2-0 and absolutely rolling. They had scored 94 points and only given up 16 through two weeks, those are some wild numbers. It seemed as if nobody could stop them, until they took a trip to Williamstown. Jordan Vazzano looked completely different, throwing 2 pics and only completing 14 of his 43 attempts. RB Max Chipouras was held to 3.6 yds/attempt and 0 touchdowns. What happened to that electrifying offense that we know and love (or hate)? Their defense took a hit too, not recording a single turnover and allowing 4.5 yards/play. Has Trinity lost its edge, or is Williams simply far better than we had thought? We’ll have the answer to that question after Saturday’s game.

We witnessed an absolute stunner last weekend as Hamilton was able to pull out a last-second upset against Wesleyan. QB Kenny Gray was amazing to say the least, passing for 193 yards and 4 TDs. RB Joe Park made good use of his attempts, rushing for 103 yards on only 18 attempts. A Continental offense that had been held to only 16 points in their first two games had suddenly come to life. Now the question is, can this kind of offense be sustained against an elite defense such as Trinity? Despite their loss last week, Trinity has still only allowed 12.7 pts/game and it will not be an easy feat to take them down. Hamilton’s defense was solid, picking off QB Mark Piccirillo once and doing just enough to keep their newfound offense in the game. Although Wesleyan’s offense is solid, Trinity will be a whole ‘nother beasts for the Continentals to conquer. I’d keep this game on upset alert, but no promises.

Score Prediction: Trinity 31 Hamilton 17

Tufts (3-0) @ Bowdoin (0-3)

Another week, another win for the Jumbos. Tufts have continued to prove that they have one of, if not the best, defenses in the league. They made easy work of Bates in their 47-14 victory. Although fans may have had a bit of a scare at halftime, as they were down 14-10, a change of strategy allowed Tufts to put up 37 points while allowing none in the second half. The Jumbos spread the ball around efficiently, having 4 different players rush for touchdowns and 2 different receivers hauling in TDs. All in all, it was a pretty easy week for Tufts. Whenever you have nearly 350 more yards of offense than your opponent things are going well, and things are going very well in Medford. I think Tufts has the most well-rounded team in the NESCAC and they have proved that in every week of play. Similar to Bates, Bowdoin shouldn’t be much of a challenge for the Jumbos. Expect another crooked scoreboard and another solid week for Tufts.

Rounding out the 0-3 CBB teams is Bowdoin. One positive aspect that the Polar Bears can take away from last week’s 24-12 loss to Amherst is that QB Austin McCrum looks like he’s starting to settle in and had a much better week than his first two. His 242 yards and 2 TDs are a solid stat line, but unfortunately he didn’t have any help from the running game. After a monster week 2, RB Nate Richam just couldn’t get anything going in week 3. He rushed for a mere 30 yards on 16 attempts, miles away from his 288 yard, 2 TD performance against Midd. It seems as if Bowdoin has one side of their offense going one week and the other the next. If they were able to get both the running and passing game going simultaneously, this may be a completely different team. Defensively, there was not much to write home about. When you allow 493 yards per game, the worst in the league, you don’t give your offense much of a chance. For Bowdoin, and Bates and Colby for that matter, it’s pretty clear that they only thing they have to compete for this year is the CBB crown. For Bowdoin fans that means praying for upsets until the last two weeks of the season, when the games actually count.

Score Prediction: Tufts 54 Bowdoin 14

New Number One: Week 3 Power Rankings

Finally we got a little bit of excitement. NESCAC football can feel very predictable at times, but this weekend flipped the script on us. Williams gritted out a win over former #1 Trinity and Hamilton absolutely shocked Wesleyan to drop them to 1-2, essentially removing them from title contention. Bowdoin battled with Amherst, Bates led Tufts at halftime, and Colby stayed within 3 points of Middlebury until the fourth quarter. This type of weekend is exactly what we were hoping to see more of, and fortunately it took just three weeks to get here.

(3) 1. Williams (3-0)

Frank Stola ’21 is tied for the league lead with 4 receiving touchdowns

They say that in order to be the best you have to beat the best. Well, there’s no doubt that Williams earned it this week. The most potent offense in the league came to town following a 59-point outburst in Week 2 and was stymied by this young Eph defense. There’s no question that QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 put together a fine effort and WR Frank Stola ’21 had an outstanding game catching passes, but the story of this one was the defense. LB TJ Rothmann ’21 is putting together an early case for defensive player of the year, grabbing an interception and a fumble recovery against Trinity to go along with a game-high 15 tackles. Williams is hot right now and they’ll likely improve to 4-0 after their visit to Lewiston this weekend.

(2) 2. Tufts (3-0)

The Jumbos started out slow against Bates, even trailing 14-10 at the half. Whatever Coach Civetti said to his team at halftime clearly resonated, because they proceeded to score 37 unanswered points in the second half. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 had another solid game passing for 207 yards and adding another 161 on the ground. The receiving corps has looked very deep so far, with 5 different players who have caught at least 5 passes on the season. The defense continues to look solid, although a bit shaky at times against the Bobcats. LB Greg Holt ’20 is picking up right where he left off from his All-NESCAC campaign last season, pacing the team with 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks. They, too, should get to 4-0 after a date with Bowdoin in Week 4. 

(4) 3. Amherst (3-0)

Amherst is one of the 3 remaining unbeaten teams, although I haven’t been particularly impressed with their body of work so far. A 24-14 win over Bowdoin is not the greatest win on paper, but they are getting the job done. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 had an incredibly efficient game against the Polar Bears in which he went 19-26 with 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding 78 yards with his legs. WR Bo Berluti ’19 continues to serve as the top target for Eberth, as he racked up 97 receiving yards and a touchdown in Week 3. What makes the Mammoths especially scary is their stout defense. Their pass defense isn’t anything particularly special, but they have only allowed 28 yards per game on the ground so far this season. I’m very intrigued to see what Amherst will look like when they face Middlebury in a much more difficult matchup than their first 3 weeks.

(1) 4. Trinity (2-1)

For the first time in a very long while, the Bantams looked very vulnerable. The problem is not their defense, as they’re top 3 in every major defensive category. The problem is that their offense seems very discombobulated right now. After obliterating Colby’s run defense, RB Max Chipouras ’19 hasn’t looked like the same all-world running back that he’s looked like in the past, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry against Bates and Williams. QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 completed just 14 of 44 passes against Williams, and he has a 41% completion percentage this season. Not only is this the lowest among all starters in the league, but it’s shockingly low for the starting quarterback on what is supposed to be one of the league’s best. 37 of Vazzano’s 43 completions have been to either Jonathan Girard ’21 or Koby Schofer ’20, so opposing teams are starting to realize that Trinity really doesn’t have a ton of offensive weapons at the moment. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond against a Hamilton team that is coming off a huge win in Week 3.

(5) 5. Wesleyan (1-2)

What a brutal 2-week stretch it has been for the Cardinals. After outplaying Tufts and losing on account of a pair of missed field goals, they respond by allowing a blocked punt to be returned 26 yards for a touchdown with a minute and a half left to lose to Hamilton. Yikes. Looks like special teams needs some work. The Wesleyan offense has looked pretty good, with QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 having another terrific season, and a group of receivers that has already somewhat exceeded expectations. It’s the other side of the ball that has really hurt them. Their allegedly intimidating defense looked awfully porous against a Continental team that had really been struggling to score coming into the game. Although their title chances may already have slipped away, I think the Cardinals are still a very talented team who will figure things out and get back on track. They’ve got a great opportunity to start doing just that with a matchup against Colby.

(6) 6. Middlebury (2-1)

The Panthers are very fortunate that they’ve had matchups with Colby and Bowdoin each of the last two weeks, because they clearly don’t know what’s going to be done about the quarterback position. QB Jack Meservy ’19 is clearly the guy they want, but he has struggled mightily, throwing just 5 touchdowns compared to 7 interceptions through parts of 3 games. Backup QB Will Jernigan ’21 has done a fine job so far, but he is more of a running threat and forces Middlebury to move away from the pass-heavy style that they love. The bottom line is whoever they choose needs to find their stud pass catchers. It’s also tricky that they face an Amherst team this weekend whose run defense has been light years better than their pass defense thus far. They’ve done just enough to win these past two weeks, but it’s time for the Panthers to face their first real test since they were smacked by Wesleyan in the season opener.

(9) 7. Hamilton (1-2)

The Continentals finally broke into the win column in a very big way this past weekend. After really struggling in their first two games, QB Kenny Gray ’20 had a much better outing, throwing for 4 touchdowns and evenly spreading the ball around to 5 different receivers. Freshman RB Joe Park ’22 had a breakout game, rushing 18 times for 104 yards and forcing the Wesleyan defense to respect the run so that their receivers were actually able to get open. This was a huge step up from having 7 total rushing yards through the first 2 weeks. The defense wasn’t perfect, but DB Ian Esliker ’21 came up with a timely interception and rookie DB Christian Snell ’22 made the play of the week by blocking a Wesleyan punt and recovering it for a touchdown with just a minute and a half left to play. This is the Hamilton team that I was expecting to see this season, so stay tuned to see if they can put together another huge performance against a Trinity team that’s reeling after their first loss this weekend.

(7) 8. Bowdoin (0-3)

WR/QB Griff Stalcup ’21 is making  very smooth positional change

I have to admit I’ve been somewhat impressed by Bowdoin these last two weeks. QB Austin McCrum ’20 is steadily improving and former starting QB Griff Stalcup ’21 is finding his niche as one of the team’s most effective wide receivers. He caught 11 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown against Amherst, and he certainly opens up a plethora of options for trick plays. They held the Mammoths to 24 points, which is a respectable effort and they’ve found their defensive leader in LB Joe Gowetski ’20 who currently leads the league with 32 tackles. As we mentioned in their team preview, the Polar Bears are making an effort to stay the course. They continue to improve each week and develop different facets of their game. They’ll play host to Tufts this weekend, providing another opportunity to get better as they get to the back half of their schedule. Keep an eye on the score in Brunswick on Saturday.

(8) 9. Bates (0-3)

I was so excited when the Bobcats took a 14-10 lead into the locker room at halftime against the Jumbos on Saturday. I thought this could be the breakout win for a young team with a new coach. Alas, Tufts came out and poured on 37 points while not allowing Bates to get past the 50 yard line once in the entire second half. There were some positives, like seeing the emergence of WR Kody Greenhalgh ’20 (yes, the same Kody Greenhalgh that plays guard on the basketball team) who caught 6 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. DB Anthony Costa ’21 tallied his second interception of the season and continues to see success in his first season since being converted from QB. Unfortunately, the Bobcats are facing a similar problem that they have in recent years: the offense can’t seem to get anything going, so the defense stays on the field the entire game and gets run to death. Something needs to change and I’m sorry to say that the change will probably not start this weekend, as they’ll take on the new number one team in the league.

(10) 10. Colby (0-3)

Coach Cosgrove should be very pleased with what he’s seeing from his team right now. They certainly don’t have the same talent that some of the top teams do, but his team is competing and starting to find a rhythm. QB Matt Hersch ’22 went 20 of 35 for 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, which was a pretty good effort in just his first career start, especially against a strong team like Middlebury. The Mules rely heavily on RB Jake Schwern ’19 who is having a very fine year as he sits at 5thin the NESCAC in rushing yards while adding 2 touchdowns. Their record may not indicate it, but things are starting to look promising up in Waterville. The Wesleyan Cardinals represent their next challenge, as they’ll make the trek up I-95 to visit Alfond Stadium.