Tag: Will Jernigan

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

Trinity Isn’t Number 1: Week 1 Power Rankings

The return of NESCAC football also brings with it the return of our weekly power rankings. Our weekly power rankings are one of my favorite things we do because they are almost entirely subjective and opinion-based and yet they make people very upset. I have been blessed with the opportunity to rank 10 entire college football teams based almost exclusively upon 60 whole minutes of football—this should be a ton of fun.

IMPORTANT LINK: https://www.nescac.com/sports/fball/2019-20/standings

I have gone ahead and included the link to the standings after Week 1. This link is for the people who think that the power rankings and the standings are the same thing: I have saved you 5-10 minutes of your life reading this article. For the rest of us, let’s get into it.

1. Amherst (1-0)

The Mammoths certainly don’t get any points for style in their 27-13 win over Bates, a game they found themselves trailing 13-6 at the half. Any questions that were asked of this team over the summer still linger—whether or not they will be able to replace their two leading rushers, or if they will be able to overcome the loss of 4 of their top 5 tacklers to graduation. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 looked good not great, going 15-31 for 236 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT, but Amherst certainly will not complain about emerging from a hectic Week 1 at 1-0.

2. Tufts (1-0)

How about the Jumbos? I was tempted to put them a little bit lower, but it would have been almost impossible to justify after they held the Trinity offense to just 8 points. The defense sacked QB Seamus Lambert ’22 6 times on Saturday, 3 of which came from DPOW DE Jovan Nenadovic ’22. I’m not quite ready to say that Tufts is a true championship contender but beating Trinity in Week 1 will go a long way to getting them in the conversation. First time starting QB Jacob Carroll ’20 was 13-23 for 173 yards and 2 TDs, but 128 of those yards came on 3 catches of 30+ yards to 3 different Tufts receivers. RB Mike Pedrini ’21 will need to give them more than 71 yards on 27 carries if they hope to remain at the top, but it’s tough to be upset about anything after this start to the season.

3. Trinity (0-1)

The Bantams are still the class of the league, but it’ll be an uphill battle the rest of the way

Before you complain: name 3 teams you know for sure are better than the 3-time defending league champions. Okay, glad we got that out of the way. Yes, it was a very disappointing week for the Bantams, whose gave them 8 points after having the third highest scoring season (324) in league history to pair with the most total offense (4179) in league history. I say this all to remind everyone of the talent this team has on paper. Yes, QB Seamus Lambert’s performance and the fact that he was pulled late for Jordan Vazzano ’21 do not give Trinity fans a lot to write home about, but there is a whole lot of football left and this team is too talented to not be able to figure it out. They have a free win on Saturday against Bowdoin and then a bit of a test Week 3 against Middlebury, a team they are also better than. If they beat Middlebury, they should show up in Week 7 at 5-1. Everyone calm down.

4. Middlebury (1-0)

This is where it starts to get tricky, but give me the Panthers here, who had almost as impressive a win as Tufts, beating Williams on a late, dramatic TD drive. After accumulating just 218 yards of total offense all day, QB Will Jernigan ’21 led the Panthers on a 7 play, 78-yard drive in just 2:01, having taken over at their own 22 with just 2:31 left on the clock. The only reason it is difficult to assess their performance is because of how little we still know about Williams, who came into the game already banged up and looking like a carbon copy of the worst version of their offensive selves from last season. 2 months from now, this Middlebury win could look like a fluke, or it could look completely unremarkable—it depends on both teams’ trajectories.

5. Williams (0-1)

The Williams defense held Midd, as I just mentioned, to just 218 yards and 10 points in the first 57 minutes and 29 seconds of the game. Yet the Panthers managed to engineer a clutch drive and found the endzone with just 30 seconds left to steal a week 1 win. But if the Ephs get a stop on that drive, they are still the same one-dimensional offense with the same flaws on defense, they are just 1-0 instead of 0-1. Yes, they traveled to Vermont with 3 of their starting linemen at the start of camp, and missing top targets TE Justin Burke ’21 and WR Rashad Morrison ’21. But everything else was the same—the rest of the league is unable to cover WR Frank Stola ’21 (6 catches, 151 yards, 2 TDs), and the running game is non-existent, 35 carries as a team for 101 yards. Unluckily for them, they don’t get the same chance as Trinity to run their confidence back up because Tufts is coming to town this weekend, but on the other hand, a win versus Tufts will be a huge confidence boost and they will be right back in the swing of things. We are going to learn A LOT about this team this week.

6. Wesleyan (1-0)

Probably a tough break for the Cardinals here, finding themselves 6th despite the fact that only 5 teams are 1-0. Apparently to some a win against Colby is impressive, but the reality in this league is that there are only 6 teams that matter in the big picture, and that will remain true until proven otherwise. QB Ashton Scott ’22 had a very impressive debut, going 18-30 for 217 yards and 3 TDs, as well as adding 76 yards on the ground, as he begins his quest to fill the very large shoes of QB Mark Piccirillo ’19. Wesleyan has Hamilton, Bates, and Bowdoin in their next three games before taking on Tufts in Week 5, so it might be awhile before we know what kind of team this is going to be. For now, they just need to continue to take care of business.

7. Hamilton (1-0)

A very fine performance by David Kagan propelled the Continentals to their first victory

Being the only remaining team to win a game this week, Hamilton slides in at 7 after defeating Bowdoin 37-24. As it has the last few years, this team will go as QB Kenny Gray ’20 goes, as talented a thrower as any in this league, despite his junior year drop off. Week 1 was not the most promising for Gray, who was just 8-20 for 157 yards and 1 TD (also adding 43 yards and another TD on the ground). RB David Kagan ’20 was the biggest bright spot for this team, earning OPOTW honors for his 195 yard and 3 TD performance, a performance which also earned him d3football.com Team of the Week honors.

8. Colby (0-1)

Always tough to rank these last three, but I’ll give Colby the early CBB nod almost strictly because they had the best record (3-6) last year. They did lose by 20 though, the biggest defeat of the week, so it’s going to be a short leash. The Colby offense had a much better day than their 10-point total would indicate, going for 364 yards of total offense. Unfortunately, it was the combination of 4 turnovers and going a whopping 1-11 on third down conversions that did this team in. Reigning co-ROY QB Matt Hersch ’22 had an iffy day, going 22-40 for 244 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs, but it’s a promising sign that they trust him enough to sling it 40 times. RB Chris George’s 104 rushing yards on just 18 carries is also a cause for excitement as they look to replace RB Jake Schwern ’19.

9. Bates (0-1)

To start the road to redemption after an 0-9 campaign with a 13-6 halftime lead at Amherst is not too shabby. Unfortunately, we play 60 minutes for a reason, and the second half was sung to a different tune, as Amherst scored the only 21 points of the final 30 and won 27-13. Much like the Williams-Middlebury game, the next 8 games will give us more of a feel for how this reflects on both Bates and Amherst—was it an off game for the Mammoths or is Bates going to be stingy this year?

10. Bowdoin (0-1)

In fairness, it was 24-21 Bowdoin with just 9:26 left in this game. Then David Kagan ’20 rattled off a 70 yard run and punched one in from 4 yards out just 54 seconds later, before adding one more a few minutes later for a rather misleading 37-24 score line in favor of Hamilton. You would’ve liked to have seen a few more standout individual performances from Bowdoin if there was any confidence to be gained going forward. RB Nate Richam-Odoi (who gets a lot of buzz for his 1400 career yards) had just 61 yards on 21 carries, and QB Austin McCrum was 24-43 for 229 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. The defense did have a collective 8 tackles for loss, which is going to be something they will have to lean on if they plan on allowing 246 rushing yards a game.

That Was Only Week 1??: Stock Report 9/17

Stock up

Tufts defense

There was no way that the Jumbo D wasn’t going to find itself in the stock up column this week. They held the league’s top scoring team over the last several seasons to just 8 (!!) points – the Bantams haven’t scored that few points in a game since the 2015 season. On the day, the Tufts defense recorded 6 sacks, 13 tackles for a loss, 2 interceptions, and 5 pass breakups. They were in the face of Trinity quarterback Seamus Lambert all day – so much so that Coach Devanney subbed in Jordan Vazzano ’21 for the final drive. While the entire unit deserves credit, the performance of the day was undoubtedly that of D-lineman Jovan Nenadovic ’22 who added 9 tackles including 3 sacks and 5 tackles for a loss. It was also a terrific effort by the Jumbo secondary in locking up the lethal wide receiver duo of Koby Schofer ’20 and Jonathan Girard ’21 because those guys truly are two of the top three or four receivers in the league. If this defense can hold the NESCAC’s best offense to just 8 points then it’ll certainly be a scary year for any opposing team who visits Medford.

Will Jernigan clutch gene

Jernigan is starting to look like an upperclassman

This is also an easy one because Middlebury surprised all of us by beating Williams in the final minute on a drive orchestrated by none other than Will Jernigan ’21. The junior had a solid day under center – 16-33 for 170 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions, while adding 82 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well. This is certainly a fine effort, but what’s interesting here is that Jernigan is known as more of a run-threat quarterback and he was put in a position where he had to throw the ball. The Panthers got the ball back from Williams on their own 22-yard line with 2:31 left, down 13-10. They had to at least get into field goal range to give their kicker a chance to send it into overtime, but Jernigan engineered a 7-play, 78-yard drive in which he went 4-4 with 61 yards in the air. This was not something we were seeing out of him last season and it’s very, very promising for Middlebury. Look for Jernigan to keep things rolling as the Panthers head up to Maine to take on the Bates Bobcats.

Championship excitement

More than anything else, the first weekend showed us that the league is wide open this year. The three-time defending camps have a losing record for the first time since 2001, Hamilton leads the league in points (Trinity has the fewest), Amherst and Bates were tied going into the fourth quarter, and Ashton Scott ’22 proved that Mark Piccirillo isn’t the only Wesleyan quarterback who can throw the ball. I also like that the NESCAC decided to flip around the schedule a little bit this year – seeing Tufts and Trinity play each other Week 1 was pretty cool. I honestly was starting to think that Trinity was going to run away with the league this year, so I’m glad that they got handed a loss right off the bat. This is going to be a fun season.

Stock down

Chance for a four-peat

Is Vazzano the guy again in Hartford?

The archives on the NESCAC website only go back to 2000, but there has never been a team win four consecutive outright NESCAC football championships since then. Trinity had a real chance to do that coming into this season and they still very well do, but this weekend was a real setback. Their schedule is somewhat backloaded, however, because their last three games are against Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan who are three of the four best teams left on their schedule. They play Middlebury on the road during Week 3 and that will be a huge one too, but for now they’ll have to focus on Bowdoin this weekend. I’m interested to see if the Bantams stick with Seamus Lambert ’22 at quarterback, or if putting Vazzano in for the final drive against Tufts was some sort of foreshadowing. They’ve got some work to do.

Power rankings

I have to admit; I chuckle to myself at the thought of having to write the power rankings this week. Wesleyan had the biggest win, but how good is Colby? They looked pretty good at the end of last year. Bates held their own against Amherst, but they are coming off an 0-9 season so how much does that factor in? Do you go 0-1 Trinity over 1-0 Hamilton? I think you do, but that’s sort of hard to justify. Although at the same time it’s not hard to justify because it’s Trinity. Does 0-1 Williams sneak ahead of a 1-0 team? I’m excited to see what he comes up with but I honestly feel bad for Karp having to write the power rankings this week. Keep an eye out for them over the next few days…

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

Volatility at its Finest: Middlebury Football Preview 2019

2018 Record: 5-4

Projected 2019 Record: 5-4

Projected Offensive Starters (*6 returning)

QB – Will Jernigan ‘21*

RB – Peter Scibilia ‘21*

WR – Maxim Bochman ‘20*

WR – Maxwell Rye ‘20*

WR – Aidan Power ‘20

TE – Frank Cosolito ‘20*

OL – Kevin Woodring ‘20*

OL – Jack Purcell ‘20

OL – Colin Paskewitz ‘21

OL – Ben Berry ‘21

OL – Charles Ferrell ‘22

Projected Defensive Starters (*6 returning)

CB – Coltrane Marcus ‘20

CB – Jourdon Delerme-Brown ‘20

S – Jonathan Hobart ‘21*

S – Gordon Pollock ‘22*

LB – Wyllis McKissick ‘20

LB – Pete Huggins ‘21*

LB – Jack Pistorius ‘21*

DL – Martin Williams ‘20*

DL – Charles Roselle ‘21*

DL – Elijah Thiam ‘22

DL – Nick Leone ‘22

Projected Specialists (*2 returning) 

PK – Carter Massengill ‘20*

P – Maxwell Rye ‘20*

KR/PR – Greg Livingston ‘22

Offensive MVP: QB Will Jernigan ‘21

I know it’s a cop out to continue selecting the quarterbacks of each respective team, but Middlebury REALLY (emphasis on really) needs Jernigan to take a step forward in 2019. As a sophomore, Jernigan played in all nine games, but did not replace the turnover-prone Jack Meservy ‘19 until the fourth game of the season. The Georgia product did some solid things with both his arm and his legs (1,143 passing yards, 321 rushing yards, 17 all-purpose touchdowns), but turnovers were (and still are) a concern; Jernigan threw an interception in every single one of those starts in addition to a handful of fumbles. The good news is that most of his core weapons return to Middlebury, including workhorse Peter Scibilia and freakish tight end Frank Cosolito. If Jernigan can severely cut down on the turnovers and find a way to get these guys the ball in space, the Panthers could be a dark horse in the NESCAC Championship race. 

Defensive MVP: DL Martin Williams ‘20

Middlebury finished with a mere 11 sacks as a team last season; while this is surprisingly good enough for fifth in the ‘CAC, it’s merely half of the next highest number (Trinity had 22 sacks) on the list. If Middlebury is going to improve upon some disappointing defensive statistics from 2018 (allowed 28.3 ppg, including the third-worst pass defense), it needs to start with creating havoc behind the line of scrimmage. Here is where Martin Williams steps in, ready to improve upon last season’s performance. In 2018, Williams led the defensive line in tackles and finished tied for the lead in sacks, which was good enough for a selection on the 2018 All-Conference Second Team Defense. Williams and his partner-in-crime Charles Roselle ‘21 are more than capable of changing the momentum of a ballgame at any given moment, and the Panthers will undoubtedly need Williams (and the rest of the D-line) to step up in a major way this season in order for the Panthers to have a shot at dethroning the likes of Trinity, Amherst, Williams, etc. 

Team Slogan for 2019: #MiddKickoffCountdown19 #GoMidd #PantherNation

Middlebury might win the award for most generic team slogan of 2019. The supposedly seventh-ranked liberal arts school by US News decided to leave their wits in the classroom and play it way too safely with their selection(s). Do better, Panthers. Rating: -2.36/10

On the bright side (literally), this picture courtesy of Middlebury athletics is absolutely breathtaking and was an absolute must-add to the article. Middlebury photography skills: 1000/10

Everything else:

While I’m on the subject of artistic skills, shoutout to the Middlebury graphic design team. These images of players are absolutely D1 caliber. Exhibit A and B: 

Back to the real football talk: Middlebury’s major concerns come on the defensive side of the ball, but there is room for optimism as they return key contributors at nearly every position. Despite losing All-Conference Second Team linebacker Kevin Maxwell ‘19, the Panthers return Pete Huggins ‘21 (who finished tied for second with Maxwell in tackles) as well as starter Jack Pistorius ‘21 (34 tackles, 5.5 TFL) and key contributor Wyllis McKissick ‘20 (24 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery). Along with Williams and Roselle, sophomores Elijah Thiam ‘22 and Nick Leone ‘22 will most likely round out the defensive line. Both underclassmen contributed greatly as freshmen last season, combining for 33 tackles and 3 TFL. Alex Norton ‘20 (11 tackles 5 TFL) and Emo Schiappa ‘22 (11 tackles) will likely play a significant role as role players, although it would not surprise me if Norton ends up starting based on his high tackle for loss numbers. 

The real question mark for this Panther defense is at defensive back. For a team that had the third-worst pass defense in the NESCAC a season ago, I’m not sure if losing both starting corners is a good or bad thing; nevertheless, Coltrane Marcus ‘20 and Jourdon Delerme-Brown ‘20 will attempt to keep opposing receivers in check, with reserves Nate Stewart ‘22 and Kevin Hartley ‘20 ready to go on a moment’s notice. 

Offensively, the Panthers have weapons all over the field. Cosolito is the best tight end in the league and will be salivating at the opportunity to be matched up with an opposing linebacker. Wide receivers Maxim Bochman ‘20 and Maxwell Rye ‘20 are more than capable of making up for Conrado Banky’s production (26 catches for 376 yards and 4 touchdowns) and Scibilia is one of the top five running backs entering the 2019 season. In my eyes, the Panthers’ season comes down to the offensive line. Losing four starters is absolutely brutal, and although three of the four newly projected starters are upperclassmen, we’ve seen time and time again that offensive linemen need time to gel and work together. Not only are they tasked with creating holes for Scibilia to run through, but they have to protect Jernigan and allow him to get comfortable throwing the ball. If defenders collapse the pocket time and time again, Jernigan will get happy feet and either make errant throws on the run, or not trust his offensive line and look to scramble. If the O-line can neutralize the defensive pass rush, Jernigan should have no excuses getting the ball to his talented playmakers, and the Panthers should be in a position to win 6+ games. If not, this could be a long season.

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.