Purple Cow Magic: Not only did the Ephs knock off the perennial NESCAC champs, but they did so with two different QBs. Bobby Maimaron had a great game, throwing for two TDs and running for nearly 100, but got knocked out of the game for a play after taking a hit. In his brief absence, first year backup QB Jackson Bischoping casually threw a 49 yard TD pass to Frank Stola. So even if their start QB were to go down, they still might be the favorites at the 1/3 point to win the conference. Watch out, NESCAC, there’s a new squad on top.
Colby’s future: Okay, while a 31-14 loss seems pretty brutal, this game against Middlebury was much closer than the box score indicated. It was 10-7 in the fourth quarter against an inconsistent but undeniably talented Panther team (I mean they even have an offensive lineman, Colin Paskewitz, who can force a defensive fumble—check the box score if you don’t believe me). QB Matt Hersch had some ups and downs but threw to six different receivers, giving Coach Cosgrove some real weapons to work with this season.
Hamilton, for better or worse, looks like they’ll gut it out.
Hamilton’s Grit: Well, we have certainly bad mouthed the Continentals and QB Kenny Gray in recent weeks. After all, they didn’t show us a whole lot in the first two games of the season, but they shocked everybody by taking out the Wesleyan Cardinals, one of the frontrunners for NESCAC champs. Gray boasted a 1-4 TD-INT ratio going into week three, but threw for four scores and ran for 56 in their 33-29 upset. DB Christian Snell also made a huge impact by blocking a punt and recovering it for a TD, hustling his team into the win column. We talked about the veteran presence on this team, and it is now clear that despite some early duds, they do want it.
Stock Down
Tufts D: While the Jumbos were able to pull out the victory against Bates, there was a time when they had their perfect record in question. They were down 14-10 at half and Bates looked like they were going to be able to keep up. Of course, Bates was not a match for the Jumbos, allowing a whopping 37 second half points, but a turnover free game doesn’t bode well for the Jumbo defense. They let a team who hasn’t been able to muster any offensive progress all year to score in the air and on the ground and against a stronger opponent, they may have been bested with such an effort. Tread carefully.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Bantams play on their heels, but at just 2-1, they have an uphill battle.
Connecticut muscle: Neither the Bantams nor the Cardinals could stave off their week three competition. Wesleyan allowed 357 yards of total offense compared to the 413 they racked up and still lost. A costly pick from Mark Piccirillo, and bad special teams play were the game changers for a team that looked as if they cold go undefeated entering week three. Losing to a bottom tier team is not only shocking to everybody else but devastating to their championship hopes. Punter Sam Han averaged just 27.1 yards per punt, not exactly flipping the field for his defense. The Bantams had similar issues, allowing a slew of rushing and passing yards to a body of different players. They couldn’t figure it out and neither could star transfer QB Jordan Vazzano who threw two picks. Even super human Max Chipouras couldn’t break off many big plays with his longest run of the day coming at just 18 yards, tallying an impressive 135 yards but averaging 3.6 yards per carry after a crazy workload of 38 carries. TJ Rothmann owned the Bantams, forcing a fumble and intercepting Vazzano, effectively ending the Bantams’ early 2018 dominant start.
There wasn’t a ton of change from Week 1 to Week 2, but there were some noteworthy events this week. Wesleyan and Tufts put on a defensive clinic with the Jumbos coming out ahead, Bowdoin gave Middlebury a scare, and Trinity, Williams, and Amherst looked as good as anyone. It’s still a bit early to easily sort out the teams at the very top and very bottom, but there are certainly some trends starting to appear. Next to each team’s ranking you’ll see their ranking from last week in parentheses to get a better sense of what changed over the weekend:
(1) 1. Trinity (2-0)
I gave Jordan Vazzano ’21 a hard time last week for not absolutely shredding a Colby defense that is one of the weakest in the league. Well he made up for that and more, taking home NESCAC offensive player of the week honors in the process. The redshirt sophomore went 20-36 for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns, adding a sixth on the ground. This is exactly what the Bantams were looking for especially since the Bobcats did a solid job limiting Max Chipouras ’19 to just 86 yards on 23 carries. Wide receivers Jonathan Girard ’21 and Koby Schofer ’20 were absolutely lethal, combining for 347 yards and 5 touchdowns and accounting for 18 of the team’s 22 receptions. The defense was also superb, only allowing 3 points until the final 5 minutes of the game when the Bates offense finally found the end zone (the other TD was a pick 6 in the first half). Trinity is putting it together just in time for their visit to Williamstown to take on the surging Ephs.
(3) 2. Tufts (2-0)
The Jumbos were rocking some pretty sweet baby blue uniforms against Wesleyan the other night, and QB Ryan McDonald ’19 took full advantage
Tufts proved me wrong in Week 2, as I didn’t think they had the defensive strength or offensive versatility to take down a team as strong as Wesleyan. I know, it’s a bold move to put them ahead of both Williams and Amherst, but they have now had two very impressive wins. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 showed that he is more versatile than we may have thought, connecting with 7 different receivers and only rushing for 23 yards after a run-heavy game last week. What impressed me the most, however, was their defense. Wesleyan was coming off a 52-point outburst against Middlebury, looking nearly unstoppable. The Jumbos were able to keep QB Mark Piccirillo in check, holding him to 189 yards in the air and no touchdowns. Wesleyan dominated time of possession, as they had the ball for nearly 37 minutes of game time. Tufts’ defense refused to quit, and I’m very impressed by them. They’ll host Bates this weekend in a game that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem as they look to move to 3-0.
(4) 3. Williams (2-0)
The Ephs continue to look good as they trounced Colby 36-14. QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 rushed for 4 TD’s, while RB TJ Dozier added 160 yards on 19 attempts and a TD of his own. There wasn’t much of a passing attack, granted they didn’t really need one, but if I were an opposing team I’d force Maimaron to throw the ball since he hasn’t eclipsed 146 passing yards yet this season. Safety Luke Apuzzi ’20 has emerged as the top player in the secondary, leading the team with 2 pass break ups and an interception. LB TJ Rothmann ’21 continues to be on a tear, recording 6 more tackles against Colby and leading the team with 14 on the season. After getting a few of the weaker teams out of the way, Williams will play host to Trinity on Saturday in a game that very well could have championship ramifications.
(5) 4. Amherst (2-0)
It took the Mammoths a little time to warm up but they eventually took it to Hamilton, winning by a score of 37-14. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 doesn’t fill up the stat sheet, but with the help of stud tailback Jack Hickey ’19, they find ways to win. Hickey is currently 4thin the NESCAC in rushing, and he does most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Linebacker Andrew Yamin ’19 continues his dominance on the defensive side, leading the league with 4 tackles for losses, also adding a sack and 9 total tackles. Amherst isn’t the flashiest team, but they’re able control the game with solid quarterback play and a very imposing defense. They’ve started the season with most of the bottom tier of the league and will continue that trend this weekend against Bowdoin in Brunswick. Look for the Mammoths to get to 3-0.
(2) 5. Wesleyan (1-1)
Oh, Wesleyan. They had it. The Cardinals controlled the ball the entire game and had 107 more yards of total offense than the Jumbos. The Tufts defense bent about as far as they could without breaking, and Wesleyan simply couldn’t capitalize. Losing by 3 isn’t ideal, but it feels much worse when you miss two field goal attempts late in the game, one of them from just 27 yards. On paper, the Cardinals outplayed the Jumbos, but a few key plays didn’t go their way and here they are at 1-1. The Wesleyan defense actually did a terrific job, led by LB Will Kearney ’20 who snagged an interception to go along with a pass break up and a team-high 8 tackles. The offense will go back to the drawing board this week in preparation for their matchup with a struggling Hamilton team.
(6) 6. Middlebury (1-1)
Peter Scibilia ’21 rushed for a career-high 184 yards against the Polar Bears
Middlebury put themselves in a dangerous position this past weekend. Trailing by a point at the end of the third quarter against Bowdoin, they benched starting QB Jack Meservy ’19 after his 3rdinterception of the game. Fortunately, backup Will Jernigan ’21 led two touchdown drives to put the Panthers ahead for good and avoid the upset. Midd has really struggled throwing the ball this year, but they were saved on Saturday by their two-headed rushing attack of Drew Jacobs ’19 and Peter Scibilia ’21 who combined for 289 yards on 44 carries. Despite the terrific play of sophomore Jonathan Hobart ’21 who took home defensive player of the week honors, the Panther defense continued to look very vulnerable. They have a lot to figure out right now, so a matchup with the league’s worst team this weekend is an opportunity for them to start fresh.
(9) 7. Bowdoin (0-2)
Middlebury is struggling, but Bowdoin looked immensely better in Week 2 than in Week 1. You can’t talk about this game without talking about the performance of RB Nate Richam ’20. He absolutely decimated the Panther run defense, rushing 30 times for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns, setting a school record for single-game rushing yards. The passing game definitely improved, with QB Austin McCrum ’20 completing 20 of 39 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown, albeit with 3 interceptions. He spread the ball around to 8 different receivers, and connected with Greg Olson ’21 6 times for 58 yards and a touchdown. LB Joe Gowetski ’20 continued to lead the defensive unit, recording 12 tackles including 3 for losses. Although they lost, this was exactly the type of building week that the Polar Bears were looking for. They’re clearly getting better and they’ll look to continue this trend when they host Amherst this weekend.
(7) 8. Bates (0-2)
The Bobcats dropped to 0-2 following a 59-16 loss to Trinity. It’s tough to start the season against 2 of the league’s best defenses (Trinity and Amherst) but the Bates offense really needs to get going. They’re currently 2nd to last in the conference in rushing yards and dead last in passing yards. In fact, they only have 12 first downs on the season, which is exactly half of the next fewest (Hamilton, 24). The Bobcats aren’t turning the ball over at an alarmingly high rate; they just can’t move the chains. Nothing seems to be working and although I’d like to chalk it up to tough opponents, clearly something has to change. The defense hasn’t been terrible by their standards, so the real focus has to be on the offense. That’ll be tough given that they’ll face one of the hottest defenses in the conference at Tufts this weekend.
(8) 9. Hamilton (0-2)
The Continentals need more from QB Kenny Gray ’20
I have to admit, Hamilton is making me regret almost everything I said in my team preview for them this season. With all the pieces they returned from last season and after they had some mild success, I thought they would have a chance to contend with some of the top teams. Oh, how wrong I was. The Continentals looked awful in their season opener against Tufts, and only looked a tiny bit better against Amherst in Week 2. QB Kenny Gray ’20 was 22-37 for 197 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while WR Joe Schmidt ’20 hauled in 7 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. These aren’t bad numbers, but two main things stick out: their defense has really struggled and their ground game has been nonexistent. And by nonexistent I mean they have 7 rushing yards as a team on the season. I’m not joking. Two full games into the season they have compiled a total of 7 yards on the ground. That’s abysmal. They’ll head to Middletown this weekend to take on a Wesleyan team also coming off a loss, so hopefully they can start moving in the right direction.
(10) 10. Colby (0-2)
Talking about all the struggles that Colby has isn’t a lot of fun every week, so I’ll try to focus on the positives this time. The Mules finally benched struggling QB Jack O’Brien ’20 in favor of freshman Matt Hersch ’22 with 5:34 remaining in the first half against Williams. Hersch orchestrated 2 touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, and finished the game 14-18 for 119 yards, finding 7 different receivers. The defense definitely could be worse and LB Marcus Bullard ’21 has had a fine start to his sophomore season as he sits at 6th in the conference with 15 tackles through two games. Middlebury comes to town on Saturday after struggling to beat Bowdoin in Week 2, so this is an opportunity for the Mules to compete and continue to get better as they get closer to the weaker portion of their schedule.
