Andrew Tichy – Nothing But NESCAC

Don’t Sleep, Young Bloods: The Polar Bears Might Surprise

Will the Polar Bears find themselves this season? Or will they remain “Lost.”

Bowdoin College Polar Bears

Projected Record: 1-7

Projected Offensive Starters: *Seven Returning

QB: Timmy Drakely (‘17)*

RB: Nate Richam (‘20)*

WR: Nick Vailas (‘18)*

WR: Garrett Thomas (’18)

WR: Liam Blair-Ford (’17)

TE: Bryan Porter (‘18)*

OL: Kyle Losardo (‘17)*

OL: Brian Mullin (‘17)*

C: AJ Mansolillo (‘19)*

OL: Ben Jurkic (‘17)

OL: TBA

Projected Defensive Starters: *Seven returning

OLB: Andre Joyce (‘20)

MLB: Latif Armiyaw (*18)*

OLB: Andre Jett (‘20)

DL: Steve Anderson (‘17)*

DL: Danny Wanger (‘17)*

DL: Nadeem Elhage (‘16)*

DL: Jay Mobley (‘20)

DB: Reeder Wells (‘17)*

DB: Jibrail Coy (‘16)*

DB: Cameron Rondeau (‘19)*

DB: Henry Little (‘18)

Projected Specialists: *One returning

K: Andrew Sisti (‘18)*

P: Chen (‘20)

Offensive MVP: Nate Richam ‘20

Yeah, he’s a freshman, but might as well go bold. Bowdoin was last in the league in rushing, rushing attempts, rushing touchdowns, and yards per carry, averaging 2.2 yards per carry, totaling under 500 yards, and racking up just 3 TDs in 2015. That was partly due to Tyler Grant getting hurt (Grant has hung up the spikes, and won’t be playing this year). In 2014, Tyler Grant ran for 893 yards, and 8 TDs, as a sophomore. He got more touches than anyone in the NESCAC that year. Needless to say, his injury caused some problems.

Richam, a West Hartford, Connecticut native, has drawn rave reviews this preseason. Yes, he’s a freshman, but the Polar Bears desperately need to establish a running game this year. Richam’s quick, he’s strong, and he has that ability to make people miss that you can’t coach. Bowdoin threw the ball 177 times last year, third most in the league, but historically, Bowdoin likes to run the ball, so look for last season’s historic lows in rushing production to at least return to normal levels this year.

Defensive MVP: Reeder Wells ‘17

This is the least exciting defensive MVP pick possible. Reeder Wells hasn’t put up huge numbers in his career, but he’s as steady as they come. He’s never missed a game. He’s the captain on defense, he’s a Texan, and he makes tackles. He’s had at least 36 tackles every year. He only has 1 career interception, and he’s never had a sack, but his value and consistency will make him the most valuable defensive player for the Polar Bears this season.

Welcome Back: Liam Blair-Ford ‘17

By the numbers, Blair-Ford hasn’t done much as a Polar Bear yet. His career receiving numbers aren’t very big, and he’s only played 10 career games, missing extended time due to injury. Despite all that, the word on the street is that he’s in great shape, and he’s gonna play a big role this year.

Biggest Game: September 24th, at Middlebury

Yeah, it might be strange to pick the opener. Think about it this way. Bowdoin hasn’t finished a season above .500 since over a decade ago (2005). The Bears need to win one of the first two games, and while Amherst at home would be a huge, huge win, objectively they have a better chance taking down the Panthers, considering Amherst’s won 19 in a row, and three straight NESCAC championships. If they win one of the first two, they’ll be in a good spot.

Best Tweet:

It’s gotta be this video of a barely comprehensible Latif Armiyaw looking really, really hot. You’re looking at the owner of the Bowdoin Track & Field 60m dash record there folks. As quick a linebacker as you’re gonna find in the NESCAC.

http://https://twitter.com/jacklucy73/status/763146721664888832

Summary:

It’s hard to have an offseason more brutal than Bowdoin’s. They lost the usual seniors (but actually retain a handful 2016s, playing an extra year due to injury, like Nadim Elhage, and Jibrail Coy). After that though, things get bleak. They lost Philippe Archambault ‘19, arguably their best defensive player, a French-Canadian beast, who has returned to Canada. They’ve lost a handful to retirement, be it due to injury, or simply quitting, including former impact running back Tyler Grant ‘17. Perhaps worst of all, the team lost a handful of valuable players in a plagiarism scandal: 5 or 6 guys, most of whom figured to receive significant playing time, will miss the season.

So yeah, a rough offseason, but the freshman class shows great promise,and they return a lot of veterans with starting experience, which shouldn’t be overlooked. There’s a lot of buzz about the energy level and hunger that this team has. A duo of sophomore baseball guys, Brandon Lopez ‘19, and Ejazz Jiu ‘19 have joined the team this year, and Jiu ‘19 looks like he’s going to have an impact at wide receiver. He’s a big target. Richman ‘20 has looked great at running back, and Chandler Gee ‘20 is a really fast slot receiver who has impressed so far. On defense, a trio of freshman linebackers, Joe Gowetzski (ILB), Christian Pridgen (OLB), Sydney Guerrier (OLB), look like they could do some damage.

The group of returners is solid. In particular, the success of WR Nick Vailas ‘18 and TE Bryan Porter ‘18 will play a big role in the team’s chances. Vailas had almost 600 receiving yards and added 6 TDs, while Porter had over 400 receiving yards with 5 TDs. Porter made 2nd team all-NESCAC last year as a sophomore, he was one of only two Bowdoin representatives, and he’s also an excellent blocker.

Two of Bowdoin’s top offensive linemen, Kyle Losardo ‘17 and Brian Mullin ‘17, return as well. When you ask Bowdoin guys about top offensive players, they often point to those two as being weapons on the line.

The keys for this team are going to be health, running the ball, and stopping the run. Healthwise, they’re already extremely thin, and if they start to lose talented veterans, they’re going to be in a tough spot. Richam and sophomore RB Andrew Tichy will need to have big seasons in order for the Polar Bears offense to work, and the defense is going to have to at least be average, as opposed to league-worst, against the run. Bowdoin won’t have much room for error, but if they can limit injuries and mistakes, they should have the pieces to put together a decent season, with a little luck.

Still Plenty to Play For: Weekend Preview 11/6

Bates and Bowdoin always delivers a hard-fought affair. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

Yes, the game between Trinity and Amherst is very important. Yada, yada, yada. Joe has you covered there if you want to read about that. Spoiler alert, it’s a bold prediction. Elsewhere, it’s rivalry season in the NESCAC with the second leg of the CBB and Little Three taking place this weekend. Bowdoin makes the quick jaunt up to Lewiston to face off against Bates who just won the first leg of the CBB against Colby, and Williams visits Wesleyan in the Little Three. For the Ephs, this is the first of back-to-back games against Wesleyan and Amherst, and the final two weeks might be the last two for Coach Aaron Kelton. Since going to 2-1, Williams has lost three in a row with last week’s loss to Hamilton a particularly stinging loss because it broke the long losing streak for the Continentals. Last year the Ephs managed just 123 yards of offense and no points in a 22-0 loss that would have been even more lopsided if Wesleyan hadn’t had to kick five short field goals. Unless the loss last week galvanized the team, expect this year’s result to be similar.

Meanwhile Bates can complete the salvaging of their year if they beat Bowdoin on Saturday. After going 13-11 over the past three seasons, the Bobcats have lost a good deal of close games and are just 1-5. A win over Bowdoin seals the fifth consecutive year of the CBB for Bates and means the graduating Bobcats will have never lost to the Polar Bears. Bates certainly isn’t happy to have the record they do, but their final two games against Bowdoin and Hamilton are both winnable ones. If they can finish at 3-5 with a three-game winning streak and an uncontested CBB title, things would look drastically different than they did just a week ago. However, that is still a ways away.

Four to Watch

Running Back Jabari Hurdle-Price ’17 (Colby): Despite a disappointing season for the Mules overall, Hurdle-Price has been fabulous. A slow start to this season is long in the past as he has had four straight games of over 100 yards rushing, including 202 yard, two TD performance against Wesleyan in Week 3 that served as the tone setter. What has really made him so valuable though is his receiving as he has 19 receptions for 146 yards. Then you add in his kickoff returns and in total you get the NESCAC leader for all-purpose yards at 171.7 per game, well above the next highest total of 144.7 from Darrien Myers ’17. The Mules are a heavy underdog at home against Tufts, but regardless of what happens, Hurdle-Price is going to get his yards.
Linebacker Branden Morin ’16 (Bowdoin): After having just two tackles in the season opener, Morin has been a tackling machine averaging 10.8 per game, and he now leads the league. Last week he had a sack to go along with his 11 tackles. The Bowdoin defense has been bad overall against the run, allowing 209.5 yards per game, 54.2 more yards per game than anybody else. That stat is probably the biggest reason why Bates is feeling confident entering tomorrow. Morin has to be able to make another dozen or so tackles in order to keep Bates from marching up and down the field all day long. Some of the other linebackers for Bowdoin are very inexperienced and have not played against Bates, and the coaching staff is relying on him to be a steadying force up front.
Defensive End Jordan Stone ’17 (Wesleyan): It’s a given that Williams is going to throw all the time, and that is exactly what Stone wants to hear. He leads the Cardinals with 5.5 sacks, and he has three in the past two weeks. Williams has been decent at keeping QB Austin Lommen ’16 upright, but Stone will be one of their hardest challenges yet. The Ephs are unlikely to get much going on the ground which will allow Stone to pin his ears back and rush the passer. Stone isn’t quite a sack specialist as he is important for Wesleyan’s run defense also, but he is definitely one of the best pass rushers in the league.
Wide Receiver Charles Ensley ’17 (Hamilton): My goodness, Ensley has turned on the jets recently. His statistics from the past three games: 19 receptions for 376 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers coincide with Cole Freeman ’18 becoming the starting QB midway through the game against Bowdoin. Ensley was in this spot two weeks ago, but I don’t feel bad putting him here again because of how well he has done. Freeman also deserves credit for his job coming in after starting the season as the third string QB. Freeman only has one pick in 124 pass attempts. If Hamilton wants to get their second straight win, Ensley must have a big day against the Middlebury secondary.

Patrick Williams (#7) wants to give Tufts their fifth win this weekend. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Game Previews

Hamilton (1-5) at Middlebury (4-2): 12:30 PM

The Continentals got on the right side of the win-loss column last week in part by taking advantage of mistakes by Williams. They also were able to run the ball more effectively than usual as they broke 100 yards rushing for the first time all year. They still averaged just 2.9 yards per carry (amazingly, Hamilton has not had a game this year where they average at least 3.0 yards per carry). They will have a harder time on the ground against the Middlebury run defense led by Tim Patricia ’16 and, if he’s active, Addison Pierce ’17. Even if Pierce is out, Aaron Slodowitz ’18 is more than capable fill-in.

One advantage for the Continentals is how banged up Middlebury is at receiver. Of course, Matt Minno ’16 is still relatively healthy which should cause problems. Every team has injuries, especially at this point of the season, and they really hurt when grouped together in a particular position group. This will be closer than the 37-9 blowout last season, but it won’t be that close. The only worry I have for Middlebury is that they come out flat after last week’s physical loss.

Prediction: Middlebury over Hamilton 26-13

Bowdoin (1-5) at Bates (1-5): 12:30 PM

I already talked about the stakes for Bates. The win against Colby was a huge confidence booster, but they can’t be that confident as the offense took a huge step backwards after the big day they had two weeks ago against Middlebury. Passing for only 43 yards against Colby is not going to cut it versus a Bowdoin team that is weak against the pass. The matchup of corner Jibrail Coy ’16 vs. wide receiver Mark Riley ’16 will be a fun one to keep an eye on. The Bobcats are dealing with injuries to some of their skill players which has hurt them.

Speaking of injuries, Bowdoin will not have its top two running backs, Tyler Grant ’17 or Andrew Tichy ’19 tomorrow. Given how much they have been throwing the ball, one wouldn’t expect that to be too big of an issue. The team that scores first will put a lot of pressure on their opponent as this could be another low-scoring CBB affair.

Prediction: Bowdoin over Bates 17-13

Tufts (4-2) at Colby (1-5): 1:00 PM

So the Jumbos didn’t managed to put much of a scare into Amherst last weekend. It happens. Running against Amherst was never going to be easy, and allowing a defensive touchdown to the Jeffs made things pretty much impossible. The Jumbos will have to go to the air in order to beat Colby because the Mules strength of defense is the defensive line. This is the game that Tufts really wants in order to get to five wins.

The Mules are in a little bit of disarray on offense as Christian Sparacio ’18 got significant playing time at quarterback against Bates and scored the Mules’ one touchdown. Gabe Harrington ’17 had looked better in the previous two weeks, but he regressed back to his early season form vs. the Bobcats. The offense has really been the downfall of Colby this year, and there is no magic formula in Week 7.

Prediction: Tufts over Colby 24-17

Williams (2-4) at Wesleyan (4-2): 1:00 PM

As mentioned above, Hamilton was able to run against the Ephs, and that does not bode well at all for this weekend. Watching Wesleyan last week, I thought that the Cardinals were trying to get too fancy on offense instead of relying on that bulldozing offensive line to get easy yards on the ground. Against Williams, Wesleyan is probably going to keep things pretty simple for whomever ends up starting at QB, Gernald Hawkins ’18 or Mark Piccirillo ’19. The Cardinals still feel like they have plenty to play for in the last two weeks even if they are out of the conference race.

I don’t know what to expect from Williams. They have in the past shown up in rivalry games more so than other games. The Ephs have almost completely given up on running the ball, and the defense is soft against the run. On paper Wesleyan should win this game relatively easily.

Prediction: Wesleyan over Williams 27-10

NbN Staff Last Week: 2-3

NbN Staff This Season: 23-7

The Meat of the Matter: Weekend Preview 10/17

Williams and Middlebury meet a year after their game went into overtime. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

From top to bottom, this is one of the best slates of action for the NESCAC, even if it lacks the stereotypical headliner with Tufts and Trinity facing off in our Game of the Week. Four out of the five games have some level of uncertainty, with Amherst the only team that is a heavy favorite on the road at Colby.

A surprising 2-1 Williams team makes the trek up the spine of Vermont to meet a Middlebury team still licking their wounds, and Bates travels to Connecticut to play an inconsistent Wesleyan team. The final game finds Hamilton trying to snap their long losing streak on the road at Bowdoin.

Four to Watch

Running Back Andrew Tichy ’19 and Quarterback Noah Nelson ’19 (Bowdoin): I’ll give you a little two for one action here. Both starters Tyler Grant ’17 and Tim Drakeley ’17 are not playing, and so two freshmen get the chance to play. Nelson looked sharp in the second half against Tufts, albeit once the game was already over for all intents and purposes. He is a Maine native, and I’m sure he will have plenty of friends and family there for his first career start. Tichy will be asked to carry a heavy load, and he could get beat up in this one. Even though they have freshman starting at two skill positions, Bowdoin has to keep the entire playbook open and not hold back on play-calling, or else they will be too predictable against Hamilton.
Running Back Noah Sorrento ’19 (Williams): Let’s continue the theme of having young skill players in the limelight. Sorrento is steadily taking more and more carries for the Ephs, but he has not had any more success running the ball than his compatriots. He is averaging 3.5 yards per carry, and he had just 27 yards on 10 carries last week. Williams needs to have some semblance of a running game against Middlebury. If the Panthers know that a pass is coming almost every time, the Ephs will stall out. Sorrento got his real introduction to college football in Week 2 when he was stuffed at the goal line by a Trinity linebacker on 4th down. He is hoping things go better this week.
Middle Linebacker Mark Upton ’17 (Bates): The statistics for Upton have been steady but unremarkable so far: 20 tackles (3.5 TFL) and a forced fumble. That is well off the pace of last year’s gaudy numbers. The Bobcats are going to need a bigger game from Upton than just solid if they want to pull of the upset against Wesleyan. The Cardinals are going to try run right at Bates, and Upton will have to consistently makes plays. Then when Wesleyan does pass, Upton has to make sure to keep one eye on the QB, whether that’s starter Gernald Hawkins ’18 or Mark Piccirillo ’19.
Tight End Trevor Miletich ’16 (Middlebury): The Panthers might have difficulty throwing against an Eph secondary that is the strength of the defense, but a place where Middlebury has an advantage is over the middle of the field with Miletich. Though he isn’t as skilled as some of Middlebury tight ends of past years, he is probably the fastest tight end in the league, and it is tough for linebackers to stay with him. Matt Milano ’16 needs to find Miletich early to take the pressure off of the outside receivers.

Game Previews

Bates (0-3) at Wesleyan (2-1): 1:00 PM

The poor Bobcats have been snake-bitten the last two weeks, and now they have to go on the road to Wesleyan as they try to turn their season around. The defense has performed well besides the opener against Amherst, and the offense looked better last week, but this is a young team that is not doing the little things that allows them to win close games. Some of the decisions by the coaching staff haven’t helped either.

The underlying statistics for Wesleyan suggest a team better than the one that has needed fourth quarter touchdowns to overcome Hamilton and Colby. Even though Colby was able to run all over the Cardinals, I think the run defense reverts close to how they played in the first two weeks. The athletes for Wesleyan are too much.

Prediction: Wesleyan over Bates 17-6

Amherst (3-0) at Colby (0-3): 1:00 PM

Before Colby’s almost win at Wesleyan, this had blowout written all over it. Now… it would still take a lot for the Mules to pull the upset, but they at least made the Jeffs have to pay a little more attention this week. There is talent in Waterville, and once they get past the Jeffs, the Mules will improve. As noted before, Gabe Harrington ’17 has not seen any improvement from last season, and at some point if he doesn’t improve, the Mules have to explore other options. He has five interceptions against no touchdowns. He is a better QB than he has shown so far, but he has to perform soon.

The young Colby secondary will have its hands full with Jackson McGonagle ’16 and the rest of the Amherst wide receivers.There is no reason to expect the Amherst defense to experience any drop off from their play in the first three games. Harrington will find himself on his butt a lot in this one. So long as all the Amherst players find their way to Waterville, the Jeffs are going to stay perfect.

Prediction: Amherst over Colby 38-10

Williams (2-1) at Middlebury (2-1): 1:30 PM

Middlebury’s overtime victory a year ago ended up sending these two in opposite directions for the rest of the season. Now the Ephs come in looking like a better team than they were last year. The ball will be thrown constantly by both teams, and this game might last so long that the sun is setting when all is said and done. Austin Lommen ’16 is arguably more important to his team’s performance than Matt Milano ’16. These are the two best throwing QB’s in the league, but both secondaries will make plays too.

Williams needed a lot to go right in order to escape with the victory over Bates, and their lack of a running game is going to make them easy to defend for the Panthers. It’s close for a while, but Milano will make enough throws to lead Middlebury to the victory.

Prediction: Middlebury over Williams 26-10

Hamilton (0-3) at Bowdoin (0-3): 2:00 PM

This is the best chance yet for Hamilton to get Coach Dave Murray his first win, especially because Bowdoin is starting a freshman QB and running back as noted above. The health of Hamilton QB Chase Rosenberg ’17 is also in question because he did not finish the game against Trinity.

The Polar Bears have to avoid the slow starts that have forced them to throw the ball almost every down. The defense is going to have to take chances at points because they have shown an inability to get off the field consistently. At the end of the day, Murray gets his win and the Continentals get to celebrate all the way back to New York.

Prediction: Hamilton over Bowdoin 31-21

Last Week: 5-0
Season: 13-2