Ben Thaw – Nothing But NESCAC

The Official Nothing But NESCAC Football Postseason Awards

Now that we have such an interesting season of individual performances in the books, we thought it would be interesting to have two sets of eyes (Haven and Matt) tackle this year’s edition of postseason awards. With no clear and obvious offensive and defensive players of the year, we did our best to present what we felt were the best candidates for the biggest individual awards the league has to offer.

Matt’s note: I would prefer you not click this link, but if you are interested in seeing how our preseason picks did, here are my predictions from September: https://nothingbutnescac.com/?p=7618

Offensive Player of the Year:

Haven’s Pick: WR Frank Roche (Tufts)

Midway through this season, another Frank essentially had this award in the bag- Frank Stola from Williams. Teams started to figure out Stola after that point, though, and his production dipped dramatically. The opposite happened to Roche, a Tufts graduate student from nearby Arlington, MA who has remained with the team since 2015 despite lots of trouble with injuries. Anyone involved with sports has heard the old cliche: it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. While Roche did not exceed 100 receiving yards in any of his first four games, he never had fewer than 50 and he had a long catch of at least 35 yards in each game to go along with two touchdowns. His numbers after that point were simply unbelievable. He finished the season with at least 6 catches and 100 yards in each of his final five games. This included an absurd eight touchdowns over his final three games. In addition to being a frequent endzone visitor, Roche was also extremely dangerous after the catch. He had games this season where he averaged 37, 30, 27, and 23 yards per catch. Tufts realized over the course of the season that they were not going to be led to glory by their run game, so they began to air it out with QB Jacob Carroll and often liked to go long to Roche or OJ Armstrong. Roche’s phenomenal play during the second half of the season helped Tufts develop a lethal passing attack despite remaining a middle of the pack team. He led the NESCAC in receiving yards, yards per catch, and was second in touchdowns. What makes his stats more impressive is that he did not even lead his team in receptions- that honor went to Armstrong. Roche made himself known as a standout receiver when his senior class has been synonymous with names like Koby Schofer and James O’Regan. Next year’s league will also feature a strong group of receivers- Stola will be back, along with Trinity’s Jon Girard and Wesleyan’s Matthew Simco. Nobody produced down the stretch this season like Roche, though. In a year down on running back talent and with no real standout single QB like we have had in past years, Roche separated himself from the competition by stepping up his game down the stretch and being a dangerous big play/scoring threat on a mediocre team. He made the most of his fifth year and is our pick for OPOY.

Matt’s Pick: QB Bobby Maimaron (Williams)

Like Haven mentioned, there were not a lot of standout options for this award this year after Stola’s 2nd half. I picked Maimaron for a few reasons–the 20:2 TD:INT ratio is just ridiculous, and it is actually just the 10th season ever in which a NESCAC QB threw for 20+ TDs (Only the 3rd non Middlebury Air Raid season as well). He was 4th in the league in rushing yards, while orchestrating the devastating RPO that allowed the Ephs to run for 240 yards a game. The completion percentage (47.8%) and passing yards per game (162.9) are the obvious knocks, and while I’m not arguing that he’s Joe Burrow, those stats were largely affected by throwaways and the fact that they were a run first offense whose top receiver was double and triple teamed for the last month of the season. He was just 9th in the league in attempts, but despite the completion percentage, ranked 3rd in yards per attempt (8.0) and 2nd in yards per completion (16.7). And among the top teams in the league, who else would you pick?

Honorable Mentions: Frank Stola (Williams), Alex Maldjian (Middlebury), Will Jernigan (Middlebury), Ashton Scott (Wesleyan)

Haven’s Pick: LB Joe Gowetski (Bowdoin)

The fact that Bowdoin went 0-9 should not take away from the fact that Gowetski, a senior from Needham, MA, was all over the field every Saturday. While individual performances always look better with team success, guys like Gowetski and Polar Bears RB Nate Richam were standout players on bad units and were likely gameplanned for extensively. That makes their numbers even more impressive. What made Gowetski great this year was his knack for being around the ball. He was second in the NESCAC with 84 total tackles, first in tackles for loss with 21, and tied for third on the sacks list with 5.5. This is in addition to a forced fumble and fumble recovery. I agree with Matt that there was no clear standout defensive player this season like an Andrew Yamin last year, and I think Middlebury, Williams, and Wesleyan’s standout guys all deserve recognition for their contributions to their team’s success. However, I have a soft spot for guys who go into every game knowing their chances of winning are slim to none and still perform. Gowetski’s stats showed that he was constantly around the ball and probably affected countless plays that did not show up in the stat line. His individual efforts on a team where he did not get much help earn him Co-DPOY in his senior season.

Matt’s Pick: LB Jack Pistorius (Middlebury)

The DPOY race was much like the OPOY race–LB Joe Kelly of Amherst raced out to an early lead through the first half of the season, but injuries down the stretch cost him and opened this award to a ton of different guys. There are so many different options–Williams and Trinity had the two best defenses in the league, but none of their individual numbers stand out, while guys at Middlebury and Wesleyan ran up the numbers and finished with the two best records in the league. Ultimately I chose Pistorius, not just because of his terrific numbers–72 tackles (4th), 5.5 sacks (4th), and 11.5 TFL (10th)–but because of his performances in their biggest games of the season:

Williams: 7 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 TFL
Trinity: 10 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL
Amherst: 13 tackles, 2 TFL
Wesleyan: 10 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL

In their biggest games of their 9-0 championship season, the majority of which we expected them to finally lose, it was Pistorius who rose to the challenge and led their defense and their team to the 4 wins that defined their season.

Honorable Mentions: LB Pete Huggins (Middlebury), LB Luke Apuzzi (Williams), CB Ben Thaw (Wesleyan)

Offensive Rookie of the Year: RB Alex Maldjian (Middlebury)

Any NESCAC football fan that followed Middlebury’s success this season had to see this one coming. Not only was Maldjian the best rookie running back, he was also the best running back period by most accounts. A freshman out of Rumson, New Jersey, Maldjian led the conference in rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns. His ball security was impressive as well as he only lost one fumble all season. Maldijan was simply unparallelled as a NESCAC running back. He was the only player to register triple digit yards per game and the only player to record double digit rush touchdowns with ten in eight and a half games. Combine this with Middlebury quarterback Will Jernigan’s 511 rush yards and 8 touchdowns, and it makes sense why Midd gave us the first 9-0 season in league history. When the pass game faltered or the defense was gassed, the Panthers continually relied on Maldjian to gain tough yards, run clock and give the D some rest. Coach Bob Ritter clearly had a lot of faith in Maldjian from day 1, as he got 21 carries in his first college game against a league-best Williams defense. Maldjian did not need much time to adjust to the speed and physicality of the college game after that. He totaled 361 scores and two touchdowns in his next three games, two of which were against Trinity and Amherst. It became clear early in the season that Maldjian was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the next few seasons. His impact was even felt when he was off the field. On October 12 vs. Colby, Maldjian was injured in the first half and did not return, only registering five carries. This ended up being Middlebury’s closest game, a 27-26 win in which they were bailed out by multiple Mule missed kicks and frankly were outplayed. If he had played this whole game, there’s a decent chance we could be talking about a thousand yard rusher here. Maldjian would return next Saturday and put the Panther offense on his back. He was at his best when Midd became the team everyone wanted to take down. Over his last four games, Maldjian averaged a whopping 28.5 carries per game and totaled 471 yards with 7 touchdowns. Most NESCAC backs would be happy with 7 touchdowns over an entire season, but this kid did it in four games as a freshman. This level of production was more than enough to earn him OROY. With Maldjian in the backfield for the next three years, Middlebury fans should feel great about their team’s chances for another ring.

Honorable Mention: RB Joel Nicholas (Williams)

Defensive Rookie of the Year: S Drew Michalek (Williams)

A two man race for this award between Michalek and DL Nick Helbig, Wesleyan, ultimately goes to the Eph, who helped anchor their league best defense with 3 INTs and a fumble recovery, while also racking up an impressive 44 tackles from the secondary. The Williams defense did not force a ton of turnovers, but when they did, Michalek was often right in the thick of things–his team leading 5th pass break up on the 3rd play of the game against Amherst fell into fellow S Ben Anthony’s hands for a pick 6 in their 31-9 season finale win.

Honorable Mention: DL Nick Heptig (Wesleyan)

Coach of the Year: Bob Ritter (Middlebury)

It wasn’t just that Middlebury completed the first 9-0 season in NESCAC history. Or the fact that no one had Middlebury in their championship picture at the start of the season. It was the way they did it. Wins against Williams, Trinity, and Amherst in 3 of the first 4 weeks of the season put them firmly in the driver’s seat, but also painted a huge target on their backs. They played their best game of the season in a 45-21 blowout of Wesleyan in what proved to be the de facto conference championship game, and then showed their championship mettle in nailbiters down the stretch, winning 3 of their final 5 games by one possession or less. And on top of all of that, it was how they did it–reinventing themselves as a power run team after years of shattering passing records behind some of the most prolific arms in league history. Despite the lack of big arm, and even losing key OL to graduation, Ritter guided QB Will Jernigan’s development into the best big game QB in the league, and RB Alex Maldjian burst onto the scene as the best RB in the league in his first season of football. Returning most of their top offensive weapons, as well as their top 7 tacklers, Ritter should have a great chance to repeat next year.

Honorable Mentions: Dan DiCenzo (Wesleyan), David Murray (Hamilton)

Special teams Co-POY:

K Sam Thoreen (Hamilton)

(10/10 FGs, longest made FG of the season, 23/25 XPs, 2nd highest scoring kicker, 6th highest scoring player)

K Mason Von Jess (Wesleyan)

(8/12 FGs, 31/32 XPs, top scoring kicker, 4th highest scoring player)

It Is What It Is: 2019 End-of-Season Power Rankings

(1) 1. Middlebury (9-0)

No surprises here – the Panthers capped off the first 9-0 season in NESCAC history with a convincing victory over Tufts in Medford. Rookie RB Alex Maldjian ’23 led the league in rushing with 905 yards on the season (100.6 per game) and he seems to be a shoe-in for the NESCAC Rookie of the Year award. The receiving corps took a big step up this year and that was in large part due to the enormous improvement of QB Will Jernigan ’21. The Georgia native must have spent the summer implementing the TB12 method because he looked like an entirely different quarterback this year than he did last year. As a sophomore in 2018, Jernigan was 8^th in the league with 127 passing yards per game and 10 touchdowns on the year. In 2019 he finished 2^nd in the league with 221 passing yards per game and 16 touchdowns. It’s starting to make sense why they went from 5-4 in 2018 to 9-0 this season.

It would also be impossible to talk about this Middlebury team without talking about the defense – this unit led the NESCAC in interceptions and sacks, terrorizing opposing teams all year. The junior LB duo of Pete Huggins ’21 and Jack Pistorius ’21 finished tied for 4^th in the conference in tackles with 72 each, they were both top-10 in TFLs, and they each added an interception for good measure. These guys would both be the best linebacker on any other team and the Panthers have them both! DB Kevin Hartley ’20 finished tied for 1^st with 5 interceptions on the year and both Michael Carr ’20 and Finn Muldoon ’23 were top-10 in the NESCAC in picks as well. There’s no controversy this year – it’s safe to say that Middlebury was the best team and they proved it. Of their 9 games on the year, 6 of them were decided by one score or less and those include a double overtime victory at Amherst and a one-point scare against Colby. No matter who they were up against the Panthers were able to do just enough to find a way to win and that’s what championship teams do. Congrats to Panther Nation.

(3) 2. Wesleyan (8-1)

We’ve taken a lot of heat from Wesleyan fans over the past few weeks and deservedly so. Not a single one of us here at NbN believed that the Cardinals would be able to go 8-1 or honestly even 7-2. Even after their 5-0 start I thought that they were going to finish 6-3 or maybe even 5-4 given that they closed out the season with Middlebury, Amherst, Williams, and Trinity. Well they absolutely proved us wrong and I’m willing to admit that. Ashton Scott ’22 looks like the next star quarterback of the NESCAC and he made a legit POY case with his 17:3 TD:INT ratio and a league-leading completion percentage. Scott couldn’t have done it without the help of fellow classmate and breakout star Matthew Simco ’22 who finished 4^th in the conference in both receiving yards and touchdowns, while finishing 3^rd in receptions. The duo of Ben Thaw ’20 and Danny Banks ’22 are likely the best DB combo in the NESCAC with Thaw leading the league in picks and pass break ups and Banks coming in at 2^nd in picks and 3^rd in PBUs. The fact that Wesleyan was able to take down Amherst and Williams in consecutive weeks and going to 3 overtimes in the process is incredibly impressive and frankly it’s a shame that they couldn’t put up more of a fight against Middlebury because that would’ve been a ton of fun to watch. Either way this was a very impressive year for the Cardinals and with all the youth on their roster I don’t think this will be the last we’re hearing from these guys…

(2) 3. Williams (7-2)

I just want to go on record and say that if they’re able to avoid any major injuries to key players next year, the Ephs are my pick to win the 2020 NESCAC Championship. Yeah they lost two games this year and they lost those two games fair and square, but I really think this is the best team in the league. QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 has my vote for Offensive Player of the Year with his league leading 20 TDs and 2 INTs (also good for the best TD:INT ratio), while also adding the 4^th most rushing yards in the conference. These are pretty incredible numbers and they’re also very difficult to sustain given that Williams almost exclusively runs RPOs. This kid is a stud. WR Frank Stola ’21 got off to one of the best starts to a season in recent memory for a receiver and Coach Raymond took full advantage, often using Stola as a decoy to draw away defenders during a few of their games later in the year. What may have taken the most pressure off of Maimaron was the Ephs’ menacing defense that led the league in both yards and points allowed. That’s how you keep your team in games. They say that defense wins championships so if this defense can ride the momentum into next year then it will be a very long season for anyone not wearing purple and gold.

(5) 4. Trinity (5-4)

In hindsight I kind of feel like we made the same mistake for Trinity that we did for Wesleyan, but the other way around. Because of their recent history, we assumed that the Bantams were pretty much the favorite for every game they played in. It turned out that they really weren’t that good this year, at least not by their standards. We all know how Coach Devanney loves running up the score so they had some lopsided victories over the Maine schools but when it came to the upper echelon of the league they really struggled. It took the Bantams until the 4^th quarter to put away Hamilton and their 21-7 win over Amherst isn’t as impressive as it usually is because the Mammoths weren’t that great this year either. They lost one-possession games to Tufts, Middlebury, and Wesleyan, exposing their immaturity and showing that they tended to panic when time was winding down. Realistically this year is probably nothing more than a speed bump for this perennial powerhouse, but with the re-emergence of Williams and the improvements of Hamilton it’s time for the Bantams to start watching their backs.

(6) 5. Hamilton (4-5)

I’m really torn about what to say here because I was fully prepared to write a rave review about this year’s Continental team until they totally blew it in their final game against Bates. If you’re up 21-0 in the first half against a team that has only won once in the last two years then there’s really no excuse not to close that one out. With that being said, there are still a ton of positive takeaways from this season for Hamilton. They were able to beat both Amherst and Tufts for the first time in a while and they battled with Trinity until the final whistle. The emergence of David Kagan ’20 as a legitimate threat out of the backfield was huge to ease the burden for QB Kenny Gray ’20 who has really carried this team for the last four years. They also benefitted from an experienced trio of receivers in Christian Donahoe ’20, Will Budington ’21, and Sam Robinson ’20, each of whom stepped up in big moments, particularly given that WR Joe Schmidt ’20 was battling injury. I also think kicker Sam Thoreen ’22 deserves recognition because this guy is truly the best kicker in the league – he was a perfect 10/10 on field goals and 23/25 on extra points, giving him 53 points on the year which trailed only Mason Von Jess ’23 of Wesleyan. Coach Murray has done an outstanding job with this program and they are absolutely headed in the right direction, but they lose a lot to graduation this year so now we’ll have to wait and see if they can continue this positive trend with a new generation of faces.

(4) 6. Amherst (4-5)

Much like the Bantams’ season, this one was a disappointment for the Mammoths. Their first losing season since 1993 is definitely tough to swallow, particularly when so many of their games were decided in the final minutes or even seconds. It sort of felt like they were losing steam every game – once they suffered their first loss in double overtime to Middlebury things really started to spiral out of control. They easily took down Bowdoin the following week but then blew an 11-point lead with 4 minutes left against Hamilton, lost in double overtime again, this time to Wesleyan, and were smacked in their final two games against Williams and Trinity to close out the year on a 4-game losing streak. It seems to me that we should have treated Amherst like we treated Wesleyan earlier in the year – they started the year with the easier portion of their schedule and took care of business, but struggled mightily against the top teams and at times seemed overmatched. This is pretty much what we expected the Cardinals to do, but instead they went the other direction and got better as the year went on, playing some of their best games late in the year and beating a few of the top teams.

It’s clear that they really felt the losses of RB Jack Hickey and LB Andrew Yamin from last season because those guys were two of the best playmakers in the league. It felt like the Mammoths were lacking star power at times and that really showed; QB Ollie Eberth ’20 saw his interception totals balloon from just 1 last season to 13 this season. Thirteen!! That’s a ridiculous increase and it’s pretty much because he was only throwing to one guy. WR James O’Regan ’20 had twice as many touchdowns (8) as any other player on their roster and he had more than double the amount of receiving yards as the next most on the team. It’s hard to make things happen when defenses know exactly who you’re trying to get the ball to. This is definitely a season to forget for Amherst and they’ll lose their top two offensive players to graduation this year so it’ll be interesting to see who they bring in to replace these key pieces.

(7) 7. Tufts (4-5)

This was a really weird year for the Jumbos. It felt like every week a different team came to play. They felt the high of beating the defending champion Bantams in Week 1 and the low of getting blown out by Hamilton at home in Week 7. QB Jacob Carroll ’20 quietly led the league with 247 passing yards per game and was 2^nd with 19 touchdown passes, but was sloppy with the ball at times and threw more interceptions than anyone in the league besides Eberth. QB Trevon Woodson ’23 looked excellent in his short stints as the backup, so it’s possible that they have a more than capable replacement waiting for next season. WR Frank Roche ’20 had an outstanding year as he led the league with over 100 receiving yards per game and was 2^nd with 10 touchdowns, but they didn’t have many other receiving threats and the run game was essentially non-existant. LB Greg Holt ’20 led the league in tackles and will soon receive another All-NESCAC selection, but the defense was nothing special and forced the fewest turnovers of anyone besides Bowdoin. It seems like Coach Civetti is faced with a similar challenge to some of the other coaches in the league: his first generation of star players (i.e. Chance Brady, Ryan McDonald) have come and gone and now he has to continue the trend. All the pieces are in place to do that, but it’s hard to know what to expect from the Jumbos moving forward.

(9) 8. Bates (2-7)

Easily my most controversial* pick in the end-of-season rankings is putting Bates ahead of a Colby team that beat them head-to-head and finished with an identical record. It’s easy to forget, however, that the Bates-Colby game was all but won by the Bobcats when they scored a would-be game-winning touchdown in the final minutes before it ended up being nullified by one of those classic phantom holding flags that we’re all accustomed to in the NESCAC. It seemed like they only gained momentum from there because they destroyed Bowdoin the next week and successfully orchestrated a 21-point comeback against Hamilton in the final game to end up with a more respectable 2-7 record. Brendan Costa ’21 is probably the most underrated quarterback in the league and he showed towards the end of this year that not only can he run and throw at a high level, but he can lead crucial drives late with the game on the line. This type of thing only comes with experience and that’s something that Costa surely has now that he’s spent nearly 3 full years as the starter. The Bobcats also showed that they have some real offensive threats, although nearly all of them battled injuries this year. Christian Olivieri ’22, Jackson Hayes ’22, Sean Bryant ’22, and Mohamed Diawara ’23 are the core of a receiving unit that has seen some serious improvements and their committee of running backs headlined by Liam Spillane ’21, Jaason Lopez ’21, and Tyler Bridge ’23 looked competitive with the best of them in spurts. As evidenced by the plethora of underclassmen mentioned so far, Bates isn’t losing much to graduation this year. If they can add a few more pieces and pick up where they left off then this will be a very different Bobcat team in 2020.

*Yes, I do believe that the words “controversial” and “biased” can be used interchangeably.

(8) 9. Colby (2-7)

I’d say this ended up being a pretty standard season for Colby football. They were mildly competitive in some games, beat Bates and Colby, and gave Middlebury their biggest scare of the season. When the dust settled they found themselves the winners of the CBB for the second year in a row and because I anticipate hearing from someone how it’s ludicrous to put Bates ahead of Colby, I will address it – I was at the Bates-Colby game and to be blunt the Bobcats were the better team that day. Yeah they lost, but outplaying Colby and having the referees take away a win does not go unnoticed. The better team doesn’t always win in sports and that was the case here. The Bobcats went on to solidify this claim by taking down Hamilton (who obliterated the Mules in Week 3) in their final game.

At the end of the day, this was not a terrible season for Colby. Winning the CBB is still something to be proud of and QB Matt Hersch ’22 had himself a solid second season, averaging over 200 yards per game through the air. Chris George ’20 emerged as the replacement for Jake Schwern out of the backfield and he had a solid year, as did receivers Andrew DeFranco ’20 and Rory Glavin ’21. LB Marcus Bullard ’21 finished 3^rd in the NESCAC in tackles, but other than him the defense was unremarkable. The Mules were 2^nd to last in the league in sacks so the defense really wasn’t able to get much pressure on opposing quarterbacks. They were also 2^nd to last in rushing yards allowed per game, so the front 4 will need to be a point of emphasis heading into next season. Colby has nothing to be ashamed of after this season, especially after nearly taking down the league champs in Week 5. Coach Cosgrove now has 2 consecutive 2-win seasons, so the bar is set. 3 is the magic number.

(10) 10. Bowdoin (0-9)

It can’t be fun to be a Bowdoin Polar Bear football fan. Last in the almost every statistical category on both sides of the ball in 2019, 1 win over the last 4 years, and a new coaching staff that has an uphill battle every step of the way. RB Nate Richam-Odoi ’20 was 2^nd in the conference in rushing yards; though he was pretty much the only bright spot on the offensive side except for maybe RB Brendan Ward ’22 who had a team-high 4 touchdown catches. LB Joe Gowetski ’20 finished with 84 tackles on the year, which was good for 2^nd in the NESCAC, but the same could be said for him as Richam-Odoi – they didn’t really have anyone else on defense who made an impact and Gowetski couldn’t do it all himself, so it was a very long year. Hopefully Coach Hammer has a good recruiting class lined up for next year because things are looking grim otherwise.

Better Safe Than Sorry: Williams vs. Wesleyan Game of the Week Preview

The 2^nd chapter of the most exciting three weeks of the season opens this weekend and there will be no better game than this Little Three tilt in Middletown. For both teams, a win is an absolute must to keep their 0.01% chances of winning a title (unofficial calculations) alive, but regardless of Middlebury’s last two games, there is so much more on the line than that. For Wesleyan, it is a chance to clinch the Little Three title following last week’s 2OT thriller against Amherst, and for Coach DiCenzo to continue his undefeated record against his alma mater that turned him down as head coach.

For Williams, it is the final stop on the 0-8 Revenge Tour, the only team the Ephs have yet to beat since Coach Mark Raymond took over. Wesleyan has taken a special joy in beating Williams for the last 6 years. On paper, this appears to be Williams’ best chance to defeat their rival since that streak began and give themselves their own chance to win their first Little Three since 2010. This should be an absolute battle—there are no guarantees when these two meet, not anymore.

Key #1 for Wesleyan: Pick One, Or Don’t

As Cam so elegantly and gracefully put in this week’s stock report, Williams has found so many different ways to beat teams this year. They are the league leaders in rushing by a comfortable margin, picking up 227 yards a game, nearly 40 more than the next closest team. The most impressive part about this rushing attack has been its consistency—they have rushed for more than 200 yards in 6 of their 7 games. Unsurprisingly, their lone loss to Middlebury came when they were held to 101 rushing yards. But they also boast the league’s best WR in Frank Stola ’21, and QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 leads the league in touchdown passes with 18. It presents quite a dilemma—Trinity was able to keep Frank Stola from catching a single ball, but their double teams and triple teams allowed the Ephs to run for 210 yards, and soon to be All-League RB Dan Vaughn ’22 had a career high 123 of those. Personally, if I’m Wesleyan, I have to focus on the run. Stola has killed teams that have left him in 1-on-1 coverage—4 TDs each and over 400 receiving yards combined against Tufts and Hamilton, but neither of those teams have the secondary that Wesleyan has. He may get loose and may he still beat you—that’s just the way it goes. But in their loss against Middlebury he had 6 catches, 151 yards, and 2 TDs—it’s the rushing game that needs to be stopped.

Key #2 for Wesleyan: Win the Turnover Battle

Not exactly a secret here, but the key to the Cardinals’ 6-1 start has been their abilities to cause turnovers and negative plays to get their offense on the field. Their 14 interceptions and 19 sacks lead the league, and their average time of possession of 33:14 per game is 2^nd. Conversely, Williams has turned the ball over less than anyone in the league, just 6 times, punctuated by Bobby Maimaron throwing just 2 interceptions—something has to give. If the Ephs control the ball and allow their running game to dictate the tempo, they will have a huge advantage, wearing defenses down as the game goes on like they did to Trinity, and allowing their defense to hold the lead. Wesleyan needs short fields and big defensive plays, something they are very capable of. They are the only team in the league that has three players with 3.5+ sacks—LB Nick Livingston ’21 (5), DL Nick Helbig ’23 (4), and LB Babila Fomuteh ’21 (3.5). That doesn’t even mention DL Taj Gooden ’21, arguably the most talented defensive player in the league despite his decrease in numbers this season, or fellow DL Jackson Eighmy ’21, who had 6.5 sacks last year—all while being watched over by the ball hawking duo of Danny Banks ’22 (4 INTs) and Ben Thaw ’20 (3). Should be quite the personnel battle, to say the least.

Key for Williams #1: Make Ashton Scott Uncomfortable

Forgive me for copying almost directly what Haven wrote last week when he said that the key for Williams’ would be defensive line pressure, but it worked so well that I really have no choice but to plagiarize. Coach Raymond and DC Mark McDonough dialed up an outstanding defensive gameplan in their win against the Bantams—6 sacks (after having 8 in the first 6 games) and 13 tackles for loss, both a season high. Dialing up blitzes has not been a key part of this defense otherwise, and now that the cat is out of the bag, they might have to find different ways to get into the backfield. QB Ashton Scott ’22 has proven in a short time to be one of the best passers in the NESCAC—4^th in the league in passing yards (209.9 YPG) and 2^nd in passing TDs (17), while also being one of the most accurate—2^nd with a 61.0% completion percentage. Scott’s only game with a completion percentage below 57% was also their only loss, when he went 15-31 (48.4%) against Middlebury. It’s a pretty simple formula—force him to make harder throws and have a better chance to win the football game.

Key for Williams #2: Winning Mentality

As already mentioned, this is the only team the Ephs have not beaten under Mark Raymond. The seniors have never beaten Wesleyan, and quite frankly every single loss has come with some extra sting—trailing 56-14 at half at Homecoming, blanked 35-0, and a 21-14 loss last season at home in the first season since Raymond took over where you could say with considerable confidence that Williams was the better team. When they come to Middletown on Saturday, they will again be the better team, having scored more points, allowed less points, gained more yards, and allowed less yards than Wesleyan through 7 games. But this is the type of game where you can throw away the stats. Coach DiCenzo LOVES beating Williams. He probably already has the Little Three championship t-shirts printed up and ready to go. His team has never known defeat at the hands of the Ephs and they have no reason to think that will change this weekend. It’s up to Williams to bring its A game in a hostile road environment if they want to check this final team off of its list. Turnover margin, rushing yards, special teams, none of it matters.

Everything Else:

Quite frankly, I already buried the lede in that last paragraph, but that’s the reality when it comes to this game between these two teams. On paper, this game belongs to Williams. Winning on the road in this league is really hard but they proved last week that they’re definitely capable of it, winning in Hartford in a place that nobody wins. Sure, there are a ton of other factors—Wesleyan winning the physical battle against a banged up Williams OL, the Ephs’ defense yet to really play from behind this year, or Ashton Scott ’22 and his weapons vastly improving week by week. But if you didn’t know these two teams, you would think these things would matter. They won’t.

Prediction: Williams 25, Wesleyan 16

Mixing Things Up: Week 2 Power Rankings

(4) 1. Middlebury (2-0)

6.5 points. That’s what this Middlebury defense is allowing through the first two games of the season. While this number is (in all likelihood) unsustainable as we venture deeper into the season, it undoubtedly sets the tone going forward in addition to letting fellow conference opponents that scoring multiple times on this defense will be quite a challenge. Quarterback Will Jernigan ‘21 didn’t even need to rely on his legs this past Saturday against Bates, as the junior threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns. What’s more impressive is that despite the absence of running back Peter Scibilia ‘20, the Panther offense is averaging a league-best 23 first downs per game; this number tells me the Panthers are sustaining long drives and winning the time of possession battle, which is key for keeping the defense off the field and rested. That defensive prowess will be challenged mightily at home against the Bantams this coming Saturday.

(5) 2. Williams (1-1)

Yes they’re 1-1, so what? Saturday’s annihilation of Tufts was extremely impressive: the Ephs put up 34 points by half and could have easily hung 50 on the Jumbos. Frank Stola ‘21 had the Jumbos’ secondary on skates all afternoon, breaking multiple school records in receptions (13), receiving yards (233) and touchdowns (4) in a single game. Bobby Maimaron ‘21 also had a fantastic bounce-back game, accounting for nearly 400 all-purpose yards and all five scores. The defense has been superb through two games, allowing a combined 25 points to Middlebury and Tufts, two of the better teams in the ‘CAC. Up next is a Bye, errr, I mean Bowdoin.

(1) 3. Amherst (2-0)

The people down in Amherst won’t be too pleased seeing their undefeated squad behind a one-loss team, and the fact that it’s Williams will further infuriate Mammoth supporters. However, let’s put this into perspective: Williams could easily be 2-0, losing on a last-minute touchdown on the road to Middlebury, then turned around and throttled a team that defeated Trinity. On the other hand, Amherst has defeated bottom dwellers Bates and Colby by 14 points each. Wins are wins, but neither of them was done in convincing fashion. The offense in particular has started slowly and is highly inefficient in the red zone, coming away with points on just three of nine times. Conor Kennelly ’22 went 2/4 on field goals against Bates, and followed up that performance by having a field goal and extra point blocked against Colby. Punter Henry Atkeson ‘20 actually took over for Kennelly midway through the game, converting a field goal before having a 34 yarder of his own blocked. Ollie Eberth ‘20 (on top of not leading a touchdown drive when inside the opponent’s 25 yard line) is only completing 54% of his passes, and has an interception in both games. Tougher defenses await the Mammoths, and this offensive inefficiency will not put them in a position to win the NESCAC Championship.

(3) 4. Trinity (1-1)

Bowdoin had no answer for DeVante Reid or the rest of the Bantam offense

It’s safe to say the Bantams’ offense had some frustrations to let out after failing to eclipse 10 points against the Jumbos. Poor Bowdoin served as a punching bag en route to a 61-7 demolition. Seamus Lambert ‘22 had virtually zero problems throwing the ball, racking up an astounding 391 yards and five touchdowns on a mere 13 completions. Surprisingly enough, the leading receiver for Trinity on Saturday was not Jonathan Girard ‘21 or Koby Schofer ‘20, but sophomore DeVante Reid ‘22. After catching three passes for zero yards against Tufts, Reid burst onto the scene with a monstrous game in which he caught six passes for 246 yards and four TD’s. Trinity clearly boasts the best receiving corps in the NESCAC, and it’ll need all of them to excel on the road in what most certainly is a do-or-die game against Middlebury.

(6) 5. Wesleyan (2-0)

The Cardinals continue to trend in the right direction, but Saturday’s game against Hamilton was (for 45 minutes) a little too close for comfort. Leading 14-10 at the start of the fourth quarter, Ashton Scott ‘22 led an 8 play, 80 yard drive to give Wesleyan a two-score lead, and a late pick-six from Ben Thaw ‘20 finally put the game out of reach. The defense continues to wreak havoc on opposing offenses, forcing a league-leading eight turnovers, six sacks, and is allowing a mere 10 ppg. Scott is completing close to 61% of his passes, and boasts a 6:1 touchdown to interception ratio. He’ll look to keep it going against a very porous Bobcat defense.

(2) 6. Tufts (1-1)

Everything came crashing down for the Jumbos in Williamstown. The same defense that stifled Trinity allowed 503 yards against Williams; in fact, Tufts allowed more yards to Williams in the first half (289) than to Trinity in the entire game (281) (the fact that Frank Stola abused their secondary makes me seriously consider how the WR combo at Trin didn’t make any sort of impact). Furthermore, quarterback Jacob Carroll ‘20 was benched late in the first half for freshman Trevon Woodson ‘23 after completing just 8 passes and tossing an interception. Woodson was more explosive with the ball (12/17 for 124 yards and 13 rushes for 79 yards) but turned the ball over twice. This is not the type of controversy you want to have before facing Amherst, so it will be interesting to see who Coach Civetti rolls out to start the game Saturday.

(7) 7. Hamilton (1-1)

David Kagan continued to run well for the Continentals despite the loss

As previously mentioned in the Cardinals’ synopsis, the Continentals hung around for 3+ quarters on Saturday before fading off. Running back David Kagan ‘20 had another solid performance, totaling 94 yards on 16 attempts and hauling in seven receptions for an additional 46 yards. Kagan now leads all running backs in yards per game by a sizable margin, and given quarterback Kenny Gray’s ‘20 struggles as of late, Kagan should be getting 25+ touches a game. Until defenses begin to zone in on the run, there’s no reason a guy averaging 8 yards a carry shouldn’t be touching the ball as frequently as possible. Colby’s defense should not only provide Kagan room to run, but the Mules’ poor pass defense should give Gray a chance to redeem himself for his performance against the Cardinals.

(8) 8. Colby (0-2)

I really thought this team could potentially achieve 4 wins with a few upsets this season, but two weeks in and that thought is far gone. The offense has been just average in terms of yardage gained, but quarterback Matt Hersh ‘22 really struggled against Amherst (155 yards and an INT). The defense has been downright atrocious against teams with solid but not fantastic offensive units, allowing close to 430 yards per game; what’s more concerning is that the run defense is virtually non-existent, allowing 215 yards per game. Hamilton is a winnable game, but if the defensive line continues to allow 200+ yards on the ground, the Mules will leave New York 0-3.

(9) 9. Bates (0-2)

The losing streak is now at 12 for the Bobcats stretching back to 2017, and Saturday’s no-show against the Panthers provided more questions than answers on both ends of the ball. Bates is averaging a league-worst 6.5 ppg and does not have a quarterback it can rely on to consistently move the ball downfield. Brendan Costa ‘21 is last in the NESCAC in passing yards/game and efficiency rating amongst starters. He was benched for freshman Liam Foley ‘23 midway through Saturday’s til with Middlebury, but he fared no better, going 7-19 for 58 yards. Combined, the two quarterbacks have thrown for 281 yards through two games…eight other NESCAC quarterbacks have single-handedly surpassed that number, and three of them have higher single-game passing yard performances. The run defense is not too shabby, but the secondary (specifically the corners) are playing abysmally at the moment, allowing 264 yards per game. Next week’s visit to Wesleyan should* be easier on the defense, but the offense might see more of the same problems.

(10) 10. Bowdoin (0-2)

We knew Bowdoin would be near the bottom of the standings upon entering 2019, but 61 points to any opponent is embarrassing. It was like watching an FBS team take on a pretty bad FCS team, to be quite honest. The offense failed to surpass 200 total yards after a respectable showing against Hamilton, and more trouble awaits them when they hit the road to take on Williams. The Polar Bears are averaging well under 100 yards per game on the ground, and desperately need someone in that department to step up and help quarterback Austin McCrum ‘21.

The Night Game: Wesleyan vs. Tufts Game of the Week Preview

6:00 PM, Saturday September 22nd @ Medford, MA

Overview

These two teams had (in my opinion) the most impressive Week 1 victories. Tufts defeated Hamilton by a score of 29-2 and Wesleyan routed Middlebury 52-14. These decisive victories show us that each team has turned the page from 2017 and are vying for a title in the 2018 season. This matchup certainly has championship ramifications, as the league is wide open, waiting for someone to prove why they belong at the top. The annual Tufts vs. Wesleyan night game promises to be the most exciting game so far in this young season especially after the opening week had essentially no entertainment whatsoever. Fortunately for the fans, the Cardinals and Jumbos have had some classics in recent history with Wesleyan winning last season in overtime and Tufts winning by just 3 points the prior year.

Dario Highsmith ’20 has become one of Wesleyan’s top receiving threats since he converted from running back this season

Key for Tufts: Passing game

The Jumbos did a fantastic job establishing the run game in their opener at Hamilton. Lead RB Mike Pedrini ’21 rushed 9 times for 68 yards, while QB Ryan McDonald ’19 rushed 15 times for 98 yards and 4 TDs. These are impressive numbers, but it’ll take a more multi-faceted offense to beat a defense as strong as Wesleyan. The Tufts receiving corps will be facing a much tougher challenge when they go up against elite defensive players like Ben Thaw ’20 and Brandon Morris ’19. Frank Roche ’19 and OJ Armstrong ’21 were the only wideouts that caught multiple passes against the Continentals, and this will have to change. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 has to use his arm more because the Cardinals are much more able to keep him in the pocket and prevent him from breaking off big runs like he did last week. If the Tufts receivers can create separation and open up the passing game, it’ll allow for them to rely more on the run game that they loved so much in Week 1. We know that Ryan McDonald ’19 is capable of throwing the ball, but he’ll have to prove that he can do it against one of the league’s top secondaries.

Key for Wesleyan: Minimizing turnovers

Although they won last year’s matchup, Wesleyan wasn’t particularly careful with the ball. Piccirillo threw an interception and fumbled three times, losing two. There’s no question that the Cardinals are the more disciplined team in this one, so it’ll come down to ball security if they’re going to prevent Tufts from creeping into the game. The Cardinals turned the ball over 13 times last year, but 7 of those turnovers were in their 3 losses. Piccirillo is an excellent facilitator, but has a bad habit of turning the ball over when he’s pressure. In their first game versus Middlebury, Wesleyan didn’t turn the ball over once, controlling the time of possession. The offensive line did a terrific job and didn’t allow a single sack, giving Piccirillo all the time he needed to find open receivers. If they can hold on to the ball, their talent and game planning will be too much for the Jumbos.

Tufts X-Factor: WR Frank Roche ’19

If Tufts is going to establish the passing game, they’ll need their top pass catchers to break free. No receiver had a particularly big game in Week 1 as a result of QB Ryan McDonald ’19 doing it all himself, but this week that won’t be the case. Roche finished 2^ndon the team in receptions last season despite playing only 7 games, and he was the top receiver against Hamilton with 4 catches for 42 yards. Other guys will need to step up too, but every quarterback needs a top target and Roche is going to be that target against a very tough Wesleyan defense.

Wesleyan X-Factor: LB Brandon Morris ’19

The 2017 team leader in tackles started off his senior campaign with a fine effort against Middlebury. He recorded 5 tackles and led the team with 3 pass break ups. Morris is as athletic as they come at the linebacker position, and he’ll have a lot on his plate against Tufts. He does an excellent job in coverage as he possesses the quickness to stay with some faster receivers and his outstanding instincts always keep him in position to find the ball. Against a mobile quarterback like McDonald, Morris will have to make sure he stays in the pocket since they know he loves to run. If he can help keep McDonald in check, Wesleyan should have no problem winning this one.

Everything Else

Ryan McDonald loves to run, but he’ll get himself into trouble if he tries to do too much against Wesleyan

Wesleyan is definitely the favorite here, with a slight edge in most categories. I think the Cardinals have a deeper offense with more threats, and a much more imposing defense. Piccirillo has my vote for best quarterback in the league, and Dan DiCenzo is one of the most impressive coaches. With all of this said, Tufts still absolutely has a chance in this one. Their defense was suffocating against Hamilton last week and already looks better than it did last season. Ryan McDonald is a total enigma and it’s very difficult to know what to expect from him. We could see 350 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. We could see 150 passing yards and 2 interceptions. We could see 110 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. We could see 2 fumbles and no running game. What we do know is that he will do all that Wesleyan’s defense will allow him to do, and that will make or break this game. To me, Wesleyan is the known and Tufts is the unknown. The Cardinals have my pick, but I’m very excited to see what we’re going to get out of the Jumbos tomorrow.

Prediction: Wesleyan 31, Tufts 23

Nothing New: Week 1 Power Rankings

With the first week in the books we finally got a glimpse of what each team is looking like this year. Obviously one game is a small sample size, but we’ve learned a thing or two about the league this year. Trinity is still Trinity, Wesleyan is not to be taken lightly, and the bottom of the league is still looking more or less the same. I’m sure this year will bring plenty of surprises like we see every year, but Week 1 didn’t bring too much excitement. There were exactly zero games decided by less than 12 points and besides Bates vs. Amherst none of the games were within 27. So much for more parity this season. Fortunately, this made it a bit easier to do the power rankings, so let’s see where each team falls:

Trinity

The two time defending champs did nothing to make me believe they aren’t still the league’s premier team in a 35-0 drubbing of Colby. RB Max Chipouras ’19 put up a stat line (15 carries, 173yds, 3TD) that would be ridiculous for anyone else, but given his standards I’ll call it “good.” A potential reason for concern is that QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 completed just 9 of his 26 pass attempts for 210 yards, although 97 of those yards were on one play. It was his first game with a new team, but 8-25 for 113 yards sounds a heck of a lot different than 9-26 for 210 yards. Either way, it’s easy to win when your defense doesn’t give up any points, and the Bantams continued to look outstanding on that side of the ball. A matchup with Bates in Week 2 isn’t particularly imposing, so Trinity will have another week to workout the kinks before they head to Williamstown for their first big test.

Wesleyan

Sean Penney ’21 has clearly found a role as the goal line back for Wesleyan

The Cardinals played host to Middlebury in Week 1 and made an absolute statement. Putting up 52 points is absurd even against the weaker teams in the league, let alone the Panthers. We all know how good QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is, but I was very skeptical given that Wesleyan graduated 4 of their top 5 pass catchers from last season. Well they came out with a very balanced offensive attack that featured 3 rushing touchdowns from Sean Penney ’21, and just 19 pass attempts by Piccirillo. The Wesleyan defense looked excellent as well, and Ben Thaw ’20 put on the defensive performance of the week with 2 interceptions – returning one for a touchdown. Coach DiCenzo showed that he has already found his team’s identity, and will certainly game plan well for their Week 2 showdown at Tufts.

Tufts

I’m not quite sure whether the Jumbos’ 29-2 victory over Hamilton says more about them or the Continentals, but I’m going with the former. This was exactly the type of statement win that Tufts wanted to make in Week 1, highlighted by QB Ryan McDonald ’19 rushing for 98 yards and 4 touchdowns to go along with his 99 passing yards. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the season opener for Tufts was the outstanding effort by their defense. They intercepted 3 Hamilton passes, forced 1 fumble, and had 6 sacks. Granted the Continentals don’t have the strongest offense in the league, but it’s mostly the same personnel that dropped 28 points on the Jumbos in Week 1 last season. Tufts is clearly getting better and their defense will be tasked with slowing down a versatile Wesleyan team that just hung 52 on Middlebury. Mark this one on your calendar, folks.

Williams

Bobby Maimaron ’21 is a weapon. Let’s make that very clear. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns, while tacking on 78 more yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. He can seemingly do anything, but he doesn’t have to because the Ephs boast one of the best receivers in the league in Frank Stola ’21 and one of the best running backs in the league in TJ Dozier ’21. Oh, and don’t forget about linebacker TJ Rothmann ’21 who looks like one of the most promising defensive players in the league. Notice anything these guys all have in common? They’re only sophomores. Look out NESCAC, Williams is here to stay. Mark Raymond is turning this program back into a dynasty and I, for one, am very afraid. They’re ready to be in the conversation with the conference’s elite because their championship window is just opening.

Amherst

Bo Berluti ’19 was the only Mammoth receiver to get anything going against Bates

A 19-7 victory over Bates isn’t the most impressive feat, but a win is a win. Plus, the Mammoths had no idea what to expect from a team that completely changed their schemes on both sides of the ball. Amherst is still Amherst and they’ll find ways to grind out wins. Jack Hickey ’19 is a workhorse out of the backfield, racking up 22 carries for 137 yards against the Bobcats. Ollie Eberth ’20 completed 9 of his 13 passes to his two favorite targets, Bo Berluti ’19 and James O’Reagan ’20, but there don’t seem to be too many reliable options beyond those two guys. Fortunately, their defensive unit is as good as any, so they don’t need to be putting up 30+ points every game to be successful. They’ll host a Hamilton team in Week 2 who looked like a JV squad against Tufts, so if that performance is any indication then this one should be a cake walk for the Mammoths. Editor’s Note: 5th?! Cmon, Cam. They have the best defense in the league and returned their whole lineup. I guarantee they move up in week two.

Middlebury

Middlebury showed us that they still have quite a bit to figure out. They did not come to play against Wesleyan and got ripped apart. I know that the suffocating defense of the Cardinals is a nightmare for opposing teams and Mark Piccirillo is pretty good, but the Panthers couldn’t even keep it within 30? Not a great start. Their defense was abysmal, and the offense couldn’t pick up the slack either. Seemingly the only bright spot was that 9 different receivers had multiple receptions, indicating that the pass-heavy offense that they’re known for is still very much in effect. Jack Meservy ’19 showed promise by completing 25 of 43 passes and 2 touchdowns, but also threw 3 picks and didn’t have a single completion for more than 18 yards. I’m confident that the Panthers will start to put things together, but this game should serve as a wakeup call. Luckily they host Bowdoin this weekend, so they’ll have an opportunity to continue finding out what works and what doesn’t.

Bates

The Bobcats should feel about as good as you can feel after a 19-7 loss. Amherst is one of the league’s best, and Bates refused to go away. In fact, it was still a one score game with 5 minutes left to play. The defense looked very solid, led by DB Jon Lindgren ’20 and LB Pete Daley ’19 who had 12 and 8 tackles, respectively. The new offense is going to need a bit more work as they were only able to muster 7 first downs the entire game. Someone besides QB Brendan Costa ’21 is going to have to step up on offense, because he’s the only one making plays at this point. It’s not good when your punter has almost triple the amount of punt yards as you have in total offense. Yes, the Mammoths play very tough defense, but so does Trinity, who the Bobcats will face in Week 2. The expectations shouldn’t be too high for this one, but after a solid showing in Week 1 Bates should continue to focus on making progress. It’s the little victories.

Hamilton

Apparently I was way too high on Hamilton going into this season. They returned a ton of key offensive players including QB Kenny Gray ’20, RB Mitch Bierman ’21, and WR Joe Schmidt ’20 who all did damage in 2017. I thought this would put them in position to have a breakout season and while this still could happen, it looks much less likely. Their offense put up a goose egg and was actually bailed out by their defense to avoid the shutout. Not to say that their defense played particularly well, but allowing 29 points isn’t a terrible effort. Alex Ganter ’19 looked solid, recording 7 tackles and 1 sack that resulted in the safety. Needless to say, the Continentals have a lot to figure out right now, as they’ll go back to the drawing board in preparation for their visit to Western Mass this weekend to take on the Mammoths.

Bowdoin

Austin McCrum didn’t look like a quarterback who once had D1 potential this past weekend

As Colby mentioned in the Stock Report, there has to be a bit of disappointment from Polar Bear fans after a poor performance from transfer QB Austin McCrum ’21 in their season opener against the Ephs. Bowdoin needs to establish their offensive threats after losing their top two receivers from last season in Nick Vailas ’18 and Bryan Porter ’18. RB Nate Richam ’20 looked serviceable, but they really could not get anything going on offense at all. Linebackers Liam Dougherty ’21 and Joe Gowetski ’20 had decent games, but they ran into a hot Williams offense that dominated the game from start to finish. It’s a tough road ahead for the Polar Bears who face Middlebury, Amherst, and Tufts over the next three weeks. They’ll try to take baby steps each week to improve steadily until they reach the weaker portion of their schedule later in the season.

Colby

The last two spots in the power rankings could go either way, but I put Colby in the cellar because of their inability to score a single point in Week 1. The game plan against Trinity was clearly ground and pound, as RB Jake Schwern ’19 carried the ball 29 times for 108 yards. QB Jack O’Brien ’20 only threw for 93 yards, and the Mules actually had 5 players with negative rushing yards. The defense could have been worse, but it’s hard to judge given that the Bantams had their reserves in for the entire second half. It’s hard to play the league’s best right from the get-go, and the result was pretty much as expected. Like Bowdoin, their upcoming schedule does not look promising so the focus will be on progress. Colby hired Coach Cosgrove for a reason, and he can’t be asked to produce results this quickly. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

Expectations vs. Reality; Week 1 Stock Report

Stock Report

Stock Up

Wesleyan Secondary: Ben Thaw was the defensive star of the weekend, racking up two INTs, a TD, and 46 return yards, all but handing the Cardinals the victory. Alex Kirk added another pick and Mark Piccirillo could easily do the rest, tearing through the Panthers. They also limited the speedy Jimmy Martinez to just 17 yards, and prevented any receiver from tallying over 60 yards receiving which is just as impressive as their onslaught on Middlebury’s QB. They face another challenge this weekend against Tufts but should handle McDonald and the Jumbos just like they did in Week 1.

Ben Thaw locked up a NESCAC defensive player of the week award with his two INTs.

Bates Defense: Although the Bobcats lost in the first game of Malik Hall’s tenure as head coach, they kept the score much closer than I thought they would against Amherst. Amherst has a number of offensive weapons in QB Ollie Eberth, receivers Bo Berluti and James O’Reagan, and RB Jack Hickey, but only scored 19 points. Granted, this showed that the Bobcat ground defense is worse than their pass defense as all three TDs came on rushes. Eberth threw for just 112 yards though, and that is a small start in a new era of Bates football. They had six tackles for loss and one sack, however, they will need a better pass rush in the future.

Trinity’s Title Chances: Jordan Vazzano is the real deal and that means that the Bantams are back. Unlike McCrum at Bowdoin, Vazzano had an excellent debut and led his new Trinity team to a dominating 35-0 victory against Colby. Now, nobody thought that the Mules had a chance in this one, but he certainly took his first step in the right direction with 210 yards passing and two TDs. I took some heat after predicting the Bantams to be just 6-3, and although there is a lot of season left, I don’t like the chances for that one panning out.

Stock Down

Jack Meservy needs to get it together before a week 4 matchup vs. Amherst.

Middlebury QB Empire: Following the graduation of past NESCAC legends, Donnie McKillop, McCallum Foote (possibly the best of the group), Matt Milano and Jared Lebowitz, who all called plays in Vermont, Jack Meservy had big shoes to fill. He performed well enough to retain the starting spot at the end of the 2017 season and the 2018 preseason, but bad decisions cost him in week one. He has been experiencing shoulder pain as well, and it’s unclear as to whether it effected him against Wesleyan, but his all star receivers didn’t get the balls they needed to make big plays happen. All three of the interceptions were costly, as one was a pick-6 and the two others left the dynamic Cardinal offense with a short field. Meservy has two weeks to figure it out against Bowdoin and Colby before taking on the mighty Amherst defense.

Hamilton’s Destiny Year: If there was ever a year for Hamilton to be good, this is it. They return heaps of players on both sides of the ball, but simply couldn’t get anything going against Tufts. In fact, their defense scored more than their offense with two points on a safety. They used three different QBs due to a tough three INT performance from Kenny Gray. Their offensive line allowed six sacks, making their QBs and run game without time to let plays develop. Will Budington was the lone bright spot with over 100 yards receiving, accounting for most of the Continental offense.

McCrum had a disappointing week one debut.

Excitement in Brunswick: After getting in transfer QB Austin McCrum from Lafayette, the Polar Bear fans should’ve had high hopes. After all, what else could take your team to the promised land than a fearless former D1 leader? Well, disappointment is here. A paltry opening week performance saw McCrum go just 10-25 with a pick before getting benched for Griff Stalcup, a promising sophomore who started most of their games a season ago. Stalcup did just fine, throwing a TD and no INTs, but he doesn’t quite match up against the signal callers of other quality teams.

One Strong Leader, One Strong Goal: Wesleyan University Season Preview

2017 record: 6-3

Gotta love this atmosphere, and the Cardinals are going to bring it in Middletown.

NBN 2018 projected record: 7-2

Projected offensive starters (*5 returning):

QB: Mark Piccirillo ‘19*

RB: Sean Penney ‘21

WR: Evan Hull ‘19

WR: Hallvard Lundevall ‘20

TE: Ryan Earle ‘19*

OL: Bryce Jenkins ‘21

C: Joe Wilson ’19*

RG: Jacob Edlebeck ‘21

LT: Ryan Schutta ’20*

RT: Terence Norton ‘19*

Projected defensive starters (*6 returning):

DB: Ben Thaw ‘20*

DB: Eli Blair-May ‘20

S: AJ Lanton ’22

S: Pat Leone

LB: Brandon Morris ‘19*

LB: Will Kearney ‘20

LB: Malcolm Fox ’21

DL: Jude Lindberg ‘19*

DL: Taj Gooden ‘21*

DL: Grant Williams ‘19*

DL Bobby Nevin ‘19*

Projected special teams starters (*2 returning):

K: Pat Wolfe ‘21*

P: Sam Han ‘20*

Offensive MVP:

Mark Piccirillo ‘19

If you study the most successful college quarterbacks from the past decade, who do you have on your list? I have Tim Tebow, Baker Mayfield, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Marcus Mariota, and Lamar Jackson just to name a few. What do all these quarterbacks have in common? They’re all incredible athletes who ran option plays in college. After Eagles coach Doug Pederson introduced the world to the run-pass option (RPO) last season, RPO has established itself as common lingo. Mark Piccirillo, Wesleyan quarterback, has been running one of the most successful offenses in the NESCAC for the past three seasons. Even though he doesn’t amaze spectators with size, he makes up for it will intelligent reads. The offense is run fast, which is predicated on great conditioning and understanding what the defense is giving you. Piccirillo led the league in both yards per game and touchdowns; however, he threw ten interceptions. With a touchdown to interception ratio of two to one, Piccirillo slipped behind the likes of Sonny Puzzo (Trinity) and Jared Lebowitz (Middlebury) in that statistical category. As his offensive counterparts become more comfortable with Piccirillo, the turnovers will likely be cut down. Piccirillo’s meager 8.0 yards per attempt shows that the offense is comfortable taking what the defense gives them. Exploiting linebacker on slot receiver matchups underneath and in the flat is a major reason for all of Piccirillo’s passing yards a season ago. Piccirillo noted the following about his mental state entering his final season at Wesleyan: “I’d say personally to prepare for this season I’ll be watching a lot of film on opponents early into game weeks to really get enough mental reps on what I have to do and go into practices with the mindset that every day is game day. Also just really get a lot of reps with my receivers every day to have the chemistry to make plays on Saturdays. And the number one thing is playing with high confidence every place. This year I see our team going out on game days with a lot of energy flying around and being positive. I love what I see from the younger guys on the team that’ll have a big impact on bettering the team.”

Piccirillo is a front runner for NESCAC POY in 2018

Piccirillo’s mental state is what you want in a quarterback and leader. So much of sports is failing, moving on, and responding in a positive way. Piccirillo’s interceptions last year is a source of losing confidence. As a leader, nevertheless, he seems to have taken charge of the offense. One of the most important pieces of Wesleyan’s offense graduated last year. Wide receiver Mike Breuler invigorated fans with his flying catches in traffic and overall dependability. Breuler had a phenomenal junior campaign, leading the team in catches, yards, and receiving touchdowns, and earning first team all NESCAC honors. The wideout ended his senior year by earning NESCAC offensive player of the year, breaking Wesleyan and NESCAC single season records in yards and catches, and finished second in the country in yards per reception and third in total yards per game. It’s clear that losing Piccirillo’s top target from the past few years will hurt Wesleyan’s offense. The question for Coach DiCenzo and the coaches is who is going to fill Breuler’s void. There won’t be one guy who can possess the chemistry that Breuler and Piccirillo shared. It’s going to take multiple players to fill Breuler’s shoes. Joe Scancarella is a sophomore receiver to watch this year. He doesn’t have the size that Breuler has, but he great hands. He made an impact as a freshman with one touchdown. He’s quick, and is a matchup nightmare for bigger, slower linebackers.

Defensive MVP:

Brandon Morris ‘19

Wesleyan is returning some core pieces on defense. Senior linebacker Brandon Morris led the NESCAC in tackles per game. Defensive linemen Taj Gooden and Jude Lindberg return as well to an interior presence, which will wreak havoc for opponent offensive linemen. Besides Wesleyan’s loss of Breuler, play on the road has to be another point of concern. A perfect record at home coupled with a sub five hundred record on the road is something the Cards will desperately look to correct. Whether it’s mental or physical, the Cards will travel to play Tufts and Williams on the road, both hostile environments. Wesleyan dominated the time of possession, leading the league. As John Madden would say, without the ball, it’s hard for the team to score points. Wesleyan has to continue to emphasize winning the time of possession this season if they want to succeed. I think that Mark Piccirillo will be the ultimate difference maker for the Cards. He will bring them over the top to bring them a NESCAC championship.

Biggest game: 9/15 vs Middlebury:

The first game of the season is Wesleyan’s biggest. Middlebury beat them last year, so a 1-0 record to start the season is a necessity to win a NESCAC crown. Wesleyan isn’t such a young team anymore with Morris and Piccirillo leading the team. Wesleyan can prove to the league with an opening day win that they’ll here for the long haul.

Best tweet: https://twitter.com/GKessFilms/status/1035619516498288640

A fly messing with Picc! Wow.

Everything else:

Who else is looking forward to seeing this glorious field next Saturday?

As the dog days of training camp come to an end, and the strange combination of jubilation for another year of a college social life and fear of problem sets, exams, and papers churns in our stomachs, we have to remember what we’ve waited for since February: football. NESCAC football fans have waited even longer, however, too see their alma mater on the gridiron. There are many question marks that come to my mind as both a writer and a fan when considering how teams will perform this season: will there be two poles like last year with Trinity, Middlebury, and Amherst at the top, while Colby and Bowdoin rounded out the bottom? Will young teams like Wesleyan, Williams, and Tufts dethrone Trin at the top? Wesleyan, Williams, and Tufts all showed promise last season, but only one team is returning a four year playmaking starter at the quarterback position. Only one team was second in the entire conference, behind Middlebury, in total offense; only one of those teams had a 65% touchdown efficiency in the red zone, ranking second in the league behind Trinity. The team that I keep referring to, and will make the leap from a successful 6-3 2017 season to an outstanding 8-1 2018 (one more win than Colby and Cam gave these boys) is the Wesleyan Cardinals.

(Almost)Taking the Head Off the Jumbo: Week 1 Power Rankings:

1: Trinity (1-0)

Trinity now runs its winning streak to 10 games going back to 2015 following a blow out win over Colby. They were expected crush them and played nearly flawlessly, but still could improve. QB Sonny Puzzo’s INT should’ve come as a shock to the Bantams, but other than that, they played great football. Max Chipouras decimated the Colby defense and this team looks primed to blow out Bates in week two. The secondary looked great following the graduation of many All-NESCAC players, and that was the biggest hole. There’s honestly not a whole lot else to say, the Bantams are rolling.

2: Middlebury (1-0)

Jared Lebowitz and the Panthers couldn’t have started off 2017 in better fashion as they knocked off a top tier team, learned about numerous first year weapons, and didn’t totally screw up on special teams. Without RBs Diego Meritus and Will McKissick, Peter Scibilla ’21 took the reins on the ground and was serviceable, but not great. Once the other running weapons return (Meritus should be back this week), the ground game will drastically improve, making Midd even more dangerous. Their receivers are the best in the league and that isn’t open for debate. Not player by player necessarily, but between Maxim Bochman ’20 who went off on Saturday in his first year shot, 2016 breakout Conrad Banky, athletic freak three sport college athlete Frankie Cosolito, and All-American track runner and special teams player of the week Jimmy Martinez, there are so many options for the already established Lebowitz. Opposing secondaries, watch out.

Middlebury’s Ian Blow downs a punt at Wesleyan’s one yard line last Saturday.

3: Amherst (1-0)

There are still some questions for the Mammoths despite their win over the weak looking Bates team last weak. When will Reece Foy come back and how good will he be when he does? If he isn’t healthy, is Ollie Eberth ’21 the real deal? Why am I so bummed that Mike Odenwaelder didn’t have a bigger role? Granted, not all of these questions are bad, and Amherst has an answer to all of them, resulting in their placement barely below Midd on these rankings. Foy was in uniform last weekend and should be back in week two, but even if he doesn’t start, Eberth looked good and had a real connection with Craig Carmelani in the air. Odenwaelder is still raw as a football player and played on special teams, although I still hope he breaks out as a tight end. Jack Hickey was great in his limited action (5 carries, 9.4 yds/carry) and should see more time against Hamilton. I would like to see a better rush defense from the Mammoths as they allowed two TDs to Bates, but Hamilton’s game isn’t running. They should outlast the Continentals and will only get better from here.

4: Wesleyan (0-1)

Some Jumbo fans might be mad that the Cardinals are in this spot, but they simply played a better team in Middlebury and had a solid game. Mark Piccirillo didn’t get off to a fantastic start with two INTs but still threw for four TDs and 432 yards. Dario Highsmith performed poorly in his limited sample size, but the large deficit in the first quarter leading to a passing offense was not a product of him. The Panther receivers simply dominated the Cardinal secondary and while no team is arguably as deep in their receiving core as Midd, Ben Thaw and Elias Camacho will need to pick up the slack against Tufts. We learned last year not to read too much into Wesleyan’s week on result after they lost to Tufts, so I’m going to stick with them as my favorite against the Jumbos, but they are in a must win scenario.

5: Tufts (1-0)

While they were manage to pull out the win in week one, it seemed pretty flukey. Backup QB Ryan Hagfeldt entered the game on the final drive in a tie game in the fourth quarter after an injury to starter Ryan McDonald and landed on his own fumble to score the game winning touchdown. McDonald had a solid game with 26 completions and two TDs and 92 yards rushing, but his status for week two against Wesleyan is up in the air. Their linebackers and DBs didn’t play well and will need to step it up against what is a better QB in Mark Piccirillo. Their ‘bad’ game was as much a product of their own poor play as it was Hamilton’s breakout game, and the Continentals deserve a lot of credit. Tufts will be fine and still found a way to win which is what good programs do. The Jumbos could still be a top tier team this year, but they still lack a Chance Brady. They simply aren’t the same team as last year simply as a product of not having an all world RB, and Dominic Borelli is not even close. Andrew Sanders will be the X-Factor in week two as he has the biggest play potential. Whether it is Hagfeldt or McDonald, the QB won’t be a big issue as the two were in competition to begin the year anyways.

6: Hamilton (0-1)

At the end of the day Hamilton is still winless, however, they made a big challenge to move towards the top tier of the conference in week one. An OT finish after a furious fourth quarter comeback, led by an incredible performance from QB Kenny Gray (370 yards passing, 4 TDs, 0 INT) would have resulted in glory if not for Tufts QB Ryan Hagfeldt recovering his own fumble in the end zone for a TD on fourth down. The Continentals were on the Jumbo’s seven yard line in OT before turning the ball over to end the game, but should still be epically proud of their performance. As a win/lose game goes, no team is happy with a loss, but Hamilton prove to be the real deal if they can manage a close game or win this weekend against Amherst.

7: Williams (1-0)

I’m sure some Ephs fans are upset that they are so far down the rankings after an undefeated start, they did play a weak opponent. Nobody is awestruck that Williams pulled out a win, especially Pete, who called it. There were a host of positives for this team though as they found their first win in over a year, found a QB in Bobby Maimaron ’21, a top receiver in Frank Stola ’21, and saw a breakout performance from RB Connor Harris who had the best game of his college career. Maimaron even kicked off once and Stola returned the punts, showing that this two headed monster, if they are the real deal, should roll over the Colby Mules on the road this weekend. A 2-0 start for the Williams Ephs? When was the last time we predicted that?

8: Bates (0-1)

I’ve always liked the way Coach Harriman runs and recruits the Bates offense as they are the only team so run oriented and with so many slot players. They have a lot of play action passes to open things up, but showed that too few play making receivers leads to a lack of big play potential. QB Sandy Plashkes is in his second year as the starter and was able to find just nine yards for his biggest completion and just 44 in the air total. While he was able to make a dent in opposing defenses by breaking off some big runs in 2016, he rushed for a total of zero yards on twelve tries last Saturday. Ouch. Sure, not all of them were designed runs, but he’s got to make a big play in one area of the offense. Matt Golden’s one completion of 33 yards nearly matched Plashkes’ total, and that should scare the junior signal caller as he needs to step it up against Trinity or he could lose his job. RB Tyler Baum was one of the lone positives as he was able to break off a 42 yard rush at the end of the first half, and could see more carries this week. The Bobcats did play a tough opponent in Amherst, but without their starting QB, and got roughed up by a first year who found the end zone four times as new DB starters Coy Candelario and Jack Maritz were not able to fill the big holes left by Sam Francis and Mark Upton from 2016’s secondary

.9: Bowdoin (0-1)

Losing to one of the teams that didn’t win in 2016 isn’t the start the Polar Bears were looking for. While the Ephs did look much improved, Bowdoin still allowed 439 yards on defense and flat out were beaten. Noah Nelson tried to salvage his lackluster passing day with his two rushing scores, but was still only able to tally 111 yards in the air, with Nick Vallas’ 46 receiving yards the tops on the team. They weren’t able to score fast enough with their style of play and allowed two Williams’ first year players to smoke them on defense. Ejaaz Jiu, Nick Vallas, and Bo Millet were my favorite offensive playmakers for this team heading into the season and as a result of Nelson’s paltry passing, none were able to make a big impact. Look for Vermont high school legend Griff Stalcup ’21 to see some more snaps this weekend, especially if they get down early, and hopefully he will find the diamonds in the rough in the receiving core. Chris Markisz looks to have successfully lost the starting RB or 1b rushing role as he managed just 1.8 yds/carry, putting the ball in Nate Richam’s hands more this week. The offense might look different this weekend against and they need to find small victories in what is likely to be a blow out against Middlebury.

Williams’ Frank Stola makes a Bowdoin defender miss and heads towards yards after a catch.

10: Colby (0-1)

While the Mules did face the league’s toughest opponent in week one, since they didn’t score a point I didn’t have much choice in this rank. Obviously they have some work to do as their defense was torched on the ground by Max Chipouras. This is as much a credit to Chipouras as it is a lack of credit to Colby’s run D. The top two Bantam backs averaged almost nine yards per carry on Saturday, and the Mules had just four tackles for losses. They had several bright spots though as they managed to recover two fumbles and Patrick Yale ’20 was able to pick off Puzzo. Their offense was no better though as they were just 1/15 on third down conversions, and threw for 119 yards in the losing effort. Their run game was OK as Jake Schwern’s 4.5 yards per carry weren’t a huge issue, but 73 yards passing from the starting QB is. They need to figure out how to find some completions to move the chains on third down and then they will have a better chance against the weaker teams.