Tag: Isaiah Saunders

Can the Madness Continue?: Weekend Preview 9/21

The inaugural week of the NESCAC football season was one of the more unpredictable and exciting weeks of football we’ve had in quite some time. Trinity losing on the opening week? Check. Trinity somehow not scoring double digits? Check. Multiple first-time starting quarterbacks impressing in their debut? Yup. A game-winning drive with well under a minute on the clock to ensure an upset? You got it. Once the dust settled, behemoths Trinity and Williams found themselves in the cellar of the conference standings, essentially needing to win out in order to get back in the race for the NESCAC Championship. This week’s slate features some important matchups with title implications, and a few trap games in which relatively large favorites will have to hit the road for the first time this season. Let’s get right into it. 

Amherst (1-0) @ Colby (0-1), 1 pm, Waterville, ME

It wasn’t pretty, but the Mammoths found a way to take down the Bobcats after trailing at the half for the second consecutive season. Quarterback Ollie Eberth ‘20 connected with his favorite target James O’Regan ‘20 (five receptions for 140 yards) early and often, including a pair of 40+ yard touchdown passes. Eberth’s passing efficiency was slightly alarming considering the senior completed less than fifty percent of his passes; nonetheless, he finished with 234 yards through the air and another 68 on the ground, which isn’t too shabby for an opener. Along with O’Regan, Luke Mallette ‘20 caught five passes for 49 yards and sophomore tailback Brandon Huff ‘22 emerged as a solid receiving option out of the backfield, snagging three receptions for 43 yards. On the defensive side, the Mammoths came out a little sluggish but locked things down in the second half, shutting out the Bobcats for the remainder of the game. Defensive backs Matt Durburow ‘21 and John Ballard ‘20 combined for 20 tackles, and Joe Kelly ‘21 brought the heat on the defensive line with seven tackles and a forced fumble. More impressively, sophomore linebackers Matt Schiano ‘22 and John Schiano ‘22 answered any questions about the uncertainty at the position entering the season, combining for 14 tackles (2.5 tackles for loss) and 1.5 sacks. 

Many (including myself) expected Colby to compete with Wesleyan this past Saturday, but the defense looked like swiss cheese against a sophomore quarterback making his first career start. The Mules D’ allowed a porous 454 yards in their opener, and failed to generate any sort of pressure for the entirety of the game. The run defense was especially pitiful as the Cardinals gashed their way to 237 total rushing yards at around 6 yards per carry. That’s not good news considering the Mammoths averaged 4.5 yards per carry against a much more stout Bobcat defensive line. One bright spot for the Mules was senior running back Chris George ‘20; the first-year starter totaled 104 yards on 18 carries, and the Mules should make it a priority to feed their tailback in order to make life easier for quarterback Matt Hersch ‘22. 

Amherst improves to 2-0 as they total over 225 yards on the ground and catch the Mules secondary napping with some deep shots to O’Regan. 

MK: Amherst 28-7
RM: Amherst 34-17
SS: Amherst 28-17
HC: Amherst 34-21
CC: Amherst 31-13

Writers’ Pick: Amherst

Wesleyan @ Hamilton, 1pm, Clinton, NY

Not many people knew what to expect of sophomore quarterback Ashton Scott ‘22 considering he did not complete a pass his freshman season, but boy is he on every single NESCAC coaches’ radar after his performance against the Mules. Scott threw for 217 yards with three touchdowns and added 76 yards on the ground on just 13 rushing attempts, one of the best performances from the quarterback position of the week. A multitude of sophomores contributed in the offensive onslaught against Colby, including a pair of running backs in Charlie McPhee ‘22 (nine carries for 53 yards along with four receptions) and David Estevez ‘22 (ten carries for 54 yards). Ten different Cardinals caught a pass from Scott, led by Matthew Simco ‘22 (4 rec, 65 yds, TD) and Delando Clarke ‘21 (3 rec, 59 yds, 2 TD’s). Scott’s arm might be asked to do more this time around against Hamilton, who stifled Bowdoin’s ground game and held them to under 100 yards rushing. Linebacker Carmine Bruno ‘20 made plays all over the field with a whopping 15 tackles (two TFL), and defensive lineman James Ball ‘21 registered 1.5 sacks. Running back David Kagan ‘20 exploded against the Polar Bears to a tune of 195 yards and three touchdowns on just 20 carries, and I expect his workload to increase by 5-10 touches in order to slow the game down and wear down Wesleyan’s defensive front. 

Quarterback Kenny Gray ‘20 had a disappointing performance having completed less than 50 percent of his passes this past weekend, but the senior avoided turning the ball over and found the endzone through the air and on the ground. He’ll have to improve upon that performance a significant bit in order to spring the upset against the visiting Cardinals, but with Scott entering his first road game as a starter, the Continentals will surely be confident they can pull out a victory. In the end, however, I think Wesleyan’s offense looked too explosive against Colby, and Hamilton’s offense putting up 37 points is more of an indictment of Bowdoin’s atrocious defense. Scott once again completes over 60% of his passes for 220 yards and two scores while adding 50+ yards on the ground, and the Cardinals pull away late to escape Clinton, New York with a win. 

MK: Wesleyan 27-17
RM: Wesleyan 31-20
SS: Wesleyan 31-10
HC: Wesleyan 24-10
CC: Wesleyan 28-14

Writers’ Pick: Wesleyan

Bowdoin @ Trinity, 1pm, Hartford, CT

Seamus Lambert struggled under center in Week 1, but will he still be there in Week 2?

The second worst defensive performance of the NESCAC football slate in Week 1 belonged to the Polar Bears. Allowing 403 total yards against the Continentals is not what Coach Hammer wanted to see with a matchup against a very ticked-off Bantams squad, who lost their NESCAC opener for the first time since 1995. In the upset of the week (and possibly the 2019 season), Trinity failed to eclipse double digits and fell to Tufts 14-8. Neither quarterback found any success: Seamus Lambert ‘22 was 15/26  for a mere 111 yards (1 TD, 1 INT) before being benched in favor of last year’s opening-day starter Jordan Vazzano ‘20. Vazzano wasn’t much better, throwing an interception with less than three minutes left as the Bantams were marching deep into Jumbos territory. Despite their offense being stagnant for a majority of the game, Trinity had three chances in the fourth quarter to take the lead, and blew each opportunity. Brian Casagrande ‘22 penetrated the Jumbos’ offensive line and recorded a safety to make it a one score game with about 12 minutes remaining. After receiving the ball back inside the Jumbos 40 yard line, the Bantams were stifled on a 4th and 1 attempt and turned the ball over on downs. Vazzano’s interception would turn out to not be the game-clincher as the Trinity defense would force a quick stop in order to give the offense one more crack. After leading a drive all the way inside the Jumbos’ 10 yard line, Vazzano was sacked and the game-clock ran out of time. 

The defense played extremely well in limiting the Jumbos to under 300 yards of total offense and will have no trouble shutting down Austin McCrum ‘21 and Nate Richam-Odoi ‘20. The latter needs to be a focal point this week for the Polar Bears, as he had a tough time sledding against the Continentals. McCrum was relied on to throw the ball way too much last week, and as we saw last season, the junior quarterback is prone to turnovers when his throwing volume increases. Moral victories will be all the Polar Bears are concerned with on Saturday.

MK: Trinity 34-0
RM: Trinity 48-7
SS: Trinity 35-6
HC: Trinity 45-13
CC: Trinity 42-6

Writers’ Pick: Trinity

Middlebury @ Bates, 1pm, Lewiston, ME

Middlebury’s 17-13 upset of Williams was dwarfed in significance due to the Tufts-Trinity game, but the Panthers’ defense made a statement to the rest of the NESCAC world that their squad is a serious contender for the Championship in 2019. They did exactly what was needed to be done in order to take down the Ephs: shut down Bobby Maimaron ‘21 and the running game. The Panthers limited the Ephs to just 101 yards on the ground, and Maimaron ran 16 times for a mere 39 yards. Linebacker Pete Huggins ‘21 was flying around the backfield constantly, totaling 13 tackles (five TFL’s) and two sacks. Linebacker Wyllis McKissick ‘21 recorded his first interception of his career as well as his first offensive touchdown on a two-yard reception from quarterback Will Jernigan ‘21. With no Pete Scibilia ‘21 for reasons unbeknownst to the Nothing But NESCAC writers (assuming some sort of injury), Jernigan did more than enough to will the offense to victory; trailing by 3 with just 30 seconds left, the junior scored on a five-yard quarterback keeper to propel the Panthers into the win column. Jernigan found success on the ground (21 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown), but freshman running back Alex Maldijan ‘23 struggled in Scibilia’s absence (21 carries, 49 yards).  

Liam Spillane had a very solid Week 1 out of the Bobcat backfield

The same offensive and defensive formulas will be applied this week when the Panthers hit the road and take on the Bobcats. Junior quarterback Brendan Costa ‘21 is respected as more of a runner rather than a thrower; despite completing 23 of his 38 attempts, most of his completions were either of the wide receiver screen variety or swing passes. I thought Bates came out with a solid game plan against the Mammoths, but shortened offensive possessions due to turnovers forced the defense to take the field on short rest. Running back Jaason Lopez ‘21 had two of those fumbles in the second half in addition to one at the beginning of the game, but expect him to bounce back in a big way on Saturday, ready to atone for last week. Liam Spillane ‘21 (11 car for 55 yds, 2 rec for 10 yds and a TD) and Tyler Bridge ‘23 (4 car for 40 yards) round out the trio of tailbacks for the ‘Cats, and all three are capable of changing the game with a single carry. 

Costa has weapons on the field if he can get the ball downfield to them. Christian Olivieri ‘22 (6 receptions for 58 yards) is turning into a reliable ball-catcher and tight end Isaiah Saunders ‘21 has the potential to catch 3-5 passes a game if he can consistently get open. Freshman Mohamed Diawara ‘23 is electric when in space and caught three passes against Amherst, but he showed his physicality with an absolutely thunderous crackback block in the second quarter. He’s an immediate impact player, and Bates will need him ready to go in order to pull off the upset. 

It’s no surprise that Middlebury’s defensive plan will be to stack the box and keep an eye on Costa’s scrambling ability, forcing the junior to beat them with his arm. I really do think this is a trap game for the Panthers because of the volatility of their offense (specifically Jernigan), but I just can’t pull the trigger. Middlebury’s defense will once again win them the game, but it won’t be easy. 

MK: Middlebury 20-10
RM: Middlebury 24-20
SS: Middlebury 24-10
HC: Middlebury 35-24
CC: Bates 27-21

Writers’ Pick: Middlebury

Tufts @ Williams, 1:30pm, Williamstown, MA

I’ll keep this one short because it’s our Game of the Week, but no one could have predicted Tufts to knock off the three-time defending champions in Week 1. What an awesome feeling that must have been for first-year starter in senior Jacob Carroll, who waited his turn behind Ryan McDonald and finally got his chance on the big stage. Tufts has everything going for them heading into Williamstown, but my gut tells me the high from beating Trinity won’t last past Saturday. After stumbling on their own feet against Middlebury, Williams knows this game is a must win. Starting the season 0-2 is essentially a death sentence, so expect Maimaron, Frank Stola and co. to set the tone early and grind out some yards against a solid Jumbos defensive front. 

Also shoutout to OJ Armstrong for the Jumbos, Go Raiders*

MK: Williams 20-13
RM: Williams 23-17
SS: Tufts 17-7
HC: Williams 30-24
CC: Williams 24-16

Writers’ Pick: Williams

Only One Way From Here: Bates Football Preview 2019

2018 Record: 0-9

2019 Projected Record: 1-8

Projected offensive starters (*8 returning)

QB – Brendan Costa ’21*

RB – Jaason Lopez ’21*

RB – Liam Spillane ’21*

WR – Christian Olivieri ’22

WR – Jackson Hayes ’22*

TE – Isaiah Saunders ’21

C – Jack O’Brien ’20*

LG – Phil Simplicio ’20*

LT – Matt Flanagan ’20*

RG – Nick Florio ’22

RT – Julian Nicolas ’21*

Projected defensive starters (*8 returning)

DB – Jon Lindgren ’20*

DB – Connor Hunt ’21*

CB – Devin Clyburn ’21*

CB – Owen Straley ’22

ILB – Pete Daley ’20*

ILB – Zach Doyon ’20*

OLB – Mike Bulman ’21*

OLB – Liam Greene ’21*

DL – Ramon Ruiz ’21*

DL – Shane Collins ’21*

DL – Jack Ryan ’22

Projected specialists (*2 returning)

K – Simon Redfern ’22

P – Tyler Bridge ’23

KR/PR – Milan Lemon ’21*/Jon Lindgren ’20*

Offensive MVP: RB Jaason Lopez ’21

The Bobcats made the switch last season from the triple option to the spread, moving away from the run game to favor the pass. This change, in fact, moved Bates from first in the NESCAC in rushing yards in 2017 to last in the league in rushing yards in 2018. This is quite a dramatic change – and serves to show that in order to throw the ball you have to be able to run it, too. Lopez saw some action as a freshman in 2017 and did not disappoint, posting a season total of 98 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on just 13 carries, while catching 15 passes for a team-high 288 yards and 3 touchdowns as well. Last year Lopez saw action in just 2 games while battling injury and not getting a ton of touches. The junior is finally healthy this year and is ready to lead a strong and experienced backfield coming off a down year on the ground. If Lopez can have a breakout year then it will give Coach Patterson an entirely new tool to work with on offense in just his second year with the team.

Defensive MVP: DB Jon Lindgren ’20

Last year I wrote all about how Lindgren got snubbed from the 2017 All-Conference teams despite leading the league (by a large margin) in pass break ups and being top-10 in tackles. Well he followed that up with another outstanding year in which he led the league in solo and total tackles and finally received the All-NESCAC recognition that he deserved (we can talk about how he should have been first team instead of second team another time). The senior captain has improved every year and will lead a relatively experienced Bobcat defense in its second season under Coach Hall. Last year the defense had several games in which they played very well in the first half but spent too much time on the field and were overwhelmed by fatigue late in the second half. With that experience under their belt and some help from the offense, this unit is poised to have a much-improved year. That certainly won’t happen without Lindgren leading the way.

Biggest Game: November 2nd, 5:30pm vs. Bowdoin

When you go winless one year, it’s hard to argue that your biggest game the following season isn’t against the team that only won one game the prior year. It’s also no secret that the CBB games are particularly important to the Maine schools, so Bowdoin checks both of these boxes. Throw in the fact that it’s their only night game of the season and it’s at home late in the year and this one is definitely a winner. Bates had a few close games last year and even led at halftime on several occasions, but if they can’t beat the team that finished one place ahead of them a year ago then it’ll be very difficult to get out of the cellar in 2019.

Best Tweet:

This is a quality tweet because it shows not only that the Bates football coaching staff knows what GIFs are, but that they know how to use them correctly. It’s always exciting to land a prized recruit, particularly one from a historically successful football state like New Hampshire.

Everything Else:

Coach Hall and the rest of the coaching staff got their feet wet in NESCAC football last year during their first season in Lewiston. An 0-9 season is not what they were hoping for but hey, there’s nowhere to go but up right? They now have a their first official recruiting class on campus and they’re familiar with the ins and outs of the 9-game NESCAC season. Fortunately they return lots of key personnel on both sides of the ball, as well. Brendan Costa ’21 returns under center behind an offensive line that has quite a bit of experience under its belt. In fact, the starting five offensive linemen have played in a combined 62 games in their careers, so experience is certainly not an issue. Costa has a number of receivers to throw to, including sophomores Jackson Hayes ’22, Christian Olivieri ’22, and Derek Marino ’22, juniors Isaiah Saunders ’21, Parker Smith ’21, and potentially any of the exciting freshmen that Coach Hall brought to Lewiston in his first recruiting class. They even have a sneaky red zone threat in RB Christian Sanfilippo ’21 to work with as well.

There’s work to be done, but things are looking promising in Lewiston

On the other side of the ball the Bobcats return one of the best safeties in the league in Jon Lindgren ’20, but they also return Devin Clyburn ’21 and Connor Hunt ’21 in the secondary as well. At linebacker they bring back 5th year senior Pete Daley ’20, Zach Doyon ’20, David Campbell ’21, Mike Bulman ’21, and Liam Greene ’21, while Ramon Ruiz ’21 headlines a mostly-returning defensive line as well. It’s clear that there is a plethora of age and experience in this lineup. These guys have almost all been through two or three full seasons of college football, so they know the grind. The coaching staff is settled in and they have a battle-tested lineup so all the pieces are in place for a turnaround from last year. There are definitely opponents on their schedule that they can beat and they showed flashes of what they were capable of last season, but we’ll have to wait and see if they can put it together for 60 minutes to get back in the win column.