Tag: Jack Hickey

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 8th in the league with 127 passing yards per game and 10 touchdowns on the year. In 2019 he finished 2nd 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 4th 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 1st 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 4th in the conference in both receiving yards and touchdowns, while finishing 3rd 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 2nd in picks and 3rd 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 4th 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 4th 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 2nd 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 2nd 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 3rd in the NESCAC in tackles, but other than him the defense was unremarkable. The Mules were 2nd to last in the league in sacks so the defense really wasn’t able to get much pressure on opposing quarterbacks. They were also 2nd 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 2nd 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 2nd 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.

Familiar Faces: Preseason Awards Watch List

Coach of the Year: Jeff Devanney, Trinity

With the exception of Williams Head Coach Mark Raymond’s 2017 season in which he guided the Ephs to a 6-3 season just one year after going 0-8, this award has been given to the title-winning coach every year since 2012, and even then Trinity won the league and Coach Devanney split the award with then Bates HC Mark Harriman, whose Bobcats went 5-3 and posted their first winning season since 1981. I say all of this to say that this award is almost guaranteed to go to the winning coach, and why would I pick against the Bantams?

Defensive Player of the Year:

3. Greg Holt ’20, LB, Tufts

My pick to win this award last year, Holt had the unfortunate luck of taking the field in the same year as Amherst DE/OLB Andrew Yamin ’19, who will finally vacate this honor after taking it home in his final two seasons. Strangely enough, Holt’s numbers have dropped every year since he arrived in Medford—from a staggering 98 tackles in 8 games his freshman year, to back to back years of 84 and 72 in the now longer 9 game seasons. However, his 2.5 sacks last season and 8.5 TFL were more than his first two seasons combined. This tells me he has grown into a more disruptive role where he can cause much more damage in opposing teams’ backfields.

2. TJ Rothmann ’21, LB, Williams

Rothmann has been a disruptive force for Ephs since he stepped foot on campus, logging 83 tackles his freshman year and 58 tackles his sophomore season, which essentially amounted to 6 healthy games. He’s arguably both the most talented football player and best athlete on his team, and that should be in full force this year. Some injuries in the past provided a setback, but this guy is back and better than ever. Williams has boasted a top defense the last two years, and if they are contending for a championship then Rothmann, too, will be contending for DPOY.

1. Taj Gooden ’21, DL, Wesleyan

The best interior lineman in the league, by a mile. Gooden was second in the league with 9 sacks (half a sack behind Yamin) and first in the league with 17.5 TFL in 2018. In any other season, he wins this award with ease because guys like Yamin don’t roll around in the NESCAC very often. This season, where he should take his biggest expected leap in production as he transitions into being an upperclassman, we could see record breaking numbers. The only question is whether or not the Cardinals have the team success to go with it.

Offensive Player of the Year:

3. Ollie Eberth ’20, QB, Amherst

I’ve always seen Eberth in more of a glorified game manager role, in charge of taking care of the ball and letting the Amherst RBs go to work, but it would be tough to deny that his numbers last year told a different story. Eberth was second in the league in passing yards per game with 181.6, threw 10 touchdowns to just 1 interception, while also finding the end zone 9 times on with his feet, tied for 2nd in the league. It remains to be seen whether or not the weapons on Amherst’s offense will allow him to continue to thrive in this role, with the graduations of two-time first team RB Jack Hickey ’19 and loss of RB Biafra Okoronkwo ’20 to a semester abroad.

2. Bobby Maimaron ’21, QB, Williams

Pretty straightforward logic here—for Williams to reach its ceiling, Maimaron has to play like a first team all-league guy. Probably the most talented dual threat QB returning to the NESCAC season, Maimaron should have the weapons and the system to put up the numbers everyone knows he is capable of. He has now had two full season to gel with this talented offensive unit and get accustomed to Coach Raymond’s system, so the sky is the limit now that Maimaron jumps into an upperclassmen role. His 17 total TDs were third in the league last year behind Eberth and co-OPOY Ryan McDonald ’19 of Tufts—that number should be in the 20s this year if he stays healthy.

1. Jonathan Girard ’21, WR, Trinity

There have been 3 seasons in NESCAC history in which someone has recorded more receiving yards than Girard’s 1005 in 2018, just the 4th 1000-yard season since the league began keeping records in 1992. It feels like it got swept under the rug because of the Bantams’ overall dominance, but Girard was as good as anyone last year—as a sophomore. Additionally, you would think it would be the case that now that Girard presumably an entire season paired with QB Seamus Lambert ’22, but the numbers tell a different story. Girard’s 5 100-yard games were the 1st 5 games of the season—the 5 that Jordan Vazzano ’21 played before being replaced by Lambert. His 3 lowest receiving games were the last 3 games—totals of 74, 49, and 58, against Middlebury, Amherst, and Wesleyan, respectively, a far cry from beating up on the CBB. But I’m going to bet that Girard strikes a more consistent partnership with Lambert this season, and although RB Spencer Lockwood ’22 appears to be more than ready to replace Max Chipouras at lead back, more of the production will fall to Girard.

Looks Like a Threepeat: Week 8 Power Rankings

 

Week 8 Power Rankings

Week 8 brought us some of the most excitement we’ve had this season with Trinity defeating Amherst in the quasi-championship game, Wesleyan taking down Williams, and Bowdoin getting their first win since 2015. Unfortunately, Trinity looks like they’re going to take home the crown again. Although I’m not sure that Amherst winning would have been that much better. Either way it was an exciting week, so take a look at where everyone falls heading into the final games of the season:

(2) 1. Trinity (7-1)

You don’t want to miss an opportunity to see this guy

Here we are again. The Bantams find themselves in the driver’s seat for the league championship after taking down Amherst, 27-16. QB Seamus Lambert ’22 had a fine game under center, but the story of this game was the effort by RB Max Chipouras ’19. The (soon to be) four-time all-NESCAC honoree carried the ball 24 times for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. This performance also came against a defense that was holding opponents to fewer than 70 rushing yards per game, which was the best in the league. What an effort. If Trinity can put away Wesleyan in their final game, Chipouras will finish his career with 3 NESCAC championships (with one runner-up) and 4 all-NESCAC appearances (3 first team), while simultaneously becoming the conference’s all-time leader with 40 (and counting) rushing touchdowns, shattering the previous record of 27. He also currently has 3,565 career rushing yards, just 263 behind Evan Bunker (Trinity ’14) for the all-time NESCAC record. Needless to say, this kid is pretty special. I would highly suggest tuning in to their matchup with Wesleyan this weekend for one last chance to see one of the most decorated players in NESCAC football history before it’s too late.

(1) 2. Amherst (7-1)

The Mammoths are surely disappointed after their first loss that will likely prevent them from taking home the championship, but this one didn’t come down to one play or one drive. Don’t get me wrong it was a tight game the whole way, but Trinity was simply the better team on Saturday. RB Jack Hickey ’19 wasn’t able to match the performance of his counterpart on the other sideline as he rushed 14 times for a mere 54 yards. Due to the lack of a run game, QB Ollie Eberth ’20 had to attempt a season-high 35 passes and only completed 17 of them. WR Bo Berluti ’19 caught 9 of these passes for 142 yards and added another 23 yards on two carries, but he accounted for about half of Amherst’s offense. It’s not that they couldn’t move the ball up the field, it’s that they couldn’t finish drives. A few costly turnovers in Bantam territory ended up really hurting them, and the defense that we’ve raved about for weeks wasn’t able to force a turnover of their own. Amherst is still in a great position to win the Little Three when they take on Williams this weekend, and if Wesleyan pulls off the upset against Trinity, they have a chance to be crowned champions.

(3) 3. Tufts (6-2)

Tufts put together a very impressive effort against Colby in Week 8. The Mules aren’t the most talented team, but they had won two in a row and were looking like they were putting things together. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 was a very efficient 19 of 23 or 223 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the team rushed for total of 265 yards. Scoring 48 points is a very legit performance, but the defense may have actually had the more impressive feat. Shutouts in football are few and far between, and Colby’s offense had been on the rise in recent weeks. LB Greg Holt ’20 continued his impressive junior campaign by adding a team-high 8 tackles (7 solo) and lineman Nmesoma Nwafor snagged the team’s lone interception. After a few bumps in the road this unit has hit their stride again, giving the Jumbos a good chance to finish off their strong season on a positive note. They’ll head to Vermont to take on a solid Middlebury squad in Week 9.

(5) 4. Wesleyan (5-3)

It’s been an up and down year, but Mark Piccirillo ’19 finds his team in a decent position heading into Week 9

The Cardinals took home potentially their biggest win of the season in a really ugly game against Williams. Neither team eclipsed 300 yards of total offense, and Wesleyan QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 (who we’ve given a lot of praise over the years) only threw for 151 yards on 9 completions. With an even closer look you’ll see that 75 of those passing yards came on one touchdown pass early in the 4th quarter. Take out this pass and Piccirillo was 8-16 for 76 yards. Yikes. The good thing for Coach DiCenzo’s team is that wins come in all shapes and sizes so while this one may not have been pretty, it still counts the same in the standings. It also ensures that Williams will have to wait at least one more year to have a shot at a Little Three championship, which has to make Cardinal fans happy. Wesleyan could potentially make things really interesting if they were able to defeat Trinity in their final game, but do they want to give rival Amherst a chance at a NESCAC title? I have to believe there’s a moral dilemma going on in Middletown right now…

(6) 5. Middlebury (5-3)

I had no idea what Middlebury was going to bring against Hamilton given how hot and cold they’ve been over the course of the year, but the result pretty much ended up how we probably would have expected. The offense looked very well rounded and despite throwing 2 picks, QB Will Jernigan had one of his best games as the starting signal-caller, completing 21 of 36 passes for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns. Linebacker Pete Huggins ’21 and defensive end Ian Blow ’19 had big games for the Panthers, pacing the team with 7 and 6 tackles respectively while each adding an interception. Hamilton relies heavily on the arm of Kenny Gray and Middlebury has struggled a bit against the pass this year, so the fact that the Panther secondary held him to 19-40 for 180 yards is a promising sign. Facing Ryan McDonald in Week 9 will be an even more challenging task, so it’s good news for Midd fans that they’re trending in the right direction. A win over Tufts could potentially put the Panthers in third place to end the season.

(4) 6. Williams (5-3)

It’s been a bit of a fall from grace for the Ephs who at one point were 4-0, had beaten Trinity, and even found themselves at the top of our power rankings. Since then they’ve gone 1-3 with losses to Middlebury, Tufts, and now Wesleyan. I know these are good teams that they lost to, but if you beat Trinity then the expectations are going to be a little bit higher. To make matters even worse, Williams suffered the loss of starting QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 who went down with an injury. Jackson Bischoping ’22 did a decent job, but Maimaron is a very tough guy to replace. WR Frank Stola ’21 had a big game, snagging 9 passes for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns, accounting for nearly half of the team’s total offense. We talk a lot about how good TJ Rothmann is and rightfully so, but LB Jarrett Wesner ’21 is quietly putting together a potential all-NESCAC season, leading the team and sitting at 4th in the conference with 64 total tackles, including 5 for a loss. He’s been a stud for a unit that is going to continue to develop and get better with all the youth they have. Williams will try to take down Amherst for the second straight year in the 2018 Biggest Little Game.

(8) 7. Hamilton (2-6)

Well here we are at the end of the season saying the same thing we pretty much always say about Hamilton. They’re not quite good enough to compete with the top teams, but they’re a little better than the worst teams. Granted they lost to Colby this year, but they also beat Wesleyan so we’ll call it a wash. QB Kenny Gray ’20 isn’t having the year that I thought he would have and because they rely so heavily on him, the whole offense has suffered. RB Joe Park ’22 has found a role as the lead runner out of the backfield despite Mitch Bierman ’21 being initially in line for the job. They played a decent game against Middlebury and only trailed by 4 at halftime, but they just aren’t quite ready to really compete with the best teams in the league. They have a very favorable matchup against a Bates team that is not trending in the right direction for the last game of the season, so a 3-6 finish is definitely within reach.

(7) 8. Colby (2-6)

I know, Colby and Hamilton have the same record and the Mules won the head-to-head matchup, so how could they possibly be ranked lower? A 48-0 loss to Tufts is how. Colby played a terrible game against the Jumbos and paid the full price. Their defense had absolutely no success against Ryan McDonald and Matt Hersch had his worst game under center since he became the starter. RB Jake Schwern ’19 couldn’t really get anything going to follow his outstanding performance last week against Bates, so it really was an all-around disappointing effort for the Mules. They’ll take on Bowdoin in their final game for a chance to bring home their first CBB title since 2005.

(10) 9. Bowdoin (1-7)

Bowdoin fans celebrate the end of the 24-game losing streak

The Polar Bears finally grabbed their first win in almost 3 calendar years with a 31-14 victory over Bates. It wasn’t very pretty, but behind the strong effort of RB Nate Richam ’20 who finally returned from injury they were able to get it done. Richam ran for 130 yards on 32 carries and found the end zone twice and basically ran the entire offense because QB Austin McCrum ’20 only threw for 93 yards and added two interceptions. The defense actually looked pretty solid for once, albeit against Bates’ second and third string quarterbacks. The Polar Bears have every reason to be excited now given that they, too, have a chance to win their first CBB championship since 2010. They’ll make the short trip up to Waterville on Saturday to try to get things done.

(9) 10. Bates (0-8)

It has been a nightmarish end of the season for the Bobcats. They lost starting quarterback Brendan Costa ’21 to injury against Colby, and backup quarterback Jack Bryant ’22 left the game with an apparent concussion in the third quarter after getting hit with a brutal cheap shot by a Bowdoin defender. Since they only had two quarterbacks on the roster, this left them with WR/DB Kevin Claflin ’19 under center and he understandably struggled to mesh with the offense. Really the only highlight for the Bobcats was that safeties Anthony Costa ’21 and Jon Lindgren ’20 continued their stellar seasons in the secondary, each of them with 7 tackles and Costa adding an interception. It doesn’t look good heading into the final weekend for Bates, but they’ll hope to make something crazy happen when Hamilton comes to town.

Bold Prediction, Cotton; Week 8 Game of the Week

Week 8 Game of the Week Preview: Amherst @ Trinity—This is It

For the second year in a row, Trinity and Amherst will meet in the penultimate game of the week to determine the league champion. Amherst, with a win, will clinch the NESCAC championship with one game to play, while a Trinity win will put them in the driver’s seat and means they just need to beat Wesleyan in Week 9. In a league with very crowded standings and unbalanced scheduling, this is as close as it gets.

And from a football standpoint, this game is also going to be as close as it gets. Amherst and its league-leading defense (8.6 points allowed per game) will be tasked with stopping Trinity and its league-leading offense (41.1 points scored per game). Trinity might just be the underdog this game, and who can remember the last time they were underdogs in Hartford? The crowd is going to be rowdy and this game should be a thriller. Let’s get into it.

Keys for Amherst: Rushing Attack

Jack Hickey has had a solid season to this point but needs to jump start the Amherst offense in Hartford.

It’s no secret that Amherst’s 7-0 record have been built on its defense. Their defense has allowed them to keep the risks to a minimum on a conservative offensive gameplan. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 is only 8th in the league amongst all QBs who have started every game with 22.5 passing attempts a game, and the only QB who is yet to a throw an interception. They need to keep up with Trinity and their offense to let Eberth continue to play his style and the way they’ll do that will be through the RB tandem of Biafra Okoronkwo ’21 and Jack Hickey ’19. The duo are 4th and 8th in the league in rushing, and the biggest reason why the Mammoths as a team rank 2nd in ground game. A large reason this has been a tandem effort, however, is because Hickey missed 3 games in the middle of the season that allowed Okoronkwo to breakout. He returned last week against Tufts and carried the ball 20 times for 89 yards and a score, while Okoronkwo only logged nine, but this coaching staff clearly has faith in both. Whatever combination they use is going to need to get it done.

Keys for Trinity: Aggression and Playing Ahead

For the Bantams, this needs to be just another game from an offensive standpoint. Yes this Amherst defense is the talk of the town, but they should be just as worried about Trinity’s offense. Trinity’s only loss came in Week 3 at Williams, when the Ephs held them to a season-low 16 points and season-low 436 yards of offense (not a typo). In that game, the Bants fell down 21-9 halfway through the 3rd quarter and didn’t score again until a defensive breakdown with 1:31 left for a Koby Schofer ’20 63 yard touchdown catch. The reason for this drought is that Trinity abandoned the passing game in favor of throwing up prayers to their deep threat duo of Schofer and WR Jonathan Girard ’21, completing neglecting All-League RB Max Chipouras ’19. Yes they have changed quarterbacks since that game and yes they’ve been outstanding since, but they need to strike the right balance in their run-pass play calling, and they’d be better off scoring early (duh).

Amherst X-Factor:

Andrew Yamin ’19

LB/DE Andrew Yamin ‘19

No need to get cute here. Biggest game of the season, maybe the biggest game of your career? Need your best players to show up, and for Amherst that is LB/DE Andrew Yamin ’19. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year looks determined to repeat, leading the league in both sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (13.5). He’s going to have his hands full with this offense, most specifically QB Seamus Lambert ’22 and RB Max Chipouras ’19. The best way to stop a passing attack is to not let them throw the ball, and the best way for Amherst to do that is for Yamin to add on to his 7.5 sacks in this game. He’s going to be called upon in a lot of different ways to stop this offense on all fronts, but if anyone can do it, it’s going to be Yamin. If he’s not all over the box score, it’s not a good sign.

Trinity X-Factor:

Seamus Lambert ’22

QB Seamus Lambert ‘22

I know Lambert played in plenty of big games at his high school alma mater, Brooks, chasing ISL conference and NEPSAC titles, but this is a different challenge altogether. Picking the QB as X-Factor is super lame, I get it, and my apologies to all of the talented Trinity guys who will no doubt contribute on Saturday, but every single eye in the league will be on the rookie signal caller in Hartford. Lambert has appeared out of nowhere essentially—I can’t remember anyone making such a splash in their freshman year, especially not in the middle of the season. Despite his predecessor QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 leading them to a 4-1 start with plenty of firepower, Lambert was thrown into the starting lineup following the biggest win of their season against Tufts, presumably for accuracy issues. All Lambert has done in his two games as starter is go a combined 31-40, 459 yards, 7 touchdowns and 1 interception, while also adding 131 yards with his feet, leading his team to 98 combined points in 2 games. Now you may say the 48 points against Bowdoin isn’t too impressive, but the 48 against Middlebury certainly is. The bottom line is, we’re about to find out what Seamus Lambert is made of. If he comes out throwing flames again? Well it might be back-to-back-to-back for Trinity.

Everything Else:

The unstoppable force vs. the immovable object. Trinity’s offense vs. Amherst’s defense. But did you know that Trinity’s defense actually leads the league in yards allowed with just 204.9 yards a game, against a slightly stronger schedule? Because they do. This insane Trinity offense has completely overshadowed just how great their defense has been, a defense that has only allowed 10.6 points a game, just 3 more than this vaunted Amherst D. But that for all we hear about this Amherst defense, and that QB Ollie Eberth is just a game manager, Amherst is third in the league with 26.9 points a game, third in the league, more than Williams and Tufts, and second in the league in yards with 391.1 a game? There’s a lot that we don’t realize about these teams. This game doesn’t have to be played in the teens for Amherst to win or played in the 30s for Trinity to win. There are so many different outcomes here and that is what makes it so compelling.

This should make you think that the Bantams are in control, even when they’re not.

But with that being said, it’s hard to overlook what the numbers are telling us. Trinity is outscoring its opponents by 30 points a game. In a league where we really only get to base opinions and rankings of the top teams off of style, no stat speaks louder than that. Their defense is essentially as good as Amherst’s, and their offense is on a different level. Between Lambert, Chipouras, Schofer, and Girard, you have the league’s top rusher, the two top receivers, and the QB who would probably be the top passer if he had started since day 1—and they might both have been 7-0 if that was the case. Amherst is really good, but I think Trinity just has too much talent. And the game is at Trinity, where the last two NESCAC championships reside? It’s looking like a three peat.

Final Score: Trinity 28, Amherst 13

Shaking Things Up: Week 5 Power Rankings

 Week 5 Power Rankings

This is exactly the week we’ve been waiting for. Finally we get to see some games with real championship implications and a good number of changes to the rankings. Williams and Tufts both suffered their first loss, and they’ll have a chance to battle it out next weekend in a game that will essentially remove one of them from title contention. Trinity played their way back into the conversation and Amherst found their way back to the top through very consistent play against the easier portion of their schedule. From here on out there will be games every week played between some of the top teams, so this is where we start to get some excitement. As usual, each team’s ranking from last week is in parentheses next to their new ranking for this week. Things are looking quite a bit different than they were just a week ago.

(3) 1. Amherst (5-0)

To the dismay of pretty much everyone besides Amherst and their fans, the Mammoths are number one. The last remaining unbeaten team took care of Colby this weekend to close out the weak half of their schedule and they now sit alone atop the league. It won’t be easy, as they still have to play Wesleyan and Trinity on the road and Williams and Tufts at home. Amherst’s linebackers are playing on another level from everyone else right now, as Andrew Yamin ’19 leads the league with 5.5 sacks and Andrew Sommer ’19 has a sack and two interceptions to go along with 26 tackles, which is second on the team. Tailback Biafra Okoronkwo ’20 has really stepped up in the past two games, logging 271 yards on 30 carries with a touchdown in the absence of lead RB Jack Hickey ’19 who as missed the past two games with a sprained MCL. Fortunately he returns just in time for the Mammoths visit to Wesleyan for their first Little Three matchup.

(4) 2. Trinity (4-1)

The Bantams have started to look like themselves again since their first loss to Williams in Week 3

Trinity came up with their first huge win of the year, taking down Tufts 38-24. After trailing 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, they went on a 38-3 run before allowing another touchdown late in the fourth. This is the type of win characteristic of a championship team. Tufts had been playing some of their best football, and the Bantams took it to them in front of a raucous home crowd at the Coop. RB Max Chipouras ’19 looked much improved from previous weeks, carrying the ball 29 times for 164 yards and a touchdown. I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but 9 of the team’s 10 receptions belonged to either Koby Schofer ’20 or Jonathan Girard ’21 and they accounted for all but 5 of the team’s receiving yards. This guys really must just be that good, because you’d think opposing teams would realize the game plan at this point. I guess that’s why I’m here writing and not on the field. The Bantams will face a much easier opponent in Week 6 when they head up to Maine to take on Bowdoin.

(1) 3. Williams (4-1)

I have to admit; I didn’t see this one coming. Williams looked like the team to beat after some decisive victories against the league’s weaker teams and a huge win over Trinity in Week 3. On Saturday the Ephs allowed Middlebury to run all over them, with the Panthers amassing 278 yards on the ground and absolutely dominating time of possession. QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 had a decent day throwing the ball, but a few untimely turnovers combined with a nearly nonexistent rushing attack really cost them. We’ll also have to keep an eye on the injury to LB TJ Rothmann ’21 since he has been undoubtedly the best defensive player on the team, and one of the best in the league. The story is the same for Williams as it is for most of the other top teams at this point – a very tough schedule from here on out. No reason to hang their heads after just one loss because their championship hopes are still very much alive. The road continues this weekend when they hit the road to play Tufts in another huge matchup.

(2) 4. Tufts (4-1)

It was a tough week for the Jumbos who had the tall task of playing Trinity on the road. The defense struggled to keep up with a loaded Bantam offense, allowing Trinity’s three-headed monster of RB Max Chipouras, WR Koby Schofer, and WR Jonathan Girard to run away with this one. This was the first time all season that this unit looked vulnerable, and it was mostly on the ground. Yes, Trinity’s two top receivers had big games, but Vazzano only completed 10 passes so most of their game plan was via the run. The Jumbo offense didn’t look terrible, but Tufts simply could not manage to get much going on the ground so QB Ryan McDonald was forced to throw the ball more than they would have liked. Like Williams, Tufts will look to put this game behind them because it’s looking like a one-loss team could end up taking or at least sharing the crown. This gets even more exciting because Tufts and Williams are both in the same position now as they prepare to square off this weekend in Medford. Talk about a big game.

(6) 5. Middlebury (3-2)

Wow. What an effort from Middlebury. It was like a completely different team took the field against Williams on Saturday. The Panthers controlled the entire pace of the game behind QB Will Jernigan ’21 who is really starting to come into his own. The sophomore completed 18 passes and found 7 different receivers for a total of 162 yards and two touchdowns, all while adding 94 yards and another touchdown with his legs. Perhaps the biggest story was that the defense that had really struggled this season was able to remain strong and make big plays when they needed to. They came up with two interceptions, fumble recovery, and a crucial stop on 4thand 2 all deep within their own territory to prevent Williams from putting points on the board. It’ll be important to see if the Panthers can duplicate this type of performance, because they have a chance to do some damage as a spoiler late in the year with matchups against Trinity and Tufts still remaining. They shouldn’t have too much of a problem with Bates this weekend.

(5) 6. Wesleyan (3-2)

QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is doing everything he can to carry the Wesleyan offense

The Cardinals are starting to look like themselves again after a tough stretch in the early weeks. WR Dario Highsmith ’20 had a huge game against the Bobcats, catching 4 passes for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is starting to look like the same guy we’ve seen in the past, although he’s been running the ball much more than he has over the course of his career. This is likely due to a thinner receiving corps, but he has had quite a bit of success averaging 5.6 yards per rush on 68 attempts and 3 rushing touchdowns. The defense has been solid but it isn’t the same dominant unit we’ve seen from Wesleyan in recent years. That said, they’re still a very strong team capable of beating anyone, and they’ll try their luck this weekend when the only undefeated team left comes to town in the form of the Amherst College Mammoths.

(7) 7. Hamilton (2-3)

The offensive performance of the year thus far now belongs to the Continentals. I don’t care who you’re playing against, 62 points is legit. Hamilton’s offense looked very “top tier” against Bowdoin, led by QB Kenny Gray who completed 23 of 31 passes for 293 yards and 4 touchdowns. This is the Kenny Gray I thought we’d see more of this year. He was absolutely dominant and was aided by 213 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns from his supporting cast. The Continentals picked off four passes, two of which were by DB Sam Bowen ’20. Allowing 27 points isn’t anything to write home about but we’re now getting a chance to see the big-play ability present in this defense. Hamilton is in a great position to steal a win from a top team, but first they’ll have a chance to build on the win last week with a visit to Colby in Week 6.

(8) 8. Colby (0-5)

Amherst is a tough matchup for anyone, and the Mules pretty much did what they were expected. The Mammoths shut down the run game, but it was another very promising game throwing the ball by QB Matt Hersch ’22 who finished 28-47 for 212 yards and a touchdown. He has now put up some very impressive numbers in his limited time so far and he’s done it against some very good defenses. They were pretty unsuccessful running the ball against Amherst, but they have relied heavily on the performance of RB Jake Schwern ’19 and will continue to do so as they begin to face weaker opponents. They have an intriguing matchup with Hamilton this weekend in a game that could end up being fairly close. The Mules should go into this game with a newfound sense of confidence now that they’re finding their identity and finally get to take on someone their own size.

(10) 9. Bowdoin (0-5)

LB Joe Gowetski ’20 has been one of the lone bright spots, leading the NESCAC with 47 tackles

The game plan with QB Austin McCrum ’20 is evidently to throw the ball as much as possible. He attempted 54 passes on Saturday against Hamilton, completing 31 of them for 279 yards, but throwing 3 interceptions in the mean time. This game served as a microcosm for McCrum’s season to this point. He has thrown the ball 37 more times than anyone else in the league this season, but owns a TD:INT ratio of 6:9 and his longest completion has been just 31 yards. At times Bowdoin’s offense has looked good, but too many mistakes have taken them out of opportunities to score. I don’t think anything really needs to be said about a defense that just got obliterated by the 4thworst team in the conference. Sadly they’ll have to take on the league’s best offense in Trinity, so they’ll have to make some serious changes or else we could see another big number on the scoreboard at the end of this one.

(9) 10. Bates (0-5)

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a student at Bates so I’ve done just about everything I can to avoid putting them in the cellar every week when I write the power rankings. Unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to put of the inevitable any longer. The Bobcats are last in just about every metric on offense and bottom three in just about every metric on defense. QB Brendan Costa ’21 has been very ineffective throwing the ball but I don’t want to place the blame solely on him because the offensive line is giving him little to no time to find his receivers. WR Kody Greenhalgh ’20 didn’t join the team until Week 3 and he’s already the team’s top receiver in terms of yardage and receiving touchdowns. I don’t know what it’s going to take but Bates really needs a spark right now because they’re in danger of losing the CBB for the first time in 5 years. Next up is a visit to Middlebury.

What We Expected: Week 4 Power Rankings

Week 4 Power Rankings

This was about as boring a weekend of football as you can possibly get in the NESCAC. Colby kept things somewhat close with Wesleyan, but it only became a one-possession game again with 14 seconds remaining. Every game went more or less exactly the way we thought, and the one game that seemed like it could be interesting ended up with Amherst shutting out Middlebury. I guess it’s good that we’re getting the boring weeks out of the way so that we can get some good end-of-season drama. Fingers crossed.

(1) 1. Williams (4-0) 

The Ephs took care of Bates this weekend with relative ease, 31-7. Williams actually threw the ball just 19 times the entire game, as QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 was 11-19 for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is a modest stat line by his standards, but his arm wasn’t really needed since RB TJ Dozier ’21 pummeled the Bates run defense with 12 carries for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. Not much has changed for Williams in the past week, but one notable stat is that they haven’t allowed a single point in the third quarter of any game all season. This really is a testament to the halftime coaching adjustments as well as simply a very stout defense. They host Middlebury in Week 5 looking to stay atop the rankings.

(2) 2. Tufts (4-0)

QB Ryan McDonald ’19 is showing off his versatility as a runner much more this season

At the start of the year, I don’t think anyone could have envisioned Tufts’ defense looking as prolific as they have thus far. Bowdoin may not be the most talented team in the league, but a shutout in football is very hard to come by. As a unit they lead the league in sacks (14), allow the second fewest rushing yards per game (58.3), and allow the fourth fewest passing yards per game (173). Senior defensive lineman Jared Ashler ’19 is 3rd in the NESCAC with 3 sacks on the year and with the help of guys like DL Nmesoma Nwafor ’19 and LB Stephen Timmins ’20, this Jumbo defense* is consistently getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The defense will have to bring their A-game this weekend when they travel to Hartford to take on the league’s top offense.

*Being called the “Jumbo defense” makes it sound like they have a wall of 6’5”, 280 lbs studs not letting anyone by. I wouldn’t want to have to play against them.

(3) 3. Amherst (4-0)

Amherst pulled off a very convincing win over Middlebury on Saturday. After losing to the Panthers by a combined 5 points in the last two years, the Mammoth defense* was suffocating, not allowing a point over the full 60 minutes. The offense looked good, although star RB Jack Hickey ’19 did not play the entire game, meaning he must be injured. If he is out for an extended period of time then this would be a huge blow for the Amherst offense that is built around the run game. The good thing is that they’re getting exactly the type of quarterback play that they need. If you were to Google search “game manager quarterback” you’d find a picture of Ollie Eberth ’20 right under a picture of AJ McCarron. Eberth doesn’t throw for a ton of yards, but he’s yet to throw an interception this season and he leads all starters with a 64% completion percentage. The formula is there for the Mammoths, and they’ll have one last dress rehearsal this weekend against Colby before they get to the challenging portion of their schedule.

*Ok so “Mammoth defense” is probably the only thing that sounds more intimidating than “Jumbo defense.” Well done NESCAC and your weird mascots.

(4) 4. Trinity (3-1)

The Bantams got back to what they do best with a 44-7 spanking of Hamilton. QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 continues to have an unsettlingly low completion percentage, but his job isn’t so hard since it basically just requires him to throw the ball in the general vicinity of either Jonathan Girard ’21 or Koby Schofer ’20, who are first and third respectively in receiving yards per game and receiving touchdowns. The defense is having another terrific season, as they’ve allowed the fewest passing yards and total yards, as well as third fewest rushing yards in the conference. After the loss to Williams in Week 3, Trinity needs to win out and hope for a couple of Eph losses if they want a chance at the title. The road continues with a marquee matchup against Tufts this weekend.

(5) 5. Wesleyan (2-2)

WR Hallvard Lundevall ’20 has emerged as Wesleyan’s top receiving threat

I can’t quite figure out the Cardinals this year. They looked like the team to beat this year after they blasted Middlebury in Week 1, but they’ve seemed very shaky since then. Although they led the entire way, a 28-20 victory over Colby is not a particularly definitive result. Wesleyan’s run defense has been excellent, but they haven’t done a great job defending the pass and this trend continued against the Mules when they allowed 277 pass yards and 3 touchdowns to freshman QB Matt Hersch ’22. QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is having a good year, but the Cardinals haven’t really showed many threats on offense. They’ll look to figure things out this weekend when they head up north to take on Bates.

(6) 6. Middlebury (2-2)

The struggles continued for the Panthers who were embarrassed at home by a very strong Amherst squad. Since taking over the starting role, QB Will Jernigan ’21 has had a tough time getting anything going with his receiving corps. He was only able to muster 133 passing yards on 15 completions against the Mammoths, and although this was technically his season high, it isn’t much considering how much talent they have at receiver. Allowing 301 yards and 21 total points isn’t a bad defensive effort at all, but the offense needs to produce a lot more than it has. They’ve got another tough matchup this Saturday as they’ll head down to take on the Ephs in Williamstown.

(7) 7. Hamilton (1-3)

Not to say that I expected Hamilton to beat Trinity, but after sneaking away with win at Wesleyan I at least expected a better performance. The Continentals looked just like they did in the first three weeks of the season, only managing to accumulate 213 yards of total offense while allowing 503. I haven’t played a down of football in my life but I know that isn’t going to win you a lot of games. The defense hasn’t been as good as it should be given the talent that Hamilton has on that side of the ball, and QB Kenny Gray ’20 simply hasn’t been very impressive this season. I thought this was going to be his big breakout year, and that just hasn’t happened. If the Continentals weren’t excited before then now is the time because they host their weakest opponent of the season so far in Bowdoin on Saturday.

(10) 8. Colby (0-4)

The 3 Maine schools could really be put in any order, but for the sake of excitement I’m judging them on a week-to-week basis. Week 4 was a big week for Colby. A loss is a loss, but they have a lot of reasons to be excited moving forward. First of all, rookie QB Matt Hersch ’22 completed a career-high 23 passes for a career high 277 yards and a career high 3 touchdowns. Not a bad day, huh? Second of all, the defense allowed a season-low 28 points. Wesleyan is a good team, so it was impressive that this defense could compete and keep the Mules in this game. D-lineman Nick Wilcox ’22 has looked very impressive as he had 7 tackles and 1 sack on Piccirillo, and is second on the team overall in tackles. Colby will take on Amherst this weekend in another very challenging matchup, then finally they’ll play some more winnable games against Hamilton and Bates in the following weeks.

(9) 9. Bates (0-4)

RB Liam Spillane ’21 tallied a career high in carries and yards against Williams

I’d say the Bates vs. Williams game went exactly how we would have expected. Williams was clearly the better team but the Bobcats hung around, only trailing 17-7 at the end of the third quarter before ultimately losing 31-7. It was the same story we’ve seen for Bates; they stay in games for a little while until the defense eventually gets too tired from being on the field all game so they fade at the end. DB’s Jon Lindgren ’20 and Anthony Costa ’21 continue to be the team’s standout defensive players and the real problem is that they don’t have any standout offensive players. Liam Spillane ’21 took over as lead running back against Williams, rushing 24 times for 72 yards. This is a respectable stat line, but the problem is the passing offense more than the running game. Their next game is against Wesleyan who has struggled against the pass, so we’ll see if Bates can come up with a better effort on Saturday.

(8) 10. Bowdoin (0-4)

We were seeing improvements from the Polar Bears, especially on offense, but they ran into a very hot Tufts team and were run right over. QB Austin McCrum ’20 threw the ball 47 times but completed just 21 of those passes for a mere 162 yards. I don’t think this game is indicative of how Bowdoin will be moving forward, but it definitely is a step in the wrong direction. They were without starting running back Nate Richam ’20 so the running game took a hit, but getting shut out is a bad look no matter what. The defense wasn’t great, but it hasn’t been great all season and Tufts is a strong team. This was one to forget for Bowdoin. On to Hamilton.

Figuring Things Out: Week 2 Power Rankings

There wasn’t a ton of change from Week 1 to Week 2, but there were some noteworthy events this week. Wesleyan and Tufts put on a defensive clinic with the Jumbos coming out ahead, Bowdoin gave Middlebury a scare, and Trinity, Williams, and Amherst looked as good as anyone. It’s still a bit early to easily sort out the teams at the very top and very bottom, but there are certainly some trends starting to appear. Next to each team’s ranking you’ll see their ranking from last week in parentheses to get a better sense of what changed over the weekend:

(1) 1. Trinity (2-0)

I gave Jordan Vazzano ’21 a hard time last week for not absolutely shredding a Colby defense that is one of the weakest in the league. Well he made up for that and more, taking home NESCAC offensive player of the week honors in the process. The redshirt sophomore went 20-36 for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns, adding a sixth on the ground. This is exactly what the Bantams were looking for especially since the Bobcats did a solid job limiting Max Chipouras ’19 to just 86 yards on 23 carries. Wide receivers Jonathan Girard ’21 and Koby Schofer ’20 were absolutely lethal, combining for 347 yards and 5 touchdowns and accounting for 18 of the team’s 22 receptions. The defense was also superb, only allowing 3 points until the final 5 minutes of the game when the Bates offense finally found the end zone (the other TD was a pick 6 in the first half). Trinity is putting it together just in time for their visit to Williamstown to take on the surging Ephs.

(3) 2. Tufts (2-0)

The Jumbos were rocking some pretty sweet baby blue uniforms against Wesleyan the other night, and QB Ryan McDonald ’19 took full advantage

Tufts proved me wrong in Week 2, as I didn’t think they had the defensive strength or offensive versatility to take down a team as strong as Wesleyan. I know, it’s a bold move to put them ahead of both Williams and Amherst, but they have now had two very impressive wins. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 showed that he is more versatile than we may have thought, connecting with 7 different receivers and only rushing for 23 yards after a run-heavy game last week. What impressed me the most, however, was their defense. Wesleyan was coming off a 52-point outburst against Middlebury, looking nearly unstoppable. The Jumbos were able to keep QB Mark Piccirillo in check, holding him to 189 yards in the air and no touchdowns. Wesleyan dominated time of possession, as they had the ball for nearly 37 minutes of game time. Tufts’ defense refused to quit, and I’m very impressed by them. They’ll host Bates this weekend in a game that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem as they look to move to 3-0.

(4) 3. Williams (2-0)

The Ephs continue to look good as they trounced Colby 36-14. QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 rushed for 4 TD’s, while RB TJ Dozier added 160 yards on 19 attempts and a TD of his own. There wasn’t much of a passing attack, granted they didn’t really need one, but if I were an opposing team I’d force Maimaron to throw the ball since he hasn’t eclipsed 146 passing yards yet this season. Safety Luke Apuzzi ’20 has emerged as the top player in the secondary, leading the team with 2 pass break ups and an interception. LB TJ Rothmann ’21 continues to be on a tear, recording 6 more tackles against Colby and leading the team with 14 on the season. After getting a few of the weaker teams out of the way, Williams will play host to Trinity on Saturday in a game that very well could have championship ramifications.

(5) 4. Amherst (2-0)

It took the Mammoths a little time to warm up but they eventually took it to Hamilton, winning by a score of 37-14. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 doesn’t fill up the stat sheet, but with the help of stud tailback Jack Hickey ’19, they find ways to win. Hickey is currently 4thin the NESCAC in rushing, and he does most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Linebacker Andrew Yamin ’19 continues his dominance on the defensive side, leading the league with 4 tackles for losses, also adding a sack and 9 total tackles. Amherst isn’t the flashiest team, but they’re able control the game with solid quarterback play and a very imposing defense. They’ve started the season with most of the bottom tier of the league and will continue that trend this weekend against Bowdoin in Brunswick. Look for the Mammoths to get to 3-0.

(2) 5. Wesleyan (1-1)

Oh, Wesleyan. They had it. The Cardinals controlled the ball the entire game and had 107 more yards of total offense than the Jumbos. The Tufts defense bent about as far as they could without breaking, and Wesleyan simply couldn’t capitalize. Losing by 3 isn’t ideal, but it feels much worse when you miss two field goal attempts late in the game, one of them from just 27 yards. On paper, the Cardinals outplayed the Jumbos, but a few key plays didn’t go their way and here they are at 1-1. The Wesleyan defense actually did a terrific job, led by LB Will Kearney ’20 who snagged an interception to go along with a pass break up and a team-high 8 tackles. The offense will go back to the drawing board this week in preparation for their matchup with a struggling Hamilton team.

(6) 6. Middlebury (1-1)

Peter Scibilia ’21 rushed for a career-high 184 yards against the Polar Bears

Middlebury put themselves in a dangerous position this past weekend. Trailing by a point at the end of the third quarter against Bowdoin, they benched starting QB Jack Meservy ’19 after his 3rdinterception of the game. Fortunately, backup Will Jernigan ’21 led two touchdown drives to put the Panthers ahead for good and avoid the upset. Midd has really struggled throwing the ball this year, but they were saved on Saturday by their two-headed rushing attack of Drew Jacobs ’19 and Peter Scibilia ’21 who combined for 289 yards on 44 carries. Despite the terrific play of sophomore Jonathan Hobart ’21 who took home defensive player of the week honors, the Panther defense continued to look very vulnerable. They have a lot to figure out right now, so a matchup with the league’s worst team this weekend is an opportunity for them to start fresh.

(9) 7. Bowdoin (0-2)

Middlebury is struggling, but Bowdoin looked immensely better in Week 2 than in Week 1. You can’t talk about this game without talking about the performance of RB Nate Richam ’20. He absolutely decimated the Panther run defense, rushing 30 times for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns, setting a school record for single-game rushing yards. The passing game definitely improved, with QB Austin McCrum ’20 completing 20 of 39 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown, albeit with 3 interceptions. He spread the ball around to 8 different receivers, and connected with Greg Olson ’21 6 times for 58 yards and a touchdown. LB Joe Gowetski ’20 continued to lead the defensive unit, recording 12 tackles including 3 for losses. Although they lost, this was exactly the type of building week that the Polar Bears were looking for. They’re clearly getting better and they’ll look to continue this trend when they host Amherst this weekend.

(7) 8. Bates (0-2)

The Bobcats dropped to 0-2 following a 59-16 loss to Trinity. It’s tough to start the season against 2 of the league’s best defenses (Trinity and Amherst) but the Bates offense really needs to get going. They’re currently 2nd to last in the conference in rushing yards and dead last in passing yards. In fact, they only have 12 first downs on the season, which is exactly half of the next fewest (Hamilton, 24). The Bobcats aren’t turning the ball over at an alarmingly high rate; they just can’t move the chains. Nothing seems to be working and although I’d like to chalk it up to tough opponents, clearly something has to change. The defense hasn’t been terrible by their standards, so the real focus has to be on the offense. That’ll be tough given that they’ll face one of the hottest defenses in the conference at Tufts this weekend.

(8) 9. Hamilton (0-2)

The Continentals need more from QB Kenny Gray ’20

I have to admit, Hamilton is making me regret almost everything I said in my team preview for them this season. With all the pieces they returned from last season and after they had some mild success, I thought they would have a chance to contend with some of the top teams. Oh, how wrong I was. The Continentals looked awful in their season opener against Tufts, and only looked a tiny bit better against Amherst in Week 2. QB Kenny Gray ’20 was 22-37 for 197 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while WR Joe Schmidt ’20 hauled in 7 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. These aren’t bad numbers, but two main things stick out: their defense has really struggled and their ground game has been nonexistent. And by nonexistent I mean they have 7 rushing yards as a team on the season. I’m not joking. Two full games into the season they have compiled a total of 7 yards on the ground. That’s abysmal. They’ll head to Middletown this weekend to take on a Wesleyan team also coming off a loss, so hopefully they can start moving in the right direction.

(10) 10. Colby (0-2)

Talking about all the struggles that Colby has isn’t a lot of fun every week, so I’ll try to focus on the positives this time. The Mules finally benched struggling QB Jack O’Brien ’20 in favor of freshman Matt Hersch ’22 with 5:34 remaining in the first half against Williams. Hersch orchestrated 2 touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, and finished the game 14-18 for 119 yards, finding 7 different receivers. The defense definitely could be worse and LB Marcus Bullard ’21 has had a fine start to his sophomore season as he sits at 6th in the conference with 15 tackles through two games. Middlebury comes to town on Saturday after struggling to beat Bowdoin in Week 2, so this is an opportunity for the Mules to compete and continue to get better as they get closer to the weaker portion of their schedule.

Can we get an upset please? Week Two Weekend Preview

Week 1 and its absolute blowouts are now over. Just to recap: Colby, Bates and Bowdoin all lost, Tufts held Hamilton to negative rushing yards while Wesleyan ran up and down the field on Midd. Now that those games are behind us we can look forward to a second weekend of NESCAC football in which we may see a game or two that will have a score differential of less than 20 points.

Bowdoin (0-1) @ Middlebury (0-1)

While many Panther fans may have been disheartened last week after their enormous loss to Wesleyan, Week 2 holds hope. This week Midd will host a Bowdoin team coming off a 41-6 loss to Williams. Bowdoin was not able to point points on the board until Griff Stalcup found Michael Cloppse in the endzone for their first, and only, six points. Bowdoin’s offense was stagnant at best, starting QB Austin McCrum was unable to get anything done during his tenure on the field, throwing for 73 yards and an interception. Running back Nate Richam was able to muster up 78 yards on 18 attempts but it was far too little to have any effect on the Williams offense. Although their offense may have been bad, the Polar Bear’s defense was the death of them. When you let up over 5 yards per play it is impossible to win a game, trust me, I got a B in Intro to Stats. While Midd’s offense is not the same caliber as William’s, Bowdoin still needs to make some serious changes on the defensive end in order to prevent being on the wrong side of a lopsided scoreboard, again.

Griff Stalcup looks like the Polar Bears’ best leader and only shot at beating the Panthers.

Despite scoring the first points of the game, Midd was eventually beat down by the Wesleyan offense in their 52-21 loss last weekend. Offensively, everything was run through the passing game for the Panthers. While QB Jake Meservy was able to rack up 216 yards and 2 TDs, he also managed to throw for 3 interceptions, including a pick-6. When a team knows that you are incapable of running the ball effectively, picks are going to happen. Midd’s go-to back Peter Scibilia was held to a mere 19 yards on 11 carries. Their leading rusher last weekend, Will Jernigan, the backup QB, only rushed for 24 yards, almost entirely through a single 23 yard rush. Bowdoin, and the rest of the NESCAC, knows that Midd’s only offensive threat is the passing game and will prepare accordingly. Whether Bowdoin has the skill and talent to prepare well enough is an entirely different question. Defensively, it couldn’t have been much worse for the Panthers. Wesleyan racked up 358 yards of total offense, including 203 rushing yards. There is nothing but room for improvement for Midd’s defense and while they only have to face Bowdoin this week, there will be bigger and better opponents down the line that will embarrass them again if change does not come soon.

Score Prediction: Middlebury 24, Bowdoin 7

Hamilton (0-1) @ Amherst (1-0)

Hamilton had a rough home opener, losing 29-2 to Tufts. When your only points come on defense, it’s generally not a good sign. While allowing Tufts to rush for 207 yards, Hamilton wasn’t able to put up positive yardage, ending with -11 rushing yards. Kenny Gray was the only positive part of the Hamilton offense, throwing for 158 yards. While that might sound decent, I forgot to mention that he also threw for 3 interceptions. Hamilton is yet another bottom-tier team that simply does not have it together offensively. Similar to Midd, when they know you’re gonna pass, you’re gonna get picked. Defensively, they held the passing game to just 109 yards but gave up 4 rushing touchdowns. Amherst can and will run the ball well, so the Hamilton defense will not get a break this weekend and will need some very short term memory in order to compete.

Andrew Yamin will terrorize whoever is the field general for Hamilton this weekend.

Amherst faced a low-quality Bates team this weekend and came out on top, as was expected. While QB Ollie Eberth was decent in the air, completing 13 of 19 for 112 yards, his ground game, along with Jack Hickey, was what propelled Amherst to the dub. The two combined for 201 yards and all 3 Mammoth touchdowns. I would expect Amherst to take an “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality this Saturday, sticking to their plan of pounding the run game and sprinkling in some short passes. Amherst didn’t get their offense going until the 3rd quarter against Bates, which may be concerning. In order to prove themselves as a top dog in the league they’re gonna need to come out guns blazing this weekend because in the NESCAC a win is not just a win, sometime you gotta blow some teams out. On defense, Amherst held Bates scoreless until the tail end of the game, aka garbage time. It’s tough to really asses Amherst’s defense at this point as they haven’t been faced with too great of a challenge yet. This challenge will in all likelihood not come this weekend either though.

Score Prediction: Amherst 27, Hamilton 3

Colby (0-1) @ Williams (1-0)

The Mules go from one gut-punch to another as this weekend they head down to Williamstown to face the Ephs. There’s really not a lot to say about Colby so far except that they are just clearly not at the same level as the better teams in the NESCAC. If allowing 35 points in one half isn’t enough, they allowed Trinity to get 573 total yards of total offense on Saturday. While Trinity is arguably the best team in the league and two-time defending champs, the game looked like Bama playing an FCS team, simply unable to compete from the get-go. Jake Schwern provided the vast majority of the offense for Colby, rushing for 108 yards, but still not enough to even get them at field goal range at any point. It already is fairly clear that this is a rebuilding season for the Mules and anything positive they can get, they should take it and run with it. For now though, they will fight through the punches and wait for games against Bates and Bowdoin to try and steal a CBB championship.

Williams may be doing a lot of this in 2018.

The Ephs put up some huge numbers last weekend against Bowdoin, as I very much expect them to do again this weekend. QB Bobby Maimaron threw for 146 yards and 2 TDs as well as rushing for 73 yards and 2 TDs. If that wasn’t enough RB TJ Dozier added on 128 yards and a touchdown of his own. Williams but up big numbers against a bad defense and expect more of the same this week. Maimaron and his favorite target Frank Stola will be moving the ball up the field with ease and TJ Dozier will be there for ample support. On defense, Williams wasn’t tested last week and won’t be again this week. Allowing one garbage time touchdown means absolutely nothing and their defense shut Bowdoin down as they should. Ephs fans will have to wait a little longer to see a game that has some meaning, but that’s a good problem to have.

Score Prediction: Williams 38, Colby 7

Bates (0-1) @ Trinity (1-0)

In all fairness, Bates was able to make a game of it against Amherst last weekend. A 4th quarter touchdown brought Bobcat fans some hope which was swiftly taken away by another Mammoth touchdown. Bates currently looks like the strongest of the CBB teams, meaning that it seems as if they have an actual defense. The fact that they were able to hold Amherst scoreless through the first half is both an accomplishment for them and may not speak too well about Amherst’s offense. Either way, Bates has a tough road ahead of them this weekend. QB Brendan Costa only threw for 90 yards but was able to find the back of the endzone on a keeper mid-way through the 4th quarter. Costa is not the heart of Bates’ offense, he IS Bates’ offense. Not only did he record all the passing yards in the game, he rushed for 44 of Bates’ 60 rushing yards. Costa is going to need some serious reinforcement to get past Trinity’s defense but it doesn’t seem as if his team is up for the challenge. This weekend will be a good test for Bates’ offense in terms of the CBB battle because if they are able to hold another high-quality team to a reasonable score it will make them far and away the best team in Maine.

Trinity did what Trinity does last weekend, blow teams out of the water. The Bantams gave a warm welcome to new Colby head coach Jack Cosgrove by handing him a 35-0 defeat on his opening day as a NESCAC coach. While Rhode Island transfer Jordan Vazzano was only able to connect on 9 of 23 passes, he was able to make those 9 count. Vazzano threw for 210 yards and 2 TDs as well as tacking on 38 rushing yards of his own. Max Chipouras ran all over the Colby defense for 173 yards and 3 TDs. WR Jonathan Girard accounted for the vast majority of the receptions, racking up 166 yards and 2 TDs. Trinity’s defense simply did their job. They sticked to their gameplan and didn’t allow any mistakes to a much lesser Colby team. I expect them to continue their dominance in Week 2.

Score Prediction: Trinity 31, Bates 9

 

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:

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.