Sam Robinson – Nothing But NESCAC

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

(1) 1. Middlebury (9-0)

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

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

(3) 2. Wesleyan (8-1)

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

(2) 3. Williams (7-2)

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

(5) 4. Trinity (5-4)

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

(6) 5. Hamilton (4-5)

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

(4) 6. Amherst (4-5)

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

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

(7) 7. Tufts (4-5)

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

(9) 8. Bates (2-7)

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

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

(8) 9. Colby (2-7)

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

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

(10) 10. Bowdoin (0-9)

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

Only Pride on the Line: Stock Report 11/6

Stock up

Bates Bobcats

In the interest of full disclosure I just want to say that I’m a senior at Bates and I’ve been waiting to write this “stock up” for a very long time. It’s no secret that this has been a frustrating past two years – losing 16 games in a row after a coaching change definitely makes you scratch your head a little. There is also quite a bit of flukiness that comes with a losing streak that long – they were a blocked PAT away from heading to overtime with Middlebury last season, they nearly orchestrated a 19-point comeback against Tufts in Week 4 this year, a phantom holding call nullified a would-be game winning touchdown against Colby in Week 7, and the injury bug bit at the wrong time over and over again. Well, I’m very happy to say that the streak is finally over and Bobcat fans can sleep easy for the first time in 728 days.

In all honesty, Bowdoin came out on Saturday and looked like they were playing against the Max Chipouras-era Trinity Bantams. Bates absolutely steamrolled the Polar Bears, outgaining them in total offense 523-296 and shutting down Nate Richam ’20 who has really been the only reliable threat in Brunswick. Brendan Costa ’21 played another very nice game, hitting WR Jackson Hayes ’22 for two deep touchdown passes in the first half and connecting with WR Sean Bryant ’22 for a long score in the second half. Fortunately Costa only had to attempt 17 passes because freshman RB Tyler Bridge ’23 had himself a career day, rushing for 188 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. The Bobcat defense had by far their best game of the last two years, led by freshman Tony Hooks ’23 who looks to be a potential future All-NESCAC linebacker. Hopefully this is the spark that the Bobcats needed to start turning things around. It may be the end of the year, but getting your first win in a long time can start to change some attitudes. Bates will try their luck again this Saturday when they make the long drive to Hamilton.

Wesleyan’s ability to finish games

Last week I harped on Amherst’s late struggles this year, so it only feels appropriate this week to give this one to the Cardinals. We were very critical of Wesleyan early in the year when they started their schedule with the 4 (or maybe 5) worst teams in the league and then were trounced by Middlebury. They hadn’t proven much and I stand by our caution when assessing where they stood relative to the top teams. However, things are very different now. They just rattled off two overtime victories to win the Little Three Championship and have legitimately solidified themselves as the second best team in the league at this point. The Amherst game was a little fluky with both kickers hitting the upright in the first overtime, but the Cardinals have done it time and time again this year so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. Aside from these past two games, they also scored a touchdown with 6 seconds left to beat Tufts and they didn’t score the game winning touchdown against Bowdoin until there were less than 4 minutes left to play. Coach DiCenzo knows what he’s doing and this team knows how to win. They’ll head to Hartford this weekend to try and take down the Bantams for the first time since 2014.

Hamilton special teams

This is a unit we absolutely have not talked about enough this year. The Continentals easily have the best all around special teams in the league. Kick returner Sam Robinson ’20 is the most explosive return man in the NESCAC and he can flip the field position on you in a hurry. Their usage of Kenny Gray ’20 as a hybrid quarterback/punter has really paid off: Hamilton’s punt team has downed 20 kicks inside the 20-yard line this year and 7 of those kicks were inside the 5. Sam Thoreen ’22 is the only kicker in the league with more than 1 field goal attempt who is yet to miss and he’s 20-22 on extra points as well. These are the types of things that make the difference in games. Coach Murray has done an excellent job with the team this year and that is in large part due to his emphasis on special teams. If they can close out the season with a victory over Bates then they’ll be able to clinch their first winning season in a very long time.

Stock down

Trinity, Amherst, or Williams Winning the Championship

Since the year 2000 (when the NESCAC began recognizing a league champion for football) there have been 19 football seasons played. Trinity, Amherst, or Williams has won the championship outright in 16 of these 19 seasons, Amherst shared it with two other schools 2 of the years, and in 2007 Middlebury won the NESCAC Championship. That means this will be just the second time since most of the league’s freshmen and sophomores were born that one of these three schools won’t win the NESCAC title. The interesting thing is that each of these schools feels differently about this season based on the more recent past. For Amherst and Trinity (particularly Trinity) this year is a bit of a disappointment. These two have been consistently competing for the championship every year for as long as I can remember, but Williams is coming from a different place. Just 3 years ago they finished 0-8, then followed with a 6-3 and 5-4 over the next two years. If they can snag a win in their final game over the Mammoths then this will be their highest win total since they won the league in 2010. The final weekend will still bring a slate of good games, but it doesn’t feature the same crucial matchups between the teams that we are used to seeing at the top. Speaking of which…

Final weekend excitement

Unfortunately for us as fans, the final weekend of the year will not factor into deciding the league championship. Middlebury is 8-0 and Wesleyan is the only 7-1 team, but the Panthers defeated the Cardinals handily in Week 6 so they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the NESCAC decided to do away with the tiebreaker rule this season, so technically if the two teams finish tied they will be considered “co-champions.” It seems silly not to have a tiebreaker system when the league literally just moved to a 9-game schedule so that everyone now plays everyone. It’s even weirder that they waited until the 3^rd year of the new schedule to remove the tiebreaker rule. Last year Trinity finished tied with Amherst at 8-1, but the Bantams were awarded the league championship because they held the head-to-head tiebreaker. I’m not sure what transpired that caused them to change this, but it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Fortunately NbN does recognize the head-to-head tiebreaker, so we would like to congratulate the Panthers on their well-deserved NESCAC championship.

Ultimately what this does is take away most of the excitement of the final weekend. The Amherst-Williams game is always fun, but it won’t help decide a Little Three or NESCAC Championship. Wesleyan-Trinity will be intriguing too, but it just doesn’t have the same implications that it has had in the past few years. The fact that the conference gives us so much week in and week out means that we don’t know what to do with ourselves when there is suddenly less on the line. That being said, I don’t plan on doing anything else this Saturday afternoon besides watching as many NESCAC football games at once as I can.

That’s All She Wrote: Stock Report 10/23

Stock Up

Middlebury winning the NESCAC Championship

Well, that about does it for the NESCAC Championship race after the Panthers pummeled the Cardinals last weekend by a tune of 45-21. Will Jernigan ‘21 surprised just about everyone with his success through the air, completing 18 of his 25 passing attempts for a career-high 359 yards and four scores. The defense harassed Ashton Scott ‘22 all afternoon and did not allow him to generate anything on the ground (12 rushes for -16 yards). The win pushed Middlebury’s record to a perfect 6-0, and closed the magic number needed to secure the NESCAC Championship to just two games. Middlebury would have to trip up against both Hamilton and Tufts (sorry Bowdoin, I’m already penciling that contest as a win for the Panthers) in order to allow Williams and Wesleyan back into the picture.

Hamilton and Kicker Sam Thoreen ‘22

For all the negativity surrounding NESCAC kickers for their lack of accuracy in recent weeks, major props to Hamilton’s Sam Thoreen. The sophomore nailed not one, but two field goals of 40+ yards. With his team trailing by eleven with roughly four minutes remaining, Thoreen sunk a 44 yarder, the longest kick converted by a NESCAC kicker all year long. More importantly, the kick made it a one possession game. After a wild series of events that allowed the Continentals the opportunity to win the game (more details to come below in the report), Thoreen kept his composure and banged home a 40 yarder en route to Hamilton’s biggest win of the season. He’s quietly been the most accurate kicker in the NESCAC (the only one who has not missed a single field goal) and is second in terms of total points. The Continentals’ gutsy come-from-behind win against Amherst was something sort of like Illinois’ upset of Wisconsin; a traditional power (on the road) failing to close the game against a bottom-tier league opponent. Both games also ended on a game-winning field goal…coincidence? I think not.

Stock Down

Wesleyan and the Potential for Chaos

Like most people that follow NESCAC football, I would have loved to see Wesleyan knock off Middlebury. Even at 6-0, I still believe the Panthers are not the best team in the league and have been extremely fortuitous in some of their victories. In the overall picture, however, a win from the Cardinals would have blown the league wide open. I hate to say it, but Saturday’s performance showed everyone that the Cardinals were undefeated because of their weak schedule leading up to the showdown with the Panthers.

Hypothetically, let’s say Wesleyan was still undefeated after defeating Middlebury. For the Cardinals, they would most likely have had to win out in order to ensure a NESCAC Championship. But the more likely scenario stemming from an undefeated Wesleyan team would be that they suffer a loss (or two) to Williams, Trinity and/or Amherst; this would open the door for multiple teams to grapple for the top spot. Instead, the Cardinals are currently tied with the Ephs at one loss to the Panthers apiece, and both teams have to pray the Panthers trip up twice. For Amherst, their dream was crushed upon losing to Hamilton, and Trinity would need Middlebury to lose all three of their remaining games in order to have the smallest chance. Unfortunately it looks like the league championship is wrapped up.

Amherst

The likelihood of the Amherst winning the NESCAC Championship was slim after Middlebury’s victory, but the loss to Hamilton ended those hopes completely. The loss itself isn’t as strong of an indictment on this team as one would assume based on their respective records, but it was the manner in which Amherst failed to convert a single opportunity to close the game out. After holding Hamilton to a field goal that saw their lead get cut to eight with 3:59 remaining, Ollie Eberth ‘20 and the offense failed to accumulate a single first down and the Mammoths were forced to punt. The special teams unit failed to corral Continentals’ returner Sam Robinson ‘20, giving the home team great field position inside the Mammoths’ 25 yard line with 2:43 remaining. Twice the Mammoths forced a third down scenario during that drive, and twice the Continentals converted. After David Kagan’s three yard scamper, the offense stayed on the field in order to tie the game on a two point attempt; in the midst of a broken play, Kenny Gray ‘20 found Christian Donahoe ‘20 in the end zone, knotting the game at 28 apiece. One would think that a veteran quarterback would be able to lead his team down the field against what was (and still is) a below-average defensive unit. Instead, Eberth and the offense did not pass the sticks. To make matters worse, the special teams unit let down the team again, this time in the form of a blocked punt. All in all, it was a tough week for the Mammoths, and one that might have cost them a shot at a NESCAC Championship.

Is This the Year?: Hamilton Football Preview 2018

QB Kenny Gray ’20 looks to breakout after a solid 2017 campaign.

Is This the Year?: Hamilton Football Preview 2018

2017 Record: 3-6

Projected Record: 4-5

Projected Offensive Starters (*7 returning)

QB – Kenny Gray ’20*

RB – Mitch Bierman ’21

WR – Christian Donahoe ’20

WR – Joe Schmidt ’20*

TE – Trevor Pinkham ’19*

LT – Sam Palomaki ’20*

LG – Stephen Kelley ’19*

C – Micah Balogh ’19*

RG – AJ Rattee ’21

RT – AJ Cantarella ’20*

Projected Defensive Starters (*8 returning)

DB – Colby Jones ’19*

DB – Bryce Phillips ’20

DB – Justin Leigh ’20*

LB – Tyler Hudson ’19*

LB – Cole Burchill ’19*

LB – Tim Russell ’21

LB – Sean Tolton ’19*

DL – Alex Ganter ’20*

DL – Michael Friedman ’19*

DL – Jeff Martinez ’20

DL – Will Rothschild ’19*

Projected Specialists (*3 returning)

K – Joe Suski ’21

P – Billy Wagner ’20*

KR/PR – Joe Schmidt ‘20*/Sam Robinson ’20*

Offensive MVP: Wide Receiver Joe Schmidt ’20

The 2017 First Team All-NESCAC selection is back for more. This kid is an absolute stud receiver, finishing his second season 3^rdin the NESCAC in receptions (55), 2^ndin receiving yards (811), and tied for the league lead in touchdowns with 10. He also is capable of having a huge game, as he showed in Week 1 last year against Tufts, when he caught 8 passes for 214 yards and 4 touchdowns. 4 touchdowns! Now that Wesleyan’s Mike Breuler ’18 is out of the picture, Schmidt officially becomes the conference’s top receiver. With budding star Kenny Gray throwing to him, he’s in a fantastic position to duplicate (or even top) his outstanding 2017 performance. Schmidt is an absolute nightmare for opposing secondaries.

Defensive MVP: Linebacker Tyler Hudson ’19

Hamilton boasts one of the best linebacker groups in the NESCAC, and Hudson is right at the front of that group. He has earned First Team All-NESCAC accolades in each of the past two seasons, leading the league in solo tackles (2^ndin total tackles) last year. The converted defensive end is one of the best true athletes you’ll find at this level and at times it feels like you can’t run a play without him getting involved. I’d like to see his sack numbers improve a bit, but there really isn’t much this guy can’t do. The Continental defensive unit is a force to be reckoned with and Tyler Hudson is the face of that unit.

Biggest Game: September 15^thvs. Tufts

While it might be just the first game of the season, it’s a big one. The last two meetings between these two teams have ended in overtime victories for the Jumbos. Hamilton has been just one possession away from victory each time but has come up empty as Tufts has proven that they can win these close games. With the amount of returning stars in Hamilton’s lineup, I think this could be the year that the Continentals make a leap into the upper echelon of the conference. It all starts Week 1 when the Jumbos roll into town and this Continental team comes to play with a chip on their shoulder.

Best Tweet:

https://twitter.com/HamCollFootball/status/1033556077172994053

As a non-football player I have to say that catching a punt doesn’t look particularly difficult. However, it clearly is, evidenced by how many muffed punts there are by people whose job it is to catch punts. I know how good it feels to get out of conditioning at the end of practice, so this definitely hits home a bit. This right here is what a team looks like, so let’s see if they bring this type of intensity every Saturday this year.

Everything Else:

Hamilton always seems to find themself in a weird place. They’ve been pretty consistently better than the CBB schools but worse than everyone else in recent years. There wasn’t a whole lot of turnover in their starting lineup on both sides of the ball, and they’ve got some true stars in their lineup who are ready to lead. Kenny Gray ’20 continues to get better and I think he has a chance to be in the same conversation as elite NESCAC quarterbacks such as Mark Picirillo from Wesleyan and Ryan MacDonald from Tufts. A difference maker in this lineup is going to be running back Mitch Bierman ’21 who split carries in the backfield during his rookie season. He proved to be a monstrous red zone threat, as he still finished 6^thin the conference with 6 touchdowns. If he can adjust to a larger workload, this will provide a much-needed rushing attack to complement the powerful arm of Kenny Gray.

Mitch Bierman ’21 is going to be the x-factor for this offense.

Their defense has players who have proven that they belong among the NESCAC’s best, but they haven’t quite been able to put it together as an entire unit. Guys like Cole Burchill ’19, Colby Jones ’19, and Alex Ganter ’20 are going to have to step up more than they have in the past, as they now have several years of experience under their belts. There isn’t really a whole lot to say about the Continentals other than they need to be better against the leagues tougher opponents. Wins over Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby have become commonplace for them at this point, so their season will be defined by how they fare against teams like Middlebury and Tufts, against whom they have come up just short over the past few years. Kenny Gray and co. have a chance to make some noise, so we’ll see if they’re ready to finally change the way things have gone recently.