Sean Penny – Nothing But NESCAC

Big Spreads and Small Hopes; Week 6 Weekend Preview

Well folks we are just over halfway through the season and are getting a pretty clear idea of how the conference is going to shake out. Teams have separated into three tiers and it is pretty easy to see where each team lies. The top four teams all have at least four wins, Amherst leading the way with five. Secondly, there are the 3 mid-tier teams, all hovering right around the .500 mark. Finally, we have the three winless teams, all of whom happen to reside in the same state. These three tiers make predictions much easier, almost always if a higher-tier team is playing a lower one, they will win by a significant margin. That being said, it is football and there are some unexpected upsets every now and then. Let’s hope for more unexpected results as we roll into the final half of the season.

Hamilton (2-3) @ Colby (0-5)

Hamilton found themselves on the right side of a blowout for the first time in a long time. The Continentals dropped 62 points on Bowdoin, the second highest total in their 128 years of football. QB Kenny Gray was absolutely incredible. He completed 74% of his passes, totalling 293 yards and 4 touchdowns in their air. Additionally, he contributed 8 rushes for 87 yards. David Kagan and Mitch Bierman added a touch down each while Joe Park added 2 of his own. Will Budington was Gray’s main endzone target, hauling in three touchdowns on the day. It was clear that Bowdoin had no answer for the Hamilton offense and Hamilton took advantage of that. Bowdoin tried to stay in the game initially, only trailing by 11 at halftime. After a few second half adjustments Hamilton was able to shut down the Polar Bears completely, not allowing a single point in the second half. Hamilton has now established itself as a middle of the league program and they have another opportunity to trash a lesser team this weekend. If the Continentals are in similar form on Saturday, things may go their way in Waterville.

Colby has lost 5 straight games to start the season, but not all losses are created equal. Their 35-9 loss to Amherst last weekend was to be expected, but they seem to have more and more positives to build off of as the season goes along. QB Matt Hersch continued to look solid for the Mules despite playing arguably the best team in the conference. Hersch completed 28 passes, resulting in 212 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers are not too shabby considering that he is a freshman, in his 3rd ever start, playing an undefeated team. Their defense left more to be desired as they allowed Amherst to jump out to a 28-0 lead at the half. A much improved second half saw the Mules only allow 7 points and even record a turnover, but the damage had been done a while ago. Colby has been overpowered from the start in each of their previous matchups, but perhaps that is not true this weekend. Despite their blowout last week, Hamilton seems to be the weakest opponent that the Mules have faced to this point. With constant improvement and a decrease in opponent quality, maybe the the Mules can pull off a surprise win at home.

Score Prediction:

Hamilton 31 Colby 24

Bates (0-5) @ Middlebury (3-2)

Conrado Banky might just have his way with the Bobcat defense at home this weekend.

Bates was clearly overmatched by Wesleyan last week, dropping the contest 44-13. The big play plagued their defense, allowing 4 touchdowns on plays of 30 or more yards. Although their defense did give up quite a few big plays, they made one of their own on a 68 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. In fact, their defense scored half of their points. QB Brendan Costa was basically a non-factor in the game, only amassing 78 yards in the air. Their ground game was equally unimpressive, totaling 79 yards between 5 different carriers. With only 157 yards of offense as a team, Bates never give themselves a chance. After a surprising victory, as a result of much improved defense, Midd will be another tough task for the Bobcats.

Middlebury’s victory over a previously undefeated Williams has to be the upset of the season so far. After Williams beat Trinity, it seemed as if they were the lead candidate for conference champs. Midd was able to turn that narrative around by handing them a clinical 21-10 loss. QB Will Jernigan took over the game, running for one of Midd’s touchdown and throwing for the other two. RB Peter Scibilia was fantastic as well, putting up 143 yards on the ground. The defense is truly what shined for the Panthers this weekend. They held Williams to their least points scored on the season and was able to pick off QB Bobby Maimaron twice as well as force a sack-fumble. Midd was able to shut down the player with the most combined passing and rushing touchdowns in the league, a big turnaround from giving up 52 points to Wesleyan opening weekend. Midd is red hot right now and I would not expect an 0-5 team like Bates to be able to stop them. This should be a fun weekend for Midd fans up in Vermont.

Score Prediction: Middlebury 38 Bates 9

Trinity (4-1) @ Bowdoin (0-5)

The Bantams are going to keep chugging along this weekend.

Trinity bounced back nicely last week, earning themselves a 38-24 come from behind win against Tufts. The Bantams allowed Tufts to jump out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, but were able to take control after that. The majority of Trin’s scores came on their ground game. QB Jordan Vazzano rushed for 2 while Max Chipouras and Devante Reid added scores of their own. Vazzano tacked on 220 yards and a touchdown in the air for good measure. After the first quarter the Bantam defense took over, not allowing Tufts a point in the second or third quarter. This was a great momentum shifter for Trinity after suffering their first loss of the season in the previous weekend. The Bantams have proved that they can still beat anyone in the conference and still have an opportunity to clinch yet another conference championship. After last week, Bowdoin should make for very light work.

There are not many positive comments to make about the Polar Bears after they allowed themselves to be demolished by mid-tier program such as Hamilton. Their defense could do absolutely nothing to slow down the Continentals and it more than showed in the scoreline. QB Austin McCrum was able to record 3 touchdowns but continues his woes by being picked off 3 times as well. RB Brendan ward couldn’t get much going either, picking up 81 yards and not reaching the end zone. When you turn the ball over 4 times, as Bowdoin did, you don’t give yourself much of a chance to win. When you allow over 500 yards of offense and 8 touchdowns, you give yourself absolutely no shot at a win. It probably won’t get much better this week as Bowdoin has to face a Trinity team that may be the most talented in the league.

Score Prediction: Trinity 55 Bowdoin 17

Amherst (5-0) @ Wesleyan (3-2)

Andrew Sommer and the Stampede are coming to take their sixth win in as many chances this weekend.

Amherst continued their dominance last week in a 35-9 win over Colby. Amherst played a very simple and efficient game and was able to take home an easy win. QB Ollie Eberth continued to look excellent for the Mammoths, he threw for 194 yards and completed 3 touchdowns. Eberth was able to add another touchdown on the ground to add on to an excellent day. RB Biafra Okoronkwo had an absolute day of it, rushing for 185 yards and a touchdown of his own. Everything about Amherst’s offense was working and they were able to manipulate Colby’s defense with ease. The defense was equally as impressive, forcing the Mules to punt 5 times as well as forcing them to turn the ball over on downs on 4 separate occasions. This Amherst team seems to be the most complete program in the conference and the fact that they are undefeated reflects that. Although Wesleyan is a better team than Colby, there is nothing to prove that Amherst have slowed down at any point this season, or that anyone can beat them.

Wesleyan didn’t face many challenges in their 44-13 win over Bates last weekend. The Cardinals were able to put up 23 points in the third quarter alone while limiting the Bobcats to only one score in each half. It only took QB Mark Piccirillo 10 completions to find the back of the endzone on 3 separate occasions. Piccirillo, Charlie McPhee and Sean Penny were also able to score on the ground, rounding out the 6 touchdowns for the Cardinals. 2 of Piccirillo 3 touchdowns went to WR Dario Highsmith, making him the most targeted red zone receiver on the day. Defensively, Wesleyan was terrific. They only allowed the Bates offense to score on them once, while their other touchdown was on a fumble recovery. Wesleyan stuck to their game plan and it played dividends. Although everything seemed to go Wesleyan’s way last weekend, it will likely be a different story this weekend. Nobody is yet to be Amherst and the Cardinals are likely not going to be the first one. While Wesleyan has appeared to be a dominant team at points in the season, they have not shown that against the top-tier teams in the conference. This weekend is another chance for them to dismiss that narrative and show they can run with the big dogs.

Score Prediction: Amherst 28 Wesleyan 13

It’s starting to get interesting; Week 2 stock report

Stock Report

Stock Up:

Bowdoin’s Ground Game: Despite their 0-2 record, things are looking up for the Polar Bears. After putting up a measly 6 points on 108 total yards of rushing against Williams week 1, the Bowdoin showed great improvement against Midd. They were able to put up 289 yards of rushing in week two, accounting for 2 of their 3 touchdowns. When I say they put up 289 yards I mean that Nate Richam put up 288 yards and the rest of their team averaged negative yardage. This feat earned Richam NESCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors and may have begun to propel a formerly stagnant Polar Bear offense. After an absolute blowout week 1 Richam nearly single-handedly kept his team in the game week 2 and was nearly able to pull off the road upset against Midd. This kid is legit and I would not be surprised if he is able to help Bowdoin pull off an upset against one of the higher-tier teams later this season.

Ryan McDonald’s Patrick Mahomes interpretation: The Jumbos were easily able to keep Hamilton at bay last week, but QB Ryan McDonald seemed to be somewhat of a non-factor. Some may have been concerned coming into week 2 that he didn’t have what it takes to compete against a talented Wesleyan defense and that Tufts wouldn’t be able to figure out how to put points up on the board. All of those doubts were silenced Saturday night as McDonald was able to effectively spread the ball around to 7 different receivers, resulting in the 2 touchdowns that won the game for the Jumbos. Similarly to last years matchup, Tufts vs Wesleyan was a nail biter and McDonald proved that he has the guts to grind out a touch win against a tough NESCAC opponent.

The Jumbos are hot with McDonald under center right now.

Middlebury’s Linebackers: After allowing Wesleyan to move the ball up and down the field against them in week 1, Midd’s D showed up in week 2. Jonathan Hobart, Jourdon Delerme-Brown and Charles Roselle were all able to pick off Bowdoin’s former D1 quarterback Austin McCrum in week 2. These 3 turnovers proved to be crucial in Midd’s one-score victory over the Polar bears. While McCrum was able to throw for over 200 yards, it was due to volume passing as he recorded 39 attempts and was only able to connect on 20 of them, none for longer than 22 yards. This game should give the Panther defense lots of confidence when they come to Waterville to face a Colby team that has been struggling in the air to say the least. While their ground defense could certainly use some improvement, it looks as if Midd has the ability to compete against many of the elite quarterbacks in the CAC.

Stock Down:

Bates’ Defense: The Bobcats looked like a team that could sneak their way into the top half of the NESCAC after holding a solid Amherst team to only 19 points in week 1. Week 2 is a completely different story as they allowed Trinity to march up and down the field with no problem in their 59-16 loss. Bates’ pass defense looked formidable against Amherst, holding QB Ollie Eberth to only 112 passing yards and no touchdowns in the air. Trinity QB Jordan Vazzano on the other hand was able to pick apart the Bates defense with his eyes closed, passing for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns, a ridiculous stat line. If that wasn’t enough, running backs Sloane Lockwood and Max Chipouras combined with Vazzano for 217 more yards on the ground and 3 more touchdowns. Allowing nearly 60 points can be extremely disheartening for any defense and may well cause your defensive coordinator to retire at halftime. Bates will have to improve on almost every facet of their game in order to compete against Tufts next week, who have throw their hat into the running for NESCAC champion after downing a dangerous Wesleyan team in week 2.

Penney and the Cardinals need to step it up after an upset loss to the Jumbos.

Wesleyan’s Goal-line Back, Sean Penney: Penney was Wesleyan’s go-to guy inside the 10 yard line against Middlebury in week 1. He was able to convert 3 touchdowns in just 10 attempts, blowing through the Panther defense when he was called up. In week 2, Tuft’s defense seemed to have his number allowing him only 15 yards on 8 attempts, 0 of which reached the end zone. When the Cardinals needed it most week 2, Penney just wasn’t there to provide the momentum that he did in week one. It looks like it’s time to review the game tape and figure out what exactly he did in week 1 to make him so effective and why he wasn’t against Tufts. As for next week, Wesleyan faces an 0-1 Hamilton team, which may be a perfect opportunity for Penny to work on his craft in an almost surefire win for the Cardinals.

Hamilton QB Kenny Gray: Week 2 was a huge improvement for Hamilton’s Junior QB Kenny Gray. After Hamilton’s offense was unable to record a point against Tufts (their 2 points came on a safety), Gray was able to step it up week 2 and record 2 touchdowns, one in the air and one on the ground. One of Gray’s major issues week 1 was his accuracy. Tufts was able to pick him off 3 times and he was only able to convert of 18 of the 42 chances he took. Week 2 we saw a much improved Gray, completing 59.5% of his passes and limiting a talented Amherst defense to 1 interception. It already seems fairly clear that Hamilton doesn’t have too much of a chance to compete this year, but Gray is trending in the right direction. Perhaps if Gray continues to improve he will be able to lead the Continentals to a respectable record next year in his senior campaign.

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

2017 record: 6-3

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

NBN 2018 projected record: 7-2

Projected offensive starters (*5 returning):

QB: Mark Piccirillo ‘19*

RB: Sean Penney ‘21

WR: Evan Hull ‘19

WR: Hallvard Lundevall ‘20

TE: Ryan Earle ‘19*

OL: Bryce Jenkins ‘21

C: Joe Wilson ’19*

RG: Jacob Edlebeck ‘21

LT: Ryan Schutta ’20*

RT: Terence Norton ‘19*

Projected defensive starters (*6 returning):

DB: Ben Thaw ‘20*

DB: Eli Blair-May ‘20

S: AJ Lanton ’22

S: Pat Leone

LB: Brandon Morris ‘19*

LB: Will Kearney ‘20

LB: Malcolm Fox ’21

DL: Jude Lindberg ‘19*

DL: Taj Gooden ‘21*

DL: Grant Williams ‘19*

DL Bobby Nevin ‘19*

Projected special teams starters (*2 returning):

K: Pat Wolfe ‘21*

P: Sam Han ‘20*

Offensive MVP:

Mark Piccirillo ‘19

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

Piccirillo is a front runner for NESCAC POY in 2018

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

Defensive MVP:

Brandon Morris ‘19

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

Biggest game: 9/15 vs Middlebury:

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

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

A fly messing with Picc! Wow.

Everything else:

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

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