I think Coast Guard will make the most noise next year. With the NEFC a "less competitive" conference than the Liberty League they should find the goings not as tough as it has been in the past for them.

Plymouth State will also benefit from playing a set schedule rather tahn having to take on anyone that they could find to fit the openings in their schedule. They have imporved under their coach and I would think they would be competitive with most of the Boyd.

I think that scheduling comes down to not wanting to take on the added expense of an overnight trip for some of the teams. Endicott seems to have a commitment to playing outside the conference and some of the other NEFC schools have done it in the past. Could that just be a scheduling issue with finding common open dates?

How about Endicott (7-3) but one loss is to Curry and one is to RPI - both good teams and Curry is in the NCAAs (criteria for ECAC selection) They also have a head-to-head win over Fitchburg.

How about Thibodeau from Maine Maritime? Pretty big numbers and the team had a good year.

On another topic - who is getting ECAC bids from the NEFC this year? It looks like Bridgewater, Endicott and Fitchburg (if they lose) are all serious contenders.

Gullgrad,

Average EC O-Line? What makes them so "average"?

They are perhaps average in size - only one of the starters in 280+ - but their system seems to be tailored to a smaller, athletic player.

They are second in the conference in rushing and that starts up front. Now, they will have to play a very good D-Line this week to prove that they are as good as the stats say!

This game will definately be won in the "trenches"...

I heard the Curry-Nicols game was delayed due to flooding in the area. Curry took care of business today setting up the big homecoming game with EC.

footballfan,

I think EC has earned a certain amount of "respect" for beating Fitchburg State (they were undefeated and ranked #2 in New England). At the very least they have the bragging rights over the falcons for a year.

I do agree that while they are scheduling competition from stronger conferences they need to get a win against them to get the proper repect in that area.

Should be a great game in Beverly on Saturday - homecoming and a Boyd Division match up! Go Gulls!

perhaps "respect" should be replaced with "bragging rights"...

footballfan,

What fuels your dislike of EC? Furthermore, you have now cited the coaches in your rant - from what I see the staff has a good deal of experience and is doing a pretty good job with a new program.

I agree that to be the best you have to beat the best, which Curry has been the past 2 years. However, I think respect has been earned by Endicott in regards to not only scheduling, but solid play vs NEFC teams this year - which I think is what this board is talking about.

footballfan2005,

How can you say that Endicott won the game vs Fitchburg because of the weather? They both had to play in the rain and the game was played on FieldTurf so it was not muddy.

I was at the game and Endicott played great defense forcing 6 interceptions and rushed and passed the ball well. They also punted great pinning Fitchburg deep several times.

I would say it was anything BUT the weather that got EC that win.

As someone who has watched the Endicott program develop I would disagree that the Gulls have built their program with transfers.

While their roster does feature a few transfers the foundation of their players and starters came to Endiocott as first-time-freshmen.

I think only one starter on either side of the ball is a transfer.

just an observation...