FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Trin9-0]

Jay was a senior captain at Trinity my freshman year. He's a great guy and has clearly done a tremendous job at Tufts. The administrations but be applauded as well not only for the investment in athletics but for allowing Jay time to turn things around.

Given their enrollment size and location they've long been the sleeping giant in the NESCAC. I'm certain they'll be contenders for as long as he's coaching in Medford.

[westcoastDad]

Vandy74 u lost me.  Was it the 3 hour drive or the diversity comment that got your panties in a bunch?  Wish I could make the Oct 8th game.  Really do.  Wanted to see the campus and experience the road game atmosphere.  Unfortunately, I can't take that weekend off.  I missed the game in 2016.  It was a good one.  Cold and rainy.  Didn't see many in the stands. 
The Wesleyan and Trinity crowds seem to be festive and rowdy for road teams.  Amherst will have our hands full with all 3. 

Congrats on your family being Amherst grads during WWII. 

My kid will be 75 years later on that stage.....God willing because nothing is promised.

As for Vermont........good choice for u. 

quote author=Vandy74 link=topic=4146.msg1755033#msg1755033 date=1474902083]

Brutal u are Polar Cat.  Yes, my priorities may seem shallow because I left out the obvious:  Amherst is a top academic school.  Geez.  Tough crowd.  I'm going to leave it at that.  Academics, social culture, location were my "priorities".  My son's were probably academic,  football, social. 

You probably live in the NE region Polar Cat.  Send your kid to California and have him or her attend Fresno St.  That's about 3 hours drive from LAX.  Then make sure that school only has.....well neveemind....save that for another conversation.

Will just say....isolation is not what we had in mind for college.  Diversity was and is very important. 

Don't take that being out "in the sticks" as a total negative.  Just an observation by one who has to fly into Logan or Hartford!  When Middlebury was recruiting my son.....I stubbornly refused JUST because of the 3 hour drive to their campus.  Beautiful campus is great but not when you're flying in on the redeye to catch a 1pm Saturday game. 
Amherst works out just perfectly.  Lol

Come October 8, the Panthers will be more than happy to stick it to you.  Fly into Albany.  It's a much shorter drive.

You wanted diversity and you passed on a Nescac school in a small Vermont town?  Do your homework.  Read a dictionary.  Btw,  My father, Amherst '43.  Brother Pete played for the DARP.  But also, 9th generation native Vermonter, Middlebury or surrounding area.  Sticks are cool.  You can stick people with 'em.   October 8.  That's the plan.  You don't play MC, I root for you guys, but you gotta have your priorities.
[/quote]

[amh63]

A little off- topic post....but feeling like a senior arbitrator on the Night of the first debate
Vandy, my friend and West Coast Dad...hope you both have a slight smile on your faces in this debate on choice of schools/ locations.  Reminds me of "discussions" between my wife and I on what Purcell or Handel Messiah CD to keep in the car...my wife was a music major and me a physics major.  Great composers and music but what recording/version.  Now I will point out to both poster the unsaid but underlying reasons for school preference!  Temperature and Snow.  Historic fact....Williams Prez and band of students left Willytown to start a college in Amherst with better location and weather...resulting in those remaining in Williamstown to form the first Alumni Society in America.  Vandy you pointed out to me that Norwich Un...College at the time....made a move down to Middletown Ct.from VT.  Rejected by the State of CT for a charter, they returned up to the cold north. The Methodist Church took the opportunity to use the buildings, etc for Wesleyan Un....the oldest such Wesleyan named college.  Also the home of the oldest continuous used football field.  See, got some Football in this post.
Another point...when Amherst played its first game under the lights,  it was in early November.  It was Cold, Cold...almost froze my ....blank.....off.  Night games should be early in the season!
Bet WestCoastDad lives no further than San Fran....where there are Palm Trees in the city by the Bay...cold yes from the Ocean breezes, but no frost.  Vandy.....you did go South to attend college. . Note...Vandy74 is a Commodore follower and has a niece presently attending Amherst.

[middpantherpride]

Was at the Midd v. Bowdoin game... Midd has a lot of offensive weapons that will create a lot of problems for opposing defenses. Dual threat QB (Lebo), many good wrs (Burke, Banky, Rizzo) , and 2 talented RBs that can split the load (Meritus and Jacobs), and the O line is solid.

The defense was not tested much all day but a few names stood out (John Jackson and Wesley Becton). Other big names did not have much opportunity to step up but they are solid all the way around. Lot of speed.

A few tough losses to the team by the way of injury. Will be tough when they are faced with top opponents.

Colby should be a good test to see if these Midd boys are for real. Always a tough one making the trip to Waterville, ME. They cannot expect to just show up and win. Can't wait for Saturday for more NESCAC football action.

[westcoastDad]

Lol!  Yes, you're right Amh63...I'm a palm trees wimp now.  I also attended that first night game and frozen my tail off.  But honestly the 4 seasons of the beautiful NE region are amazing.  We wish we had some of that beauty on the left Coast.

Middlebury linebacker MVP last year is a family friend.  He's gone now so I can root solely for the Jeffs.  But, I think it may be a very very tough game.  Their QB can really slings it.

Island, completely agree that we need more speed in the backfield.  It's there.  I just jhope we utilize it.  Next week's game will be a big indicator. 

As for Colby, my cousin started yesterday as a true freshman.  Go Mules!  But, we are still going to lay the wood on Oct 8th!

quote author=amh63 link=topic=4146.msg1755104#msg1755104 date=1474911280]
A little off- topic post....but feeling like a senior arbitrator on the Night of the first debate
Vandy, my friend and West Coast Dad...hope you both have a slight smile on your faces in this debate on choice of schools/ locations.  Reminds me of "discussions" between my wife and I on what Purcell or Handel Messiah CD to keep in the car...my wife was a music major and me a physics major.  Great composers and music but what recording/version.  Now I will point out to both poster the unsaid but underlying reasons for school preference!  Temperature and Snow.  Historic fact....Williams Prez and band of students left Willytown to start a college in Amherst with better location and weather...resulting in those remaining in Williamstown to form the first Alumni Society in America.  Vandy you pointed out to me that Norwich Un...College at the time....made a move down to Middletown Ct.from VT.  Rejected by the State of CT for a charter, they returned up to the cold north. The Methodist Church took the opportunity to use the buildings, etc for Wesleyan Un....the oldest such Wesleyan named college.  Also the home of the oldest continuous used football field.  See, got some Football in this post.
Another point...when Amherst played its first game under the lights,  it was in early November.  It was Cold, Cold...almost froze my ....blank.....off.  Night games should be early in the season!
Bet WestCoastDad lives no further than San Fran....where there are Palm Trees in the city by the Bay...cold yes from the Ocean breezes, but no frost.  Vandy.....you did go South to attend college. . Note...Vandy74 is a Commodore follower and has a niece presently attending Amherst.
[/quote]

[JEFFFAN]

Time to let westcoastdad off the hook for the "sticks" comment - he has been sufficiently beaten down by those of us who love the sticks of NESCAC schools!

Any surprises this weekend to anyone?   Seems like all of the games went chalk except maybe the Tufts-Wesleyan game, but even that was a pick em going in or darn close.   

[amh63]

Bet my last Hamiltonface bill that two posters were surprised with the Tufts win...Frank U and the poster with the longest "handle" .  There, got the connection made to TWO of the losing teams....Hamilton College and Wesleyan Un.  The great hit Btoadway play to date ....."Hamilton" has been a big boost to the Cardinals...money and fame wise.  Hamilton, the play has many creative and talent abilities coming out of Wesletan Un. 

[PolarCat]

Frankly, I was surprised at the beat down Hamilton endured.  It looks like they only made one trip into the red zone, and spent most of the day struggling to get past midfield.   I really thought that program was going to turn the corner this year, lead by a QB who transferred from Pace with much fanfare.  (What happened to Brandon Tobin?  Is he injured, has he left school, or left the program?)

I was also surprised by the struggles of Wes' kicker, Ike Fuchs.  He had a great year in 2014 (I believe he was NESCAC Special Teams POTW at least once), and a solid-if-not-outstanding year last year, but missed 2 FG's on Saturday.  Of course, those could have been the results of bad snaps or bad holds; the kicker always gets the blame even if it wasn't his fault.

[polbear73]

As much as it pains me, but I was surprised at the depth to which the Bowdoin program has sunk, even with everything that has come out in the off-season. I really don't want to take anything from Midd, a fine football team, but, aside from blocking 3 kicks, the Polar Bears were inept in every facet of the game. Based on Saturday, it's hard to say if they even can be competitive. The freshman class is a bright spot and there didn't seem to be any less effort from the kids, but I can't  remember a NESCAC game when a team was so out-manned.

[gridiron]

Been out of the loop for a while and missed what happened to last season's all world Amherst QB Reese Foy.  Not even on the roster this year???  Thought he was going to be the guy for the next couple of years.  Sorry if this was discussed previously...

[amh63]

gridiron......QB Foy torn his ACL sometime prior to the start of pre`season...I believe.   Need to go back a dozen pages or so and read NothongbutNescac.

[Vandy74]

Vandy74 u lost me.  Was it the 3 hour drive or the diversity comment that got your panties in a bunch?  Wish I could make the Oct 8th game.  Really do.  Wanted to see the campus and experience the road game atmosphere.  Unfortunately, I can't take that weekend off.  I missed the game in 2016.  It was a good one.  Cold and rainy.  Didn't see many in the stands. 
The Wesleyan and Trinity crowds seem to be festive and rowdy for road teams.  Amherst will have our hands full with all 3. 

Congrats on your family being Amherst grads during WWII. 

My kid will be 75 years later on that stage.....God willing because nothing is promised.

As for Vermont........good choice for u. 

Actually it was my night owl habits combined with a not uncommon bout of insomnia.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.   amh63, covering by back as always.  I don't pay you enough, do I, my friend   My father was Amherst '44, not '43, btw.  A classmate of JEFFFAN's dad.  Like most at the time he accelerated his studies.   

Okay, this is a football board, isn't it.  Bowdoin was an overmatched opponent but it was good to see the Panthers so ready to play.  I don't expect them to be the weak sister of the first division when it's all over.  Lebowitz looked confidant and    comfortable with his receiving corps.  Minno and Miletich aren't easily replaced but there's still a lot of talent in that offense.   The return of Jacobs means defenses can't key in on Meritus when the Panthers run the ball.  Tanner Contois' injury will hurt if he's to be lost for an extended period of time.  I assume it's an ankle.  Hopefully it's a sprain rather than a fracture.  He didn't seem to be overly reliant on the crutches as he watched the final quarter from the sideline.  It would be good to see Colby test the MC defense's mettle a bit because, sticks or no sticks, Amherst certainly will.  Give me NESCAC football over watching the Commodores any day.

[PolarCat]

Geez, I don't know.  I kind of liked The Commodores.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg-ivWxy5KE&fmt=18

[Vandy74]

Geez, I don't know.  I kind of liked The Commodores.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg-ivWxy5KE&fmt=18

Oh.  Those Commodores.  No argument here.

[lumbercat]

PC

I believe Tobin got beat out by Freeman, the soph QB who started for the Continentals. Tobin apparently not injured as he came off the bench late on Saturday.

When guys transfer from bigger programs to the NESCAC everyone tends to think they will dominate but frequently this is not the case.

-Tobin looks like the backup at Hamilton for now.
-BC transfer Montgomery 6'4" 315, played one undistinguished year at Bowdoin and now seems to want to try Basketball.
-Dartmouth transfer QB to Tufts, John DiBiaso, from one of the best HS programs in Ma (Everett) is now a junior and looks like the 2nd or maybe 3rd on the Tufts depth chart.
-UConn QB transfer to Colby Mike Ecke would be a junior this year. Was third on the depth chart last year and did not return.

-On the other side of the coin QB Leibowitz at Middlebury is the real deal.
-Colby transfer DE from Lafayette Craig Strand looks like a starter coming out of the box for the Mules.