FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[westcoastDad]

The Coop got us.  But,  I like the effort.  Two defensive TDs is tough to overcome

[westcoastDad]

Ref actually made the right call.  I was there.  I saw it.  Our #3 blocked them in the back even tho his teammate was 20 yards upfield with the interception. 
A complete bone head play. 

Mills....let's just say.....he wasn't happy with the play either.  Was a 40 yard swing. 

We were the better team today.  But, they were smarter.  Kudos to them for hanging in there after going down 14-3. 

Should be up by 2 scores if not for a bogus penalty after the second interception backed them up over 25 yards.....brutal call.

Finally seeing production out of that run game. Keep pounding the Rock EJ!

Running the wildcat with Carmilini at QB and I am waiting for him to pull the ball and grab a big gain as he has yet keep it and shoot the A or B gaps. It will be there eventually.
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[Nescacman]

We know it will bother the board, but we were 5-0 today and pretty much called every game...just sayin'...

One of the many games we watched today was the first half today of Wes/Williams game...two observations....when Wes' offense is operating on all cylinders, they have a ton of weapons and are very, very good. #12 might just be the best QB in the league and #1 might be as good as any offensive player in the league.  Second observation...staggering how bad HCOF Kelton left the Williams program...Coach Raymond has his hands full trying to clean up this mess. Wes literally could have scored 100 points today if they wanted to.

Looking forward to next Saturday's NESCAC Chanpionship game at Wes' Andrus Field in the "Battle for the Birdcare"...should be a good one. Our early pick...Wes 24-Hartford State 21.

[PolarCat]

Meanwhile in Brunswick, Bates won its third straight CBB Trophy, the first time in 116 years the Bobcats have won 3 in a row.  Yeah, it may not have been the cage fight fans saw in the Coop today, but for 3 quarters it was a great battle between 2 evenly matched teams.  (One wonders how different the Polar Bears' season could have been if they hadn't lost multiple players to the plagiarism problem last Spring).

Drakely is a VERY good QB.  If Coach Wells can ever build him an OL and recruit some good WR's, he will be a force to be reckoned with.  But with no running game, Drakely was forced to air it out in the second half, and the Cats' three picks sealed the Polar Bears' fate.

The 'Cats star DB Joe Frake was out for the game with a shoulder injury, and QB1 Sandy Plashkes  left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.  His replacement, FY Matt Golden, struggled initially, turning over two fumbles in consecutive possessions.  But once the kid settled down, he was superb, engineering scoring drives of 59, 65 and 80 yards, passing for one touchdown, and running for another. 

After two seasons trying to fit round pegs into square holes, Golden may be the first Bobcat QB since Cannone who can actually thrive in the Triple Option offense.  Not that any of the Bates faithful necessarily want to see the Triple Option continue, but since no one asked us our opinion, if Bates continues to stubbornly stick with the option, Golden may be the QB who is able to pull it off.

Bates' Prez Clayton Spencer attended the game in the visitors' stands, and appeared to have a rollicking good time.  Our scouts searched for Bowdoin's Prez Clayton Rose, but didn't spot him.  (There was probably some pressing snowflake preservation conference he needed to attend instead).  So polbear73, maybe you shouldn't expect those Whittier Field renovations any time soon.

Barring a complete collapse next Saturday when Bates hosts Hamilton, the Bobcats may finish the season with the same record as the FKA LJ's.  I bet not even NESCACMEN saw that coming.

[gridiron]

Great accomplishment for the Bobcats all around.  To finish at 4 and 4 (the same as Amherst--assuming things go as expected) is a job very well done.

[JEFFFAN]

Joe bag
For the record Devanney is a fine coach but if you put Mills in that Trinity machine with all the resources and admissions leniency Trinity would be even better.

Mills is the benefactor of assistance from Amherst's admissions as well.

Best for you and all others who complain about admissions help at [name that NESCAC school] to read the Bowdoin Orient series that was posted here a few weeks ago.   All of the NESCAC schools follow standard guidelines for athletes to be supported in admissions at specified bands based on the non-athletes at those schools.   Then they police each other every summer where each school reviews the admissions of athletes at other NESCAC schools.   Great, honest, system put in first by Tom Parker and the Williams director of admissions; then spread to Wesleyan; then spread to the whole NESCAC.

Save your breath, folks, complaining about admissions standards.   Read the brilliant set of articles.

[gridiron]

Jefffan--well aware of the articles referenced.  Fact is some schools find more latitude--differences that do affect programs in ways that aren't always consistent with the bands.

[westcoastDad]

The parking was very routine.  Literally  a 3-5 min slow walk.  The neighborhood was fine.  Saw lots of tailgating all over.  Excellent looking campus.

In fact, the Amherst kids met up with many of the Trinity Co-Eds post game.  Needless to say....the girls were worth the loss.  Lol

Nescac....if u need a bullet proof vest....U must be the real BUBBLE MAN.   Grow some!



Wow....Detroit and Hartford on back-to-back days. Nice vacation WCD! Make sure you lock your rental and wear your bullet proof vest...
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[JoeBag]

We know it will bother the board, but we were 5-0 today and pretty much called every game...just sayin'...

One of the many games we watched today was the first half today of Wes/Williams game...two observations....when Wes' offense is operating on all cylinders, they have a ton of weapons and are very, very good. #12 might just be the best QB in the league and #1 might be as good as any offensive player in the league.  Second observation...staggering how bad HCOF Kelton left the Williams program...Coach Raymond has his hands full trying to clean up this mess. Wes literally could have scored 100 points today if they wanted to.

Looking forward to next Saturday's NESCAC Chanpionship game at Wes' Andrus Field in the "Battle for the Birdcare"...should be a good one. Our early pick...Wes 24-Hartford State 21.

That is a bold prediction given the fact that Worselyan has not beaten a team with a winning record this season.

[polbear73]

Meanwhile in Brunswick, Bates won its third straight CBB Trophy, the first time in 116 years the Bobcats have won 3 in a row.  Yeah, it may not have been the cage fight fans saw in the Coop today, but for 3 quarters it was a great battle between 2 evenly matched teams.  (One wonders how different the Polar Bears' season could have been if they hadn't lost multiple players to the plagiarism problem last Spring).

Drakely is a VERY good QB.  If Coach Wells can ever build him an OL and recruit some good WR's, he will be a force to be reckoned with.  But with no running game, Drakely was forced to air it out in the second half, and the Cats' three picks sealed the Polar Bears' fate.

The 'Cats star DB Joe Frake was out for the game with a shoulder injury, and QB1 Sandy Plashkes  left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.  His replacement, FY Matt Golden, struggled initially, turning over two fumbles in consecutive possessions.  But once the kid settled down, he was superb, engineering scoring drives of 59, 65 and 80 yards, passing for one touchdown, and running for another. 

After two seasons trying to fit round pegs into square holes, Golden may be the first Bobcat QB since Cannone who can actually thrive in the Triple Option offense.  Not that any of the Bates faithful necessarily want to see the Triple Option continue, but since no one asked us our opinion, if Bates continues to stubbornly stick with the option, Golden may be the QB who is able to pull it off.

Bates' Prez Clayton Spencer attended the game in the visitors' stands, and appeared to have a rollicking good time.  Our scouts searched for Bowdoin's Prez Clayton Rose, but didn't spot him.  (There was probably some pressing snowflake preservation conference he needed to attend instead).  So polbear73, maybe you shouldn't expect those Whittier Field renovations any time soon.

Barring a complete collapse next Saturday when Bates hosts Hamilton, the Bobcats may finish the season with the same record as the FKA LJ's.  I bet not even NESCACMEN saw that coming.

Thanks for the account, PC.  Nice kicks by the Bates placekicker and a good win for the Bobcats.  I do think Bowdoin has improved this year and hope that the playing time for the young kids will pay off.

About the renovations, a weird thing happened on the telecast yesterday:  Noted personality Jack Ford was a halftime guest and referenced a conversation that day with Bowdoin AD Tim Ryan about the Whittier Field renovations, emphasizing that the iconic grandstand will be preserved when the facility will be renovated.  The game announcers also made a brief allusion to field turf coming to Whittier.  Nothing official, but there seems to be some smoke here. 

[amh63]

WCD and other posters had the competitive game in Hartford right!  Two defensive teams battling it out.  Every mistake, penalty, etc. amplified.  Game was still in doubt in the last 5 minutes.  Coach Mills arguing for 2 seconds to be put back on the clock.  It was 17-14 with less than two minutes to go.  Morales was hit while in his throwing motion and as the announcer pointed out...did not have his feet planted.  Ball goes short...receiver tips the ball..defender intercepts and runs for a TD...kick good and final score of 24-14.  Nice to see SR Kelly run well in an injury filled career.
Announcer had a time keeping up with the QBs that Amherst shuttled in and out.  Even thought the freshman QB was sent in but got the number wrong.  Announcer pointed out that none of the Trinity seniors had beaten Amherst yet.  Handshakes after the game.  Amherst's seniors will be ready for Williams at Pratt!
Speaking about the Wes-Williams game.....strangest camera coverage.  Went to see the game for a few minutes.  The camera was focused on the 20 yd line while action for several plays was to the right on a Wes drive. Saw a ref in one play.  Looked like the camera man gave up.  Announcers making comments on plays not seen.

[PolarCat]

Would love to hear some feedback from some Colby fans at yesterday's game.  The box score indicates Sparacio started after all, but may not have had the fine outing he had against Bates.  The official line is he went 13 for 31 on passes, but the box score doesn't tell you how many of those were broken routes, tips, etc.  From the recap, one of those was an INT which the Jumbos returned 99 yards (!!!), completely changing the momentum of the game.

Big day for the Mules kicker John Baron who went 4 for 4 on FG's, tying two Colby records.  On the other side, fellow senior K Willie Holmquist hit a 45 yard FG and 5 of his 6 PAT's, but had a rare miss of the PAT after the INT return.  Two of the best kickers in the CAC, though I'm sure Baron would have traded his share of a record for the W at Ellis Oval.

Judging from the box score, Jabari Hurdle Price didn't see the field.  That sucks, as fans should have seen two of the best RB's in the CAC going at it.  I'm guessing JHP's absence forced Michaeles to air it out all game, allowing the Jumbos to drop back more into coverage.  But it would be nice to hear from some Jumbos and Mules parents whether my guesses are on the money or not.

I'm going to go out on a NESCACMEN-sized limb here.  The CBB teams will have four very good QB's next year (Bowdoin's Drakely, Colby's Sparacio and Bates' Plashkes and Golden).  If Bates and Bowdoin can recruit some talented WR's, expect 2 of the CBB to finish in the top half of the CAC next year, banishing all talk of The Tallest Midget Bowl. 

You heard it here first.

[amh63]

Some comments on some topics that again  appear on this board...admissions, football season length, and kickers.
First kicker.  There was only one kicker for Amherst...the one from the S.Francisco area.  He punted, kicked off and kicked FGs, and extra pats.  He missed a FG  in the game...1-3 this season.  No mention of the safety that is 5-5 and made a 52 yd FG.  In reflection, the game could have been 17-17 with Amherst with the ball and just 1:55 min to go.  I know, but you do wonder what has happened to last year's starter wrt to kicking duties and Yes, the DB that can kick 50 yd figs in games.
Next admissions....believe both gridiron and JEFFFAN are forgetting the key statement in the Nescac guidelines...the one that refer to the "bands" that REFLECT the general populace of the student body of the schools.  The SATs, ACTs or whatever scores used by Nescac schools vary and therefore the bands differ.  Remember some IVY schools...Brown...and maybe Bowdoin even did away with such scores in admissions..for awhile?  Amherst and Trinity admission criterias are therefore different even while staying within  the accepted guidelines.  Amherst has the lowest acceptance rate, and one of the largest number of applicants...period.  Discussions of admissions help are inherently considering the student body makeup.
Football season length.  Let's settle on a Nine game season here.  In years pass, there were students that played both football and a winter sport like Basketball.  The Nescac MBB season started on Nov 1.
Many talented student- athletes come to Nescac in order to play more than one sport. Remember a lady who transferred from Havard in order to play three sports...which she did quite well, a star in all three.  Last year, two women on the Amherst fine soccer team contributed on the final- four WBB team.  One is presently playing on the soccer team that is seeking a Nescac title today in Willytown.
The Amherst kicker from SFran mentioned earlier is quite a pitcher on the baseball team.  Even saw some baseball players  working out while watching the men's soccer game yesterday.

[PBPOP20]

I'm going to go out on a NESCACMEN-sized limb here.  The CBB teams will have four very good QB's next year (Bowdoin's Drakely, Colby's Sparacio and Bates' Plashkes and Golden).  If Bates and Bowdoin can recruit some talented WR's, expect 2 of the CBB to finish in the top half of the CAC next year, banishing all talk of The Tallest Midget Bowl. 

You heard it here first.

Drakely is a senior PC....   

[PolarCat]

Oops.  I thought he was an '18.  Too bad.  He loked great yesterday, and iI'd love to see what he could do if surrounded by weapons.