FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

To the panther folks, I will go with my head and expect an Amherst win at Pratt.  Amherst's OL prevails over Midd's DL with Hickey and others grinding it out.  Amherst's defensive side will give Midd's QB fits as he scrambles about.  Amherst's will keep pressure on with fresh defensive players.  Hopefully it will not be determined by Special Teams play.  Amherst will use another kicker to let former kicker focus on the WRs.  Game determined by a TD spread.

[hamgrand]

Amh63,

Are you planning on attending or watching the video cast?

[Nescacman]

My son thought the Midd's QB was among the best that he faced as a DB and that included Haskins who is the #2 Ohio State QB. He also said he was surprised by the speed of one of the Midd Receivers that he defended well. It was clear the Midds made in game adjustments after a punch in the mouth from the Colby D. Players and coaches executed the adjustments very well and they are clearly deeper and have a great QB. Is there a better passer/QB in the NESCAC?

In our opinion, Picarrillo is comparable to Fawn's Lil Bro at Mid (Completes 71% of his Passes). McDonald is next as a legit dual threat. He is the entire Jumbo O this year. Puzzo is a notch below...good game manager but not as explosive as Pic, FLB and McDonald. No one else in the league is even close to these 4. And it is not by accident that all 4 of these QBs play for teams are among the first division of NESCAC football.

[middhoops]

ColbyFootballDad, here are the NESCAC individual stats.  Lebowitz, as you can see, throws the ball a whole lot.

http://nescac.com/sports/fball/2017-18/players?sort=pyg&view=&pos=qb&r=0

The Middlebury receivers have deceptive speed.  Except Jimmy Martinez (see NESCAC Track & Field) who is pure fast.

[DC 53]

Nescacman: I love the Animal House/National Lampoon reference! Fawn would have been about 70 or so by now, just saying.

[middhoops]

Thanks. Who is number #88 on the Midds Roster is that Martinez?  Sorry I know it seems I only care about my son and his BTP team and don't know any other players. Not True.  I care about the performances of my young relative at Amherst and also the few DMV players spread around the NESCAC but mostly my son and relatives and teammates. LOL

Martinez is #8 who returned the kick for a touchdown against Colby (and Wesleyan).
88 is Banky who was 1st team all NESCAC last year. 

[westcoastDad]

 #88 or 89 for Midd.  Very good player. 

If our DLine wins the upfront battle and gives their RT hell all day every play.....we will blow them out.

If Foy plays and gives a true dual threat look.....our Offense will be tough.

Tight game in the early going.  Looking for Tyrell of Am herst to break either a kickoff or punt return.

If they let my son play....have a feeling he's going to get a key turnover.

Our OLB/DE Yamin should have a big game as well as #95.

Amherst by 2 TDs as we restore order

[PolarCat]

88 is Banky who was 1st team all NESCAC last year.

Seriously, is there a better name for a football player anywhere than Conrado Banky?  Sounds like an Elmore Leonard or F. Scott Fitzgerald character (maybe Daisy Buchanan's ex?).  The fact that he is a helluva player is just icing on the cake.

[lumbercat]

My son thought the Midd's QB was among the best that he faced as a DB and that included Haskins who is the #2 Ohio State QB. He also said he was surprised by the speed of one of the Midd Receivers that he defended well. It was clear the Midds made in game adjustments after a punch in the mouth from the Colby D. Players and coaches executed the adjustments very well and they are clearly deeper and have a great QB. Is there a better passer/QB in the NESCAC?

Great post Colby Football Dad

Good observations but the difference is not game adjustments- no smoke and mirrors, this Middlebury team is damn good! It seems like the Colby program sells the assumption that they are better than they are. Time to respect the opposition that has been drumming the Mules. Amidst all the parental propaganda and PR stuff I don't understand the whole thing.

Middlebury is 3-4 deep at the QB position. Leibowitz is a great QB but, beleive it or not, he's not the best arm on that team. He brings the ball up from his hip and guns it which works fine in the Panthers offense -- has slow release  ...but there are at least 1 or 2 kids behind him (Meservy) that throw the ball better. Ritter is a master at getting QBs up there to wear a baseball hat, signal in plays and carry a clipboard for 4 years. Don't know how he does it.

The 2 Panther back up QBs would start at 5 other Nesacac programs - maybe these kids would rather signal in plays and run the scout team....rather than start at another NESCAC school.

In a nutshell Ritter runs circles around every NESACAC program in luring QBs to Middlebury- must be the maple syrup- who knows.

When are these QB recruits and their "advisors" going to realize they could actually get on the field at other NESCAC schools instead of drinking the cool aid at Middlebury-----QB graveyard.

[middpantherpride]

Seriously, is there a better name for a football player anywhere than Conrado Banky?  Sounds like an Elmore Leonard or F. Scott Fitzgerald character (maybe Daisy Buchanan's ex?).  The fact that he is a helluva player is just icing on the cake.
[/quote]

Not only does he have the name... he is a genuine kid from Texas that loves to play football. Hard not to root for a kid like that. If you ever get to know him he is a quiet kid that takes the game seriously but smiles through it all.

WestCoastDad.. the game you are describing happened the exact way you described it in 2013. Even worse though. It was 37-16. Midd had a chance to go up 6-0 early but a fg was blocked and returned all the way inside the Midd 10 yard line. Two other all time Nescac football names had huge games... Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn came up with the fg block for the LJs and then Landrus Lewis returned the ball. Lewis also had an INT. Mac Foote was picked off 5 times that game. Middlebury out gained Amh 484- 346 and yet Amh came up with the big plays that decided the game. Turnovers were everything.

As a Midd fan, hoping history does not repeat itself. Since that game, Midd has stepped up on many big stage platforms (against Trinity in 2013 and 2014, and Amherst last year). As all of the players on that team have graduated, hopefully the lessons from that season can still be reflected upon by the players. The coaches never, and I mean never, forget those games. More lessons in the tough losses than in the wins.

Best of luck to your team.

Cheer. Boys. Cheer.

[frank uible]

When it comes to names of football players, I nevermore most favor Edgar Allan Poe, Jr.

[IslandTime]

Seriously, is there a better name for a football player anywhere than Conrado Banky?  Sounds like an Elmore Leonard or F. Scott Fitzgerald character (maybe Daisy Buchanan's ex?).  The fact that he is a helluva player is just icing on the cake.

Not only does he have the name... he is a genuine kid from Texas that loves to play football. Hard not to root for a kid like that. If you ever get to know him he is a quiet kid that takes the game seriously but smiles through it all.
[/quote]

When my son and I took our visit to Midd, Conrado Banky was our player host as well as Nate Leedy. Banky was just a great kid. He had just come off his freshman year and had raised a lot of eyebrows. So glad to see him continue to tear it up.

I am leaving tonight to take my middle son, a 6'3" 260 junior center as well as a kid named Deben Peterson who I  coached throughout his youth football career, up to visit Trinity on Saturday morning and tour the facilities and catch the first half of the Trin/Hamilton game. And then, because the Amherst/Midd game starts an hour later, hustling to catch the second half of that game so the boys can visit with Midd Coach Mike McDonanld who they met at the South Florida Select Camp this summer.

Deben is a little undersized at 5'7" but is one of the most exciting players in Central Florida. If 2 inches taller, he would be a lock in D1. He will be a great addition to any NESCAC school. Trinity and Midd have shown a lot of interest in him. Would love to see him land at either school. Here is his HUDL for guys that enjoy watching that stuff.

https://www.hudl.com/profile/4434310/deben-peterson

Looking forward to a great weekend of NESCAC Football !

[Nescacman]

Seriously, is there a better name for a football player anywhere than Conrado Banky?  Sounds like an Elmore Leonard or F. Scott Fitzgerald character (maybe Daisy Buchanan's ex?).  The fact that he is a helluva player is just icing on the cake.

Not only does he have the name... he is a genuine kid from Texas that loves to play football. Hard not to root for a kid like that. If you ever get to know him he is a quiet kid that takes the game seriously but smiles through it all.

When my son and I took our visit to Midd, Conrado Banky was our player host as well as Nate Leedy. Banky was just a great kid. He had just come off his freshman year and had raised a lot of eyebrows. So glad to see him continue to tear it up.

I am leaving tonight to take my middle son, a 6'3" 260 junior center as well as a kid named Deben Peterson who I  coached throughout his youth football career, up to visit Trinity on Saturday morning and tour the facilities and catch the first half of the Trin/Hamilton game. And then, because the Amherst/Midd game starts an hour later, hustling to catch the second half of that game so the boys can visit with Midd Coach Mike McDonanld who they met at the South Florida Select Camp this summer.

Deben is a little undersized at 5'7" but is one of the most exciting players in Central Florida. If 2 inches taller, he would be a lock in D1. He will be a great addition to any NESCAC school. Trinity and Midd have shown a lot of interest in him. Would love to see him land at either school. Here is his HUDL for guys that enjoy watching that stuff.

https://www.hudl.com/profile/4434310/deben-peterson

Looking forward to a great weekend of NESCAC Football !
[/quote]

Sounds to us like a few D3/NESCAC recruiting violations going on here....hmmm.

[Nescacman]

My son thought the Midd's QB was among the best that he faced as a DB and that included Haskins who is the #2 Ohio State QB. He also said he was surprised by the speed of one of the Midd Receivers that he defended well. It was clear the Midds made in game adjustments after a punch in the mouth from the Colby D. Players and coaches executed the adjustments very well and they are clearly deeper and have a great QB. Is there a better passer/QB in the NESCAC?

Great post Colby Football Dad

Good observations but the difference is not game adjustments- no smoke and mirrors, this Middlebury team is damn good! It seems like the Colby program sells the assumption that they are better than they are. Time to respect the opposition that has been drumming the Mules. Amidst all the parental propaganda and PR stuff I don't understand the whole thing.

Middlebury is 3-4 deep at the QB position. Leibowitz is a great QB but, beleive it or not, he's not the best arm on that team. He brings the ball up from his hip and guns it which works fine in the Panthers offense -- has slow release  ...but there are at least 1 or 2 kids behind him (Meservy) that throw the ball better. Ritter is a master at getting QBs up there to wear a baseball hat, signal in plays and carry a clipboard for 4 years. Don't know how he does it.

The 2 Panther back up QBs would start at 5 other Nesacac programs - maybe these kids would rather signal in plays and run the scout team....rather than start at another NESCAC school.

In a nutshell Ritter runs circles around every NESACAC program in luring QBs to Middlebury- must be the maple syrup- who knows.

When are these QB recruits and their "advisors" going to realize they could actually get on the field at other NESCAC schools instead of drinking the cool aid at Middlebury-----QB graveyard.

We've heard very good things about Meservy and look forward to seeing him play meaningful football in 2018 rather than just mopping up against the second division of the NESCAC. Before we start crazy talk about Leibowitz, let's not forget that FLB was a D1 transfer from UNLV and actually played as a freshman for the Running Rebels. Meservy might be good, but better then FLB? We think not....

[amh63]

hamgrand.....alas, I wii be watching online    
Before my best man headed South to NC, I would take in more live games.  I would take the train up to Old Saybrook...near Old Lyme, home of Fairfield-Sonn, heck of a DB...stay overnight with my old friend and then go to football games.  Remember going up to Wes games and get free food at Wes/Fan soccer and football parties.....yes shameful.  Then again, remember feeding EPH alums at my class cookouts, etc. 
Need to check the weather for game.....will it be a factor?
Oh yes, I would also fly up, especially when the school provided a timely invitation.