FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[frank uible]

A little internet research seems to reveal that the epigram about the Johnstown flood and the Altoona toilet originated with Stanley Woodward, once sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune, addressing a Red Blaik excuse for an Army loss. Apropos this thread, Rufus Stanley Wodward apparently was a member of Amherst's class of 1917.

[amh63]

NESCACInsider....thanks for the key facts.  It seems that Wes. needs improvements in their kicking game...but it could be the weather and good play by the Hamilton defense.  I get the early version of the Wash. Post in Maryland (I guess I am in the sticks).  Anyway, it was surprising to see some D3 NESCAC scores listed.  The Amherst-Bowdoin game was listed and the Hamilton-Wesley score....note the wrong spelling of the Cardinals.  Guess Wes. cannot get any respect on the sports page here.  The Trinity-Williams game and other conference games were not listed.....too late or space limitations?
Banfan....did your wife actually say that word that I also cannot spell?....or was it that unmentionable word that starts with an "A"?
I guess Williams also needs improvement in its special team's play.  It could have been the weather conditions.  Amherst's field was quite muddy and caused problems for players on both sides as well as both teams.
Are any posters surprised by the play of Midd so far and "lack" of play by Tufts and Colby.  Too bad there are few Midd and Colby posters on board.

[ephfan1]

Weather was not an issue at Trinity. 

[banfan]

I will say it.  The Ephs were not very good.  If Trinity had a short, high percentage passing game, the score would have been much more one sided.  I think the coaching staff was holding back about 85% of the play book in preparation for next week's battle against the undefeated Hamilton Continentals.  How come they are named after a car?

The Willies had bad punting.  Their number 1 was great but he can't throw AND catch the ball.

I won't even respond to the whining excuses that frank has already noted.  If I were Amherst, I would be getting excited.

Patooti was my word amh63 "told ya so" were the wife's.

[amh63]

Banfan.....after my last post, I realize that your wife would not speak such a word.....I apologize to her for the inference.  The only woman who would get close would be my daughter, an Amherst grad., who would sometimes state "butt" as in kick their...... when Amherst met Williams in a sporting event. Alas,  the result of youth, her classic education in the liberal arts and a type "A" personality.  She likes to win.
A bit of info wrt to some posters (if you haven't figured it out yet).  Nescac1 and Frank U. are both Williams graduates and ex-football players.  Frank is always challenging me wrt to his Williams education versus my Amherst one.....we both attended our schools in the ancient days of all male enrollment and two way players, etc.
Bit of trival Frank, the senior sports writer for the Wash. Post, Tom Boswell, is an Amherst graduate in the class of 1969.  His preferred sport is baseball and he had a "betting" relationship with the late owner of the Yankees for decades....between the outcome of Amherst and Williams sporting events.  No, he didn't influence the non reporting of the Trinity-Williams game.  Maybe it was due to nescac1, who also lives in the D.C. area and has alot of influence.

[Pat Coleman]

I'm pretty sure most newspapers just lift what's on the Associated Press wire for scores at any given time to decide what goes in the paper. Some will pick just the version with the D-I scores and some will take the long version, but I really doubt any newspapers are collecting out-of-area small-college scores on their own.

[nescac1]

First, I did not say that Williams lost because of injuries.  Trinity was the better team this year, and hopefully Williams will be the better team next time they play -- as usual, it was a close game between two very talented programs.  Injuries are a part of football and effect everyone.  All I said that it was a gutty performance by Williams to lose so many key guys before or during the game, get way behind against a great defense on the road, yet still hang in and come back to make it interesting.  Nothing wrong with looking for a silver lining in a loss, but a loss, in the end, is still a loss.  And I agree that the young QB should / will probably see a lot more time going forward.  The Ephs have a lot to work on and will continue to improve: they most definitely need to work on their kicking game in particular.  I think the running game will improve with Scyocurka back and against front sevens that are not as strong as Trinity's, but they will definitely lose a close game due to kicking this year at the rate things are going ...

Banfan, I guarantee that Trinity did not "hold back" any of their playbook in what is usually the biggest game of the year for the Bants.  They won the game, enjoy it, there is no need to insult a team that gave Trinity a very good run for its money under difficult conditions.  Williams came within one penalty overturning an onside kick of having the ball in position to tie the game.  And once again, the game was fairly even in yardage.  So while Trinity was definitely the better team, they weren't in a different league or anything, or holding back.  If they were, that would make their coach stupid, and he is most definitely not stupid.  Just like Williams was better than Trinity last year, but I would never say that last year's Trinity team simply wasn't good, or that the Ephs were holding anything back.  When these two teams play, they always give it everything they have. 

Oh, and I did not play football at Williams, amh63. 

[banfan]

I guess I have to put those tic's in so that my humor is not misunderstood.

nescac1 I did not actually think that we held back anything.  I do think our playbook was lacking.  We showed no short passing game.  Our down field passing was great but our sprint out passing is a very difficult play.  It was not successful very much if at all.  I give Jennings credit for throwing the ball away when he had no receiver open.  That is something that the Ephs QB's need to do better.  You may think that the Wilies running game stinks and maybe it does.  But the Trinity front 7 is very good and loaded with experience.  We also were in the lead the whole game so you had to pass more.

I do think that every penalty against Trinity was stupid and significant.

I am not sure how I insulted the Willies football team.  My comment about holding back was a joke designed to get under your skin which it apparently did.  Other than three or four BOMBS did you honestly think that Williams played a great game?  Their kicking stunk, their running stunk.  If Trinity had a short passing game like you had, drives would have been kept alive, your D would not have keyed on our running game.  By the way, at Colby we threw the ball 12 times and against Williams FOURTEEN times.  What if we had a passing game?

Also, when I said that Amherst should be excited?, that was another zinger but one that is a little more real.  Also, Amherst should be excited about the Willies game but SCARED TO FRICKIN' DEATH of the Trinity game.  The latter was for the Amherst crowd.

Speaking of crowds, I was a little disappointed in the Williams turnout.  Was everyone at MIT watching the soccer team?  (I shouldn't post in the morning with all this caffeine coursing through my veins.)

And where are those Continental Mark IV fans??

[Trin9-0]

My guess is that, at worst, Williams is one of the top 3 teams in the NESCAC this year. I'll be surprised if they lose another game before taking on Amherst and they could certainly finish 7-1 with the possibility of still sharing the league title.

There does, finally, appear to be a level of parity in the league although it looks to be in the bottom half of the standings.
Hamilton is off to a great start but I'm not buying them as a legitimate contender until I see how they fare against Trinity in Hartford. Midd & Wes are average at best and none of the Maine teams nor Tufts look very scary.

Trinity has a legit shot to run the table this year, not because they are particularly dominant, but because I think it's a down year in the NESCAC. Yes, the Trinity defensive front is tremendous and they have several very good backs but they could be in trouble if they find themselves trailing and they need to throw the ball to win.

I could be all wrong and I admit it is still very early but it looks to me like the Bantams and Jeffs are on a collision course to decide the league on November 5th.

[TheHerst2and4]

I could be all wrong and I admit it is still very early but it looks to me like the Bantams and Jeffs are on a collision course to decide the league on November 5th.

Love the idea, not entirely confident with its prospects. Amherst always seems to face a bump in the road somewhere pre-Trinity, even if it is against a "less talented" team. Previously it was Bowdoin or Middlebury, this year I'll probably be holding my breath until post Wesleyan. Both Coach Whalen and Ritter have done well against the Jeffs, and the lack of passing numbers in Amherst's blur offense has me a little nervous.
All things considered it seems like this will be a fun year to watch everything play out.

[amh63]

I am getting better, I believe, with this new form of communication and the benefits that it can bring.....then I still prefer my fountain pen.  I enjoyed the webcast of the Amherst-Bowdoin game, in particular the broadcasters that were most knowledgeable about the game and players.  Missed the comment, if any, of the QB situation at Amherst.  Was also pleased to get the archived Trinity-Williams game on the Williams website of all places!  It does seem that the backup Williams QB should start...considering the talent Williams has in WRs.  The kicking game, the punts in particular, at Williams needs an overhaul.  I will state here that Amherst has the best kicking game in the conference...knock on wood.
Like TheHerst2and4, I am really worried wrt to Amherst's passing game....more like the lack of.  Amherst has, IMO, wide receivers that are as talented as Williams, but if you cannot get the ball to them on time or whatever, you will be single dimensional on offense.  I did like the use of Amherst's big back from New Hampshire.....he is a load.  The bad field conditions didn't allow Silva's speed to blossom.
In my limited read of Amherst to date, I believe there is more depth on both the offensive and defensive line.  The offensive line is bigger and just as agile as last year.  As stated before, the defense last year faded badly in the second half against both Trinity and Williams.  With more experience and depth, I think the coaches are working to avoid the drop in the late periods of games.
What is your read TheHerst2and4?  A modest and reserved poster, TheHerst was a great leader and a captain on a good Amherst team...defensive side.  He was also a captain and a key defensive player on a great Amherst BB team.
Last comment and a dig that might stir the pot a bit.   One of the announcers on the Trinity broadcast of the game kept referring to Williams being from Melford..in the purple valley and the players from Melford.  Oh well.

[jumpshot]

Nice try,Amh63. Even the NCAA has been able to find Williams thirteen years in a row to present the Directors Cup, ESPN Game Day is still looking for Amherst...etc.

[nescac1]

Two NESCAC notes.  Nice article on Amherst's Mike Aldo, who seemed to come out of nowhere this year, and in a sense he did: hasn't played since 2007 (!) due to injuries, etc.:

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/concord/2011/09/middlesex_grad_returns_from_in.html

Seems like he will be a star for the Jeffs for the next few years if he can stay healthy. 

The top frosh skill guy in the conference so far seems to be Ladarius Drew of Wesleyan, one of the top rushers in NESCAC so far.  As I noted a month or so back, he received the type of recruiting interest that is rare for a NESCAC player, and his 40 time, if accurate, is pretty crazy for a NESCAC RB (4.49):

http://rivals.yahoo.com/bostoncollege/football/recruiting/player-LaDarius-Drew-108906

Apparently, he is living up to the hype ... although defenses are going to be stacking the box on him all year unless Wesleyan opens things up a bit. 

[frank uible]

Currently Drew is the #3 NESCAC rusher at 104 yards per game - barring injury he as a frosh ought to improve rapidly.  Wesleyan appears to be a year ahead of your correspondent's earlier forecasted schedule for it to become a bone fide contender certainly for the Little Three and possibly for NESCAC!

[amh63]

Thanks nescac1 for pointing to the Aldo article!  It is what makes our conference great....to have his family watch his first college game and being able to make an impact.  In the noted preview by the Amherst coach on the Bowdoin game, the coach was also touched by Aldo's showing and his hard work.  In the Bowdoin game, Aldo had a sack by using his speed, etc.  His play was limited in the second half when he had his bell rung during a special team event.....kickoff/punt.  He was walked off the field.  Hope he is ready to participate in the upcoming Midd. game.