FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Panthernation]

If you missed it, we were live tweeting today's game, so that provides a bit of a game summary for those who weren't there (including a video of the game ending interception): https://twitter.com/MiddPantherBlog

It was a thriller, for sure. Mac and his receivers made some great plays down the stretch, especially the bomb to Rankowitz setting up the first and goal with over a minute remaining. Middlebury's defense contained Bunker and Crick — 90 yards rushing combined. If they don't stop Bunker on three consecutive runs, the offense never gets the ball back. Middlebury won at the line of scrimmage, a reflection of changes in both programs over the past year. Coach Devanney's 8th career loss (in eight seasons!) ends a 15 game winning streak for Trinity.

[Panthernation]

Also worth mentioning Trinity was without top wideout AJ Jones and Middlebury was without top two running backs Matt Rea and Joey Zelkowitz. Senior Ryan Hislop, entering the game with 39 career yards, was explosive and relentless, finished with 69 yards.

[FourMoreYears]

Sorry for the delay in this post as I've been attempting to track down Ed Armbrister to interview for an article I'm writing entitled: "Controversial World Series calls and Their Effect on Future Betting Lines."  Attended the Bowdoin-Wesleyan football game on Saturday.  A good effort by the Polar Bears against a superior team.  No quit in the Bears, as they battled without Griffin Cardew, arguably their best player.  AlDavis mentions the late throw by Whalen for a TD (15 seconds left and up by two scores). In my opinion it was an emotional reaction to the timeouts called by Caputi.  It's all well and good and all's fair in love and war but that sort of emotional reaction is going to bite Whalen in the ass someday. mark my words.  Wesleyan has a very good football team but they're going to have to play better than they did on Saturday to break that epic streak they got going on down there in Trinity.

As far as AlDavis goes, it was real nice to meet him.  Unlike some others, he took the time to show up, took the time to hang out, took the time to exchange some real nice conversation.  Yes, he is real and if any of you stuffed shirts took the time to get to know him you'd probably actually like him.  Perhaps this scares you.  But I have found this to be true with most people in life, and I suspect if we had a room with Frank, Amh63, AlDavis, Nescacman and all of the other nuts on this board, we'd all leave friends.  Okay, it might take some alcohol to make this happen, but it would.  Is AlDavis perfect?  No way.  First of all, you don't waste lobstaah on an omelette unless you are from "away."  Also, everybody knows the early bird specials at the Brunswick Diner are from 6p-8p so Al buddy was just overpaying at 4:44am.  Last but not least, the cute blonde waitress doesn't come to work til 6am and you get served by the 100 year old lady with a cigarette dangling out of her mouth, so why bother otherwise.  Bottom line: I'm already making plans to meet up with AlDavis next year and catch up.  Like John Lennon once sang: "All we are say ... ing ... is give Al a chance". 

Now can we loosen up the admissions at Bowdoin like they have at some of the other NESCAC schools? :-)

[amh63]

4moreyrs....nice post to stir the pot on this board.  Guess you want to join the other "nuts" on the board.
I'll take the hook.  It will take more than admission flexibility to get better players into the Maine schools.
Looking over the fine websites of the Maine schools, there must be a reason for the schools to feature their award winning dinning halls!
Alerted by IAMHUGH's game stats,  I decided to check the box of the Tufts game....having settled down a bit after watching the last 4 min. of the Middlebury win.  Surprised to find that Amherst had run 100 plays! Tufts ran 60 plays as both teams played an uptempo offense.  Amherst had over 500 yds of offense. Yet, the final score was 17-7.   Went to the Williams game to check the stats....expecting an Ephs significant advantage there, based on the 24-0 score....it showed that Hamilton's stats were about even with Williams.  Hamilton even had more first downs!   Where am I'm going?  Final scores do not tell the whole story really.
Another, stat that does tell a story, however.....Foote's passing attempts.  Since his 80 passes in the game with Amherst, a lost, Foote has won his recent games by passing only about 50 times/game...more or less.  In the Williams lost, the Ephs' QB threw more passes than Foote.
Guess it finally has hit me that to win in this conference, a team needs a good defense and a balanced attack.  To win big...a great defense is required.  Coach Mills' rebuilding of the defensive line, etc. is going well, imo.  Midd won yesterday by stopping Trinity's running game at critical points.  Maybe, just maybe, Amherst has a chance to win next week when Trinity comes to Amherst.

[FourMoreYears]

4moreyrs....nice post to stir the pot on this board.  Guess you want to join the other "nuts" on the board.
I'll take the hook.  It will take more than admission flexibility to get better players into the Maine schools.

Not intending to "stir" anything kind stir!  It's just a statement of opinion, and unlike some I do not consider a differing opinion to be the sign of a "nut".  It's all good, and am glad you feel good about your school.

Truth is, there are many factors involved in building a winning football program.  Admissions, location, reputation, prior success on the gridiron, coaching etc etc the list goes on and on.  Schools in Maine are on the short end of the stick on many factors, if not most.  In the end, we can talk all we want about wins etc, but all I want is for my son to get a great education.  I suspect he shall, and that allows me to sleep at night.

[nescac1]

The last two weeks for James Howe: 13 tackles, two fumbles recovered, one fumble forced, a ridiculous 7.5 sacks, one additional tackle for loss, zero defensive POW honors. I realize the competition was not top flight, but even accounting for that, that is simply an insane level of productivity for a DL.   Not sure what more he needs to do to receive a bit of recognition ... Can't even give him a co-POW???

Darrias Sime is turning into a real force for the Ephs on the offensive end.  Williams has a very nice sophomore class and they are starting to come into their own.  But the veterans will need to step it up if they hope to have a prayer next week. 

[Nescacparent]

@nescac1 - certainly the player you mentioned made excellent use of his time of the field against Hamilton and Tufts, if he can be similarly productive against Wes and Amherst hopefully DPOTW awards will come his way. Also, does Williams play a 5 defensive man line which seems to be unusual in the NESCAC? If so, could that have something to do with the d-line stats? Many other teams are heavier on linebackers and go with a 3 man defensive line, in those teams the higher defensive stats come from the linebackers.

[Panthernation]

@nescac1 - certainly the player you mentioned made excellent use of his time of the field against Hamilton and Tufts, if he can be similarly productive against Wes and Amherst hopefully DPOTW awards will come his way. Also, does Williams play a 5 defensive man line which seems to be unusual in the NESCAC? If so, could that have something to do with the d-line stats? Many other teams are heavier on linebackers and go with a 3 man defensive line, in those teams the higher defensive stats come from the linebackers.

Pretty hard to attribute 7.5 sacks in two games to scheme (and not sure Williams does anything unique that would explain the sacks anyway). Howe should have been DPOW at least once.

[AlDavis]

ok...it's 2:30 AM in the Morning of this Monday of the week of the Williams game and have already broken down my Bootleg Williams Game Film Tape and Hell Naaaawl Williams you are Strait Bhuda as fuk and your record says you are and Bill Parcells sayz you are what your record iz.....Bhuda azz Frank bro do you know where your wins are at 2:3O AM in the morning on Monday of the Week of the Wesleyan Game , ofcourse you don't because you are sleeping fool and you are getting lazy azz phat sitting around talking about how great you iz and and how great hard your admissions are was and iz.......I got Strait Heat in August stating the 4-4 and the Dead on Over / Under Wins for all these NESCAC teams , but I will now admit that I cheated as I already new the answers for the 2013 season last November watching the Trinity at Wesleyan game and seeing what Wesleyan was on the verge of becoming , my son committed to Coach Whalen the next day , I am not an educated man as stated before but am the smartest person in every room and that includes you Williams and Amherst , and it was a very easy decision at that......so as stated many times for the record there will be no more Little 3 for you in the near future as long as I am rooting it in , that's just howz it going to be and if you knew me then you would know then that's your fate....what Wesleyan is about to accomplish this Saturday is an Epic Turnaround of historical proportions....No Little 3 since 1970 is a very long time , so I can understand why Amherst and Williams have their attitude , but you must adjust to the times and the time will now be and is Wesleyan O'clock on the hour , every hour , and once you lose control it is very hard to get that control  back , I once lost control and was left for dead and homeless and has taken over a decade to come for my enemies and pass them in real life and that is the passion I see at Wesleyan Football........and we are just talking football here again , but the passion and importance of being an Epic Student Athlete is off the charts at Wesleyan and can't be undersold by anyone's snotty attitude.....tick , tock Williams , tick ,tock , tick , tock as I will start Stank Ass Frank off this Monday Morning with a quote from one of the great homies that ever put pen to paper  William Faulkner ...." I Give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire....I give it to you not that you may remember time , but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all you breath trying to conquer it"......Thusly In Conclusion : there will be no Little 3 this year , next year , the year after that  and as long as I root this in....be careful who you piss off again Frank , be very careful and of course now be very afraid ( and we just talking football here ) because this "Sound and the Fury" this Saturday has been years in the making and one more quote before I head out for some Home Invasions by Alice Cooper "Welcome to My Nightmare".....everyone else that doesn't owe me money have a happy Monday.

[nescac1]

Williams plays a pretty basic 4-3 defense.  In such a defense the defensive ends are the primary pass rushers.  But it's rare that a 4-3 defensive end gets 7.5 sacks in a season in NESCAC, let alone in two games.  (The other starting DE has 3.5 sacks on the season e.g.).  And it's not like Howe is the beneficiary of other guys dominating, as he is by far the best player, and likely the only all-NESCAC player (next year for Datema maybe) on the Eph front seven.  Indeed he leads the Ephs in tackles which is very rare for an interior linemen, and now leads NESCAC in both sacks and tackles for loss.   In all events he will have his chance on the big stage this week.  Although I imagine Wesleyan will scheme for him so other guys have to step up.  The Eph LBs have been an unusually anonymous bunch this year, with no one guy really being a stand out.   Wesleyan's RBs will certainly get into the second level, so it would be great timing for one of the young Eph LBs to make a name for himself, which has really yet to happen this season.

[frank uible]

How soon we forget! Some NESCAC sackmasters from the not too distant past - 2011, Ferber (Amherst), 11 sacks for the season; 2009, Duggan (Bowdoin), 9; 2008, Birns (Williams), 8; 2006, Ryan (Middlebury), 15.5; 2005, Ryan (Bates), 10.5.

[nescac1]

I didn't say it was unheard of -- I'm just saying 7.5 sacks is an impressive figure for an eight game season, let alone a two-game stretch.  And that is pretty august company, particularly Ferber and Ryan, who were two of the best NESCAC defenders of the past decade.  Howe has undoubtedly been the brightest spot in a tougher than anticipated season for the Ephs, overall. 

[AlDavis]

damn its now 2:30 pm and I just woke up , and now way behind schedule , but no worries as it is Wesleyan O'clock on the hour , every hour for this week....deciphering these defensive stats can be tricky and I do believe other teams are being very generous doling out the half tackles and / or a true testament to how solid the Wesleyan Defense is as not counting the first game where the local freshman sensation went off with 11 tackles , the leading tackler for Wesleyan has been 8 and then 5 and then 8 and then 7 and then this past week 5 , where as other teams it has been 19  or 17 or 15 , so definitely misleading..... it was nice to meet and talk to the Wesleyan O-Line Coach Ludwig this past Saturday as I observed his tenacious coaching style of his Nice Livestock during the Bowdoin game and then how the luv and appreciation he shows his pharm animals after the game on a job well done....if the NESCAC kept track of Pancake Blocks the Wesleyan O-Line would top the charts there and then throw in Coach Giaimo's Tight End Stock , everyone including my Prison Friends are very , very impressed....If you are a Blue Chip Tight End or parent of a Blue -Chipper Tight End you need to call Coach Giaimo......and even though that last TD could be construed a little salty , it was very cool for the Back Up Tight End #87 to get a TD as he has switched positions and Jersey Numbers and Team Player and seeing that he is from Maine must have been a great special moment for him and his friends and family.......and to my new Bowdoin friends much respect and always very impressed and humbled by great people and history and to meet some of the Bowdoin Legends from their famous 1960's teams was way cool and to 4MoreYears whos father has passed on and part of those Legendary Teams must be very proud of his grandson doing his thing out there for the Polar Bears......and yes 4MoreYears I unlike these great NESCAC Football Student Athletes I do not have great Time Management Skills so I tend to be out of whack sometimes and still do stupid dumb things like order a Lobster Omelette at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons .....and hell yes the lady behind the counter was strait from last weeks episode of the Walking Dead and I think she liked me and I did have to get the hell out of there before she took a bite out of me......and Frank , yeah you Frank , Whats Up Bro , throw me a one - liner now bihhhh!!!!!

[Nescacman]

Wesleyan tops this weeks New England D3 Poll supplanting former #1 Trinity

http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/football/link-resources/poll.html

[amh63]

Nescacman...thanks for the info.   
In a conference of no post season play and a short 8 game season,  I  see such a poll of little value except for recruiting purposes.  On that point, it is interesting that the poll link is to the Cardinal website.
In other sports, where teams can compete in the post season,  website stories often refer to team rankings...on a regional and national stage.