FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[frank uible]

Over the past dozen or so years Bates has managed to attract an increasingly improving caliber of player personnel.

[lumbercat]

Frank- You're right -It was a late one last night as I was up following a great Patriots win- needed an extra coffee this morning. I will watch the Amherst-Middlebury tape tonight- that will put me to sleep early.

[amh63]

Lumbercat...Nice! .  Here is something to look for in the LJs vs. Panther game....that may keep you awake.  It was a battle of defenses in the rain.  Panthers' running game stopped while Amherst's ground game thrived.
In an previous post, I mentioned I " studied" the lineups for once...being nervous about the game. I noticed the starting center for MIddlebury was listed at 245 lbs.  a little small in the case of Amherst's replacement nose guard..in a 3-4 defensive line set up.  NG is listed at 300 pounds and has a moter. If you listen to the announcer, NG Johnson's name comes up quite frequently.  He is credited with 2.5 sacks...Both teams had 4 sacks apiece.  Problem I foresaw and seemed to play out was the Midd's center was overmatched. Johnson had been found in the backfield of opponents in other games.  He had to be double teamed...was not and the RBs of Midd got nowhere between the tackles.  no help was coming...why?  Amherst's returning 1st team all conference DE needed to be double teamed.  Even Midd's big senior OTs cannot stop  Mr. Lehrman alone... Refer to last year's game.  Max did not get his usual backfield stops/ sacks....the double team on him allowed Mr. Johnson to roam the backfield.  Max will switch sides to avoid the TE help.
This post may cause the few remaining friends I may have to depart.

[lumbercat]

Amh63
That's interesting- I thought the real stud on the Aherst D line was Perdoni who goes around 285. thought they played him on the nose but maybe hes a DT-but believe he has been out with injury?

[amh63]

Lumbercat....Perdoni played NG last year and Johnson would relieve him.  In the first interview with Coach Mills, he mention an injury at NG.  Perdoni is not listed on the roster.  Johnson has stepped up it seems.  The inside linebackers...both Captains...thrive when the NG plug up the middle as they shoot the gaps.  One of the ILB is a returning first team all conf. player and needs special attention too.  The other Captain....calls out the defensive schemes and also makes a ton of stops.  One thing the defensive side players all have is speed to quickly respond.
Oh yes...in Amherst...the h is silent...not the M....just kidding around.

[Nescacman]

Breaking News: Williams uses ineligible player; played in 2 games
Sources tell us that Williams College 5th year senior running back, Alex Scyocurka, played his first two games of 2014 while ineligible. Scyocurka is what is called a medical red-shirt. That means during his 4 years at Williams, he was injured during one of those years and thus unable to play. Before a player is eligible to play a 5th red-shirt year, the college is required to file and have approved paperwork from the NCAA. The paperwork typically takes up to 3 months to approve. Our source tells us that Williams did not file this paperwork until last week just before Williams game with Bates College. The reason, according to the source, was simply that they "forgot" to file the paperwork. The NCAA approved the application before the game with Bates, however, the 5th year senior played in his first two games before this application was approved by the NCAA. In those two games, Williams lost to Trinity and beat Bowdoin. It is unclear if the NESCAC or Bowdoin will require Williams to forfeit the win over Bowdoin and what Scyocurka's status is for the remainder of the 2014 season.

[madzillagd]

Or no one has to ask for a forfeit at all. Just a thought but we aren't exactly talking about which of these teams is going to finish in 1st place.  Seems like a bit of a nonevent.

[gridiron]

As members of the NCAA, I would think that a forfeit would be imposed by the organization itself, rather than by the individual schools.  Incredible oversight, really.

[PolarCat]

Wow.  Just wow.    That's a glaring omission.  Is that a Kelton lapse or an AD lapse?

Under the circumstances, I think Williams should voluntarily forfeit the Bowdoin game.  No reason why the Bowdoin AD or HCOF should be put in the position of being the "bad guy" and asking the Ephs to forfeit.

The flip side is I can't fathom why the player would miss the balance of the season for an oversight that was apparently not of his making.  He was very impressive, indeed, last Saturday, and it would be an injustice to sit him in his final year.

[PolarCat]

Or no one has to ask for a forfeit at all. Just a thought but we aren't exactly talking about which of these teams is going to finish in 1st place.  Seems like a bit of a nonevent.

If college football was like pre-school soccer and no one cared about W-L records, I'd agree with you.  But since coaches are hired and fired, and programs are evaluated by players, recruits and parents based on their records, I don't.  A monumental screw up like this should have consequences.

[frank uible]

Let's get the bureaucrats involved. Let's get the politicians involved. Let's get the lawyers involved. Let's get the deal makers involved. Let's get the money people involved. That'll work to improve the undergraduate experience of the student-athletes!

[PolarCat]

Or maybe we should send the kids the message that details aren't important, and rules don't need to be followed.  That seems to be the direction the world is headed these days, so maybe that's a good "education."

In the world I grew up in, if you didn't pay attention and broke the rules, you paid the consequences.  But nowadays, football players can beat their wife in an elevator, or whip their kid's scrotum with a switch and get away with it.  So maybe I'm just living in the last century.

[FourMoreYears]

Let's get the bureaucrats involved. Let's get the politicians involved. Let's get the lawyers involved. Let's get the deal makers involved. Let's get the money people involved. That'll work to improve the undergraduate experience of the student-athletes!

Nobody has to get anybody involved.
Williams could just do the right thing and forfeit any game in which they used an ineligible player.

[Nescacman]

Breaking News: Williams uses ineligible player; played in 2 games
Sources tell us that Williams College 5th year senior running back, Alex Scyocurka, played his first two games of 2014 while ineligible. Scyocurka is what is called a medical red-shirt. That means during his 4 years at Williams, he was injured during one of those years and thus unable to play. Before a player is eligible to play a 5th red-shirt year, the college is required to file and have approved paperwork from the NCAA. The paperwork typically takes up to 3 months to approve. Our source tells us that Williams did not file this paperwork until last week just before Williams game with Bates College. The reason, according to the source, was simply that they "forgot" to file the paperwork. The NCAA approved the application before the game with Bates, however, the 5th year senior played in his first two games before this application was approved by the NCAA. In those two games, Williams lost to Trinity and beat Bowdoin. It is unclear if the NESCAC or Bowdoin will require Williams to forfeit the win over Bowdoin and what Scyocurka's status is for the remainder of the 2014 season.

Just one follow-up comment...we asked our sources who typically files these applications with the NCAA. Typically in the NESCAC it is the sports head coaches responsibility. However, not sure who has that responsibility at Williams.

[amh63]

I hope it is not the HFC at Williams.  It is an unusual situation when one thinks about it.  The student-player must have discussed coming back for another year with his coach.  Arrangement must have been made for Classes, room, and possible financial aid support, etc.  When practices started, one would think, someone checked as to the progress of the papers at the NCAA if not earlier.
Position coaches cover the details in their areas and often are assigned other duties.
What is troubling here is what happened to cause someone to inquire about the NCAA approval...to then expedite a request for approval. 
Sad situationn.  Last season, L. Lewis at Amherst came back for his 5th season...having missed his senior year.  He got his diploma mid year...yet came back in May to walk across the stage in front of family and friends....the important pomp and ceremony to mark the end of his college career/ days.