FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[lumbercat]

The article in the Bowdoin Orient paints a grim depiction of the situation with The Polar Bears between academic probation, guys quitting the team and non returning players. Don't believe it can be that bad.

I know Wells has reached within and added at least 2 top athletes to the roster. One is Brandon Lopez who was a great RB from Governors Prep. He did not play football last year as an FY but was starting CF for the baseball team. He has exceptional speed and will help the Polar Bears in some capacity.
There were also indications that a couple of their top leadership guys were returning for a fifth year.

The situation seems exaggerated but I guess we will find out when they post the final roster. In recent years the roster usually posts just hours before the season opener.

[polbear73]

Thanks, Lumbercat. You talked me off the ledge for another week!

[quicksilver]

Indeed, Lumbercat, thanks for the good info. Brandon Lopez was the offensive MVP in the ISL during his senior year at Governor's. It was a bit of a head scratcher when he did not show up on the Bowdoin roster as a FY.

[ColbyFootball]

Still hoping for some Colby news. Does the defense look solid? How is the offense looking with the new OC? After 1 win each of the past 2 years can they scare any of the big boys like Middlebury or Amherst?

[IslandTime]

A preaching to the choir comment.
Nothing but Nescac has several more football previews.  The lineups...proposed....are the most interesting.  Of course, Midd, Bowdoin, and Amherst awaits
Amherst invades Midd today in many sports.....be kind Panthers....the school with the best helmets,imo.

Best helmets for sure. Midd also upgraded to Nike uniforms so look for some new style this fall. I think my Panthers are in a primed position to surprise the CAC. Great senior leadership and lots of youth talent. Week 3 (vs amherst) could very well determine who has a path to challenge Trinity for the top spot.

I am traveling up from Florida in order to see this game. Amherst also has a JV game schedule against Williams that same weekend Sunday. With my son being an Amherst FY, I am hopeful he gets some special teams playing time on Saturday against Midd and then a healthy dose of middle linebacker action on Sunday. I am concerned about Williams participating in any JV games this season considering they cancelled this weekend's scrimmage.

We took an official visit to Midd and we were very impressed with the total package. Coaches, obviously facilities, campus and players we were lucky to meet while there. They are certainly fired up and have high expectations for this season.

A small note on the Amherst Intrasquad scrimmage on Friday. I watched it and the defense is pretty ferocious and flies around the field. They definately won the day, but Berluti can certainly sling the rock and they have two older backs that are legit and a FY running back that is borderline ridiculous.

Looking forward to this weekend's games and digging into some NESCAC football.
My UCF KNIGHTS lost a heartbreaker in double OT to Maryland.

Go AMHERST!!!

[amh63]

IslandTime....at least your school played the Terps tough...not like the No2 Seminoles being blown out by Louiville.  Crazy early part of the big boys season.
Middpanther Pride.....what is this "upgrade" to Nike uniforms?  Amherst is going to UnderArmour...founded by a Terp football player...from Nike.  What uniform  company did Midd drop?
Just kidding around here.   Has any football team ever use tear away uniforms??

[lumbercat]

Amh63

Middlebury dropped New Balance for football and switched to Nike.
Amherst and Bates both going from Adidas to Under Armor for the entire athletic program. Not sure when the Bates Adidas Football commitment actually ends.

As for tear away jerseys surely you remember the big time teams in the late 60"s- early 70's mostly in the SEC and the old Southwest Conference where tear away jerseys were the norm. They were declared illegal sometime thereafter.

As for tear aways in the NESCAC only one team ever deployed them to my memory.....you guessed it, Trinity.

[amh63]

Lumbercat....Thanks!  Plus K

[JEFFFAN]

A preaching to the choir comment.
Nothing but Nescac has several more football previews.  The lineups...proposed....are the most interesting.  Of course, Midd, Bowdoin, and Amherst awaits
Amherst invades Midd today in many sports.....be kind Panthers....the school with the best helmets,imo.

Best helmets for sure. Midd also upgraded to Nike uniforms so look for some new style this fall. I think my Panthers are in a primed position to surprise the CAC. Great senior leadership and lots of youth talent. Week 3 (vs amherst) could very well determine who has a path to challenge Trinity for the top spot.

I am traveling up from Florida in order to see this game. Amherst also has a JV game schedule against Williams that same weekend Sunday. With my son being an Amherst FY, I am hopeful he gets some special teams playing time on Saturday against Midd and then a healthy dose of middle linebacker action on Sunday. I am concerned about Williams participating in any JV games this season considering they cancelled this weekend's scrimmage.

We took an official visit to Midd and we were very impressed with the total package. Coaches, obviously facilities, campus and players we were lucky to meet while there. They are certainly fired up and have high expectations for this season.

A small note on the Amherst Intrasquad scrimmage on Friday. I watched it and the defense is pretty ferocious and flies around the field. They definately won the day, but Berluti can certainly sling the rock and they have two older backs that are legit and a FY running back that is borderline ridiculous.

Looking forward to this weekend's games and digging into some NESCAC football.
My UCF KNIGHTS lost a heartbreaker in double OT to Maryland.

Go AMHERST!!!

Do we know the name of the FY running back?

[IslandTime]

 # 26 Elijah Ngbokoli

Link to profile:
http://athletics.amherst.edu/sports/fball/2016-17/bios/ngbokoli_elijah_3qcs

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

Some quick comments:

From a Colby dad.....  Mules are improved over 2015, but staff feeling the heat.  Hoping to catch the Ephs off guard.

From an Eph dad.....  Ephs cancelled the Amherst scrimmage (and really screwed Amherst in the process).  Ephs had no choice... 57 healthy guys in pads on Sat, with a few stragglers on the sideline.  (Ephs basically have 60 players.)  Skill players include frosh in the starting mix, and the new linemen are very out of shape.  QB competition looks like 2 frosh.... One is a runner.... One is a passer.  Neither weighs more than 170 lbs.   Going to be a long season in Ephville.

From a Lord Jeff dad......  Berluti is slinging it, Offense is a work in progress, and the Defensive depth (despite the graduations) has made for a brutal competition.  Expect the LJ's to compete well, and that the NESCAC championship STILL goes through Amherst (despite the 3 away games at Middlebury (who still needs to prove they have a running game before they can be considered top tier), at Wes, and at Trinity.  "27" (in a row) and 31 - 1 is the goal for this year's senior class.

[nescac1]

Man, talk about the rich getting richer for Amherst -- the Jeffs already has three absolute stud RBs.  Soph Hickey would be the main man and a star almost anywhere else. 

The Williams pre-season preview is out and, consistent with other reports here, it sure is depressing for Eph fans.  Only 70 guys on the roster, which will certainly be whittled down further over time by injuries and such.  Neither potential QB has thrown a varsity pass and the Soph didn't even play QB last year.  Neither starting receiver (one of whom is a frosh) have caught a varsity pass.  The starting TE is a converted QB who weighed less than 200 pounds last year.  One of the starting tackles is a converted FB who was 220 pounds last year.   It seems that last year's K/P did not return so Regensburg, the only returning WR who has any experience, is forced into a WR/K/P role.  TB seems like the only position where the Ephs are in decent shape on offense.  Defense seems not quite as bleak, but there is also not a lot of depth of talent there, as the Ephs are starting a frosh at safety and two sophomores (no seniors) on the DL. 

When a coach says "We will take the current roster and maximize it the best we can" that is about as negative a prognosis as you will ever get in the pre-season. Basically, it means (accurately) my successor left me with very little to work with, and I am further hampered by the lack of a full recruiting class due to the timing of the change, but we'll do the best we can to change the culture of the program.  It's probably gonna take Raymond two full recruiting classes and a LOT of help from admissions (which to be fair to Kelton he didn't really receive, but still, he could have done much, much better even within those constraints) to rebuild the talent base.  The good news for the future is that the Ephs are only starting three seniors on offense (all on the OL, including the aforementioned converted FB) and four on defense (none of whom have been all-NESCAC players) so things can only possibly improve after this season.  But this season is gonna be rough ... still, with Coach Raymond and a very, very strong staff surrounding him, I am confident that Williams football will return to NESCAC relevance before the current frosh class graduate. 

http://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/fball/2016-17/releases/20160917u53dxa

[Rte27Driver]

Just a note on the Williams preview - Kent Blaeser who is listed as being a sophomore starting on OL is actually a junior. He red-shirted two seasons due to a repeat shoulder injury.

Will be at the game Saturday!

[nescac1]

Thanks Rte27 Driver.  The interior of the Eph offensive line is a potential team strength -- a ton of size and experience and Wertz should be a an excellent center.  With two solid RBs the Ephs might be able to get some solid running up the middle.  The edges are a much bigger unknown and of course the passing game is a COMPLETE unknown, I mean, has there ever in recent NESCAC history been a team without a single varsity pass completed or caught in the QB/WR/TE unit??  I imagine the Ephs will try to mix it up with the running QB and passing QB to try to keep defenses off balance, at least. And hopefully the young WRs have some talent ...

[ITH radio]

Well Coach Ray did take an 0-10 SLU team and turn them into league champs after a couple of years, so I have faith if given time and resources, he can do the same at WC.