FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[johnp]

All's well that ends well......Congrats to Trin on back to back NESCAC Championships.  Over the nine game season they proved that they were the best team in the league.  It was quite the celebration in the coop tonight. 

[johnp]

and congrats to Middlebury who finished in second, especially playing the last few games without the O-POY QB. 

[continental]

where is video of the walk?

[lumbercat]

The Oklahoma rifle Jack Meservey looked pretty darn good today for the Panthers in a very tough road game at Tufts.

Feel bad for Middlebury this year.....If Leibowitz didn't get hurt I think the whole NESCAC picture may have been different. But, lesson be learned for a big QB like Lebowitz, when you try to avoid contact you get hurt. A 180 lb DB took him out in the Bates game because he tried to avoid contact and got tagged and that ended the final 2 games of his career—-because he didn't go hard. Trying to avoid contact is a curse and when you are a big guy like Leibowitz I just don't get it. He was an elite player but sliding, running out of bounds and avoiding contact catches up with a guy.

[nescac1]

After watching a good chunk of the game, my heroes of the day for the Ephs:

Maimaron (obviously)

Adam Regensburg: went out in style, making several critical, very difficult catches and converting the huge faked punt (more on that later). 

Chris Hattar and Sam Gowen: the Eph senior DT tackle duo have won the battle in the trenches most of the year, and yesterday was no exception.  The Ephs' rushing defense was typically stout, and Amherst's elite rushing attack had very few running lanes, as those two dudes held strong in the middle.  They also combined for a sack and forced fumble.  I never in a million years would have given the Ephs the edge in the trenches vs Amherst but in the trenches is where the game was won.

An aside: DT is by far the biggest question mark on next year's squad. Those two guys are both top-flight starters and the Ephs also graduate their top two back-ups, including Lloyd Campbell who had a great, unsung senior year.  There are no guys who seem like natural DTs returning, so a combo of position switches, guys bulking up, and likely some frosh will have to fill in those holes.  It helps that the second level of the defense figures to be much improved, with the top four LBs and top five DBs — four of whom, combined, were frosh — all returning.  But the veteran DT group, who were the core of this year's D, will be tough to replace. 

Ryan Pruss: the Ephs' seldom-used second tight end got the bulk of action at TB, and he was a workhorse, at times limping around back there but soldiering on.  The Ephs were hurt all year by injuries at TB, so this may have been in part by necessity, but it ended up being a brilliant move.  He picked up 50 very tough, physical yards, putting a beating on the defense with each yard he gained.  He served as a one-man wrecking crew for Maimaron to run behind. And he did a great job keeping blitzers / LBs running free — a big issue in recent weeks — off Maimaron in the passing game.  For a guy mostly new to that role to have that kind of impact in such a big situation is amazing.  Hopefully the Ephs add some more TB depth in recruiting to help Dozier out next year.  But I do expect Williams to keep defenses off balance by mixing in Pruss as a different sort of look going forward. 

The coaching staff: the fake punt was the ballsiest call I've ever seen.  Up 14 with the ball deep in your own territory, on 4th and nine?  Had it failed, the staff would have been crucified.  But it was also, oddly, about as safe a fake punt as you will see.  It was Regensburg's only carry of the year and especially in that situation no one would ever expect it.  He's got tremendous speed, rare for a punter.  And it looked to me like he may have had an option to punt it away if things looked dicey after rolling out.  Brilliant call that they were obviously waiting all season to unleash.  Also, the double reverse flea flicker — using not one but TWO tight ends to handle the ball — was brilliantly executed by all involved in a key situation.  Both of those plays ultimately led to Ephs TDs in a game where every point was critical. 

One Mammoth shout-out: Craig Carmilani was awesome for Amherst in his last game, single-handedly making it a contest late.  Neither of these squads was remotely senior-dominated, but it was, appropriately, several seniors (Foy also for Amherst) who made a big impact for both. 

Midd does seem to have yet another great gunslinger in its arsenal.  Williams and Amherst should both be much-improved next year.  Midd and Trinity will just keep on rolling as both bring back loads of key dudes and tremendous systems.  Tufts loses some great defenders but has pretty much the whole offense back.  Of the top tier, Wesleyan loses the most but returns enough to be right in the mix again.  Even Hamilton looks like a team on the rise.   Gonna be fun!

[jumpshot]

Great credit goes to the EPH players for defeating the "what's their name?" —-and to Coach Mark Raymond and a brilliant coaching staff in developing the strategy and tactics to win!

The hook of the number of steps in the famous "Walk" is pure genius —as was the fake punt, double reverse, resourceful placement of particular players, etc. Shows the value of leadership and grit.

Lots of good high school student/athletes will want to be a part of this culture ....!

[amh63]

Several loose end comments on this board as I switch to the basketball boards!
First, congrats to Trinity and to Trinity 8-0 who called the win at the Coop.
Was downtown at a sports bar watching the game.  Crowd was majority Williams fans who was very quite until the end in OT.  The bunch of Amherst folks, mainly younger bunch were singing the "song" after every TD in the comeback..
Crowd included a interesting mix.  Several  former football players, a father of one who is a Williams alum and the Doswell family from Richmond...WBB folks?  The Amherst WBB team won the Nat. Title last season...undefeated in a blowout of Tufts.  The Twins reside in D.C. now and one was in the crowd.  The mother is a Mt. Holyoke and MIT alum. Talking a bit of " shop talk", found out there is a Big Green/Indian connection.
PolarCat....seems that mother's brother has a decal much like yours.  Maybe he was in school when you where.  Will check  it out as the mother will continue to go to future games in Amherst it seems.  Her family is in New England.  Small world story.

[nescac1]

Continental, here is the video of the walk: 

https://www.facebook.com/EphAlum/posts/1499510666752973

Although now it's to "Empire Cutz" rather than St. Pierre's ... I guess if Amherst can be the Mammoths ..

[PolarCat]

Great credit goes to ..... Coach Mark Raymond and a brilliant coaching staff in developing the strategy and tactics to win!

And let's not forget their ability to recruit.  The father of a Williams top recruit in the class of 2021 had some interesting observations about Raymond's recruiting acumen vs. his NESCAC peers.  The guy is the real deal, and worth every penny Williams is paying him.  I hope they can hold onto him for a while; I'm sure what he's accomplished in Willytown hasn't gone unnoticed in D1.

Like Eph fans and parents of the Kelton era, Bobcat supporters can only dream about a future with a new staff, as we try to forget the coulda-shoulda-wouldas of this year.  On Saturday, the 'Cats dominated on both sides of the ball for most of the first half, till a special teams blocker who was mailing it in resulted in Bates' first blocked FG of the year, and brought the Conts fans out of hibernation.  From that point on, Murray did a great job building momentum and exploiting the Bobcats' weaknesses, helped to a degree by some of the worst officiating I can recall.  (I will miss a lot of things about NESCAC football, but the quality of the zebra crews is not one of them).

Guys, it's been fun hanging out with you all here.  Best luck to your sons in the  future, whether they are underclassmen or seniors heading out to the workforce, grad school, or the service.  And Colbyfootball, congratulations on getting that win you've been craving all year.  Hopefully it will be enough to save Michaeles' job.

[FanOfNescac]

The Oklahoma rifle Jack Meservey looked pretty darn good today for the Panthers in a very tough road game at Tufts.

Feel bad for Middlebury this year.....If Leibowitz didn't get hurt I think the whole NESCAC picture may have been different. But, lesson be learned for a big QB like Lebowitz, when you try to avoid contact you get hurt. A 180 lb DB took him out in the Bates game because he tried to avoid contact and got tagged and that ended the final 2 games of his career—-because he didn't go hard. Trying to avoid contact is a curse and when you are a big guy like Leibowitz I just don't get it. He was an elite player but sliding, running out of bounds and avoiding contact catches up with a guy.

Lumbercat: It's possible this doesn't apply because Maimaron isn't a big guy like Lebowitz, but one of this great skills -- and it was an important one because he threw and carried so much at 6-1, 195 lbs (although he sure looks a little smaller than that) -- is his ability to avoid taking big, direct hits, precisely by not ``going hard.'' (I mean, he ``goes hard'' with his feet and he plays at a high speed, but he doesn't look to take on defenders. Maimaron manages to slide, spin, fall, twist... whatever is required to get on the ground without letting somebody unload on him. His body type and skill set is very different from Lebowitz, but the ability to avoid kill shots is valuable in his case. (As a counter, Amherst's sophomore QB, Ollie Eberth, had. bunch of first-half carries vs. Williams, running a zone-read game, he took a bunch of big hits. Those hits add up. Ryan McDonald of Tufts, who is 6-3, 200 and appears much bigger than Maimaron, takes on more tacklers but also does a good job getting down.

[lumbercat]

FanofNescac
I know those hits add up and of course it makes sense for any QB to avoid unnecessary contact.
However you won't see Maimaron or McDonald decelerating into a prospective collision. They make a move, twist, turn or maybe run out of bounds. They will not break a big run and when confronted by an approaching DB, slow down, pull up in possible pre slide mode and get pasted.
Leibowitz utilized the slide in many of those situations which may be a good strategy in terms of avoiding injury but sometimes when you get over protective you can get hurt.
He was not going hard on that play. He could have made a move or run out of bounds but don't pull up and slow down.
Sitting in the stands as we saw him go down we all agreed that we hoped that hit didn't end his season and the Middlebury title hopes which sadly proved to be the case. Feel bad for a great Panther program. If they had Lebowitz I know at least  the Trinity game might have been different.

[FanOfNescac]

FanofNescac
I know those hits add up and of course it makes sense for any QB to avoid unnecessary contact.
However you won't see Maimaron or McDonald decelerating into a prospective collision. They make a move, twist, turn or maybe run out of bounds. They will not break a big run and when confronted by an approaching DB, slow down, pull up in possible pre slide mode and get pasted.
Leibowitz utilized the slide in many of those situations which may be a good strategy in terms of avoiding injury but sometimes when you get over protective you can get hurt.
He was not going hard on that play. He could have made a move or run out of bounds but don't pull up and slow down.
Sitting in the stands as we saw him go down we all agreed that we hoped that hit didn't end his season and the Middlebury title hopes which sadly proved to be the case. Feel bad for a great Panther program. If they had Lebowitz I know at least that the Trinity game might have been different.

All fair points, Lumbercat. Also, some guys just can't master the slide or safe avoidance of big hits. Maimaron, McDonald, Puzzo are all good at those things, neither letting up nor unnecessarily taking on defenders. (Robert Griffin, RG3, comes to mind. He was a terrific athlete, but he seemed to get lit up 5 times every week).

[nescac1]

While Jake S. was certainly deserving, the Nescac coaches kinda dropped the ball not naming Maimaron co-offesive player of the week after that performance. 

[johnp]

Great credit goes to the EPH players for defeating the "what's their name?" —-and to Coach Mark Raymond and a brilliant coaching staff in developing the strategy and tactics to win!

The hook of the number of steps in the famous "Walk" is pure genius —as was the fake punt, double reverse, resourceful placement of particular players, etc. Shows the value of leadership and grit.

Lots of good high school student/athletes will want to be a part of this culture ....!

I think the name has been officially changed to "UMASS-Amherst Branch" (UMAB) being the little sister of the bigger school in town.

[ColbyFootball]

Pathetic to see some guy who has attacked me publicly and privately (yes, privately too) point the finger at a kid, a "special teams blocker who was mailing it in" on Bates who apparently allowed a FG attempt to be blocked. Whether he was or he wasn't "mailing it in", why dump on a kid at this point in a disappointing season. Who knows what he's been through, or why he's down. I guess all the education and money in the would can't get or buy you class.

As for Colby's only win against a terrible Bowdoin team, who had the slowest overall defense faced this year, I'm happy for the boys. Not happy for Michaeles. Michaeles has not earned the right to continue, but the AD can decide that.

And, every person in the Colby stands that follows the team somewhat closely was rooting for John Baron to be given a shot to set the Colby FG record. And, with a reasonable FG possible on the final play of the game, Michaeles took a Knee. Everyone wanted the kid to kick the ball, and nobody with half a brain would have accused Michaeles of running the score up. The guy is clueless and should not be the HC of young men.