FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[maineman]

I'm sure that within a year or two, Trinity or Williams will go 9-0, too, but Midd did it first and nobody expected it.

[NCF]

I'm sure that within a year or two, Trinity or Williams will go 9-0, too, but Midd did it first and nobody expected it.

That's the best part! Great game! Great season! Time to celebrate.

[SpringSt7]

A dominant 31-9 victory over Amherst sees the Ephs finish at 7-2, their best finish since lord knows when. For it to have been such a good season and yet still feel somewhat disappointing is a testament to how quickly Raymond and his staff have turned it around. Amherst was not at its best this year but today was a drubbing. 470-196 in total yards and a whopping 345 of those were on the ground.

A special recognition is in order to this senior class, who, despite going 0-8 their freshman year, clinched a winning record for their careers with this win today. There is a NESCAC championship in Williams' future, and while the seniors will not be there for it, they will have been just as big a part of it as anyone.

[Canvas Hightops]

A dominant 31-9 victory over Amherst sees the Ephs finish at 7-2, their best finish since lord knows when. For it to have been such a good season and yet still feel somewhat disappointing is a testament to how quickly Raymond and his staff have turned it around. Amherst was not at its best this year but today was a drubbing. 470-196 in total yards and a whopping 345 of those were on the ground.

A special recognition is in order to this senior class, who, despite going 0-8 their freshman year, clinched a winning record for their careers with this win today. There is a NESCAC championship in Williams' future, and while the seniors will not be there for it, they will have been just as big a part of it as anyone.

This is true.:

[lumbercat]

Congratulations to the Middlebury Panthers. Clearly the best team in the league and a very deserving champion.

Under the radar there was a great game today at Hamilton. Bates QB Brendan Costa took the game over. 4 TD passes and 72 yards rushing leading the Garnet back from a 21-0 deficit.

In the NESCAC you are never out of a game with a playmaker QB. Costa should be the NESCAC player of the week.

Bates was down 21-0 with 2 minutes to go in the first half. They were playing without 4 starters from last week and their top 2 RBs. At that point Costa went to work and began to engineer a comeback that was eerily similar to the comeback at Colby which fell just short on a negated touchdown late in the game with that phantom holding call.

Today Bates and Costa finished the job. The kid made big plays all day. Hamilton was awestruck in the second half with Bates halftime adjustments.

A great momentum builder for the Bobcats as Coach Hall continues to pick up some traction in his rebuilding job.

I have a lot of respect for Coach Murray and the job he has done with the Buff and Blue. They should be commended on a fine season but the Conts got outplayed and out coached in the second half today.

Ive also got to commend HCOF Hall and OC Patterson. These guys came out with schemes in the second half that Hamilton just couldn't handle.

I've read a lot about Hamilton and they are certainly moving in right direction but I say not so fast on anointing them as the next NESCAC power program. The test for Coach Murray will be next year as he retools his roster after losing some very good seniors. They could take a half step back but he's clearly got that program going the right way.

[jumpshot]

Williams completely destroys amHurst today 31-9 with 345 yards on the ground, 38 minutes of possession versus 21 for the former lord jeffs, 24 first downs versus 11, etc.

Prior to the game amhurst grads posturing by playing down its significance, while amH63 stating a win would salvage/transform a mediocre season into something wonderful .... simply obsessed with Williams.

The Ephs seniors savior a second Walk in the past three years after going 0-8 their freshman year as pointed out by Spring St7 .... Memories lasting a lifetime, featured this past week on ESPN as the best post-game tradition in college football.

Coach Raymond is a prince of a guy .... and an extraordinarily effective coach with a terrific group of assistant coaches. More to come ....

Also, congratulations to Mid football for an outstanding season characterized by hard work and Panther Pride!

[PolarCat]

Congratulations to the Panthers on a fantastic and record-making season.  And what a GREAT season it was for the CAC as a whole (well, maybe not so much for the Polar Bears).  Unlike the last half-a-dozen seasons, it wasn't the same-old, same-old dominant teams at the top of the conference.  It's great to see some changing fortunes, and some movements in the ranks.

Better still, I don't think any team's season was derailed by injuries to key players, nor by academic or disciplinary actions.  It's great to go into the off season without those "coulda, shoulda, woulda" discussions.  Nor did any team's season get a sudden boost from a D1 transfer; as long as I've been here, the August rumor mills have proclaimed that one or more programs were going to have an unfair advantage due to some stud transfer.  Haven't seen it happen yet, and doubt that it will any time soon.

I missed today's games because I was heeding a higher calling.  I was in Yankee Stadium for the College Football 150th Anniversary Game between previously unbeaten Princeton and still-unbeaten Dartmouth.  The good guys won.  And the Dartmouth Administration hosted an epic 3-hour pregame party in Billy's Sports Bar.  What a concept!  A college administration springing for free food and beverages for alumni, families and fans.  The official game attendance was 22,500, and it felt like half of them were crammed into Billy's.  What a pleasant change from the typical NESCAC game where the Campus Po Po cruise the tailgate areas in search of Demon Rum and Illicit Natty Light.

If you ever have a chance to see a NCAA Football game at Yankee Stadium, take it!  Jumbotron!  Concessions!  Announcers who actually understand the game!  (Yeah, I'm looking at you NSN).  Replays!  Marching bands!  Cheerleaders!  Introduction of alumni from both schools who played or currently play in the NFL!  And best of all, evidence of two Administrations who clearly value football, and its importance to both the student experience and the Development Office.  A number of NESCAC schools could learn a thing or two....                 

[IslandTime]

Williams completely destroys amHurst today 31-9 with 345 yards on the ground, 38 minutes of possession versus 21 for the former lord jeffs, 24 first downs versus 11, etc.

Prior to the game amhurst grads posturing by playing down its significance, while amH63 stating a win would salvage/transform a mediocre season into something wonderful .... simply obsessed with Williams.

The Ephs seniors savior a second Walk in the past three years after going 0-8 their freshman year as pointed out by Spring St7 .... Memories lasting a lifetime, featured this past week on ESPN as the best post-game tradition in college football.

Coach Raymond is a prince of a guy .... and an extraordinarily effective coach with a terrific group of assistant coaches. More to come ....

Also, congratulations to Mid football for an outstanding season characterized by hard work and Panther Pride!

With as fantastic, awe inspiring and over powering as Williams, Amherst and Trinity are it's just a gosh darn miracle that Little ol'Wes beat all of them. 

But they did. And it is sweet. 8 and 1

ROLL CARDS!!!

Speaking of unexpected....NO ONE predicted this kind of season for WES. And they are led by underclassmen at almost every key position. Great job Coach Dice...future is BRIGHT in Middletown!!!

[gridiron]

Wild wild game in Brunswick today to finish off the nescac season. Congrats to the Colby mules for a fantastic second-half finish.

[lumbercat]

Spent the last couple of days in Brunswick. Watched a good CBB game at the beautifully renovated Whittier Field.  What a fantastic venue. The Bowdoin Football program takes great pride in that facility and I can see why. The finest football venue in the NESCAC without question.

During the weekend I was amazed at the negative sentiment surrounding Coach Hammer and the Bowdoin program. Did they set this guy up to fail?  He's not making a lot of friends in Brunswick but maybe that's the approach to he needs to take to transform the program.

Had a chance to speak and visit with some old friends in the area but it didn't take long to see that Polar Bear Football friends and Alums are really ticked off.

AD Ryan has indicated "off the record" to more than one around the Polar Bear program  that he sees Bowdoin dropping football in the next 5 or 6 years with the rest of the CBB following suit.!!!! I get no drift of this at Bates and Colby so not sure what's going on.

Doesn't make sense after the Bowdoin football alums funded that beautiful facility for Polar Bear Football.

[lumbercat]

Williams completely destroys amHurst today 31-9 with 345 yards on the ground, 38 minutes of possession versus 21 for the former lord jeffs, 24 first downs versus 11, etc.

Prior to the game amhurst grads posturing by playing down its significance, while amH63 stating a win would salvage/transform a mediocre season into something wonderful .... simply obsessed with Williams.

The Ephs seniors savior a second Walk in the past three years after going 0-8 their freshman year as pointed out by Spring St7 .... Memories lasting a lifetime, featured this past week on ESPN as the best post-game tradition in college football.

Coach Raymond is a prince of a guy .... and an extraordinarily effective coach with a terrific group of assistant coaches. More to come ....

Also, congratulations to Mid football for an outstanding season characterized by hard work and Panther Pride!

With as fantastic, awe inspiring and over powering as Williams, Amherst and Trinity are it's just a gosh darn miracle that Little ol'Wes beat all of them. 

But they did. And it is sweet. 8 and 1

ROLL CARDS!!!

Speaking of unexpected....NO ONE predicted this kind of season for WES. And they are led by underclassmen at almost every key position. Great job Coach Dice...future is BRIGHT in Middletown!!!

I expressed my congratulations to the Snow Panthers on their conference championship earlier but I also have to give a tip of the hat to Wesleyan Cards on a great season. A great job by Wes head coach who hs emerged prominently from the Whale's shadow. The Whale still likes the sound of his own voice so the Cards HCOF sometimes goes overlooked.

Before I sign off one the final day of the season let me say that EJ Mills is a great coach but he is unrivaled in the NESCAC relative his relentless pressure on the zebras. No other coach in the NECAC works the referees harder and more often that EJ. He specializes in hammering the younger refs especially trying to get an edge. He makes Devanney at Trinity look a Cub Scout in this regard.

Starting to see instant replay on some of the video telecasts around the league. As they expand the replay mode it will expose just how bad and unorganized these officiating crews are. Officiating quality in the NESCAC has deteriorated significantly in the last 10 years of and is presently at an all time bottom. Instant replay will show this going forward. The league has to pay more for better officiating- these crews are awful.

[Nescacman]

nescacman picks against Ritter's crew for the fifth time this season.
So far it's worked great.  If Midd wins, maybe we'll send you a tshirt as a sign of appreciation.

2x please!!! And of course, a hearty congratulations....great year for the Pants and well-deserved NESCAC championship...

[amh63]

Missed the Amherst game and as expected there is not much news of what happened in the second half.  I will check with some Amherst contacts when I can if I get up to Amherst for basketball season, etc. 
Anyway...congrats to Midd for their 9-0 season! 
Seems Midd had a great weekend over Amherst  with wins in volleyball and soccer..  It's how the ball bounces as they say...and how the players play too.
Happy for PolarCat and his Dartmouth Indians.  Need to check in with my Harvard alum older brother wrt how his Crimson team let the Indians win.  Yale is Not Harvard's biggest rival...it is Dartmouth....with the former Williams AD now the Dartmouth AD.
Thanks to all the posters here for their chatter here.!

[maineman]

Anyway...congrats to Midd for their 9-0 season! 
Seems Midd had a great weekend over Amherst  with wins in volleyball and soccer..  It's how the ball bounces as they say...and how the players play too.

Amh63, that's true about Midd, but for the volleyball team it was short lived.  They were shut out by the #1 seed, Tufts, the next day 3-0.  Also, you know there is a soft landing for the Amherst Mens Soccer team.  Their season goes on and they'll likely have home field advantage, as long as they win until the Final 4.  Meanwhile, Midd has to win today or sweat it out for a bubble Pool C bid.

[maineman]

Spent the last couple of days in Brunswick. Watched a good CBB game at the beautifully renovated Whittier Field.  What a fantastic venue. The Bowdoin Football program takes great pride in that facility and I can see why. The finest football venue in the NESCAC without question.

During the weekend I was amazed at the negative sentiment surrounding Coach Hammer and the Bowdoin program. Did they set this guy up to fail?  He's not making a lot of friends in Brunswick but maybe that's the approach to he needs to take to transform the program.

Had a chance to speak and visit with some old friends in the area but it didn't take long to see that Polar Bear Football friends and Alums are really ticked off.

AD Ryan has indicated "off the record" to more than one around the Polar Bear program  that he sees Bowdoin dropping football in the next 5 or 6 years with the rest of the CBB following suit.!!!! I get no drift of this at Bates and Colby so not sure what's going on.

Doesn't make sense after the Bowdoin football alums funded that beautiful facility for Polar Bear Football.

What you discuss will be sad, even if it is partially true.  Anyways, the Bowdoin-Colby game was a tremendously exciting game.  Bowdoin got worn down and couldn't play the 4th quarter.  That will change in the coming seasons.  Is there a MVP of the Colby-Bowdoin Football game like they have for hockey?  Is yes, who was it?  I've go to believe it was RB George with 151 yards and 4 TD's.  The runner up would have to be WR Glavin or QB Hersch.