FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[JEFFFAN]

I would like to say that this is "the beginning of something big" for my beloved Jeffs, but I am a numbers guy and I don't see it in the numbers.   There is literally nothing about the season long comparison of their performance versus their opponents to suggest that they should be 5-2.  I see a 5-4 season in the short-term, two week out crystal ball, with a beating by the Ephs - at least - coming up.   However, given their comparatively low talent level - compared to historic levels, especially on offense - an above .500 record is about what Jeff fans should expect and be content with.   EJ and his staff have done a good job with what they have to work with this year - can't ask for anything more than that.   If EJ is truly having trouble getting kids in due to the super left leaning policies of the president and admissions director, that is a "horse of a different color" to deal with down the road!

Oh Lord Jeffrey Amherst was a soldier of the king ...

[nescac1]

The Nescac scoreboard is god-awful.  It's hard to find football games and they often have wrong teams listed.  Sometimes live stats can't be accessed at all (has been an issue I think for Wes and Amherst games, maybe others?).  Rumor has it there are a few fairly smart people hanging around these campuses so you'd think they could figure it out ...

Man no disrespect to Jernigan but you'd think 170 yards, 10 ypc, and 3 TDs vs the stingiest run D in the league would at least warrant a co-player of the week for Nicholas.  Devine was worthy too but Goodson obviously had a massive week so that I get ...

[amh63]

Maineman....the Nescac scoreboard has been a "Mess" all season long.  Do not expect the scoreboard to be fixed soon.  Hope by Winter Sports time the Nescac powers can find a viable solution.

[lumbercat]

Terrible turn of events for Bates yesterday against Colby in the CBB opener. The perfect storm. Brendan Costa was injured late in the first half and may be done for the season. Colby made a huge sigh of relief, narrowly managing to hang  on in the second half and barely escaped with the W.
It was game set and match when they carted Costa off but Bates made it extremely interesting with FY QB Bosseleit comporting himself extremely well in the second half. It came down to the last seconds but the heavy rain and wet ball conditions were difficult for the kid. Admirably, he  put it on the money on the Colby 5 with 22 seconds left but Bates receiver couldn't hold on.

The Hammer and the Black and White are now breathing a lot easier too with Costa out of the equation.

Bates brain trust had the film review completed by 8:30 this morning and already at the drawing board devising some very different wrinkles for Bowdoin. Nothing to lose-- it will be a totally different Bates look in Brunswick on Saturday as the Bobcats emerge as the current version of the very tough Bolied Owl tradition for the White Bears.

On a good note the young QB Bosseleit #8 may never rival Costa's arm strength or scrambling ability but the kid made a very strong statement of optimism as the next Bobcat QB. He moves well in the pocket and has some very good arm strength.

LB Tony Hooks is a guy under the radar for Bates- As good a any LB in the league and he's got the numbers to prove it.

In a very commendable show of total class following the handshake line most of the Colby players walked over to QB Costa who was immobilized on the sidelines and individually shook hands and offered their respect. They knew if the kid was around the second half the result may very well have been different.

Good luck to the Mules against the Black and White but they've got a problem to deal with in between in the person of a re emergent Tufts team.

[maineman]

Maineman....the Nescac scoreboard has been a "Mess" all season long.  Do not expect the scoreboard to be fixed soon.  Hope by Winter Sports time the Nescac powers can find a viable solution.

For most of yesterday afternoon, I thought Bates was beating Colby 10-2 and over on the soccer side that Bowdoin had defeated Tufts 3-0.  There were other irregularities, too.

[amh63]

JEFFFAN...agree with you on all points!

[lumbercat]

Maineman
You are totally on point- the NESCAC website is a total joke. Can't believe the NESCAC schools who fund the damn thing have done nothing.

[lumbercat]

Catching up on the weekend- this is not intended at a snipe on Trinity but has there been any more dominant game played against Trinity in many, many years. Ive watched both teams this year and still can't believe the result. I'm getting the tape and feel like I have to see it to believe it. Not out of the question that Trinity would lose......but 42-3 ?? gotta see how it happened.

[Charlie]

Catching up on the weekend- this is not intended at a snipe on Trinity but has there been any more dominant game played against Trinity in many, many years. Ive watched both teams this year and still can't believe the result. I'm getting the tape and feel like I have to see it to believe it. Not out of the question that Trinity would lose......but 42-3 ?? gotta see how it happened.

I will save you trouble the Trinity came out flat from the poor punt snap to the bizarre fair catch on kickoffs. Why would you not run a kick off back at this level with the speed on Trinity's sideline.

Bottom line Williams Defense as I indicated in prior posts owned Trinity's OL.   Trinity was never really tested this year and as in other games took many quarters to gear up. Trinity always seemed to start games slow but there talent ultimately prevailed. In this game as I have stated Williams would drop eight into coverage with an occasional blitz. The front three for Williams were in the Trinity back field all day. Why Trinity kept running was head scratching. You can say that Trinity's RB Kirby had a good season. But he is not explosive  , slow very deliberate RB who runs like he is scared to fumble. Trinity lacks a RB with speed I am sure that will be on the recruitment list for 2022 at this position. Even having said that Williams shut down any running attack and owned the LOS.

Offensively I give credit to Williams not only did they clearly look bigger compared to Trinity's defense they were well coached and opened up huge holes. The only way Trinity was going to win this game was to stop the run and force Williams to throw. This never happened. I know the weather was big factor it was raining there but Williams controlled both Lines of scrimmage and was stronger and tougher than Trinity. Coaching wise I think Williams defensive scheme was great and they did a good job watching the film and witnessed what I have seen. Every game this year with exception of Tufts Trinity started slow and OL was really never tested against a big physical DL. Trinity had a hard time against Colby week before when Colby put presure on Fetter with three DL. Look for Trinity to get bigger and more athletic at OL position.

One of the great things about NESCAC is huge changes year to year. With Williams QB graduating along with WR could Wiliams suffer what Middlebury went through this year. Only time will tell. I tip my hat to Williams old time football prevailed and as Bobby Boucher said in Waterboy " They opened up a can of Whip ass " on Trinity Lineman all day.

[polbear73]

Terrible turn of events for Bates yesterday against Colby in the CBB opener. The perfect storm. Brendan Costa was injured late in the first half and may be done for the season. Colby made a huge sigh of relief, narrowly managing to hang  on in the second half and barely escaped with the W.
It was game set and match when they carted Costa off but Bates made it extremely interesting with FY QB Bosseleit comporting himself extremely well in the second half. It came down to the last seconds but the heavy rain and wet ball conditions were difficult for the kid. Admirably, he  put it on the money on the Colby 5 with 22 seconds left but Bates receiver couldn't hold on.

The Hammer and the Black and White are now breathing a lot easier too with Costa out of the equation.

Bates brain trust had the film review completed by 8:30 this morning and already at the drawing board devising some very different wrinkles for Bowdoin. Nothing to lose-- it will be a totally different Bates look in Brunswick on Saturday as the Bobcats emerge as the current version of the very tough Bolied Owl tradition for the White Bears.

On a good note the young QB Bosseleit #8 may never rival Costa's arm strength or scrambling ability but the kid made a very strong statement of optimism as the next Bobcat QB. He moves well in the pocket and has some very good arm strength.

LB Tony Hooks is a guy under the radar for Bates- As good a any LB in the league and he's got the numbers to prove it.

In a very commendable show of total class following the handshake line most of the Colby players walked over to QB Costa who was immobilized on the sidelines and individually shook hands and offered their respect. They knew if the kid was around the second half the result may very well have been different.

Good luck to the Mules against the Black and White but they've got a problem to deal with in between in the person of a re emergent Tufts team.

Hate to see it when a star player goes down in a rivalry game. My best to Costa along with a speedy recovery.  Always seems ro set stage for heroics by an unsung player.

[nescac1]

Williams will be a very different team on offense next year but there is no way they fall victim to a Midd-like decline.  Rothmann is irreplaceable on D but the Ephs return 9/11 defensive starters vs Trinity plus every single backup.  The entire defensive backfield returns plus Wax back from injury.  The DL could be even more dominant as it's actually quite a young unit (of the top five guys four are playing their first year of college football including two "true" frosh) which has improved dramatically over the course of the season.  Devine and Coleston Smith are already two of the top defenders in Nescac and both get better each year. 

The offense will face a much bigger transition but the cupboard is not bare - three starting OLinemen (plus two others who played due to injury), the HB who is a brutal lead blocker, and three stud TBs all return.  Filling Maimaron's shoes as a runner and orchestrator will be impossible, and the Ephs lose four other all-league caliber players, but at least the Ephs do have two highly touted QBs behind him both of whom will be in their third year on campus.  And they will be able to lean on the running game early until they grow comfortable. 

But, that's all a long time away.  First comes Saturday and trying to find a way to slow down Estevez.  I say make him beat you with his arm, can't let him get in open space.  He loves that delayed draw which is tough to handle, I'd make that Rothmann's job to key on most downs.  One or two bone rattlers from Smith could also slow him down a bit although he's tough as they come.  Wes seems to have solved some of its earlier defensive woes and is clearly better vs the run than the pass so I expect to see Stola, Burke and Degasperis play much bigger roles than they did vs Trinity. Wesleyan has a strong dline and after what happened to Trinity I bet takes it's chances in single coverage to try to slow down the running game.   Hopefully Stola and Burke both shook the rust off from their injury absences.  Ephs need a big day from at least one of them. 

[SpringSt7]

TJ Rothmann is probably about as a perfect of a fit to slow down Estevez as there is but it won't be that simple. The draw worries me as well---will Devine be able to stay disciplined if they ask him to play more of a contain role on Estevez and not let him step up in the pocket? Seems like a big ask for a DE coming off the best game of his career. It sounds like it is unlikely but getting Jarrett Wesner back this week would be so huge in the run game, both chasing down Estevez in space and also in plugging interior holes and making tackles, something he is elite at.

Estevez and Maimaron are ironically the bottom 2 passers in the league in yards per game. I think it goes without saying that Estevez's success in the passing game will be more important to Wesleyan than his Williams counterpart. But it is hard to imagine Wesleyan finding a way to move the ball consistently enough against Williams to hang around---they will need to find a couple of big plays.

[The Mole]

Nice interview with Coach Raymond on here....

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/noontime-sports-podcast/id1524845530?i=1000540430991

[Charlie]

TJ Rothmann is probably about as a perfect of a fit to slow down Estevez as there is but it won't be that simple. The draw worries me as well---will Devine be able to stay disciplined if they ask him to play more of a contain role on Estevez and not let him step up in the pocket? Seems like a big ask for a DE coming off the best game of his career. It sounds like it is unlikely but getting Jarrett Wesner back this week would be so huge in the run game, both chasing down Estevez in space and also in plugging interior holes and making tackles, something he is elite at.

Estevez and Maimaron are ironically the bottom 2 passers in the league in yards per game. I think it goes without saying that Estevez's success in the passing game will be more important to Wesleyan than his Williams counterpart. But it is hard to imagine Wesleyan finding a way to move the ball consistently enough against Williams to hang around---they will need to find a couple of big plays.

Guys really. I would not be the least bit surprised if this is another blowout. Trinity's DL is much better then WES. Williams OL much bigger and will push Wes around all day long. It may not be as high scoring because both teams like to run the ball but easily Williams wins this one and takes championship. The stars are aligned they are peaking at right time , schedule , and simply they are better team.

[PolarCat]

In a very commendable show of total class following the handshake line most of the Colby players walked over to QB Costa who was immobilized on the sidelines and individually shook hands and offered their respect. They knew if the kid was around the second half the result may very well have been different.

Good luck to the Mules against the Black and White but they've got a problem to deal with in between in the person of a re emergent Tufts team.

That's a classy post lumber.  +K

As classy as the Mules were, I have boundless respect for the Cats this year.  They were handed the ultimate sh*t sandwich in 2021.  Lost their HCOF right before the start of the season, small roster, horribly lackluster recruiting class.  Yet they fought hard in every game, punched above their weight, and never, ever gave in.

Perhaps their biggest obstacle is the sheer indifference of the Bates Administration and student body, past and present.

Saturday was Senior Day, and the Bob Cub went to the game to pay his respects to the members of the Class of 2021, who were FY's his senior year.  He did not see a single other teammate from the classes of 2015 through 2020 at Garcellon.  And he estimates the total student attendance at the game as +/- 75.

Under the circumstances, it would be easy for the boys to give up on the season, their new coach, and their teammates.  But they didn't.  20 seconds left and they were still fighting for the win, with their star player knocked out of the game and a FY at the helm.

I have respect for the Devanneys, Raymonds and EJ's of this world who can build a winning program. But I have more respect for the scrappy underdogs who keep fighting despite adversity on all sides.

Too bad Clayton Spencer doesn't realize she has something remarkable there.  Those kids may not win the CBB, but they are winners in my book.