FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Ephmen1991]

Cheerboyscheer,

I remember the 1987 game against Midd distinctly but it was in Williamstown, opening day.  Actually it was our first game on the redone Weston field.  TEN turnovers for Williams that day.  The Ephs definetly cannot afford any turnovers or kicking game mistakes against a team like Middlebury this year.

[cheerboyscheer]

Then it has been at least 20 years since Middlebury has won at home vs. the Ephs.  Hopefully they can buck the trend this weekend. 

Only other Panther victory since '87 was in 2000 - on a 'lonely end' play for a long TD that gave Middlebury a 7-0 victory.  Williams Coach Dick Farley thought the play was illegal and refused to shake Middlebury Coach Mickey Heinecken's hand after the game.

[bant551]

Middlebury was pretty decent when I was at Trinity ('99-2002 seasons).

Either that, or Trin wasn't that good and kept getting beaten.

My experience watching those games lead me to believe that they were one of the teams that was usually in the top half of the league.

[Fear the Poet]

The Amherst/Middlebury game as stated should be the game of the week. Both defenses are VERY tough, so it should be interesting to see how the offenses do.

I like what Middlebury is doing this season on the offensive end. They are throwing the ball more and have thrown a few wrinkles in. Their freshman quarterback Donald McKillop threw three TD passes to Andrew Matson last week and he makes much better decisions than you would expect from a freshman QB. The running game with David Randolph and Gary Cooper has been good as well.

Middlebury's defense is everything I expected this year. Erik Woodring has been outstanding as has Alex Buggy, Nathan Shreve, Brian Marcks and others.

Amherst of course has been deadly on defense, and their running game with NeSmith and Rauh is one of the best two headed monsters in Division III.

Last year's game was 7-3 Middlebury, this year I see Middlebury winning 10-3.

You can catch the game on the web at www.wfad1490.com. It will be the tag team of me, myself and I with the call.

I was looking at the Middlebury roster. There is a young man from California named Blake Kos. Anyone know if he is getting any playing time out there? Thanks..he is an old Pop Warner teammate of my son.

[fells]

The Amherst/Middlebury game as stated should be the game of the week. Both defenses are VERY tough, so it should be interesting to see how the offenses do.

I like what Middlebury is doing this season on the offensive end. They are throwing the ball more and have thrown a few wrinkles in. Their freshman quarterback Donald McKillop threw three TD passes to Andrew Matson last week and he makes much better decisions than you would expect from a freshman QB. The running game with David Randolph and Gary Cooper has been good as well.

Middlebury's defense is everything I expected this year. Erik Woodring has been outstanding as has Alex Buggy, Nathan Shreve, Brian Marcks and others.

Amherst of course has been deadly on defense, and their running game with NeSmith and Rauh is one of the best two headed monsters in Division III.

Last year's game was 7-3 Middlebury, this year I see Middlebury winning 10-3.

You can catch the game on the web at www.wfad1490.com. It will be the tag team of me, myself and I with the call.

I was looking at the Middlebury roster. There is a young man from California named Blake Kos. Anyone know if he is getting any playing time out there? Thanks..he is an old Pop Warner teammate of my son.

He is getting a little bit of time on special teams. I met his grandfather in Amherst who drove out from Southern California for the game. Neat guy.

[cheerboyscheer]

Panthers beat the Bants four years in a row from 1998-2001, including two games on NESN as the New England game of the week.  They've dropped 5 straight since then. 

Middlebury usually falls in the top half of the league.  Rarely the cream of the league but never a bottom dweller either.  There are a lot of 4-4 and 5-3 seasons in the record book. They lose out on a lot of recruiting battles to Amherst and Williams, but Middlebury does benefit from being able to recruit nationally based on the reputation of the school.

The real question for a Panter fan (there are not too many out there) is when will the Nescac allow Middlebury to schedule Norwich again.  The rivalry was one of the oldest in the country and featured the only two college football teams in Vermont.  It was Middlebury's equivalent to Amherst / Williams and the CBB but was done away with when the league went to the all Nescac schedule.  A shame.

[Fear the Poet]

The Amherst/Middlebury game as stated should be the game of the week. Both defenses are VERY tough, so it should be interesting to see how the offenses do.

I like what Middlebury is doing this season on the offensive end. They are throwing the ball more and have thrown a few wrinkles in. Their freshman quarterback Donald McKillop threw three TD passes to Andrew Matson last week and he makes much better decisions than you would expect from a freshman QB. The running game with David Randolph and Gary Cooper has been good as well.

Middlebury's defense is everything I expected this year. Erik Woodring has been outstanding as has Alex Buggy, Nathan Shreve, Brian Marcks and others.

Amherst of course has been deadly on defense, and their running game with NeSmith and Rauh is one of the best two headed monsters in Division III.

Last year's game was 7-3 Middlebury, this year I see Middlebury winning 10-3.

You can catch the game on the web at www.wfad1490.com. It will be the tag team of me, myself and I with the call.

I was looking at the Middlebury roster. There is a young man from California named Blake Kos. Anyone know if he is getting any playing time out there? Thanks..he is an old Pop Warner teammate of my son.

He is getting a little bit of time on special teams. I met his grandfather in Amherst who drove out from Southern California for the game. Neat guy.

very good..thank you. Knowing how hard Blake has played since he was 7 years old, I will assume he will get his eventually.
thanks again!

[Trin9-0]

Trinity's 2001 loss at Middlebury was the most frustrating game I ever played in. Bantam QB Greg Ward was 31 for 76. Trin ran 112 offensive plays and lost the game 14-7. The low point was an interception on 1st and goal from the 2 yard line.

I wonder why NESN doesn't cover the NESCAC more. I believe they still broadcast the Williams-Amherst game... is there any other coverage?

[Col. Partridge]

NESN has covered a few homecoming Wesleyan-Amherst and Wesleyan-Williams games over the years (at Wesleyan's request, I believe).  If NESN does a D III game (maybe any game?), they demand both schools pay for x amount of ads, and that can be a sticking point.

[bant551]

Trin 8-0, it was a tough game to bear from the sidelines, too!   

I remember the next year, after throwing 76 times, Priore said he wanted to run it 76 times.

That game and the next one against Amherst where we ran it 40+ times was tough on the shoulders.  Lot of time with Ernie.

[Polar Bear 74]

Good luck Bowdoin this week against Hamilton.
When was the last time the Polars Bears won Back to Back CBB Titles?

[Trin9-0]

Good luck Bowdoin this week against Hamilton.
When was the last time the Polars Bears won Back to Back CBB Titles?

1997 & 1998

[Col. Partridge]

Trinity-Tufts preview in Boston Herald:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view.bg?articleid=1037372

Coach Samko looks like he could do some damage at an all-you-can eat buffet.

[Ephmen1991]

Does anyone seriously think that Tufts will beat Trinity?  The get the attention every year from the Boston papers whenever they have a decent start and then they crap out.

[Trin9-0]

Does anyone seriously think that Tufts will beat Trinity?  The get the attention every year from the Boston papers whenever they have a decent start and then they crap out.

Tufts has a .809 average winning percentage (17-4 win-loss record) in the first three games of each season since 2000.

Over the same span they have a .200 winning percentage (7-28 win-loss record) in their last five games.


You can't blame Tufts for how their schedule is laid out, but it's clear that they have little trouble beating the traditionally weaker teams (Bates, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Wesleyan), while they struggled to beat the top teams in the league (Williams, Amherst, Trinity).

I like the Bants to win this week, however if weather is a factor then Tufts could pull an upset. They have a good pass defense and I think Trin could struggle to run the ball if the field is sloppy. Anyone remember 2005?; a 7-0 Trinity win at Tufts in a mud-bowl (weather.com calls for rain today and tomorrow in Medford but dry on Saturday).