Last week of the year for the ECFC. Been a pretty standard year in the league. Things played out as expected at the top. There was a little shakeup at the bottom.
Here is the pre-season poll:
Complete 2018 ECFC Coaches Preseason Poll
Total Points
1. Husson University (6) 48
2. SUNY Maritime (1) 42
3. Castleton University 35
4. Dean College 26
5. Gallaudet University 24
6. Alfred State College 12
7. Anna Maria College 10
(First-Place votes in parentheses)
Here are current standings:
Husson (6-0)
SUNY (4-1)
Dean (3-2)
Gall U (3-2)
Alfred State (1-4)
AMCATs (1-4)
Sparty (0-5)
A few thoughts about each teams-
Husson is better than everybody else. Dominated the league the past few years and is on to bigger things. Good luck in NCAA's...maybe a trip to RPI?
SUNY is better than everybody but Husson and should be the power team in the league moving forward. I believe Coach D is working as an interim HC right now. Hopefully they do the right thing, take care of him and lock in him for the long haul. He is a good football coach, and a really good man. He was a part of building the program a few years back and is the right guy to keep building it moving forward.
Dean has a good thing going and will be in the top two now that Husson is gone. I'm curious to see if Dean benefits from the closing out Mt Ida, as I think their schools attracted similar football players. One less school to compete with should lead to better yields in recruiting.
Gallaudet sort of did what was expected of them this year. I'll be honest, I never know what to think of this team. I think they are such a unique place with a finite number of guys they can go after, it'll be up and down every few years.
AMCAT U put together a good 60 minutes against Castleton (maybe not a full 60, but they got it done), then played SUNY tougher than most expected, and lost a tight one with Alfred State....AMCAT U is on the rise. New Coach is doing a great job, and from all accounts has built a PROGRAM there. I'm excited to see what he has planned for the future.
Alfred State- tight losses to Rochester and Gallaudet have these guys sitting with 1 win, heading into this week. After some program wide turmoil in the past year, hiring of the current coach in March, I think this program is on the right track. Maybe another lean year ahead as they missed a few recruiting cycles with coaching changes; but I think this team surprises people in a few years.
Castleton.....I don't know what to think. Picked to finish 3rd in be preseason coaches poll, now sitting winless in conference heading into the final weekend. This team was young in key spots this year, but still will graduate around 10 starters (including former all ECFC QB an RB). Hopefully this is blip on the radar for Sparty and not a sign of a downward spiraling program.
