FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[ColbyFootball]

Hamilton has several chain hotels in New Hartford, and Utica is only 20 minutes away with several more. Plus, you have quite a few quality B & B's nearby, and the on campus Bristol Center rooms. You also have a couple of casino's within 30 minutes, if that's your thing. Lodging has never been a problem for me at Hamilton. The Utica Holiday Inn Express serves the purpose, and a bonus is that Delmonico's Restaurant in across the parking lot. They have a large bar and you can walk to it. And believe it or not, Utica also has some great restaurants.

[amh63]

My distance to the restroom was pertaining to Steuben field.   And Yes! to Nescacman.  Good stuff PolarCat wrt cameras/photo shots.  More grownup toys!  Heh.  Your wind impact on kicks is interesting!  A PAT kick was missed in the Amherst game.  Believe it was....from the camera view to the left when sitting in the stands.  The kicker is from the Bay Area in Ca.  He turned down some D1 offers as a kicker, I recall,  to attend Amherst.  Reason was he could also play baseball for the LJs.  Had a good Summer League season.  Expect him to more of a starter than a key reliever this year.
ColbyFootball...you do seem to travel well...much like PolarCat. 

[lumbercat]

Cant make the trip to Hartford saturday- I won't miss the Boy Scout hike across the campus from the parking area all the way over to Jessie Field followed by the ensuing ticket line into the stadium. Usually there are several hundred visitors and parents waiting in line to pay the requisite Bantam $5 admission. Seems there is normally one frazzled coed in the single box office collecting the $5 tariff while the game begins.

Thats a historic observation, maybe they have changed things.

As usual the Bantams are a powerhouse - Bates looking to establish some positives, hope King Jeff is not in one of his "lets get 50 moods"

[Nescacman]

As usual the Bantams are a powerhouse - Bates looking to establish some positives, hope King Jeff is not in one of his "lets get 50 moods"

UBates defense is better than that...offense will need to do something, however, to keep the D off the field and from getting worn down...

[Nescacman]

We came across the following during our weekly prep:

http://www.wesleyanfootballtv.com/2018-football-highlights/

These are the sorts of little things the better Teams in the league do that make a difference...excellent production quality...btw, the play of the Cards wasn't so shabby either...

Perhaps this is what Hs8-0 is in-charge of up at Wes these days?!?

[lumbercat]

As usual the Bantams are a powerhouse - Bates looking to establish some positives, hope King Jeff is not in one of his "lets get 50 moods"

UBates defense is better than that...offense will need to do something, however, to keep the D off the field and worn down...

NM
Agree, playing possum a little though I don't give the Garnet much of a chance. You won't hear this in the mainstream but Bates was without 3 of their leaders on defense, including 2 senior captains in the Amherst game..... and they aren't getting any of them back.
New HC Hall takes the high road on injuries- no mention from him about being banged up etc etc.

[JEFFFAN]

Must be getting old - no snarky comments Polbear73 - as I thought I had posted yesterday but it didn't show up.

The Amherst stadium and experience is at best plain vanilla due to the location of the track.  The old stadium had the track behind the stands, which apparently wasn't too appealing to the running community.   New stadium is pretty, efficient, and too distant from the game.   It reminds me of watching a game at Franklin Field or Harvard Stadium ... too few people too far away from the action.

Re bathrooms ... Yale built a brand new lacrosse stadium about six years ago.  State of the art, beautiful, with NO bathrooms.   What's up with that logic?   Fans still have to walk over to the Yale football field bathrooms, constructed at best in the 1920s.  Dumb.

[ColbyFootball]

My distance to the restroom was pertaining to Steuben field.   And Yes! to Nescacman.  Good stuff PolarCat wrt cameras/photo shots.  More grownup toys!  Heh.  Your wind impact on kicks is interesting!  A PAT kick was missed in the Amherst game.  Believe it was....from the camera view to the left when sitting in the stands.  The kicker is from the Bay Area in Ca.  He turned down some D1 offers as a kicker, I recall,  to attend Amherst.  Reason was he could also play baseball for the LJs.  Had a good Summer League season.  Expect him to more of a starter than a key reliever this year.
ColbyFootball...you do seem to travel well...much like PolarCat.

If you do take in a game at Hamilton and need a dinner spot, Alee's in  Utica is great.

[polbear73]

Must be getting old - no snarky comments Polbear73 - as I thought I had posted yesterday but it didn't show up.

The Amherst stadium and experience is at best plain vanilla due to the location of the track.  The old stadium had the track behind the stands, which apparently wasn't too appealing to the running community.   New stadium is pretty, efficient, and too distant from the game.   It reminds me of watching a game at Franklin Field or Harvard Stadium ... too few people too far away from the action.

Re bathrooms ... Yale built a brand new lacrosse stadium about six years ago.  State of the art, beautiful, with NO bathrooms.   What's up with that logic?   Fans still have to walk over to the Yale football field bathrooms, constructed at best in the 1920s.  Dumb.

When one's alma mater has lost 18 games in a row, it's best not to be snarky. 

[nescac1]

To be fair to Yale, it would have cost approximately .0001 percent of its 27 billion endowment to build those bathrooms (forgive me if I'm off a decimal, my math isn't so great with numbers that large). 

The Williams football / lacrosse complex is truly state of the art, worlds better than the prior experience.  Once the gorgeous new Williams Inn is completed right next door the visitor experience (for at least a few dozen visitors) will be even more enhanced. 

I just hope, given that basically EVERY other facility on campus is brand spanking new or newly-rebuilt, that the school turns its attention relatively soon to the Field House (in abominable condition), hockey arena (gorgeous but could use a spruce up) and Chandler/Lasell (really needs a major overhaul, other than the two basketball gyms and the swimming arena).  Especially when you see the ridiculous indoor facilities that Midd and Colby recently constructed pr are in the process of building ... the issue is that the space where those facilities are is pretty tight, so any large-scale rebuild will be very, very tricky. 

[lumbercat]

Early "commit" to Williams class of 2023
John Freeman OT BC High 6'5" 275 - a great hit for the Ephs.
Maybe Williams admissions will allow Raymond to grow his his roster from current 65.

The NESCAC has changed significantly in recent years....these early "commitments" are now open and commonplace though still conditional on official ED confirmation from the school. The "pre-read" is the trend and admissions departments are playing the game like never before in varying degrees.

[amh63]

ColbyFootball...thanks.  Have eaten with my daughter's family and my wife at ALL the other places in the Clinton area.  Think I will try your suggestion next year.
JEFFFAN.....Amherst did want to host a Nescac Title track meet...plus, where would you put it? At the other football practice field?  Anyway, at big games many home fans hang around the sitting wall and tents lining the field.  The huge football parent tent is also lower and closer.  People sit on the gentle sloping hill to also watch the game.  It is what it is....paid for with football fan money.  Prez did not want stadium money to come out of her money drive.  A Handful of football fans/alums put up the money,  Major lump from the father of a player from the D.C./Md. area.  Got his name on the stadium.  Also paid for the $100,000 plus dollar bill to move a special tree....the one that has a chain barrier around it and is next to the Big Football tent.  Oh yes, public restrooms are behind the visitor stands and visitor side of the football player dressing building.  There is also a food stand behind the Amherst stands.  Never checked to see if beer was sold there.   Nescac1....if you are up for the Amherst Homecoming game....drop in after the game as my guest for free food and beer...in the Cage.  Balloon hats for your child too.  My offer to any other posters who might attend the battle.  I think there will be a tent for my class...that is usually where I can be found.  Check in.

[Nescacman]

2018 Week #2 NESCACMAN Picks

Welcome to Week 2 in the NESCAC...in "the league where they pay to play". Picks early this week to give the board plenty of time to take pot shots at us...haha. Off to a good start in 2018, we were 5-0 in week 1 (with most of our scores directionally correct) and are 164-46 in our 5-year career picking NESCAC games (.781 winning pct.). Another ho-hum slate of games with at least 4 blow-outs this week. Sorry, we don't make the schedule...

University of Bates (Lewiston Campus) at Hartford State: Seems like it has been a long time since UBates beat HS so we did a little bit of research. Guess what, HS hasn't lost to UBates since 1979 (22 wins in a row) and at home since 1964. Despite UBates coming in with an improved D and a new coaching staff led by HCOF Hall, the streak is not getting broken this year. "How HS Wins": Show up....the rest will take care of itself. Expect to see a heavy dose of Chipouras as he goes over 100 yards for the second straight week. We think UBates will be hard pressed to score against the tough HS defense. "How Bates Wins": UBates D plays out of their mind, stops the run, forces HS into a catch-up, pass first O and then has a bunch of sacks and turnovers v first year QB Vazzano. Offense goes back to basics and controls the ball with a balanced version of the air raid. QB Costa plays out of his mind. Unfortunately, the game this Saturday is not a science fiction movie... 

Hartford State 28 Bates 0
Weather: Not a factor.

Colby College at TTUN: TTUN 2018 home opener. Should be a big, excited crowded for the reenergized Eph faithful. After being demoralized for the past several years, the program is once again moving in the right direction under the leadership of HCOF Raymond, the reigning 'CAC Coach of the Year. Amazing that TTUN only has 9 seniors and 14 juniors on the roster...nice recruiting job by Raymond the past several years restocking/restoring the roster. "How TTUN Wins": Expect a similar game plan that they used last at Bowdoin. Run first led by Dozier and Maimaron off of the RPO and mix in some timely passes to WR Stola. Control the clock. "How Colby Wins": Stop Maimaron and Dozier, force them to pass and try to get a bunch of turnovers. Get Schwern 35-40 touches on O and control the clock. Keep O'Brien out of obvious passing situations. Last time these two teams played in Willytown, Colby won 9-7. Not going to happen this year.

TTUN 28 Colby 7
Weather: Not a factor.

Bowdoin College at Middlebury College: Middlebury will try to rebound after a demoralizing loss last week at Wesleyan. A dose of Bowdoin is just what the doctor ordered for Middlebury. The last 6 times these Teams have played each other, MID has scored over 40 points in 5 of those games and won all 6. They'll need to do a better job of protecting their QB and giving him time to find his stellar group of receivers to repeat that this year. Although Lebo was not the most mobile of QBs, he looks like Cam Newton compared to 2018 signal caller Meservy. Some interesting tidbits on HCOF Ritter...he is now the second most successful HCOF in MID program history (in terms of winning %....642) and in 17 years he has only had 1 losing season (3-5 in 2005). "How MID Wins": Give Meservy a lot more time than they gave him last Saturday against Wes so that he can get the ball down the field. Establish at least the semblance of a running game to keep Bowdoin honest. Defensively, the front seven needs to play a lot better this week. A pass rush would help. "How Bowdoin Wins": Their QBs and O line will have to play a lot better to enable them to generate some offense to keep the defense off the field. Tall order for the Polars playing against an angry Panther squad. We think Middlebury gets the O going and takes out some of their frustrations from Week 1 on the visiting Polar Bears (and they top the 40-point mark again).

Middlebury 41 Bowdoin 10
Weather: Not a factor.

Hamilton College at Amhurst College: Amhurst will try to continue their great start on D and play a mistake free game on O. With their defense, they do not need to score a ton of points to win games. Amhurst basically doesn't lose to the CONTS. They have only played 15 times historically but the LMs have won 14 of those games. Not to ruin the suspense but they won't lose this year either. "How Hamilton Wins": QB Gray and WRs Schmidt and Buddington connect early and often. They run the ball just well enough to keep the LMs defense honest. On defense, they stop Hickey and force Eberth to try and win the game through the air. Hamilton wins by making the game a shoot-out and somehow outscores the LMs. Unfortunately, not likely. "How Amhurst Wins": Defense plays their typical game, Yamin pressures Gray, they force 3 or 4 turnovers and get a bunch of sacks. The offense runs early and often with Hickey having a huge day. We pick Amhurst to get their offense going and win their home opener on a beautiful early fall day.

Amhurst 31 Hamilton 7 
Weather: Not a factor.

NESCAC Game of the Week

Wesleyan University at Tufts University (6 PM start): In what is becoming a tradition, the Jumbo's host the Cards under the lights in Medford. Last two games between these two teams have been close with last year's game won by Wes after a furious comeback by Piccirillo and the Cards. Trailing by 14 points with 8 minutes to play, they tied the score with 6 seconds left in the game. Wes then went on to win in OT. Wes looked very strong in all phases of the game last week against MID. They had it clicking on offense, defense and special teams. Meanwhile, the Jumbo's are coming off a very strong defensive game and their running attack looked very good last week led by QB McDonald (who tied the Tufts all-time record of 4 rushing TDs in a game) and RBs Pedrini and Borelli. Interesting Tufts tidbit: HCOF Civetti is 22-11 over the last 4 years since his 0-24 start at Tufts...maybe there is some hope for HCOFs Wells and Murray..."How Wesleyan Wins": Basically, repeat what you did in week one. Attempt to mimic last week's balanced attack on offense. On defense, the front 7 leads the way and forces McDonald into a pass first attack, which is not their game. Wes won the battle upfront last week not allowing a single sack and will try to do the same against a Tufts team that had six sacks last week. "How Tufts Wins": Control the clock on offense and pound the rock. McDonald and the RBs have a big day on the ground. On defense, stop the Wes running attack, pressure Piccirillo and force him to turn the ball over. We think Wes solidifies its place as one of the premier Teams in the NESCAC in 2018. Tufts keeps it close for a while but the Wes D wears down Tufts and makes some big plays in the second half.

Wesleyan 35 Tufts 14
Weather: Not a factor.

NESCACMAN's Picks
2018 Season: 5-0
2017 Season: 35-10
2016 Season: 32-8
2015 Season: 30-10
2014 Season: 30-10
2013 Season: 32-8
Career: 164-46 (.781 winning percentage)
***All games 1 PM start unless noted.

We should have said this when we posted our picks on Wednesday, but week #2 in the NESCAC is, in our opinion, the most interesting week of the season. It either confirms or deny's what we saw in week one. Is your fave team as good or as bad as they looked in week #1.

Specifically, we are anxious to see if Amhurst's offense is any good, is UBates defense as good as they looked, was week #1 an aberation for Kenny Gray or has he regressed, are Wes and Hartford State as good as they looked in week #1, who is ultimately going to be the Bowdoin QB (at least for 2018), does TTUN continue to move forward in 2018, is Colby as bad as they looked in week #1, can MID bounce back big in week #2, and does McDonald of the Jumbo's make them a contender? Very excited to find out the answers to those questions and many others we have...

And for those of you that missed our Week #2 picks, we reposted them above.

Enjoy week #2 everyone....should be lots of fun. 

[Trin9-0]

I had hoped Trinity would relocate the track when they reconfigured nearly all of their athletics facilities but alas it remained at Jessee-Miller Field. What's worse is that spectators are now prohibited from watching on the new running surface, which is understandable but limits field-level viewing to the back of the end zones.

It's my understanding that the new scoreboard and turf were phase 1 of multi-year improvements to The Coop. The renderings I saw from the previous AD showed Trin employing the Middlebury model with one giant stadium style grand stand on the current home stands with press box and possibly vip boxes (although I may be misremembering that point) and reverse seating for the field hockey/women's lacrosse astroturf field on the other side of the stands. Meanwhile they would eliminate the current visitor side seating/press box all together.

I'm not in favor of that arrangement, and perhaps it will change under the new AD, but unfortunately my pockets aren't nearly deep enough to warrant input.


I'll be in Hartford tomorrow for the game and hoping for a typical Trin-Bates result with a priority on no injuries. A road trip to Williamstown next week looms large as it will be the first real test for the Bantams. The winner of Wesleyan-Tufts will be in the enviable position to challenge Trinity and/or Amherst for the NESCAC crown. I'll be streaming that game on the big screen for sure!

[lumbercat]

Trin 8-1
Good information. Im sure the renovations will be top shelf but I just don't get the one sided seating.
They are honoring the 78 Trinity NESCAC champ team at halftime tomorrow. Good friend and team mate from HS was a captain on that team- wish  I could be there to shake his hand. A great player for Coach Don Miller who I would expect may also be there.