Quick Hits: Middlebury @ Colby

Football
Apologies for the late post, we’ll make sure our posts go up earlier in the future.
Weather Report
Waterville, Maine: Overcast, chilly, with a 15% chance of rain.
Matching Up Against the Mules: 
Colby 0-1, lost 41-7 to Williams last week.
2011: 3-5, 6th-ranked scoring offense, 7th-ranked scoring defense
Offensive Players to Watch:
Luke Duncklee, sophomore, is an emerging talent. He’s listed as a quarterback on the roster, but was used primarily in the running game last year (5.2 ypc, 30 ypg), and this year at wideout (he had a big game last week: 8 receptions, 66 yards, and a passing TD on (I believe) a trick play. Duncklee is also a threat in the kick return game, where the Panthers were burned last week. His versatility is helping the Mules replace their two top pass catchers from last season, WR Connor Walsh and TE Spencer Merwin, who were both 2nd-team All-NESCAC a year ago.
At quarterback, sophomore Connor Emmert couldn’t get much going last week vs. Williams. He finished 10-20, with 73 yards. Backup Justin Ciero, meanwhile, went 4-7, for 25 yards.
Senior John Gilboy (captain, 6’0, 300lbs) is the team’s best offensive lineman, also named 2nd-team All-NESCAC last year.
A Look at the Defense
The Mules allowed just 115 rushing yards against Williams last week, which is impressive considering the stable of good backs they have, but allowed 295 yards through the air. Colby will need to have made considerable strides in their pass defense this week if they want to have any success slowing down Mac Foote and company after allowing a number of big passing plays last week, including gains of 35, 33, 25, 23 and 20 yards to Adam Marske and Williams. This will definitely be a point of emphasis for both teams in this game.
A list of defensive players to watch for the Mules:
Ryan Veillette (DE, 6’1″, 230) last season: 3rd team All-NESCAC, 38 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 quarterback hits, 1 forced fumble, 1 blocked kick.
Derrick Beasley (DB, 6’1″) last season: 55 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 interception
Henry Nelson (LB, 6’2″) last season: 59 tackles (led team in tackles as a first-year), 3.5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles.
Matchup to Watch: Middlebury wide receiver Zach Driscoll vs. the Colby secondary
Williams receiver Darren Hartwell had 8 catches for 92 yards last week and two scores against the Mules. Driscoll and Foote were out of sync early in the game last week, but found a rhythm as the game went on. If the Mules can’t cover the Panthers aerial attack early, Driscoll could have a huge day.
Prediction: Middlebury 42 – Colby 7
The Panthers defense is much improved and the Middlebury passing attack should have worked out the kinks that slowed it down early in the game last week.

NESCAC Fantasy Football Update

Football

In Week 1 of our two team NESCAC Fantasy Football league, Jeff took down 178-161. Here were the high scorers:

Mac Foote: 31 pts.
Evan Bunker:  27 pts.
Adam Marske: 23 pts.
Darren Hartwell: 21 pts.
Nick Kenyon: 20 pts.
Billy Chapman: 20 pts.
Zach Driscoll: 19 pts.
Remi Ashkar: 16 pts.

Here are our waiver wire moves before Week 2 kicks off, which will give you an idea of how the top players in the NESCAC are looking:

Damon adds Evan Silva, drops Marco Hernandez
Jeff Adds Luke Duncklee, drops Ryan Curit
Damon adds Richie Beaton, drops Garret Hoy
Jeff adds Tyler Jacobs, drops Zach Donnarumma
Damon adds Wade McNamara, drops Josh Amster
Jeff adds Greg Payton, drops Nick Goldin
Damon adds Joseph Mallock, drops Jake Fleury
Damon adds Middlebury D/ST, drops Bowdoin D/ST
Damon adds Jesse Warren, drops Grant White
Jeff adds Marco Hernandez, drops Ben Crick

By the way, a preview of Middlebury-Colby will be out by Saturday morning.

1-0: Reflections on Middlebury-Bowdoin

Football

Middlebury won their opening game today 42-18 against Bowdoin. You can see the box score of the game here.

Middlebury’s defense was the story of the first half, and their offense was the story of the second half. The defense forced three turnovers (all interceptions), got consistent penetration at the line of scrimmage, and kept the ball on Bowdoin’s half of the field for most of the first two quarters of play. Nick Burdeau, Joel Blockowicz, and Jared Onouye made the picks. Burdeau’s and Blockowitz’s picks were heads-up athletic plays. Onouye’s was a gift. Until the last drive of the second quarter, Middlebury’s defense only made one mistake, allowing Polar Bear quarterback Grant White to scramble for 29 yards on a third and nine in the beginning of the second quarter. Other than that, the unit looked far better than last year’s. Linebacker John Wiet was all over the field, piling up 10 tackles and a sack. The biggest defensive lapse for the Panthers came with under two minutes remaining in the half, when they allowed a huge 40 yard pass down the seam to Nick Goldin on another 3rd down, soon followed by a 28 yard touchdown pass on a crossing route to David Black.

The defense’s success, however, should be taken with a grain of salt. The Bowdoin offense, which only scored 13.1 points per game last season, went into the game short-handed on offense and it only got worse. We heard that top wide receiver and senior co-captain Sean O’Malley tore his ACL in an intrasquad scrimmage last weekend, but that was just the start. Running back Zach Donnarumma, their top offensive player from last season, was listed as the starter but never saw the field, for unclear reasons. Instead, carries were split early on between converted defensive back Greg Pierce, and freshman Trey Brown. That was, until Brown went down with an injury in the middle of the second quarter. Then, later that same quarter, Bowdoin’s starting quarterback, White, was taken out and replaced by Thomas Romero after being hit on a rollout. Though White was not down on the field after the play, he never returned to the game. So, from halfway through the second quarter onward, Bowdoin’s already mediocre offense was playing without its QB1  (White), WR1 (O’Malley), RB1 (Donnarumma), and RB3 (Brown). Panther fans should be cautious about what they take away from this performance.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Panthers started slow, but found their groove before the end of the first half and rode that for the rest of the game. Foote threw five touchdown passes, including two each to seniors Zach Driscoll (5-74) and Billy Chapman (7-76). The Foote-to-Driscoll connection was out-of-sync early, as Foote threw three early incompletions to Driscoll on mistimed passes, but Driscoll played huge in the second half, pulling down everything thrown his way and gaining tough yards after the catch. On his second half touchdown, he crossed the goal-line dragging two Bowdoin defenders at his feet. Chapman, the pre-season All-American, seemed to get a lot of attention from the Bowdoin defense, and was quieted early on, but found his game soon enough, working the defense with little hooks and out-routes. The Middlebury offensive line looked extremely solid against the inexperienced Bowdoin defensive line, giving Foote tons of time to throw and creating holes for Remi Ashkar and Matt Rea, who both ran the ball well. Ryan Moores, the NFL-prospect tackle, played on the right side of the line.

Perhaps the most exciting development from the Middlebury offense, however, was the play of sophomore wide receiver Brendan Rankowitz. Rankowitz, who is filling much of the whole left behind by the departure of Nick Resor and Matt Wassel, only had three receptions and 40 yards all of last season. It took him until midway through the second quarter to surpass those numbers today, as he was the first of the Panther pass-catchers to establish himself against the Polar Bears. He continued to impress throughout the game, finishing with seven receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown, including an athletic over-the-head catch on the sidelines at the start of the second half. He was also solid in the kick return game. It looks like Rankowitz is the next big thing in the well-oiled machine that is the Panthers passing offense.

One thing to takeaway for Bowdoin: freshman defensive back Jibrail Coy looks like a great football player. He was the starting kick returner for Bowdoin (alongside fellow freshman Greg Thompson), and he had a 42 yard return in the third quarter, and a 53 yard return in the fourth. He showed great burst and elusiveness. After there were no kick returns for touchdowns in the NESCAC last season, Coy is my pick to break the drought. He also made a very athletic play on defense on a deep pass intended for Zach Driscoll, ranging backward and skying up high to tip the pass, which would have been a touchdown. Looks like a future star for the Bowdoin defense.

Middlebury heads to Colby next week, looking to improve to 2-0. Colby lost their opener today, 41-7 versus Williams.

NESCAC Fantasy Football

Football

In anticipation of today’s kickoff of the 2012 football season, Damon and I decided to start a 2-team NESCAC fantasy football league.

We had our draft yesterday, and the league is under the following rules: ESPN Standard scoring, weekly head-to-head schedule, 2 QBs, 4 RBs, 6 WRs, 2 TEs, and 2 D/STs.

In essence, this is our projection of the top 4 quarterbacks, the top 8 running backs, the top 12 widereceivers, the top 4 tight ends, and the top 4 defense/special teams units in the NESCAC, statistically. Not having seen all of these teams play before, and only having  heard/read rumors about starters and depth charts (and with no Matthew Berry value analysis or ESPN Big Board), we are sure there will be plenty of picks we want back, but for what it’s worth, here is how the draft unfolded, followed by the final rosters for our two teams. We will make sure to keep you updated on our competition, and our waiver wire pick-ups, as the season plays out. My picks are in blue, and Damon’s are in green.

  1. Mac Foote, QB, Middlebury (Jr)
  2. Evan Bunker, RB, Trinity (Jr)
  3. Billy Chapman, TE, Middlebury (Sr)
  4. LaDarius Drew, RB, Wesleyan (So)
  5. Remi Ashkar, RB, Middlebury (Sr)
  6. Zach Driscoll, WR, Middlebury (Sr)
  7. Darren Hartwell, WR, Williams (Sr)
  8. Ben Crick, RB, Trinity (Jr)
  9. Zack Donnarumma, RB, Bowdoin (Jr)
  10. A.J. Jones, WR, Trinity (Jr)
  11. Tom Wohlwender, RB, Williams (Sr)
  12. Adam Marske, QB, Williams (Jr)
  13. Ryan Curit, WR, Bates (Jr)
  14. Marco Hernandez, RB, Williams (Jr)
  15. Trinity D/ST
  16. Brandon Rankowitz, WR, Middlebury (So)
  17. Amherst D/ST
  18. Dylan Haas, WR, Tufts (Sr)
  19. Bowdoin D/ST
  20. Kevin Petrick, TE, Hamilton (Sr)
  21. Michael Lahiff, WR, Colby (Sr)
  22. Garret Hoy, WR, Hamilton (Sr)
  23. Josh Amster, WR, Middlebury (Sr)
  24. Tom Costello, K, Trinity (Sr)
  25. Kevin Hughes, TE, Wesleyan (Jr)
  26. Nick Kenyon, TE, Tufts (Sr)
  27. Max Lippe, QB, Amherst (S0)
  28. Jeff Riemann, WR, Williams (Sr)
  29. Jay Fabien, WR, Wesleyan (So)
  30. Grant White, QB, Bowdoin (Jr)
  31. Alex Scyocurka, RB, Williams (Jr)
  32. Nick Goldin, WR, Bowdoin (Sr)
  33. Williams D/ST
  34. Jake Feury, K, Middlebury
Continue below to see our opening day rosters

The Final Word

Football

At 1 pm today, the Middlebury football team opens the season at Youngman Field against visiting Bowdoin. It will be the first time the Panthers have played the Polar Bears since 2009, when Middlebury lost in a wild shootout 50-35. In that game, Donnie McKillop attempted 61 passes, completing 38 of them while throwing three touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Since then McKillop, the most prolific passer in Middlebury history, has graduated — though Mac Foote stepped into the void with a record season last year — and the Bowdoin defense has solidified into one of the best units in the conference.

The Polar Bears allowed just 16 points per game last year, the third best mark in the NESCAC. (For context the Panthers gave up a conference worst 31.2 points per game last season). Middlebury dominated the other side of the football, however, finishing the 2011 season with the second highest scoring offense in the conference, while Bowdoin put up a paltry 13.1 points per game.

The contrasts in style, however, ultimately led to the same season record as both teams overcame disappointing starts to finish with 4-4 records. The similarities between the two teams’ outcomes is even more striking considering that they shared three of their four victories against the same teams (Colby, Hamilton and Tufts) and three of their losses against common opponents (Trinity, Williams and Amherst) as well.

For the Polar Bears, the return of junior quarterback Grant White is vital. White was injured midway through the season last year, forcing freshman Mac Caputi into the starting role. Caputi struggled, completing fewer than 37 percent of his passes while throwing seven interceptions and just three touchdowns in six games. White, who showed signs of promise before his injury and in limited action as a freshman in 2009, will be a tough assignment for the Panthers who will have to account not only for his arm, but for his legs as well.

On the other side of the ball, Bowdoin returns a pair of talented linebackers, but lost its top defensive player from a season ago, Peter Troubh, to graduation. Troubh was one of the best defensive linemen in the conference last year, finishing second in sacks with seven and third in tackles for a loss with 15 total. Returning to fill Trough’s shoes are two junior linebackers, Griffin Cardew and Joey Cleary, both of whom were among the top 15 tacklers in the conference last season as sophomores.

Middlebury, meanwhile, enters the season returning more than 70 percent of the team’s starters from last season, including the nation’s top passing quarterback, Mac Foote. Behind an offensive line that includes potential All-American left tackle Ryan Moores and Jack Allard, a talented junior opposite him, and with weapons like preseason All American tight end Billy Chapman, deep threat Zach Driscoll out wide and a tremendous pass catcher out of the backfield in Remi Ashkar, Foote is primed to have another tremendous season. Sophomore receiver Brendan Rankowitz, a top candidate to have a breakout season is also a name to watch on this team.

Defensively, the Panthers will be better almost by default. There are, however, a number of players, particularly in the secondary, who could generate some excitement this season. Dan Kenerson came on strong as the season progressed last year, finishing second on the team with 54 total tackles and leading the unit with three pass breakups. The bar is set high for corners Jared Onouye, a junior, and sophomore Joel Blockowitz, both of whom have the potential to be strong playmakers on the outside. Finally, the defense brings back some experience and talent in the linebacking crew and up front with Matt Crimmins, John Wiet, Keegan Ashley and Jimmy Tilson all back in the mix. Middlebury will need to get better push up front and more penetration this season, as last year’s defense ranked in the bottom two in the conference in both rushing yards allowed and sacks.

Matchup to Watch: Billy Chapman vs. Bowdoin linebackers
Chapman is the best tight end in the conference and will undoubtedly see a number of double teams. If Cardew and Cleary can stay with the versatile tight end, the Polar Bears will force Foote to his second and third options, allowing more time for an inexperienced defensive line to establish some form of pass rush.

Prediction: Middlebury 28 – Bowdoin 24
This has the makings of being a very good game. I think both teams are improved from last season, but ultimately Middlebury’s offensive continuity and an inexperienced Polar Bears’ defensive line will be the difference in this one. If Bowdoin can get consistent pressure on the quarterback and White makes plays on offense, the Polar Bears will leave Vermont 1-0. In the end, though, I think the pillars of this Middlebury offense, Moores, Chapman and Foote will lay the foundation the Panthers’ first win.