Curry, Fitchburg to face off for NEFC crown
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Brian Milleisen accounted for four rushing touchdowns — all in the first half — and Corey Hetherman threw for three more against the hapless Rams. By day’s end, Framingham had turned the ball over eight times, matching the number of losses the winless Rams have accrued thus far in the season.
Fitchburg meanwhile is riding a school-record seven-game winning streak. After starting the year out 0-2, the Falcons have really picked up their play over the past several weeks.
Curry, for its part, clinched a second consecutive Boyd Division title on Saturday with a solid, 47-16 victory over Western New England. The story of the game was the phenomenal play of senior receiver Brad Dick. Dick hauled in seven passes on the afternoon for 170 yards and three touchdowns — a performance good enough to earn him NEFC Player of the Week Honors. Colonel running back added 174 yards rushing as Curry engineered a 34-point second half to seal the win.
Since losing to Mass-Dartmouth 18-13 on September 25, coach Steve Nelson and company have done a remarkable job in reasserting Colonel dominance in the division. Curry has not won a game by fewer than 26 points during its current five-game winning streak.
The NEFC Championship Game showdown between Fitchburg and Curry will be the second time the two schools will have played each other this year. Back on Sept. 11, Curry kicked off its season by besting the Falcons 14-3. That result was achieved in large measure due to a superb defensive effort by Nelson’s crew. Curry held Fitchburg to just 42 yards rushing and forced four Falcon turnovers in handing Fitchburg its second loss of the season. But the Falcons have not lost a game since, and the way Corey Hetherman and Brian Milleisen are currently playing, the Colonels ought to plan on scoring more than 14 points if they want to make another appearance in the NCAA playoffs.
Only one unbeaten left
Last week, Trinity was forced to share the top spot in the NESCAC with Amherst despite clearly being the class of the NESCAC. This week, thanks to Tufts, Trinity is where it should be — alone atop the conference standings.
Tufts is in the middle of what has to be considered a fairly disappointing season. After finishing the 2003 campaign with a solid 5-3 mark, there were high expectations for the Jumbos at the beginning of 2004. However, entering last Saturday’s showdown with Amherst, the talented Tufts team sported a dismal 1-4 record, which included a loss to a Bowdoin College team that had not previously won a game since 2002. Even with an imposing defense and some legitimate weapons on offense, Tufts has been unable to win many ballgames. The Jumbos have simply been unable to put many points on the board.
Coming into the Amherst game, Tufts had only scored 56 points in five contests, and the Jumbo offense did not have much success against the Jeffs either, generating only 10 points. But thanks to a relentless defense, 10 points was enough to win.
The Jumbo D forced Amherst to turn the ball over on downs inside the Tufts red zone on its two final possessions to preserve a 10-3 victory. The Jeff offense, which had been averaging 421 yards of total offense per game, was held to just 221. This was the first time that Amherst was held without a touchdown since 2000.
Amherst is now tied for second in the NESCAC with Williams at 5-1, but the Jeffs’ hardest games are still to come. This week, Amherst takes on Trinity, before closing its season with a Homecoming showdown versus Williams.
Rookie quarterback revitalizes Wesleyan
After starting the season 2-0, Wesleyan hit a rough patch with consecutive losses to Colby, Bates, and Amherst. But the Cardinals righted the ship last week against Bowdoin thanks in large measure to the stellar play of freshman quarterback Zach Librizzi, who was making his first collegiate start. Librizzi completed 24 of 41 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns in Wesleyan’s 25-21 win over Bowdoin. Librizzi was rewarded for his efforts by being named NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week.
At first it appeared as if Wesleyan’s slump would continue for another week, as the Cardinals staked their guests to a 14-0 advantage early in the game. But Librizzi recorded three unanswered touchdown passes to put Wesleyan up 18-14. After another Bowdoin score, the young signal-caller exuded remarkable poise late in the fourth quarter as he led his team on what would be the game’s winning drive. Librizzi threw a seven-yard touchdown strike with 2:25 to play to give Wesleyan the 25-21 triumph.
Congrats to Chuck Priore and Trinity
Coach Chuck Priore and his Trinity Bantams won their 20th consecutive game with a convincing 28-7 victory over Middlebury. The owners of the longest winning streak in collegiate football can claim at least a share of what would be a third consecutive NESCAC Championship with a win over visiting Amherst this weekend.
PAT
In two consecutive victories — a 17-16 win over Middlebury on October 16, and a 10-9 win over Tufts on October 23 — Williams benefited from its opposition’s inability to convert a late extra point. This past week, it was Colby that benefited from this all-too-common special teams debacle. With just 15 seconds remaining in the game, Bates seemed to have overcome a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to knot the game up at 17 when the Bobcats’ freshman quarterback Brandon Colon crossed the goal line on fourth-and-goal. Unfortunately for the Bobcat faithful, Mike Civitello’s extra point attempt was blocked as Colby rebuffed the Bates comeback and secured the 17-16 win.
The game was marked by the fantastic performances of two freshmen. The aforementioned Colon set a school-record by completing 28 passes. The Manchester, New Hampshire native threw for 294 yards and a touchdown and ran for one more. However, it was Colby running back Chris Bashaw who earned NESCAC Rookie of the Week honors on the strength of his 21-carry, 102-yard performance against Bates.
NESCAC Game of the Week
Amherst at Trinity, Saturday, Nov. 6, 12:30 p.m.: This game was supposed to be a battle of the unbeaten in the NESCAC, but Tufts spoiled that promotion by upsetting Amherst last week. However, this game still represents Trinity’s last major hurdle to clear before completing yet another undefeated season. Amherst was the only team Trinity trailed against all season long last year, and if the Jeffs do play “flawless” football, they do have the horses to knock off the Bantams this season. But this is no easy task. Drew Finkeldey and Gennaro Leo represent a devastating 1-2 punch in the Bantam backfield, and no team has yet to score more than 14 points off of the stingy Trinity D in any game this season.
NEFC Game of the Week
Let’s not kid ourselves. The NEFC game to watch is the November 13 championship clash between Fitchburg State and Curry.