Falcons still soaring
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Falcon receiver Justin Sleeper opened up the scoring in the first quarter with a 66-yard touchdown grab, but Endicott quickly responded by putting up 10 unanswered points to take a three-point advantage heading into the second quarter. Corey Hetherman added two more touchdown passes to his total in the second quarter, but Endicott found the end zone again towards the end of the half to get back within striking distance, 21-17, at intermission. Unfortunately for the Gulls, the second half belonged entirely to Fitchburg.
Endicott received the ball to start the third quarter, but Alex Smith’s first pass attempt of the second half was intercepted and returned all the way to the Gull 1-yard line. The Falcons immediately capitalized with a one-yard touchdown run, and three plays from scrimmage later, Fitchburg was celebrating yet another interception, which they also converted into seven points. Endicott’s third possession of the second half ended with a safety, as Fitchburg scored 16 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter to break the game wide open.
Corey Hetherman was once again sensational directing the Fitchburg offense. The Falcon quarterback finished the game 16-for-29 for 258 yards, and four touchdowns. After a slow start to the season, Hetherman has been firing on all cylinders recently, his four-touchdown performance last week set a single-game record for Fitchburg, and Hetherman has now thrown for seven touchdowns in his last two games. The biggest beneficiaries of Hetherman’s success have been Falcon receivers Justin Sleeper and Carmy Cesaire. Sleeper had a record-setting day of his own on Saturday, with three touchdown grabs (one of which came off of an option pass thrown by fellow wide out Caleb McKenzie), and Cesaire tallied five catches for 81 yards and a trip to the end zone.
Fitchburg’s current four-game winning streak ties the previous school record, and coach Patrick Haverty now has an imposing 8-1 career coaching record in the month of October. Haverty and his Falcons will look to continue their winning ways this Saturday with a visit to Maine Maritime. Now Fitchburg truly is the team to beat in the Bogan Division, and the Falcons may well be sporting a perfect division record heading into their regular-season finale at Worcester State on Nov. 6.
Despite this setback, Endicott, for its part, still has a 2-0 division mark of its own — which is good for a share of first place in the Boyd Division with Nichols — and will next face a Salve Regina team that is in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Remember, the division champs meet in the NEFC title game in Week 11.
Another special special teamer
In my ongoing fascination with punters in the New England region, Bridgewater State’s John Sullivan caught my eye this week. Not only did Sullivan punt the ball four times for an average of 37.5 yards per punt in Bridgewater’s 35-14 win against Maine Maritime, but the junior cornerback also returned a punt 61 yards, made four tackles, and converted 3-3 PAT attempts while filling in for the Bears’ regular kicker. Sullivan was tabbed NEFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Congratulations, Mike Laroche
Mike Laroche rushed for a career-high 203 yards to lead Western New England to a 24-14 win against MIT. Laroche has now rushed for more than 2,000 yards and is currently fourth on WNEC’s all-time career rushing list.
Bowdoin gets a win
On Oct. 9, Bowdoin snapped its dreadful streak of 14 consecutive losses, which included a winless 2003 season, by squeaking by Tufts 14-12. Last week, I reported how Bowdoin dropped a heartbreaking 34-28 decision against Amherst in double overtime despite outplaying the Jeffs for much of the game and engineering a miraculous, 21-point comeback in the fourth quarter. Well, if football gods weren’t smiling on the Polar Bears in that game, they sure made up for it this past weekend. Tufts — which had not lost to Bowdoin since 1997 — absolutely dominated the game statistically, amassing a school-record 604 yards of total offense to go along with 33 first downs while holding Bowdoin to just 171 yards and nine first downs. However, as you might have guessed by this point, turnovers were the difference in the game.
Tufts turned the ball over five times, and each turnover occurred in Bowdoin territory. The Polar Bears’ first touchdown came off of a 70-yard interception return by Steve Curwen, and the game effectively ended when Jumbo receiver Kevin Holland fumbled the ball away at the Bowdoin 30-yard line with 10 seconds left in the game.
Despite his controversial fumble however, Holland turned in one monster performance on Saturday, shattering a NESCAC record with 22 catches in the losing effort — the previous record stood at 15.
This week, the 1-2 Polar Bears will look to start a rare winning streak in a clash versus Hamilton. Bowdoin’s last victory, prior to this past week’s triumph, came on October 12, 2002, in a convincing 28-14 win over Hamilton.
Colby deflates Canter
In my preview of the NESCAC Game of the Week last week, I asked what Wesleyan quarterback Zach Canter would do for an encore against Colby after completing 32 passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns in a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Hamilton the previous week. Colby provided a definitive answer to that question.
Wesleyan, which entered the game averaging 39.0 points and 442.0 yards of total offense per game, was absolutely humbled in a 23-0 Colby win that was a showcase for a proud and talented White Mule defense. Canter, the hero of Wesleyan’s first two games of the season, was never able to solve the crack Colby defensive unit. Canter finished the afternoon 13-32 for 116 yards and a whopping six interceptions.
Colby, which started the season with a loss at Williams, has now won two games in a row for first-year coach Ed Mestieri. Colby will look to extend that streak this weekend against Amherst, a team that has given the Mules plenty of trouble over the course of the past few years.
Ladd continues to run through NESCAC
Two weeks ago against Bowdoin, Fletcher Ladd became Amherst’s all-time career rushing leader. This past weekend against Middlebury, Ladd continued to cement his place in the record books, as he eclipsed 3,000 yards rushing in his career, after rushing for 284 yards on 35 carries. With two more yards, Ladd would have set Amherst’s single-game rushing mark. In only three games, Ladd has now rushed for 588 yards and five touchdowns on just 73 carries. Ladd was named NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week in honor of his standout performance.
Also, Amherst’s 34-26 victory at Middlebury marked the largest margin of victory either school has had in the annual rivalry since 2000.
NESCAC Game of the Week
Middlebury at Williams, Saturday, Oct. 16, 1:30 p.m.: Middlebury’s standout quarterback Mike Keenan started his career at Williams, where his brother, Sean, had a remarkable career before a stint in the NFL, and you can bet that he will be fired up in this week’s showdown. Over the last two years, Keenan has seen his Panthers fall just short of toppling Williams twice, and the Panther signal-caller will need to be at the top of his game if he wants to walk off Weston Field with a victory. Williams, for its part, seems to be finding its rhythm, as evidenced by its convincing 41-14 over Bates last week.
NEFC Game of the Week
Nichols at Curry, Saturday, Oct. 16, 1 p.m.: This is a must-win game for defending NEFC Champions Curry. With a 2-1 record in the Boyd Division, the Colonels can ill-afford another division loss. Curry is coming off of a 65-13 thrashing of Salve Regina in which the Colonels set school records for points in a game, rushing yards gained (517), yards of total offense (664), and margin of victory. However, Curry is certain to find more resistance from a tough Nichols squad that is currently tied with Endicott for first place in the Boyd Division. A Nichols triumph over Curry would go a long way in advancing the Bison’s aspirations of a NEFC title game appearance.