NEFC race taking shape
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In the Boyd Division, Curry handed Nichols its first division loss and a 36-10 thrashing in a Homecoming showdown in Milton, Mass., this past Saturday.
The Colonels were led by an explosive ground attack and an opportunistic defense. Curry amassed 315 yards rushing and forced five Bison turnovers.
Curry took a 16-3 lead into halftime and scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game away. Patrick Leonard rushed for a career-high 160 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries, and teammate Brandon Benoit chipped in 125 yards on the ground. Brian Robitaille paced the Colonels defensively with eight tackles, and Tim Jones recorded two picks.
Curry’s win last week sets up another intriguing match up for this Saturday. The Colonels will have a chance on another team’s heretofore perfect division record when Curry makes its first ever visit to Endicott. If Curry does best Endicott, there could be up to four teams in the division tied for first place.
For its part, Endicott is coming off of a less than impressive performance against Salve Regina in which the Gulls (4-3; 3-0) had to struggle in order to best the beleaguered Seahawks (1-6; 0-4), 23-14. Gerard Festa rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns for Endicott, but was equaled by Salve Regina receiver Antonio Guzzo who hauled in seven passes for 201 yards of his own.
Things appear to be slightly more settled in the Bogan Division, where Fitchburg State must be considered the favorite to represent the Bogan Division in the NEFC Championship Game at the end of the season.
The Falcons took care of business on Saturday by notching a comfortable, 30-12 win over an overmatched Maine Maritime squad. Corey Hetherman turned in another efficient performance at his quarterback position, finishing the game 17-for-26 for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Fitchburg will put its school-best five-game winning streak on the line Saturday at home against Massachusetts Maritime.
While Fitchburg continues to shine, the prospects of last year’s Bogan Division champions, Westfield State, are on the decline. The Owls were shut out 27-0 last weekend at Bridgewater State to all but eliminate any hope Westfield had of making a fourth consecutive appearance at the NEFC Championship Game. The Westfield defense was impressive throughout, and the Owls only trailed by three points at halftime, but Bridgewater scored 21 points off of five second half turnovers by the Owls to secure the victory. Bear running back Brenden Kavey — the NEFC’s leading rusher — gained 116 yards on the ground, his fifth consecutive triple-digit rushing performance. The Bridgewater defense, meanwhile, was nearly immovable; Westfield never got inside the Bear 25-yard line.
With a 2-2 division mark, Westfield has little chance of playing beyond Nov. 6. Bridgewater, on the other hand, is still in the thick of things with only one divisional loss.
Williams ekes out win over Midd
On paper, this game had all the signs of being a closely decided contest; and, on the field, it did not disappoint, as Williams took advantage of a missed extra point to survive with a 17-16 win on Weston Field. Panther quarterback Mike Keenan looked to have orchestrated a comeback drive midway through the fourth quarter when he connected with Tim Sheridan on an 8-yard touchdown reception, but Middlebury’s enthusiasm quickly faded when Williams blocked the extra point attempt to preserve its one-point advantage. The Eph defense stifled Keenan and company on two subsequent drives to deliver the 17-16 victory.
The loss had to be particularly tough on Keenan, who began his career as an Eph and has now lost three games to his former team by a combined margin of 14 points. With the win, Williams moved to 3-1, and was able to keep pace with conference leaders Amherst and Trinity. Middlebury is now 1-3 on the year, a record good for a share of last place in the NESCAC.
Efficient Mr. Ayala
Worcester State tailback Izzy Ayala gets top marks for efficiency. In last Saturday’s win 41-12 win at Mass Maritime, Ayala rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns — on just eight carries. To save you the trouble of dusting off a calculator, that is an average of 22.4 yards per carry.
Hamilton does it with offense
The bad news for Hamilton is that its defense is not particularly good. Halfway through the season, the Continentals have surrendered an average of 47.0 points and 483.2 yards of total offense per game. The good news is that Hamilton has the firepower to do some damage on offense of its own.
This past Saturday, Hamilton earned its first win of the season by edging out Bowdoin 51-48 in a double-overtime shootout. The 99 combined points set a new NESCAC record for most points scored in one game.
The story of this game was the sensational play of Continental quarterback Brandon Holtslag. Holtslag generated a whopping 509 yards of total offense, simultaneously setting career bests in rushing yardage (230) and passing (279). The Hamilton signal-caller also threw for a touchdown and rushed for four more, including the game-winner. As a team, Hamilton rushed for 303 yards, but they were slightly outdone in this department by Bowdoin, which rushed for 305 yards as a team, largely on the strength of Rob Patchett’s 233-yard performance.
Bowdoin looked well on its way to a victory when Matt Boyd rumbled into the end zone from 7 yards out late in the third quarter to give the Polar Bears a 38-17 lead. But Holtslag engineered three unanswered touchdown drives to close out the second half and send the game to overtime — Bowdoin kicker Nolan McNair was unable to connect on what would have been a game-winning 42-yard field goal at the end of regulation.
After trading touchdowns in the first overtime period, Hamilton held Bowdoin to a field goal to begin the second overtime. At this point, Holtslag put the game on his shoulders and ran the ball for consecutive times to give the Continentals a touchdown, and a come-from-behind win.
Bowdoin has now lost two games in double overtime in the last three weeks.
Trouble in Maine
Although Wesleyan scored a combined 78 points in two wins against Tufts and Hamilton to open the season, the Cardinal offense has sputtered in its last two games. After being shutout at Colby a week ago, Wesleyan fared little better in a return engagement in Maine on Saturday against Bates. Bates scored the first 28 points of the game and cruised to a 28-7 win. This was Bates’ first win of the season and its first win against Wesleyan since 1982.
Wesleyan continues to have difficulty in mustering a potent ground attack; the Bobcats held the Cardinals to just 19 yards rushing. With an ineffective ground game, Wesleyan quarterback Zach Canter was once again obliged to throw the ball early and often. Canter completed 26 of 56 passes for 226 yards. Canter threw for one touchdown, was intercepted three times, and was sacked on five separate occasions.
Fortunately for Wesleyan, they will not have to travel to Maine again until 2005 — they face Bowdoin at home later this year. The 2-2 Cardinals will look to get back to their winning ways this Saturday as they host Amherst in a Little III showdown over Homecoming Weekend.
NESCAC Game of the Week
Amherst at Wesleyan, Saturday, Oct. 23, 12 p.m.: Amherst will travel to Wesleyan Saturday in the first Little III showdown of the year. The Jeffs are currently tied with Trinity atop the NESCAC at 4-0 and are coming off of a solid, if unspectacular 19-10 victory over Colby. Wesleyan, meanwhile, has lost two in a row and will be looking to regain its form on offense against the rival Jeffs. This game will feature the NESCAC’s leading rusher in Amherst’s Fletcher Ladd (173.2 yards per game) and the conference’s leading passer in Wesleyan’s Zach Canter (279.5 yards per game). Amherst crushed Wesleyan last year, 41-0, but lost 14-13 during its last visit to Middletown. This game will be televised regionally on NESN, Ch. 623 on DirecTV for those with the sports package.
NEFC Game of the Week
Curry at Endicott, Saturday, Oct. 23, 1 p.m.: This Saturday, Curry makes its first-ever trip to Endicott in a game that has enormous Boyd Division implications. An Endicott victory will solidify the Gulls’ lock on the top spot in the division. However, Curry has been playing excellent football of late and has to be considered the favorite in this weekend’s contest. With a win, Curry can preserve its hopes of repeating as NEFC Champions.