The drive and The Walk
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Last week I was in Williamstown, Mass., the home of the Williams Ephs. Once the sun comes up in central and southern Vermont, the drive is one of the most spectacular you will ever see. Now going through Rutland isn’t the fun part, but when you get outside of Rutland it is nothing but wide open spaces, and more trees than even a transplanted Vermonter could imagine. During the fall, the natives complain about slow drivers on Rte. 7 who are trying to look at the leaves while driving and dodging moose, but I am convinced even they sneak a peek here and there to remind them they deal with the nasty winters in exchange for some colors.
The first real city one sees outside of Rutland is the historic city of Bennington, Vt. Bennington is the site of one of the Battle of Bennington, one of the more memorable battles during the Revolutionary War. At the site of the Bennington Battle Monument, American colonists stored important food and weapons which the British tried to, but were not able to capture for their own troops. You can see the 306 foot high monument for many miles outside the city.
Williamstown itself is about a stone’s throw from Bennington. Having never made the trip, I was surprised to see the Williamstown sign about five minutes outside Bennington. Williams College was founded in 1793 and is one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the USA. Williams holds the distinction of not only holding the first organized baseball game in 1859, but Williams was the first college whose graduates wore caps and gowns.
Being a football historian, I was interested in one of the great traditions in college football: The Walk. The walk takes place if Williams defeats their longtime rival Amherst. The players will walk up Spring Street to Saint Pierre’s Barber Shop where owner Roger Saint Pierre has cigars lined up, and the upperclassmen will shave the heads of the freshmen on the squad.
When I walked into Saint Pierre’s, I was actually going to get my hair clipped while talking about the history of The Walk. Well, there was one small problem in they don’t take credit cards, and I was dumb enough to leave my debit card at home. I did end up spending a good 45 minutes talking to Roger about the tradition, its evolution, and looking at the wall of pictures that adorn the walls. When I asked Roger how he got involved in this, he laughed and shook his head a bit. He said it was unintentional, but it snowballed.
He said about 40 years ago, after a win against Amherst, the players asked if they could walk up to the shop and celebrate. Well, the beer flowed, the heads were shaved, and a tradition was born. Roger said this is one of the greatest traditions in all of college football, and one he is pleased to be a part of. Roger said to me, “Well, things have changed though. It used to be that the kids would come in here, have a few beers, and do their thing; but that was years ago and the state is a little tight on those things nowadays.”
When I asked why the tradition is so important to the team he thought for a second and said, “For the seniors, I think it is their way of holding on to their college football careers for just one more minute. You see, these are all kids who are not on athletic scholarships, and most likely won’t play football again. If they can hold on for just one more second, it seems to complete their careers and they are ready to move on.”
While Roger was talking, I was looking at the pictures on the wall and just picturing what it would be like to be in that small barber shop with 80 guys smoking stogies and shaving the heads of their freshman teammates into outrageous styles. Thinking about it made me wish I was about six inches taller, 50 pounds heavier, and had SAT scores about 600 points higher so I could take part in such a tradition. It seems simple, but it is one of those things that make a memorable experience even more memorable.
Predictions
Well, first off, I was about as wrong as anyone could be on my “fearless predictions” of this week. Middlebury showed what their offense is capable of in a 31-7 victory over Bates (I had it as a 10-7 game), and Wesleyan didn’t even show up against Amherst. Maybe this week I will call my predictions the “Somewhat fearless predictions, but they might be predicted with some trepidation.” In the NEFC, the Coast Guard Academy and Curry can clinch their divisions next weekend. Anyway, I will get to those in a bit while I bury my head in the sand and ponder this past week’s games.
Williams strikes again
Williams is for real as the Ephs improve to 5-0 with a 38-14 victory over Tufts. Williams was able to score on their first four possessions on two short touchdown runs by Cory Catelli, a 27 yard TD strike from Pat Lucey to Brendan Fulmer, and a 54-yard TD strike from Sean Gleeson to Jon Drenckhahn. Williams outgained the Jumbos 352-203 and held the ball for 11 minutes longer than Tufts.
How about them Continentals?
Hamilton came out of the gate this season with three straight losses in which they did not score a single point. Well, something has gotten into Hamilton as they threw their second consecutive shutout in a 6-0 victory over Colby (1-4). Hamilton was able to hold Colby to just 92 yards of total offense, and Ben Tomaszewski’s 25-yard TD reception from Ben Saccomano was all Hamilton needed. On defense, Hamilton sacked Colby quarterback Justin Smith six times for losses of 51 yards; John Lawrence and Taylor Soobitisky had two sacks each. Hamilton is now 2-3.
Trinity rolls
At Brunswick, Trinity racked up 520 yards in total offense, and the defense recorded its third straight shutout to lead the Bantams to an easy 34-0 victory over Bowdoin. Quarterback Eric McGrath was 19-for-31 for 262 yards, three scores, and did not throw an interception on his way to NESCAC Player of the Week Honors. Trinity is now 4-1 while Bowdoin remains winless at 0-5.
Around the rest of the league
Middlebury improves to 4-1 on the year with a convincing 31-7 victory over Bates (0-5). Quarterback Tiger Lyon had his best outing of the year going 15-for-27 for 218 yards and three scores. At Amherst, Mark Hannon had 11 receptions for 98 yards and two scores to lead the Lord Jeffs (4-1) to a 23-0 victory over Wesleyan (2-3).
NESCAC notes
With his first-quarter touchdown, Fulmer is now in a tie for first place on the Williams all-time list for receiving touchdowns. With four catches against Tufts, Drenckhahn is three away from setting the career mark for receptions. Middlebury defensive end Kevin Ryan is two sacks away from setting the single season record for sacks in a season.
Coast Guard ready to clinch
Coast Guard Academy quarterback Christian George carried 20 times for 172 yards and two scores to lead the Bears to a 17-10 victory over Worcester State. The Bears (6-1, 5-0) can clinch the Bogan Division title next week with a win at Maine Maritime. For Worcester State (3-5, 2-3) quarterback Pat Good was 18-of-37 for 201 yards and one touchdown, but he did throw three interceptions. Coast Guard scored all of its points in the first 23 minutes, then got an interception from Steve Arguelles (his eighth of the season) and a forced fumble from Cosimo Cambi in the fourth quarter to hold Worcester State back.
Don’t count out Bridgewater State
Bridgewater State needed a victory against Westfield State to have a shot at the Bogan Division title and that is what they got. Matt Maroon rushed for 128 yards and Bruce Burley added 124 as Bridgewater State keeps its division title hopes alive with a 28-13 victory over Westfield State. Bridgewater’s defense was stellar intercepting three passes on the afternoon. For Westifeld, Ricky Angus lead the defense with nine stops. Bridgewater lost to Coast Guard in Week 7 and would lost a head-to-head two-way tie for the division title.
And then there is Maine Maritime
The Mariners still have a shot at the Bogan Division title as they scored on their first three drives and then overcame a late Fitchburg State rally as they hold on for a 40-24 victory. Maine Maritime (4-1, 5-2) outrushed Fitchburg State 320-63 in this one. For winless Fitchburg, quarterback Bryce Guilbeault was 25-for-46 for 272 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Guilbeault also carried 19 times for 47 yards and one score.
Curry still unbeaten
Curry remains undefeated as it defeated Plymouth State 40-26. Quarterback Ryan Van De Giesen was 7-foro-19 for 132 yards, three touchdowns and one interception but also carried the ball nine times for 57 yards. On defense, Tim Bloniasz had two interceptions and eight tackles. Curry now has a one game lead over Mass-Dartmouth for the lead in the Boyd Division.
Corsairs still lurking
U-Mass Dartmouth won their fourth straight and held on to their slim hopes for the Boyd Division title as they scored three times in the final 19 minutes of play to earn a 28-14 victory over Nichols. U-Mass Dartmouth’s J.T. Harold rushed 23 times for 204 yards and a 75 yard touchdown scamper with 5:51 to go in the game. John Henry had a 100-yard game through the air for U-Mass Dartmouth catching six passes for 113 yards and two scores.
In other action
Fitchburg State tossed a shutout against Mass Maritime with a 33-0 victory. … James Farrell’s 24-yard field goal with 4:41 to go lifted WNEC to a 3-0 win against Endicott. … MIT scored on its last five possessions in a come-from-behind 40-25 victory over Salve Regina. … WNEC’s Kevin Miculcy caught six passes for 88 yards to become the school’s all-time leader with 129 receptions, breaking the old mark of 124 set by Keith Fagan from 1985-88.
Here we go again
I am a glutton for punishment, so here are my very fearful predictions in the NESCAC. As much as I love Middlebury, they don’t stand much of a chance against a very tough Trinity squad with Trinity winning 34-17. Williams wins easily over Hamilton 45-0. Colby and Bates are two teams with serious offensive problems so they won’t score much. My prediction, Colby 3-0 in double overtime. Bowdoin is terrible on offense scoring only 13 points this season so Wesleyan and Zack Librizzi win this one 20-0. Finally, in what I think will be the best game of the day, Amherst and Mark Hannon over Tufts 23-20.
That’s it for me this week. Stay warm and dry and I will be back with you next week. If you have any thoughts on the NEFC, NESCAC or independents in the region, shoot me an e-mail at chris.fells@gmail.com.