Other NEFC spot still up for grabs
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Fitchburg State fell out of the three-way tie in the wild Bogan Division race of the New England Football Conference by losing 37-30 to Westfield State. Remaining atop the division with 5-1 records are Maine Maritime Academy and Bridgewater State.
Bridgewater did its part by cruising past Worcester State 47-14 as senior Bruce Burley amassed a whopping 295 yards with four touchdowns on 18 carries.
Maine Maritime had a battle with Coast Guard, winning 42-34 with Jim Bower as the workhorse back in the triple option. He carried the ball 30 times, gaining 131 yards and scoring a touchdown.
Maine Maritime holds the tiebreaker should both teams finish 6-1 next week by virtue of defeating Bridgewater 41-31.
That means if the Mariners win next week, it will be the final game for Bridgewater State. The school has put a moratorium on ECAC bowl games and Bears coach Chuck Denune knows an NCAA at-large bid is out of the picture with three losses overall.
All the Bears can do is win the Cranberry Bowl against Mass. Maritime and hope Fitchburg, 4-2 in the Bogan, beats Maine Maritime.
Aside from the more important issue of winning against Mass. Maritime, Burley can become the school's all-time leading rusher by picking up 125 yards in the game. That would put him past Brendan Kavey who topped the list by reaching 1,400 yards in 2005.
"He has always been athletic and fast," Denune said of Burley.
"But he had never been a true running back. He was probably a defensive back that we had to convert to a college I back," he said of the transfer from Wagner. "He was like a wing back in high school.
"He always tried to bounce everything.
"Now, he follows his fullback's block and then looks around. This week he looked like he was on cruise control. This was the smoothest I have ever seen him."
This week's game comes against a Mass. Maritime team that has not had any success this season, but Denune said there is no danger of this group of players taking the Buccaneers lightly.
"This is a good rivalry. We always get their best game," he said. "I know our seniors will play hard."
The Bears will be trying to take home the Cranberry Scoop in a game that has plenty of pageantry.
But more than the Cranberry Scoop, they would like to be able to get word after the game from Castine, Maine that the Fitchburg Falcons have pinned a defeat on Maine Maritime.
The Mariners must contend with a high-scoring Fitchburg offense led by quarterback Jim Miller. Miller went 23-of-33 for 313 yards and a touchdown passing and ran for three touchdowns.
"Fitchburg can score a lot of points," Denune said. "Stopping Maine's offense will be the hard part. They really have it going. The only thing that can stop Maine's offense is if they put the ball on the ground."
Plymouth clinches
The Plymouth State Panthers clinched a spot in the NEFC title game at MIT's Steinbrenner Stadium, dropping MIT 27-14.
The Panthers, 8-1 and unbeaten in the conference, got another big game from Jeff Mack as he topped 200 yards rushing for the fourth time this season.
A boot and a new QB
Middlebury stayed on course for a winning record and did it in dramatic fashion. The Panthers got a 33-yard field goal from Andrew Kuchan with 11 seconds remaining to beat Hamilton 31-28.
The Panthers were playing without quarterback Donald McKillop who leads the New England Small College Athletic Conference in passing yards per game as well as total offense. He has already set a number of school records this year.
With McKillop sidelined with a shoulder injury, the job fell to Jack Kramer, a junior who had thrown just one pass in his career. Kramer was 22-of-44 for 361 yards and three touchdowns.
The game was played for the Old Rocking Chair for the 29th time. Mac Bristol, a 1943 Hamilton graduate and John Kirk, a 1939 Middlebury alumnus, put up the piece of furniture in an effort to heat up the rivalry between their schools.
Middlebury, 4-3, will be trying to finish with a winning record by beating Tufts at home. Tufts is coming off a 17-10 victory over Colby.
Lighting up the board at Bowdoin
Bowdoin scored its most points in a game since 1951 in roaring to a 55-14 victory over in-state rival Bates.
Bowdoin can win the CBB Championship next week by beating Colby.
Setting the tone in Throggs Neck
The SUNY Maritime Privateers are trying to have the first winning season in their young history and can do that this week by beating Mount Ida on the road in the regular season finale.
The Privateers got to 4-4 by toppling Becker 36-26.
A winning campaign would be a great way for Maritime to go into the inaugural North Atlantic Conference next season.
It was Senior Day for the Privateers and there are only two of them. Greg Campisi and Billy Hickey were honored before the game.
Maybe coach Clayton Kendrick-Holmes has a flair for the dramatic. The two seniors hooked up on a trick play for a touchdown.
Colonels back on track
After having their 37-game winning streak in the NEFC halted by Plymouth last week, Curry started a new one by whipping Nichols 45-20.
The big games
There is no other place to start when talking about the biggest games of the coming weekend than with "The Biggest Little Game in America."
Williams visits Amherst for the event that brought ESPN's GameDay crew to Williamstown, Mass. last season, its only stop ever at a Division III venue.
This time the scene shifts to Amherst where the Little Three title is at stake. Williams won the first of its Little Three contests last week by blowing out Wesleyan 42-14.
This game never needs an "extra," but if you are looking for one, Williams' Brian Morrissey is only 47 yards short of becoming Williams' all-time leading rusher.
Trinity, 7-0, can cap perfection by winning at Wesleyan next week. It would be the Bantams' 11th undefeated season.
The Bantams have already clinched their fifth New England Small College Athletic Conference Championship in the last seven years.
Oliver Starnes rushed for three touchdowns in the win against Wesleyan.
Another game of note finds Husson visiting Becker in an encounter between two members of next year's new NAC. Husson can complete the season undefeated against Division III competition.
The Eagles' only losses have come at the hands of Division II foes Merrimack and American International.
That has folks in Bangor talking about the possibility of some sort of postseason berth.