For the football team, there are plenty of positives to take from last season. Finishing at 5-3, it was the team's 10th consecutive winning season. The squad played hard-nosed defense, allowing only 11.3 points per game, good for 11th in the nation. They also took care of the football, leading the NESCAC in turnover margin and the nation in lost fumbles with only two all season. The Jeffs finished eighth in the New England Div. III football poll, up one spot from 2005.
However, there was the one glaring blemish. In the "Biggest Little Game in America," Amherst lost to archrival Williams College in embarrassing fashion, 37-7, putting a damper on Homecoming festivities and allowing the Ephs to finish with a perfect 8-0 season. The 2007 Jeffs will have their eyes set on revenge at Williamstown, Mass., on Nov. 10. "Our goals are the same as every year. We want to win the NESCAC and be Little Three Champs," said junior offensive lineman Justin Wiley. "We have been playing below our potential with 5-3 seasons the past two years. We want to be 8-0."
The 2006 season had started off smoothly for the Jeffs, as they won the first two games by a combined 48 points. In the third week of play, the Middlebury Panthers were able to squeak out a 7-3 victory over the Jeffs in a rainy and windy affair.
As more favorable weather conditions prevailed in the next three weeks, Amherst began to crank out the points and the blowouts once again, defeating their next three opponents by a combined score of 85-9. At 5-1, the Jeffs then faced their two most difficult challenges of the year, Trinity College and Williams, both of which were able to find ways through Amherst's vaunted defense to come up with victories, handing the Amherst squad two consecutive losses to end the year.
As if last season's difficult conclusion were not enough to think about, the Jeffs will come into training camp having lost 14 seniors, leaving significant question marks on both sides of the ball. On offense, Amherst will lose a pair of captains in Kehoe and Hannon. The offensive line will lose Ryan Smith, Matt Mascioli and Nate Riccardi, leaving three gaping holes.
On the defensive side of the ball, the team also loses two quad-captains and leading tacklers in safety Mike Salerno and defensive lineman Brendan McKee. The defense will also lose much of its line backing core with the departure of Greg Muecke, Dakota Jones and Idris McClain. Backup place kicker Mike Quirk also graduated.
Adding insult to injury, in its annual football preview The New York Times provided the team with bulletin board material by excluding Amherst from its list of contenders in the NESCAC and not naming a single Jeff in its "players to watch" section.
Despite the Times' opinion, there are many players to watch on the newest edition of the Amherst football squad. On offense, the Jeffs will look to go the ground this year behind the blocking of senior tri-captains Dan Guariglia, an offensive lineman, and Chris Gillyard at fullback. They will be paving the way for an impressive duo at running back in Eric Nesmith '09 and Aaron Rauh '10.
The quarterback position will be somewhat up in the air, but talented sophomore Lucas Loeffler should have the lead heading into the pre-seasonm but the job is still open. Loeffler and his companions will have a host of excellent targets, as senior Mike Myers will lead Taylor Brown '09 and Jim Eckenrode '09 in anchoring a deep core of receivers.
The Jeffs are also welcoming tight end Reggie Fugett '11, who transferred from Cincinnati. Fugett will add some size and athleticism to the Jeffs' offensive attacks. The offensive line should be another strong unit; Guariglia and Justin Wiley are the only certainties, as Sam Rudman '09 is coming off an injury. The Jeffs' strength will come from the defensive side of the ball, particularly the secondary. Despite the loss of Salerno at safety, Chris Mottau '08, A.J. Scola '09 and tri-captain Rob Grammar '08, all return at defensive back. The three combined for eight interceptions last year to help form one of the better secondaries in the NESCAC. Unfortunately, defensive back Mike Goldsticker '09 is out for the season with a torn meniscus that will require surgery.
Starting inside linebackers Mike Flanagan '09 and Nick Boehm '08 will both return. They will be joined on the outside by junior Preston Puryear and sophomore Mike Taylor. The defensive line will also feature mostly returnees, including Jon Atteridge, Greg Smith, M.J. Smith, Mike Meola, Edwin Urey and Eric Pender. The Jeffs hope they will be able to keep their opponents off the board long enough to give their green offense time to learn the ropes."Our strengths are our defense and our running game," said Wiley. "Our defense has proven that they are strong every year and we have a lot of guys returning on that side of the ball."
The Jeffs will see just what kind of squad they have this year when they open their season at Bates on Sept. 22.