Author: Jacques Slaughter

Football played brilliantly this week against Little Three rival Williams and came back with a strong victory that completely transformed how this season will end for the team. Though it was not the most exciting game for spectators, with each team punting at least nine times, both sides had formidable defenses going into the match. Overall, a strong defensive performance by the Red and Black, especially against the run, helped give Wesleyan the win in Williamstown and pushed the Cards’ record to 43-76-5 all-time against the Ephs.

The Wesleyan offense was not as flashy as it was against Bowdoin, but the game plan was simple and effective. The Birds tallied 272 yards of total offense on the day, with 151 yards coming through the air and the other 121 yards coming from the run game. Quarterback Mark Piccirillo ’19 only completed 9 of his 17 attempts, but one of them was a 75-yard pass to wide receiver Hallvard Lundevall ’20 in the fourth quarter to help seal the game. Moreover, in this very competitive match, the Wesleyan offense did a fantastic job of maintaining possession (32 minutes to 28), despite running fewer plays than Williams. The running game was balanced and strong with both Piccirillo and running back Glenn Smith ’21 picking up 43 yards, while Smith also scored a touchdown on the ground in the second quarter for the first score of the game. More impressively, this performance was against one of the top defenses in the NESCAC, who had only let in 89 points until this week’s match. This season, Williams has already defeated Trinity, the Cards’ final opponent who stands in second in the conference standings.

Though the offense did a good job on Saturday, it was really the Cardinal defense that stole the show. The defense finished off the game strong, allowing the Birds to return to Middletown with a victory that the team desperately needed after a rough few weeks.

Both Eli Blair-May ’20 and Will Kearney ’20 deserve special mentions for their interceptions on Saturday. Blair-May especially deserves props for his 30-yard interception return for a touchdown. It marked the final Wesleyan score of the day and helped seal victory for the Cards in the fourth quarter.

Similarly, Jackson Eighmy ’21 earned a selection for NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week. He tallied three sacks as well as another two tackles for a loss, a stand out performance that helped the Red and Black defense command the field.

The defense as a whole did a fantastic job stifling the Williams offense, holding them to under 300 total yards of offense. They did a great job of forcing punts on important third downs, as Williams was only able to convert four of their 18 third down attempts. Most impressively, Wesleyan held what had been the third best rushing attack in the conference to a total of -8 yards on the ground.

However, this week’s performance was not perfect and several previous areas of difficulty returned to cause issues. Penalties were an issue as the Cardinals gave up almost 120 yards off penalties throughout the matchup, accounting for one-third of Williams’ normal offensive output. At the same time, Williams surrendered 90 yards of penalties of their own. In addition, Wesleyan struggled greatly to sustain drives and only converted a single third down throughout the match. It is crucial that the Cards improve that number before playing a less forgiving Trinity team.

The last match of the season next week is against Trinity. The Bantams have the most prolific offense in the conference, having scored 315 points (outscoring their closest competitor Tufts by 82 points). Trinity also has the second best defense in the conference, only having let in 3 points more than the best defensive team in the league, which is Amherst. But Wesleyan played spoiler last week against Williams and can feasibly upset Trinity at home this weekend. This week’s player of the week is Jackson Eighmy for winning NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week thanks to his brilliant three sack performance. The Red and Black will need multiple standout performances to go into the offseason with three straight wins.

Jacques Slaughter can be reached at jslaughter@wesleyan.edu.

As expected, the Cardinals won big over Bowdoin at home this weekend with a 24-0 shutout, thanks to an improved offense and a stronger defense compared to the ones that showed up the week before in the crushing loss to Amherst. However, Bowdoin was the last easy match of the year as both Williams and Trinity will be tough, important matchups.

The offense this week improved greatly, gaining more than triple Bowdoin’s yards and averaging more than double their average gain per play. This week our running game returned in a big way after a tough performance against Amherst, gaining over 200 yards in total and a touchdown from Glenn Smith ’21, who also provided roughly half of Wes’ yards on the ground. The passing game was also fruitful, with touchdown passes to both Hallvard Lundevall ’19 and Matthew Simco ’22. Quarterback Mark Piccirillo ’19 had a great day, though an interception soured what would have been an almost perfect performance. The offense did a great job of converting third downs and continuing drives, something that has been an issue throughout the season even when playing well in the first few games.

The defense also regained some of their early season flare this week and forced Bowdoin to punt 10 times in the game on the way to a complete shutout. Danny Banks ’22 snagged an interception in the fourth quarter (which was somewhat undercut by a Wesleyan interception on the ensuing drive). Taj Gooden ’21 dominated throughout the game with a fantastic performance culminating in two sacks and a forced fumble, though it was not recovered by the Red and Black. Brandon Morris ’19 was also a problem for Bowdoin all day, disrupting just about everything the Polar Bears tried to do offensively.

Beyond these individual performances, the defense as a whole played well against Bowdoin as the Cards held their offense to 100 yards of total offense and only allowed them to convert a single third down throughout the entire afternoon. Bowdoin does have among the worst offenses in the league, but it is still worth noting just how well Wesleyan did on gameday.

However, as the team came back to its usual form and performed well on offense and on defense, it returned to many of its old problems that had miraculously improved last week against Amherst. Once again the Cardinals struggled with penalties and provided Bowdoin with many of their total first downs thanks to a lack of discipline and restraint.

Similarly, special teams were utterly underwhelming as they only gained a grand total of 11 yards from both kick off and punt returns. To be fair, Wesleyan did only receive one kick off but Bowdoin punted 10 times, and the Cardinals gained a grand total of eight yards across three returns. That statistic needs to be improved given the number of opportunities handed to the Red and Black by arguably the worst team in the conference. Moreover, Bowdoin was able to gain over 80 yards on special teams, which shows that Wes greatly struggles on both sides of coverage and this needs to be a major area of improvement. That is not to say that the offense and defense were perfect either, as the offense fumbled three times and turned over possession in the Bowdoin red zone while the defense forced two fumbles and recovered neither. The weather was also a factor, but the point still stands.

A strong performance which showed signs of a return to the form of earlier in the season is somewhat tempered by a closer examination of both the opponent and the totality of the Cardinal performance on the field. Next week’s match is at Williams where the Ephs will be heavily favored. Wesleyan has a tall task ahead if it hopes to return home with a victory considering how much the Birds have struggled away from home, the weight of the Little Three Rivalry, and the slump that the Red and Black have fallen into recently.

Jacques Slaughter can be reached at jslaughter@wesleyan.edu.

Despite a strong return to form against Colby and Bates, the football team was soundly defeated 33-3 by Little Three rival Amherst at home this weekend. A disappointing performance on both sides of the ball puts Wesleyan out of contention for the NESCAC title or even competing for a top spot. However, the Birds can take some comfort that Amherst is the best team in the conference this year, so it is doubtful that Wes will face an opponent as difficult as Amherst again this season.

That said, Wesleyan’s performance this week was weak. A third of Wesleyan first downs came from Amherst penalties, and Amherst had almost double the number of first downs. The offense managed a total of negative-three yards on the ground (despite 22 attempts) and only 104 through the air. In fact, Amherst had quadruple the offensive output and triple the average gain per offensive play. Nevertheless, Amherst’s strength was their defense. Six sacks and an interception are pretty good indicators of how thoroughly the Wes offense was snuffed out.

However, it was not all bleak, as the Cardinals improved greatly in two areas that had been real weaknesses throughout the season. For one, the Red and Black massively improved their issue with discipline and penalties, giving up only four penalties throughout the game compared to Amherst’s nine or even the eight earned in the previous match against Bates. Special teams also greatly improved, as they managed to hold Amherst to only 50 punt return yards. Though this may seem high enough in itself, considering that Wesleyan punted seven times, it is far more impressive especially taking into account the previously lackluster special teams’ performances against much weaker opponents such as Colby or Hamilton.

The game started off badly as Mark Piccirillo ’19 was sacked in the end zone for a safety on the first Wesleyan drive of the game. Amherst quickly scored again with a rushing touchdown, but the Cardinals were not intimidated and scored their only points of the game on the ensuing drive with a 41-yard field goal by Patrick Wolff ’21. The Red and Black defense could not quite hold back the Amherst offense, which was rolling up the field, as they kicked a 41-yard field goal to take the score up to 12-3 to start off the second quarter.

The rest of the first half followed much of the same pattern with Amherst dominating on both sides of the ball as Wesleyan struggled to gain ground; however, just before the halftime whistle, Brandon Morris ’19 made one of the plays of the game with a forced fumble on the Wesleyan six-yard line to stop yet another score. The second half of the game was very similar with more Cardinal struggle and Amherst ease. The Mammoths cruised to an easy victory despite the Cards’ best efforts.

The end of the season will be very tough, as both Williams and Trinity have put together strong seasons and are competing for the title. Trinity has the best offense in the conference, having scored 240 points so far this season with a strong defense capable of imposing their will on their opponent. Williams also has a strong defense, which they rely on heavily due to their shaky offensive performance, but they will also pose a great challenge to the fate of the Red and Black’s season. Luckily, Bowdoin has yet to win a game and has the worst defense in the conference. That matchup should be a nice break from the toughest part of the schedule. The men of the match are Morris and Wolff, who both gave it their all when their team needed them most. They stepped up to the plate and delivered, even if they were not quite enough to change the game.

Jacques Slaughter can be reached at jslaughter@wesleyan.edu.

This weekend, Hamilton football earned its first win of the season by upsetting Wesleyan at Corwin Stadium by the score of 33-29. The first half was touch-and-go for both teams with stretches where one team seemed to be unstoppable, while the other could not stop a fly. The second half was a little more solid for Wesleyan, but after a special teams blunder in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were forced to play more aggressively, and thus made some inevitable, game-ending mistakes. The home team had a good statistical output on paper: a time of possession of 33:56, offensive production totaling 413 yards, and a third down efficiency rate of 15 for 22. However, Wesleyan was undisciplined and gave up over a hundred yards in penalties, which played a large part in their disappointing loss on Saturday.

The first quarter started off slowly for the Cards, as the Continentals were able to force a three-and-out to start the game. On the following drive the Cardinal defense was unable to contain the opposing offense as Hamilton made a handful of chunk plays to score the first touchdown of the game with a 26-yard pass. Wesleyan seemed to shake off some of the rustiness of the drive with a few well-executed plays highlighting offensive weapon David Estevez ’22, though the drive stalled, and the Red and Black were forced to punt. Hamilton was in a similar position and despite a pair of decent gains, they too were forced to punt the ball. This helped wake up the Wesleyan offense, and soon enough, Mark Piccirillo ’19 and company were diving up the field. Though a late holding call on Wesleyan seemed to doom this scoring attempt at the very beginning of the 2nd quarter, Piccirillo and wide receiver Joe Scancarella ’21 connected for a dazzling 37-yard touchdown to bring the score even at 7-7. On the following drive, the Cardinals stepped up on defense to force a three-and-out.

Linebacker and captain Brandon Morris ’19 played well, proving again why he is one of the best linebackers in the NESCAC. This past Saturday, he surpassed 175 career tackles, a milestone that should be getting more people’s attention.

An ill-advised late hit on a punt return put Hamilton in dangerous position to score on Wesleyan’s 34-yard line, but strong defensive play, punctuated with a pivotal fourth down stop by Taj Gooden ’21, helped prevent Hamilton from taking advantage of this opportunity. There were many highs and lows like this throughout the game. However, deep into the second half, the lows became much more prominent.

Hamilton kicked off the second half with a bang, making it all the way to the Wesleyan 30-yard line in just four plays. Though the defense made a strong effort to slow them down and almost succeeded, another penalty pushed them back to the six-yard line and soon enough Hamilton had the lead at 20-14.

Wesleyan took the its first lead of the game shortly after a brutal eight minute, 80-yard drive with key plays by weapons Dario Highsmith ’20 and Glenn Smith ’21 before Piccirillo scored with a QB sneak to take the game to 21-20.

The Continentals answered quickly, cruising down the field to the Cards’ red zone to finish the third quarter and soon scored to start the fourth quarter, taking back the lead. Even though the Piccirillo and Lundevall continued to connect, putting another TD on the board, Wesleyan did not have enough to come away with a victory. After Hamilton blocked a late punt and recovered it in the endzone, the Red and Black found themselves too desperate and turned the ball over, sealing the victory for Hamilton.

“Right now, we need to get better everyday and work towards beating Colby,” tight end Ryan Earle ’19 said. “Look ahead and think about where we can go from here.”

Though the Cardinals definitely improved in certain areas this Saturday, such as third down conversions, they struggled greatly both with penalties and on special teams. There were many times where an ill-advised hit pinned the Cards. Similarly, the Red and Black found it difficult to contain Hamilton’s returners on both punts and kickoffs while making little progress themselves with similar opportunities. The squad looks to get back into the groove in the coming weeks against Colby and Bates in back-to-back away matches.

In happier news, senior offensive lineman Joe Wilson has been nominated as a semifinalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy for exceptional student athletes around the nation. The Argus wishes him the best of luck in the competition.

Jacques Slaughter can be reached at jslaughter@wesleyan.edu.

Last Saturday, Sept. 22, Tufts football narrowly edged out Wesleyan for a late-night victory of 16-13. Tufts managed a flurry of points in the second quarter and did not score again, but it was still enough to carry them to a win. The Cardinal defense was not as strong as last week, but still managed a sack and an interception. Wesleyan managed to dominate the time of possession and were able to sustain drives, converting 7 of nineteen opportunities on third down and two of three on fourth down. However, the Cards could not quite capitalize on the opportunities offered to them.

The first quarter started off slowly as both teams struggled to find their rhythm. In the third drive of the game, the Red and Black started on Tufts’ 40-yard line and were making good progress. Glenn Smith ’21 rushed for a touchdown, but the play was called back due to a holding call. A few plays later, quarterback Mark Piccirillo ’19 forced a throw into a tight window which was intercepted, but the play was again called back due to a Tufts penalty.

To start the second quarter, kicker Patrick Wolff ’21 clocked a beautiful field goal to open the scoring and give Wesleyan the lead 3-0. Tufts made good progress on their next drive but stalled shortly before the the 50-yard line and with a solid punt, pinned Wesleyan back into their own red zone. The Cardinals couldn’t make much progress and were forced to punt back almost immediately. A strong Tufts return started the drive on the Wesleyan 26-yard line, and though the Cardinals defense managed to slow them down, the Jumbos still found a way onto the scoreboard with a field goal to tie the game 3-3.

All of a sudden, the Cardinals seemed to lose their concentration. On the returning kickoff, the Red and Black return man coughed up the ball and gave possession right back to Tufts on Wesleyan’s 11-yard line. The very next play, Tufts passed for an 11-yard touchdown to take the lead that they would hold for the rest of the game. Wesleyan still did not have their mojo and were forced to punt after a three-and-out on their subsequent drive. The defensive side of the ball was not much better. After a long drive and a 28-yard touchdown, Tufts held a commanding 16-3 lead.

This was the spark needed to help the Cardinals back in the game. To start off the ensuing drive, Piccirillo scrambled for 39 yards. Despite some inconsistent play that bogged down the momentum, Wolff bagged another field goal to close the lead to 16-6. Tufts made a strong effort to score again, but this time the Wesleyan defense held strong and the half ended with minimal action.

The Red and Black carried that energy and momentum to kick off the second half. With a good deal of Tufts’ help from penalties, a Smith rushing touchdown closed the lead to 16-13. Still carrying that same mojo, Will Kearney ’20 picked off the first Tufts pass of the half, but the offense did little with the possession. The Jumbos had little success on that side of the ball as well, making decent progress on their next drive, but a handful of foolish penalties stopped them from progressing. Wesleyan snapped up this opportunity, nickel and diming their way down the field to the Tufts red zone. The Birds then made a controversial call late in the game, going for it on fourth down near the Jumbos’ ten yard line. Sean Penney ’21 made a valiant effort but could not quite pick up the distance, and Tufts managed to keep the Cardinals from taking the lead.

Once again, Tufts tripped themselves on offense, and penalties held them back. Similarly, once again the Red and Black offense found themselves driving down the field and before they knew it, were in scoring position. David Estevez ’22 tried three times to drive the ball in on the Tufts goal line but, after a tremendous effort from the Jumbos, was kept out. Unfortunately, Wolff could not convert the field goal opportunity. The score stayed at 16-13 in favor of Tufts.

Both teams struggled on offense and found a way to contain their opponent on defense before Wesleyan forced a punt with two minutes left and started to gain momentum. Piccirillo completed a gorgeous pass to Hallvard Lundevall ’20 for 45 yards and carried the team to the Tufts 30-yard line to give the Cardinals one last shot at ending the game. It was not enough and Wolff missed his mark, ending the Cardinals hopes of getting back in the game.

The Red and Black effort was marred by lapses in concentration that gave away foolish fumbles and let in easy touchdowns. The defense seemed to opt for a bend-don’t-break strategy this week, which seemed to be successful but lacked many of the flashy plays displayed in their match against Middlebury. Lundevall and Piccirillo proved to be a deadly combination, snatching drives back throughout the game, and are my selections for players of the game. During family weekend next Saturday, Wesleyan will square off against Hamilton at 1 p.m.

Jacques Slaughter can be reached at jslaughter@wesleyan.edu.

A dominant defense and a more balanced offense made for quite the spectacle, as the Cardinals opened the season with a crushing 52-21 victory over Middlebury. Despite a close first quarter, the Cardinals were unstoppable after the break and built up an insurmountable lead of 45-14 by the beginning of the fourth quarter. While the offense did a good job of converting on turnovers, it was the defense that provided the spark to drastically shift the game in Wesleyan’s favor. Both safety Ben Thaw ’20 and defensive lineman Jackson Eighmy ’21 had brilliant games, dominating the Middlebury offense with a pair of interceptions and a pair of sacks, respectively.

In addition, Thaw won NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week for his dominant, shutdown performance.

In the opening drive, Wes received the kickoff to start the game and started fairly well as Glenn Smith ’21 burst for a 57-yard gain. The play was called back due to a holding penalty, taking some of the momentum out of the drive. Despite gaining two first downs, the drive stalled, and the Birds were forced to punt.

Middlebury’s offense clicked from the moment it got on the field, driving down the length of the field in just over two minutes to take first lead of the game 7-0. The Cardinals’ offense seemed to stutter at first when they received the ball back on offense, but thanks to a clutch third down play by Mark Piccirillo ’19 and Dario Highsmith ’20 the drive was kept alive. Following this action, Piccirillo connected to Smith for an impressive 16-yard touchdown to draw the score even at 7-7.

Without missing a beat, Piccirillo and the offense seized a scoring opportunity, after a defensive stand to gain a lead they would not lose, after a slick TD pass to Joe Scancarella ’21.

After two straight Panther punts, Wes started with good field position on the Middlebury 38-yard line and made decent progress on the ground but couldn’t get the final push into the endzone. They were forced to settle for a Patrick Wolff ’21 field goal to up their lead to 17-7. Once again Middlebury’s offense could not handle the stalwart Red and Black defense and were forced to punt after a short drive. David Estevez ’22 proceeded to run the ball back to the Middlebury 2-yard line before being brought down. Shortly afterwards, Sean Penney ’21 drove into the endzone for a touchdown, extending the lead to 24-7. Middlebury managed to score a touchdown with 14 seconds left on the clock, trimming the halftime lead to 24-14.

Middlebury’s hopes of preserving the momentum they gained at the close of the second quarter were dashed in less than a minute as Thaw grabbed a pick six to secure his second interception further solidify Wesleyan’s lead to be 31-14. Great plays by Highsmith and Piccirillo got the Birds back to the Middlebury red zone, where Penney scored his second touchdown of the day.

After a few more Middlebury punts, Estevez carried the offense into the Middlebury redzone with a handful of strong rushes and help from Piccirillo on the ground. After some small yardage gains, Middlebury failed to find the Cardinal endzone and handed the ball over once more.

Neither team did very much with the first few drives of the fourth quarter as they traded punts. On the fourth drive of the quarter, Middlebury fumbled the ball and a recovery by Will Kearney ’20 led to Wesleyan’s final touchdown to drive the scoreline to 52-14. A final touchdown by the Panthers set the ending scoreline to 52-21.

With an excellent start to the season, this victory over Middlebury shows the ability of the Cardinal’s defense. Further, the offense is showing slightly more diversity than last season with a consistent running game coming from a strong collection of players. Middlebury finished second in the NESCAC last year, suggesting that this edition of Wesleyan football should contend deep into the fall. Moreover, while it was a strong performance, it was not quite perfect, and the Red and Black offense often stumbled on third down. The Cardinals head to Medford, Mass. next weekend, Sept. 22, looking to avenge last year’s close victory over Tufts.

Jacques Slaughter can be reached at jslaughter@wesleyan.edu.

This week’s football game was a commanding victory for the Cards over the weak Hamilton squad that has yet to win a single game this season. However, the game was marred by four turnovers and 14 penalties, so while the Cardinals proved stronger than their opponents, there is clearly still room to improve. On the other side, the Red and Black defense pulled some impressive moves this week, allowing only nine points and 244 total yards of offense throughout the entire game. On defense, the player of the game was Shayne Kaminski ’18, who built on his game-winning interception last week with two sacks and two passes defended. On offense, Dario Highsmith ’20 ran for 95 yards on just 15 carries, scoring two touchdowns and providing the consistent run game that the team had been lacking the two weeks prior.

The first quarter started off well for both teams, as the Cardinals and the Continentals both scored field goals on their opening drives. In fact, a vital penalty gave Hamilton a first down when punting, allowing them to keep their drive going after a good defensive effort from the Dirty Birds. But Hamilton was forced to punt after only five plays on their next drive. The Red Birds capitalized, scoring on a 34-yard touchdown from Mark Piccirillo ’19 to Evan Hull ’19. Hamilton opened the last drive of the first quarter with a 42-yard pass to the Wesleyan 23-yard line, but thanks to a clutch sack by Jude Lindenberg ’19 and Brandon Morris ’19, the Continentals were forced to punt despite almost reaching the Wesleyan red zone.

The second quarter continued with strong defense from both sides; however, penalties were a substantial factor in giving each team chances to take control of the ball, since each of the first six drives ended in punts or turnovers. On their fourth drive, Wesleyan once again gave Hamilton a second chance after committing a penalty during an earlier punt. Despite forcing a fumble, the Cardinals did not recover, and they themselves had two turnovers while on offense. Thanks to an interception in a tough situation from Piccirillo, Hamilton started a drive on the Wesleyan 12-yard line and was able to score a touchdown, missing the extra point. With a strong kickoff return to their own 41 and solid, consistent production on offense, the Dirty Birds were able to score in just 50 seconds, taking a 17-9 lead towards the end of the second quarter. On the following Hamilton drive, Wesleyan forced a fumble but couldn’t recover. Despite getting the ball back with a punt, Piccirillo threw another pick and the Continentals came within three yards of scoring another touchdown before halftime.

Though the third quarter started a little rough with a few penalties but a good kickoff, the Cardinals made it into the end zone once again as Highsmith ran in another touchdown thanks to Hamilton’s penalties. Wesleyan was able to force Hamilton to punt and reached the Hamilton 25-yard line, but again committed a turnover near the red zone, missing a scoring opportunity after Mike Maggipinto ’20 coughed up the ball.

The fourth quarter almost started incredibly for the Cardinals, but an interception on the first play was negated by an offside call. The Continentals were forced to punt after only gaining 27 yards over eight plays. A strong punt and another penalty started the subsequent Wesleyan drive on their own 6-yard line. Through a balance of strong rushing between Piccirillo and Highsmith, a few short and accurate passes, and some fatal penalties by Hamilton, the Cardinals were able to march up the field 94 yards and score a 29-yard rushing touchdown by Highsmith. Hamilton picked up momentum in their final drive of the game but threw a pick to Ben Thaw ’20, sealing a victory for the Dirty Birds.

Throughout the game, Wesleyan committed key penalties that gave Hamilton second chances on offense and gave up turnovers in the red zone, which changed this game from being a convincing victory to a game that was closer than it should have been. The Cardinals will need to improve their discipline and ball management for future success, as the last two matches have been marred by unnecessary penalties and fumbles in key moments.

Next week, the Cardinals will be playing Colby, who are averaging  just a shade over four points on offense, while allowing an average of 32 points per game on defense. The Cardinals hope to build on the successes of the past two weeks, as they continue to have a dependable running game between Piccirillo and Highsmith and have cut down on the turnovers that have held them back thus far.

Jacques Slaughter can be reached at jslaughter@wesleyan.edu.