Williams travels to Middletown on Saturday, Nov. 7, to take on the Wesleyan Cardinals at Corwin Stadium at 1 p.m.
Wesleyan is 6-1. The Cardinals beat Middlebury, Tufts, Hamilton, Colby and Bates before suffering their only loss, 15-9 at unbeaten Amherst, when the Mammoths scored the winning touchdown with 22 seconds left. Wesleyan bounced back with a 28-0 shutout at Bowdoin last week. The Cardinals rank first in the NESCAC in total offense (393 yards per game) and second in both scoring offense (30.1 points per game) and scoring defense (12.6 points per game). They also lead the league in time of possession, first downs and fourth-down conversions.
The offense runs through QB Matt Fitzsimons (#11, Sr.), the returning NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year. He is second in the league in passing yards (247 per game) and first in passing efficiency, completing 71 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and only four interceptions. His top targets are WR Blake Newcomb (#81, Sr.), who averages nearly 19 yards per catch and has five touchdowns, WR Donte Kelly (#1, So.) and WR Sean Cannon (#3, Sr.). Wesleyan is balanced, though. RBs Matt Diaz (#2, Jr.) and Angelo LaRose (#9, Sr.) have combined for nearly 900 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, and both topped 100 yards at Bowdoin. On defense, DB Tommy Kilroy (#7, So.) leads the conference with five interceptions, DB Jack Bronikowski (#20, Jr.) is tied for the league lead in passes defended, and the Cardinals lead the NESCAC with 10 interceptions as a team.
The two teams have six common opponents. Wesleyan beat all six, while Williams went 5-1 against them, losing only to Tufts. Remarkably, each defense allowed exactly 73 points in those six games. The difference was offense: Wesleyan scored 202 points to Williams’ 145.
By the numbers, Williams leads the league in rushing offense (161 yards per game), and freshman RB Jack Fabiano (#33, Fr.) leads the NESCAC in rushing (132 yards per game) and all-purpose yards. He is second in scoring with eight touchdowns in five games. The Ephs’ defense ranks third in total defense and rushing defense, fourth in scoring defense, and first in opponents’ third-down conversion rate. DL Will Baker (#32, Sr.) is second in tackles for loss, LB Luke Mangini (#44, Jr.) is fifth in tackles, captain Holden Gering (#5, Sr.) shares the passes defended lead with Bronikowski, and K/P Leonardo Maiuolo (#34, Sr.) remains the league’s top punter. But Williams still ranks last in passing offense and has allowed a league-high 20 sacks.
INSIGHTS: Wesleyan plays with efficiency and ball control. The Cardinals have scored a touchdown on all 19 of their red-zone scores, have yet to make a field goal, and go for it on fourth down more often than anyone, converting 71 percent. Their weaknesses are penalties, where they lead the league with 59 yards per game, and pass protection, having allowed 18 sacks, second-most in the conference. Look for Williams to pound the ball with Fabiano and win time of possession, which Wesleyan is used to owning. On defense, the Ephs must get pressure on Fitzsimons and force turnovers on downs inside the 20. Above all, Williams must protect the football against the league’s best ball-hawking secondary.
Williams leads the series 25-12 since 1988, but Wesleyan has won four straight. Last year the Cardinals beat the Ephs 34-28 in overtime in Williamstown.