Thu 18 Sep 2008
Williams plays its first game of the season, against Colby, on Saturday. This also marks the first home game since last year’s thrilling ESPN GameDay win over Amherst. (If you have any doubt about the level of exposure GameDay brought to Williams, I note that ESPN’s presence on campus inspired double the usual search volume on Google). This is the last season of Eph football before Weston Field is reconfigured and replaced with an artificial turf surface.
This year’s team is led by two-time all conference running back Brian Morrissey, subject of a recent Boston Globe feature. The Ephs have the daunting task of replacing two-time all conference QB and NESCAC player of the year Patrick Lucey. Patrick Moffitt beat out three other contenders, including star frosh Matt Coyne, in a heated pre-season battle.
One other recent Eph football article of note: this feature on Mike Vazquez ’97. I am sure that, given the opportunity, Mike would attribute much of his success to his good fortune in first year roommate assignments.


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5 Responses to “Eph Football, 2008”
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larry george says:
Looks like “our” Frank will continue to report as the defense scout on the weekly Williams football preview shows this fall. They are available on television for locals and online (access them through the link on the right side of the sports website).
Other sports get up to one show a season. Usually one show per week or so is posted, in addition to the football. Right now, the season collection contains a football show and one on men’s golf. The golf program includes a segment in which a senior captain and a sophomore stand-out describe the course, hole by hole, and the coach talks about the course renovation that is currently underway (no pictures of the course, alas). Their affection for the Taconic is palpable.
These early season shows are a bit different from later ones. If the format from previous seasons is followed, game tapes will be shown, with the coach(es) commenting. Football, being weekly, has rather elaborate coverage: footage from the week before and scouting reports for the upcoming game. The host interviews athletes in another segment. The football players vary week to week. In other sports, there are usually two athletes, often captains. They talk about their sport and team, but also answer questions about their summer jobs, why they selected their majors, their career plans, and their Williams experiences. Over the course of a season, those brief student interviews provide a nice glimpse into today’s student body. If you’re at all interested in sports, it’s worth spending the hour or so a week to watch the two tapes.
September 19th, 2008 at 8:32 amfrank uible says:
Don’t expect too much from the scouting reports. Each “scout” has been allotted 1 1/2 minutes, give or take – possibly increased to 2 minutes this year.
September 19th, 2008 at 12:07 pmJeffZ says:
Promising start to the season for Williams. After a VERY conservative first half where, despite dominating possession with strong running game, Williams did not score, they opened it up in the second half for the 28-0 victory. Pat Moffitt put up big-time stats in his first game as a starter, including a 50 yard TD strike, and it’s hard to imagine a more auspicious start to Matt Coyne’s career, as in mop-up duty he tossed a 60 yard TD pass on his only attempt.
September 20th, 2008 at 3:25 pmlarry george says:
I’m sure the whole team was nervous after last year’s season opener debacle against Bowdoin. I know I was, so it was especially gratifying to hear them come through with poise when Colby treatened them seriously while the Ephs had a fragile 7-0 lead, and then to listen to Williams build on that success with a quick score. They made their extra points, too, after all the wobbling on that front last year. Whalen had seemed nervous on the preview tape. He must be pleased. Even on a lousy computer connection to WCFM, I enjoyed hearing sohomore Pat Moffett step out and doing so well, and then hearing Coyne continue to push him for the quarterback position. Lucky Wlliams. May both quarterbacks go from strength to strength. They must still be walking on air.
September 20th, 2008 at 7:38 pmfrank uible says:
Let us not get overheated. Today Williams imperfectly beat a team which is much closer to being The Little Sisters of the Poor than The Monsters of the Midway. Personally I’ll withhold my judgment on it all until November 9.
September 20th, 2008 at 9:42 pm