18th Meeting
Colby Mules (0-0)
Vs.
Williams College Ephs (0-0)
1:00 PM
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
Seaverns Field at Harold Alfond Stadium
Waterville, ME
SERIES: The first meeting between the Mules and
the Ephs was in 1956. Williams currently leads the series 14-3-0
(.824) through 2008. The Ephs shutout Colby for the third time in
series history 28-0 in last year’s home-opener at Weston
Field. After a follow-up loss to Trinity, Williams claimed
victories in five of their last six games of the ’08 campaign
to finish 6-2 overall for the second straight year.
Saturday’s game will officially mark the 1,000th game in the
history of the Williams College Football program, which is now in
its 126th year. During this stretch of time, the Ephs have compiled
609 wins, ranking them 5th all-time in NCAA Div. III football and
14th in winning percentage (.633). They are also only one of five
teams with over 600 victories.
The upcoming meeting be the first Williams-Colby’ contest on
artificial turf. Colby is just one of three teams in the NESCAC
along with Trinity and Hamilton to play home games on a turf
field.
COACHES: Eph head coach Mike Whalen (32-8) will
begin his sixth year this season. During his stint, Williams has
never finished worse than 6-2. Whalen was the head coach of the
Williams wrestling program from 1996 to 2003, during which time he
also served as the Ephs offensive line coach. He held the title of
offensive coordinator in his last three years as an assistant
coach.
Whalen led the 2006 Ephs to the sixth perfect season in Williams
history, extending the Eph win streak at the time to 14 and earning
NESCAC Coach of the Year honors. He was also the only New England
coach to finish in the top 25 in Liberty Mutual's Coach of the Year
program among coaches in all divisions.
Whalen graduated from Little Three rival Wesleyan in 1983, where
he was captain of both the football and wrestling squads. He earned
All-New England and All-American honors three times in his athletic
career, and has coached football at Springfield, Penn, Lafayette,
and Colgate.
Whalen has led Williams to four
consecutive Little Three titles.
Colby head coach Ed Mestieri (89-78-1) will also begin his sixth
season as head coach at Colby. He has served as the offensive line
coach, the offensive coordinator, and the head of recruiting in
twenty-one years of affiliation with the Colby program. Colby has
won or shared 14 CBB titles (12 outright) during that time period.
He earned the title of New England Div. II/III Coach of the Year in
2005 after leading the Mules to a 7-1 record. Mestieri is 1-2
against the Ephs in his head coaching career.
RADIO - INTERNET: The Williams College student
station, WCFM (91.9 FM) will air each game live locally and on the
Internet. To hear the game on the Internet on WCFM go to
wcf.williams.edu and click on the Listen Live link.
TEAMLINE: TEAMLINE is a pay-to-listen service for
this contest. You can access TEAMLINE on the Internet by clicking
here.
Telephone: dial 1-800-846-4700 and follow the
prompts. The Eph access code is 0126.
LIVE STATS: Not available for this
game.
STREAKS: Williams ended the 2008 season with
three straight victories, including a dramatic season-ending win
over archrival Amherst 24-23. Colby lost their last three games in
2008, and finished the year with a 3-5 record.
Since their impressive mark of 7-1 posted in 2005, the Mules have
gone of 7-17 over the previous three seasons. The Ephs have lost
just two of its last nine season openers dating back to 2000,
including a 2005 defeat in Waterville at the hands of the Mules.
That game was also the last time Colby has won a home-opener.
AWARDS: Two returning Eph seniors were awarded
All-NESCAC honors last year:
1st team: PK Scott Sobolewski
2nd team: DB Ikenna Iheoma
BY THE NUMBERS…
999… Games played by Williams in
football
609… All-time wins by Williams
(609-343-47, .633), 5th best all time in Div. III
370.0/206.6… 2008 Total Offense per game
Ephs/Mules
270.4/314.9… 2008 Total Defense per game
Ephs/Mules
217.6/83.1… 2008 Passing Yards per game
Ephs/Mules
173.2/232.1… 2008 Passing Yards allowed
per game Ephs/Mules
152.4/123.5… 2008 Rushing Yards per game
Ephs/Mules
97.1/82.8… 2008 Rushing Yards allowed per
game
17.8/20.2… 2008 Kick Return Yards per game
Ephs/Mules
92.7… 2008 All-Purpose Yards per game
Ephs’ Nick Caro
57.7… 2008 Rushing Yards per game
Mules’ Dan Prunier
58.0/43.5… 2008 Passing Percentage
Ephs’ Patrick Moffitt/Mules’ Patrick Burns
36/54… 2008 Tackles by Ephs’ Ikenna
Iheoma/Mules’ Chris Copeland
3/3… 2008 Interceptions by Ephs’ Pat
Barren/Mules’ Chris Copeland
STARTING LINEUPS
Williams College Ephs
Offense
TE -- Jon Carroll -- #86
T -- Steve Denza -- #58
G -- Simon Kloeckner -- #65
C -- Tim Bishop -- #54
G -- Kevin Rose -- #73
T -- Mike McGuire -- #54
RB -- Ryan Lupo -- #23
QB -- Patrick Moffitt -- #5
WR -- Nick Caro -- #22
WR -- Tommy Tysse -- #1
WR -- Todd Schnuck -- #81
Defense
DE -- E. J. Toppin -- #29
DT -- Colin Curzi -- #97
DT -- Nichola Mirkovic -- #56
DE -- Tim Kiely -- #30
LB -- Dan Johnson -- #37
LB -- Dylan Schultz -- #55
LB -- Eric Anderson -- #43
DB -- Ikenna Iheoma -- #25
DB -- Tyler Ware -- #10
DB -- Will Cronin -- #9
DB -- Matt Zanedis -- #27
K -- Scott Sobolewski -- #94
P -- Will Cronin -- #9
Colby Mules
Offense
TE -- Nathaniel Carson -- #89/Spencer Merwin -- #80
T -- Nicholas Steele -- #55
G -- Matt Quinlan -- #50
C -- Carson Phillips-Spotts -- #64
G -- Matt Fait -- #73
T -- Brian Leighton -- #61
RB -- Dan Prunier -- #26
QB -- Nick Kmetz -- #15
FB -- Roger Bel -- #2
WR -- Patrick Burns -- #13
WR -- Kenneth Prior -- #81
Defense
DE -- John McCusker -- #33
DT -- Casey Sullivan -- #53
DT -- Peter Scheve -- #99
DE -- Tripp Stevens -- #91
LB -- Roger Bel -- #2
LB -- Thomas Duffy -- #45
LB -- Lamont Henry -- #1
DB -- Nick Tucker -- #4
DB -- Chris Copeland -- #36
DB -- Brian Mellet -- #9
DB -- Richard Newton -- #29
K -- David Bendit -- #25
P -- Connor Sullivan -- #16
