Courtesy of our friends from Holy Cross’ athletic department, here is a quick note about today’s theme for the women’s basketball game against Brown University:
On Tuesday, Jan. 8, the Holy Cross women’s basketball team will host its second annual “Get Fit with the Crusaders Day” when it takes on Brown at 11:30 a.m. at the Hart Center. Over 1700 Worcester public school students will be in attendance to cheer on the Crusaders and to learn about nutrition and physical activity.
“We’re excited to again be hosting Worcester public school students,” Holy Cross women’s basketball head coach Bill Gibbons said. “This is a great opportunity for the kids to get to Holy Cross and to see the team play, as well as learning about physical fitness and nutrition. We expect an even bigger crowd than last season and the Hart Center should really be rocking!”
Holy Cross head strength and conditioning coach Jeff Oliver and nutritionist Kathy Eagan will give a halftime presentation to teach the students about eating right and exercise.
The third week of the college football season is set to begin. Are you ready? (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)
By NoontimeSports.com
This third week of the college football season is upon us, so let’s stop what we’re doing and head to the gridiron…well, after the work day is done!
Below you’ll find this week’s schedule, and as always, make sure to check back throughout the weekend for scores, news and game reports. Also, make sure to follow @NoontimeSports and @NoonSportsBlog on Twitter, too.
Friday, September 14, 2012:
* Bentley University at Assumption College, 7PM
* Stonehill College at St. Anselm, 7PM
* Mass. Maritime at Nichols College, 7PM
Saturday, September 15, 2012:
* Endicott College at Bridgewater State, 12PM
* Coast Guard at MIT, 12PM
* Mount Ida College at Springfield College, 12PM
* San Diego at Harvard, 12:30PM
* AIC at Merrimack College, 1PM
* UMass Dartmouth at Framingham State, 1PM
* Westfield State at Curry College, 1PM
* Brown University at Holy Cross, 1PM
* Worcester State at Western New England College, 1PM
The Harvard University Athletic department unveiled the 2012 football schedule on Tuesday, which features six games at Harvard Stadium. The last time the Crimson hosted six contests was in 2003.
The Crimson ended their 2011 campaign with a 9-1 record, and also finished atop the Ancient Eight standings with a perfect 7-0 record.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – Following the conclusion of Saturday’s contests against Yale University, Harvard’s men’s basketball head coach Tommy Amaker told reporters that he was rather pleased with his team’s effort against the Bulldogs, as well as the Brown University Bears on Friday.
“I thought we came this whole weekend with a resolved [effort] to become a better defensive team, and we certainly achieved that in both victories,” said Amaker. “I was very, very proud of our kids for the effort they were able to bring and the start of both games.
Amaker was also content with the play of junior Brandyn Curry, (18 points) who netted a majority Harvard’s second half points, which helped the Crimson prevail against a gritty Bulldogs squad, 66-51.
“He’s been our playmaker, and he made plays [on Saturday],” said Amaker. “It was nice to see him find a rhythem, and be offensively aggressive and making plays.”
“I just had openings, and I just went for it,” said Curry. “They had a couple of guards that were hurt, so we just had to ware them down, so I was just attacking all night.”
Yale jumped out to a quick three-point lead thanks to senior Greg Mangano, (22 points, 11 rebounds) before Harvard sophomore Lauren Rivard responded with a trifecta 40-seconds later, which jumpstarted the Crimson offense that finished the first frame with 20 points in the paint.
Senior Oliver McNally pulled Harvard ahead for good when he sank back-to-back three-pointers, which gave Harvard a 15-9 advantage at 13:06. Freshman Travis Jonah followed up with a pair from the free throw line before Harvard’s offense tallied four consecutive layups to increase their lead to 27-13.
The Bulldogs offense eventually came to life following a four-minute scoring drought late in the first half, as sophomore Jeremiah Kreisberg recorded a layup at 3:31, which led to nine consecutive points by Yale before the buzzer sounded to conclude the first 20-minute period.
“[Yale this season] has been down, [but] they’ve just marched their way back in and won games, and that’s a mark of a good team, and a tough team,” said Amaker.
Once the second half started, Yale’s offense was electric, as Kreisberg sparked the Bulldogs to go on a 10-7 run, which eventually was halted when Curry and freshman Corbin Miller knocked down a few three-pointers to pull Harvard ahead, 50-41.
Their Crimsons lead eventually ballooned to 60-49 when Curry delivered a highlight reel dunk for the fans, and senior Keith Wright, (10 points, eight rebounds) knocked down a critical jump shot at 3:43 in the second half.
“I didn’t even know I dunked it to be honest with you,” said Curry. “I was just going for it. Just drove and then it happened.”
Junior Kyle Casey then clinched the team’s 10th victory at Lavietes Pavilion with a powerful dunk a few minutes afterward to secure Harvard’s 23rd victory of the season, which matches their win total from last season.
“I’m glad that we were able to take care of business,” said Curry. “We knew this was going to be a tough two-games this weekend, so I’m glad that we were able to buckle down, and get the two w’s.”
Harvard’s win on Saturday also marks their 27th consecutive home win, which is the second longest streak in the country.
“We’re a deep team, and one thing coach says to us every so often is it’s amazing what we can accomplish because no one cares who gets the credit,” said Wright.
The Crimson will return to their home gymnasium next week when they face Princeton on Friday, Feb. 24.
Week six of the college football season is in the books. Here’s Saturday’s scoreboard.
Massachusetts Maritime 23 – Worcester State 19: Buccaneers quarterback Mike Stanton completed 21-of-32 passes for 233-yards, while running back Matt White rushed for one score, as Massachusetts Maritime picked up their third win of the season.
Brown University 20 – Holy Cross 13: The Bears scored 10-points during the final quarter, as well as watched quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero toss two touchdown strikes, and Alex Norocea kick two field goals.
Merrimack 33- Bentley University 29: Merrimack’s defense held Bentley scoreless during the final two quarters, as well as rallied to defeat the Falcons and collect their fourth win of the season. Warriors quarterback Joe Clancy finished the game with two touchdowns and one interception, while Quinn McDonough rushed for one score on four carries.
Plymouth State 30 – MIT 27: The Panthers recorded at least three or more points in four quarters to beat the Engineers, as well as picked up their fourth win of the season too. Quarterback Joey Avlia completed 5-of-8 passes for 32-yards and two touchdowns, while running back Dustin Matthews rushed for 42-yards on 13 carries and two scores.
OTHER SCORES:
* Framingham State 41 – Fitchburg State 7
* Bridgewater State 34 – Coast Guard 16
* Salisbury 65 – Springfield College 23
* Salve Regina 38 – UMass Dartmouth 7
* Harvard 41 – Cornell 31
* Maine Maritime 36 – Westfield State 34 (Double OT)
CAMBRIDGE, MA – Here at Harvard University, the college learning process never ends.
After Friday’s win against the Brown University Bears, Harvard’s head coach Tim Murphy explained that he learned something about his football team – they’ll do whatever it takes to win a physical, tough game.
“I think we developed an identity and that is we’re a tough, physical team,” Murphy said. “We made a lot of mistakes on offense – today at times, but the bottom line is our kids just played so hard and if you play that hard and you can force some turnovers, you get a chance to be [in] every single game. I’m really proud of our kids.”
Murphy should be proud of his team’s effort, especially since the Crimson tallied 366 yards of total offense, (159 rushing yards and 207 passing yards) against a Brown team that has allowed their opponents to rack up at least 300 yards or more this season.
Protecting the Ball: Harvard managed to hang onto the football on Friday, despite the inclement weather. Murphy talked about the importance of not turning the ball over, however, according to stat sheet, quarterback Colton Chapple was the only member of the Crimson to register a turnover.
“The last thing I said, when I spoke to the team last night was [when] you takeaway just the turnovers in the Holy Cross game it’s probably a different game. It was a seventeen point differential, so I said, the bottom line is ball security is a team thing. We’ve got to do a great job protecting the football on offense and special teams and then defense and special teams have to knock it loose,” Murphy said.
The coach continued to discuss the impact of Friday’s turnover battle by stating, “I just thought our kids did a great job – just really fighting, smacking [and] just doing the little things to try to give us an opportunity to get a short field.”
Quarterback Swap: Prior to Friday’s contest against Brown, Murphy and his staff decided to forgo starting quarterback Collier Winters and instead, start backup Colton Chapple. Winter apparently sustained an injury against Holy Cross last weekend, which prompted Chapple to start in his place.
“I made the decision really early in the week because it wouldn’t have been fair to the team to invest practice time in him if he was going to go down. It wouldn’t have been fair to him or the team for him to get hurt and have a season ending [or] in his case, career ending injury, so it was an easy decision,” Murphy said.
Chapple finished the game completing 15-of-26 passes for 207 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“Coach [Joel] Lamb and Coach Murph talked to me Tuesday, our first practice [and] just being a backup, you always got to be ready because you never know when you’re going to go in,” Colton said.
Chapple played quite well, as well as looked like a natural, especially when he hooked up with sophomore Cameron Brate and senior Adam Chrissis for touchdown strikes.
“This is a kid’s dream playing in front of 20,000 people under the lights with his teammates that [I’ve] been working all summer with, so from that standpoint I felt like I didn’t have to win the game, [but] had to manage the game, had to put ourselves in a place to win and along with the help of the defense,” Chapple said.
All in all, I think it’s fair to say, the young man impressed many, as well as exhibited that he can win games, and engineer an offense to success.
Interesting Statistic: With this particular win against the Bears, Harvard improves to [9-0] after a loss. Also, the Crimson has not lost consecutive games since weeks 9-10 of the ’06 season.
Next Opponent: The Crimson will look to build off their exciting win next Saturday, as they travel to Lafayette for a 1:00pm kick-off.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – Consider Friday’s game for Brown University head coach Phil Estes not the most enjoyable, as he watched his football team stumble in the rain, as well as record five turnovers, (three interceptions and two fumbles).
“When you turn the ball over and you make some dumb penalty plays – when we have a turnover and we have a roughing the passer penalty, make another big play and we have another helmet–to-helmet call, which I think is going to happen a lot in the Ivy League, well not just in the Ivy League, I think in college football. I think big hits and that was a shoulder to body hit and they called this a helmet-to-helmet,” Estes said.
The coach continued by stating, “You can’t play tough football and not be penalized for it, but when it comes down to it, we drop one in the end zone and then we fumble one on the one-yard line and that certainly makes a difference in the game [and] that kind of changes – takes away all the momentum we have coming into the second half.”
Brown struggled to gain any momentum in the first half because their defense couldn’t stop Harvard’s offense, which managed to record two touchdowns before halftime.
“We really didn’t show up and play really well in the first half. I thought the one exception was our punter, Nate Lovett was outstanding [because] anytime you can stick the ball inside the five-yard line like he did [and] put their backs to the wall – we didn’t always do a great job of keeping them there and we just squandered too many opportunities,” Estes said.
Harvard finished Friday’s contest with 366 total offensive yards, which clearly didn’t make the coaching staff happy. Brown will return to the gridiron next Saturday when they host Rhode Island for a 6:00pm kick-off.
“That’s a good football team and we were way out of sync,” Estes said.
It's Harvard and Brown on Friday evening! (Photo courtesy Harvard Athletics).
By Matt Noonan
CAMBRIDGE, MA — Harvard University earned an impressive win against the Brown Bears on Friday, as the Crimson won 24-7, as well as picked up their first conference win of the season too. Here’s a rapid reaction, quarter-by-quarter breakdown of the action.
First Quarter: Harvard 7 – Brown 0
Harvard Scores First: Harvard’s running back Treavor Scales registered his first touchdown of the season on a one-yard run.
Quick Observation: Both teams struggled to maintain any sort of momentum during the opening 10-minutes, but once the Crimson found the end zone, the arrow shifted toward Harvard. Also, Brown was flagged four times in the opening quarter, which allowed the men dressed in maroon and gold, (Harvard) the opportunity to continue their various drives.
Stat of the Quarter: Treavor Scales rushed for 54-yards on eight carries, as well as one touchdown.
Harvard Scores…Again: The Crimson began the second quarter by capping off a six play, 80-yard drive, as tight-end Cameron Brate registered the team’s first touchdown reception of the game. Brate finished the first two quarters with three receptions for 75 yards.
Mother Nature vs. Brown: The Bears struggled to move the ball in both the first and second quarters, as they converted 3-of-8 third downs, and lost one fumble too. Running back Mark Kachmar recorded 53 yards on 10 carries, while quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero completed 12-of-24 passes, as well as tossed one interception.
Stat of the First Half: Crimson running back Treavor Scales rushed for 70 yards on 12 carries, and a touchdown, which was the main statistic of the second half.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Third Quarter – Harvard 14 – Brown 7
Brown Finally Scores: The Bears managed to put some points on the board in the middle of the third quarter, as Newhall-Caballero found junior wide receiver Tellef Lundevall streaking down the sidelines for a 30-yard touchdown strike.
Newhall-Caballero Magic: Brown’s quarterback finally came to life during the third quarter, as he helped his team register their first score of the game. His passing game clearly opened the running game, as junior Mark Kachmar ended the third quarter with 76-yards on 16 carries, as well as five receptions for 47-yards too.
Fourth Quarter Optimism for Brown: The third quarter was all about the Brown Bears, as they stole Harvard’s thunder and gained some offensive optimism and momentum. We’ll see if the Bears can make this a ballgame in the fourth quarter, but in the meantime, this quarter wasn’t exactly the greatest for the Crimson’s offense or defense.
Harvard’s defensive pressure: The Crimson defense ramped up their pressure during the final 15-minutes, as Norman Alexander recovered a fumble, and John Lyon and Bobby Schneider both recorded interceptions. Two of the three turnovers resulted in points for Harvard’s offense.
Colton Chapple Tosses Another Touchdown: Chapple registered his second touchdown pass of the game to Adam Chrissis. Chapple finished the game with 15 completions for 207 yards and two touchdowns, as well as one interception.
Brown’s Turnover Woes: The Bears finished Friday’s contest with five turnovers, (three interceptions and two fumbles lost), which clearly was the major reason why the Bears lost.
Here we go again! College Football kicks-off Friday with two critical conference clashes!
By NoontimeSports.com
Week four of the college football season is upon us, and of course, there are some great matchups this weekend. Here’s a list of Friday’s and Saturday’s games, enjoy.
Friday September 23, 2011:
* Brown University at Harvard – 7:00pm
* St. Anselm at Bentley – 7:00pm
Saturday September 24, 2011:
* Bridgewater State at Framingham State – 12:00pm
* Salve Regina at Endicott College – 12:00pm
* Springfield College at Alfred – 12:30pm
* Worcester State at Westfield State – 1:00pm
* Amherst College at Bates College – 1:00pm
* Resselaer at WPI – 1:00pm
* Williams College at Bowdoin College – 1:00pm
* Tufts at Hamilton – 1:00pm
* Fitchburg State at Maine Maritime – 1:00pm
* University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) at Plymouth State – 1:00pm
* Curry College at MIT – 1:00pm
* Nichols College at Western New England – 1:00pm
* Massachusetts Maritime at Coast Guard – 1:00pm
* University of Massachusetts (Amherst) at Boston College – 1:00pm
* American International at Stonehill College – 1:00pm
On Wednesday, our friends at the New England Football Writers’ Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced their week three “Golden Helmet Award” recipients, which included Brown University’s Kyle Newhall-Caballero and Bentley University’s Bobby Tarr.
Here’s the press release from the luncheon at Harvard University courtesy of Assistant Director of Athletics, Kurt Svoboda:
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Brown quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero and Bentley running back Bobby Tarr have been named the New England Football Writers’ Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Gold Helmet Award winners for week three of the 2011 football season.
After missing the final seven games of the 2010 campaign with a broken wrist, Newhall-Caballero was a key cog in the Bears 21-20 come-from-behind victory against Stony Brook this past weekend. The Gilbert, Ariz., native guided his team on a 57-yard scoring drive capping it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Tellef Lundervall with 3:06 left in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Bears. Newhall-Caballero finished the day completing 22 of 37 attempts registering 292 yards and three touchdowns in the game.
Bentley running back Bobby Tarr rushed for a career-best 170 yards on only 16 carries in a victory over Stonehill. This would be the first time in eight years that a Falcon running back would tally that many yards. Tarr added 42 receiving yards to his historic day as the Falcons would come up victorious against the Skyhawks 31-12.
By Matt Noonan
