Wow, what a sports weekend it will be in Berkshire County ! For anyone who is from around here this weekend is one a lot of people wait for. It is the weekend of the anuual rivalry game between the Blue Devils of Drury High School vs. The Hurricanes from Hoosac Valley High School. Ah yes, high school football at it’s best. Hoosac Valley sits 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the division. Drury comes in with an overall record of 6-2 and a division record of 5-2. That means that this is a must win for both if they plan on playing in the post season. Historically this rivalry has been awesome. Drury had been on the losing end of it for the most part with, up until two seasons ago, a 14 year losing streak! So my son and I will be heading to watch this game, at Hoosac Valley, and hope the Devils can come out winners. This will definitely be one to watch.
It was a tough decision we had to make, though. Normally, it would have been a no brainer. Drury/Hoosac matchup…we go. This weekend though, and completely surprising I might add, ESPN is coming to town! Well not actually to town, but they will be in Williamstown at Weston Field. This weekend marks the 122nd meeting between another set of rivals. The Ephs of Williams College will play host to The Amherst College Lord Jeffs. Nationally, you could probably count on one hand the number of people who care about this weekend’s Division III matchup from a conference called The Little Three. Which, by the way, combined with Weslyan, is the oldest conference in college sports.
No seriously is this really happening? Yes it is. ESPN’s College Football GameDay, complete with Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and Chris Fowler will set up shop and broadcast all day long from Weston Field. That place is going to be a madhouse. The gates open at 8 in the morning and I am sure, in typical GameDay fashion, fans will show up in their Saturday garb (Purple and Gold in this case for the Ephs) holding their signs with the hopes of getting their mugs on ESPN. With all the hub bub people may be forgetting that this game could mean a title for Williams College. With a win and some help from Tuft’s University, Williams could claim the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference)crown. So now you see why it was such a difficult decision.
Small town high school football or small town college football – both with title implications – both storied rivals – both will be exciting. What a great weekend to be a sports fan!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
High School Football, College Football and ESPN....what a weekend !
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2 comments:
I can remember coming down to a decision on colleges, and picking between Hamilton College and Hobart. When they described how the NESCAC functioned (Hamilton being a part of the league), I opted out. 8 games. Go 8-0 and your season is as long as the team who goes 0-8. Is there still no possibilities for ECAC or NCAAA playoff spots?
Anon,
NESCAC football is limited to 8 games, does not have a post-season conference playoff game or permit post-season play in ECAC or NCAA D3... SUPRISINGLY NESCAC does have conference tournaments and does permit post-season play in many if not most other intercollegiate sports, such as soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse, track, etc, etc. Most NESCAC schools sponsor approximatly 28 intercollegiate sports.
A NESCAC football coach once told me that if they were permitted to start pre-season three days earlier, they could easily play a 9 game rather than 8 game schedule.
Why league rules prohibit post-season footbll play but allow post-season play in other sports is unclear and apparently discriminating.
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