Explaining the ECAC playoffs

By Fran Elia (posted Nov. 16)

I just finished re-reading my preseason preview story. Now that I’ve stopped laughing, I’ll leave you with a few comments as the regular season gives way to the postseason.

First of all, congratulations to the four teams in the New York/New Jersey Region that have qualified for the NCAA playoffs. Brockport, Hobart, Union and Montclair State have all had outstanding seasons and deserve to be where they are, despite whatever opinion you may have on the selection system (can you say ‘combine Pools B and C’?)

There are some very interesting first-round matchups. The one that peaks my curiosity the most is Montclair State at Springfield, where the Red Hawks’ solid run defense meets the Pride’s potent option attack. While Union’s margin of victory at Springfield (48-19) last week shocked me, the Dutchmen’s win did not. We’ll see if Montclair can play on both sides of the ball as well as Union did.

And while Brockport gets a bye this week, the Golden Eagles will still have to wait a week to figure out what style of football they’ll see on Nov. 25. Preparing for an option attack is an entirely different animal for most defenses, especially teams in this part of the county that don’t see the option very often. A Springfield win this weekend could make for an interesting week of practice at Brockport next week.

The big news at Union is not just the third-seeded Dutchmen’s first-round game with sixth-seeded Widener, but the possibility that Union, if victorious, could be home again on Nov. 25 regardless of the outcome of the No. 2 Hobart/No. 7 Bridgewater State game. Unionfootball.com is reporting an unconfirmed rumor that Hobart did not file to host a second-round playoff game.

ECAC Northwest Championship
For those of you not familiar with the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) football championship structure, it’s a group of four games which give schools the chance to participate in the postseason and finish the season with a win in a bowl-type game.

The ECAC began sponsoring postseason play for its Division III members in 1983. The original format featured two games -- a “North” game pitting New York and New England teams, and a “South” game matching a Metro NY/NJ team with a Pennsylvania-area team.

The championships expanded in 1991 to four crossover games -- the North game broken down into the Northeast and Northwest games, and the South game broken down into Southeast and Southwest games. In 1998, the crossovers stopped in the north half, but the names remained the same. For example, the Northwest game now features two Upstate New York teams, while the Northeast game features two New England schools.

This year’s ECAC Northwest Championship game has Hartwick (7-3) traveling to Buffalo State (6-4). The Hawks are making their second ECAC appearance in three years; they lost at Ithaca in 1998. Buffalo State’s bid extends the Bengals’ postseason streak to 10 years. They won an ECAC title in 1991, made NCAA playoff appearances each year from 1992-96, won another ECAC title in 1997 and played in the NCAA playoffs the last two years.

NCAA Statistical Update
The following New York/New Jersey players and teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally in the final NCAA Division III statistics (games through Nov. 11).

Ron Amato, Ithaca -- 3rd in punt returns (18.9 yards per return)
Andrew Ruffo, Union -- Tied for 6th in field goals per game (1.3)
George Oostmeyer, Cortland -- Tied for 9th in field goals per game (1.2)

Brockport -- 1st in scoring defense (5.5 points/game); 5th in pass efficiency defense (73.6); 8th in total defense (219.9 yards/game)
Hobart -- 1st in pass efficiency defense (48.5); 6th in scoring defense (8.9 points/game); 8th in turnover margin (+1.77/game)
Montclair St. -- 4th in rushing defense (56.7 yards/game)
Union -- 6th in total defense (214.8 yards/game); 4th in pass efficiency defense (73.3)

As always, comments or suggestions are welcome at eliaf@cortland.edu. Thanks to the sports information directors at the various schools in the region for their assistance.

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