The Williams College Ephs football team finally captured their elusive first win under the Mark Raymond coaching staff. The Ephs came out and handily beat the Bowdoin Polar Bears in a 28-14 bout Saturday afternoon. While the team had a disappointing 0-8 record last year, team morale seemed to be more high going into this season than it did when the Ephs finished 2-6 during the Aaron Kelton era.
While talking to a few guys on the team, who asked to remain anonymous, they stated, “The culture of the program has changed drastically since Coach Ray has taken over, and the program is heading back to where it traditionally has been and belongs.”
Another player agreed with this notion and added, “We are very pleased with how the team is coming together and we are doing the little things right which wasn’t present during the Kelton era, however we still have a lot of work left to do on the field but we’re heading in the right direction.”
The freshmen class marks the first of which was recruited by Raymond and his staff and some of the older players are happy with the new additions.
One stated, “The freshmen are a great group of guys who are hard workers, talented players, and even better men off the field which is extremely important. We’re all excited to see what the future holds for our program and hopefully these guys can lay down the foundation for years to come.”
It sounds like the football team is getting back on track with the help of the new coaching staff and has made a cognizant effort to improve their reputation within the Williams College community. The two players I talked to made sure to let me know that the few bad eggs on the team the past few years have moved on or graduated, and to not let a group of 60+ guys get judged by the actions of a few players. Both players said the team is excited to travel up to Colby next week in the hope of beating the Mules and leaving the field with a record of 2-0.
With the NESCAC expanding to 9 games this year, the Ephs got an extra Home Game added to their schedule, so even if you missed out this Saturday there are still 4 more opportunities to watch them play this year. Especially the Homecoming game against Amherst. So wear your purple pride and be prepared to see all the action play out on the field, you won’t want to miss the new and improved team!
Ephs Home Schedule:
10/07/17 Bates @1:00PM
10/21/17 Tufts @1:30PM
10/28/17 Hamilton @1:30PM
11/11/17 Amherst @12:00PM.