The Colby College football team makes one of the toughest road trips in the New England Small College Athletic Conference this weekend, playing at Amherst College on Saturday afternoon. To coach Jonathan Michaeles, the game is a chance for his Mules to get back to basics following a 37-6 loss to Wesleyan.

“They’re a good team. They’re always a good team,” Michaeles said of Amherst. “It’s not about them. It’s about our guys and our collective team being on the same page.”

Last week, Wesleyan gained 520 yards of total offense to Colby’s 201. The lopsided loss gave the Mules plenty to work on in practice, but it all really comes down to the same thing, Michaeles said.

“Fundamentals. Absolutely with fundamentals and the basics. It was nothing schematic that we didn’t expect. We were prepared completely, and it was doing the little things. It was a guy here, a guy there. We need 11 guys on the same page executing the finer details at a higher level. That’s really all it comes down to,” Michaeles said.

The Amherst game ends a tough three game stretch for the Mules against opponents that are a combined 7-2. Colby’s next four games are against Hamilton, Bates, Tufts, and Bowdoin. Of those four, only Tufts (3-0) currently has a winning record.

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Husson is on the road Saturday for a big Eastern Collegiate Football Conference game at Castleton. Both teams are 2-0 in conference play, and are contenders for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Castleton has found a spark in Augusta’s Mitchell Caron. Since Caron took over as starting quarterback against Salve Regina on Sept. 17, the Spartans are 2-1. Caron has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 776 yards, with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Caron, a sophomore, also has three rushing touchdowns.

Husson’s ball control ground attack will be a key for the Eagles. Husson averages 248 yards per game on the ground to lead the conference. Defensively, Oak Hill grad Luke Washburn is second on the team with 31 tackles, one behind team leader Ellis Throckmorton. Washburn’s seven sacks ranks him 19th in the nation in sacks per game.

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Maine Maritime Academy is back at it this week after last week’s midseason bye. The Mariners (1-3, 0-2 New England Football Conference) host Endicott (2-3, 2-0 NEFC) on Saturday afternoon.

Lawrence grad Jake Doolan has three consecutive 100-yard rushing games for MMA, and leads the Mariners with 430 yards rushing on the season. Typically among the national leaders in rushing yards per game, Maine Maritime is currently 20th in Division III, with 259.8 yards per game on the ground.

Maine Maritime has never beaten Endicott, and is 0-4 all time against the Gulls.

Winslow grad Trenton Bouchard, a freshman defensive back for the Mariners, has one interception and 16 tackles.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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