Good morning!
There weren’t many noteworthy plays during the UMass spring game two years ago, albeit with one exception that was reported in this space. “Leeds native Dallas Elliott of the Williston Northampton School made the catch of the day, falling backwards into the end zone with a defender in his face.”
Elliott used that grit and determination to make the team as a walk-on. This year he had nine catches, five for first downs but none for a touchdown. He’s saving that for another foe.
Last week UMass announced that Elliott had begun cancer treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Anyone who’d like to send a card or message can do so by mailing to:
Dallas Elliott, c/o Martin Jacobson Football Performance Center, 290 Stadium Drive, Amherst, MA 01003
People can also support him by donating to his GoFundMe page: Stand with Dallas: Supporting His Fight Against Cancer.
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In 2009, before other responsibilities would alter his priorities, Deerfield native Jamin Hemenway began a quest to see every FBS team play at least one game in their home stadium and chronicled his journeys in a blog called Pigskin Pursuit.
More interested in off-field ambience than on-field reckonings, Hemenway wrote about Georgia barbecue joints and Mississippi tailgate parties and posted photos of Pitt’s 545-foot-tall Cathedral of Learning and North Texas State’s Mean Green Machine — a fully restored 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan.
By 2015 he’d been to 105 venues in 36 states, but two big changes — a job in France followed by settling down in New Hampshire and raising twins — put the odyssey on hold until this year.
“It’s going great,” he wrote of his renewed passion. “In September I saw Minnesota beat Eastern Illinois, 59-7, at Huntington Bank Stadium, and North Dakota State shut out Fordham, 38-0, at the Fargodome. In October I saw games at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Appalachian State, Missouri State, Tulane and the University of South Florida.
“I now sit at 135 of the 138 FBS schools that I’ve seen a game. This month I’m watching Akron and Sacramento State, and my grand finale will be UCLA against USC at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 28. That should be a fitting conclusion to my Pigskin Pursuit.”
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News from Franklin County’s adopted 27th town, Athol. On Oct. 17, several high school alumni, former coaches and friends drove to Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire, to see their friend George Martin be inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
A three-sport athlete at Athol, Martin coached the Colby-Sawyer girls basketball and volleyball teams for 26 years and amassed a combined record of 1,210 wins and 801 losses, and his girls hoops teams made seven trips to the NCAAs.
Those from Athol who watched ESPN and NESN analyst Pam Roecker introduce Martin included such luminaries as Rocky Stone, Leanne Stone, Kathy Horrigan and brother Kevin, Win MacDonald, Chris Sullivan, Rose Sullivan and Lisa Cole. Did I miss anyone?
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Back when the UMass quarterback job was ostensibly up for grabs, Pop Watson was asked who was giving him the most competition. “RJ pushes me the best,” said Watson. “I’m excited to see where it goes.”
Watson was referring to RJ Johnson III, a 6-foot-2 Atlanta native who’d transferred from Florida A&M after passing for 2,597 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2025. In April’s spring game he led the offense on two scoring drives, including a touchdown on a 40-yard quarterback keeper.
After Watson was named the starter, Johnson transferred to Grambling State, an historically Black university famous for coach Eddie Robinson’s 56-year tenure and for sending players like Charlie Joiner, Buck Buchanan and Doug Williams to the NFL.
Johnson started three games and fell off the radar. “He’s dealing with a health reason right now,” said Tigers coach Mickey Joseph. “I don’t want to get sued, so I’m not going to comment on it. When we get to the point where we think both sides can come to an agreement to bring him back, he’ll be back.”
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According to the ESPN Power Index of Nov. 4, the UMass men’s basketball team is sixth of 12 teams in the MAC. Defending champion Akron is first (97), followed by Miami-Oh. (106); Kent State (135); Toledo (138); Ohio (142); UMass (151); Western Michigan (185); Bowling Green (188); Ball St. (211); Eastern Michigan (220); Buffalo (241) and Central Michigan (287). Sacramento State (233) still plays in the Big West Conference.
The Minutemen moved up 26 spots after thumping Troy in the season opener on Monday, 71-60, as 3 1/2-point favorites. Last night they played No. 101 Boston College at TD Garden, and on Veterans Day they’ll play No. 221 UMass Lowell.
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After Michigan was flagged for procedure against Rutgers last week, Wolverines’s play-by-play voice Doug Karsch said that when Greg Schiano coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers “he had them jumping in the neutral zone to create contact.”
Karsch’s sidekick Jon Jansen quickly responded: “Yeah I was in the NFL for that. Everyone hated his guts.”
Meanwhile, before the Iowa-Washington game a few weeks ago, FOX analyst Robert Griffin III was talking about the center-quarterback exchange and thinking he was back in the locker room. “Hey man, you gotta make sure of this… and get the play started before anything goes wrong.”
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Sports bettor Chris Macero on wagering MAC games: “These midweek games the coaching, the players and the teams make the most insane decisions.”
Like UMass running a double reverse for a 2-point conversion against Miami with the game on the line? They called it the Philadelphia Play, and it never left the 30th Street Station.
On Wednesday, Ball State was inside the UMass 20 with 52 seconds left before halftime when Cardinals coach Mike Uremovich called a timeout. The stoppage gave UMass enough time to score a touchdown with 14 seconds left, and when Ball State’s kicker missed the PAT in overtime, UMass won, 31-30.
Call it what you will, this ain’t the SEC, which is why there’ll be 70,000 fans at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for Mississippi versus Georgia tomorrow night, while there were 8,881 fans for UMass against Ball State on Wednesday.
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SQUIBBERS: UMass failed to cover the 3 1/2 points on Wednesday, dropping them to 4-5 versus the spread. … On Veterans Day, UMass plays at Toledo. The midnight blue-and-gold are 7-0 all-time versus UMass, and the Rockets’ first-year coach Mike Jacobs won his 100th career game last week against Western Michigan. … Former NFL punter Jay Feely to Sean Spicer about the impact of the NIL on college football: “It’s become completely narcissistic. Tom Brady sitting for three years at Michigan and finally winning a championship taught him the principles that led to his success with the Patriots.” …. A UMass season ticket holder says he saw a Bruins scout paying for a ticket to a UMass game. Why is that not surprising? … Ken McPeek’s horse Coach Pope is named for Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope. “Coach Pope is a very good horse,” McPeek told NYRA’s Jonathon Kinchen, “but I’m pulling for Coach Pope the coach. I’m a UK fan through and through.” … During this week’s Joel Sherman/Jon Heyman podcast, it was mentioned that when the Mets summoned Pat Murphy for a managerial interview in 2019 they put him in Seat 36B. … Former UMass quarterback Brandon Rose has rushed twice for eight yards at Utah. Otherwise, the Utes’ prodigal son will have a good view from the sideline of today’s Holy War against No. 7 BYU. … Longtime Mets adviser, Guy Conti passed at 84 last month. According to the NY Post’s Mike Puma, Conti’s former team, the Dodgers, sent him to the DR to check out Pedro Martinez. “When Pedro started throwing, the ball just exploded,” said Conti. After signing with the Dodgers, Pedro called Conti his “white daddy.” … In case you missed it, Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson led the MLB with 62 infield hits this season. … In his book about the ’67 Red Sox, Tales from the Red Sox Dugout, Rico Petrocelli quotes Red Sox catcher Mike Ryan uttering a universal truth: “First base is a foot too far.”
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@gmail.com.