BOX SCORE

MIDDLETOWN, CONN. - Quarterback Oliver Kell accounted for 342 yards of offense and scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 1:31 remaining to lead the Bowdoin College football team to a 17-10 victory over Wesleyan on Saturday. The Polar Bears (2-4) will host Bates next weekend in the opening leg of their CBB schedule while Wesleyan falls to 1-5 this season.

Kell led all runners in the game with 113 yards on 30 attempts while completing 24 of 31 passes for 229 yards. Snaking through the middle of the line and diving into the endzone to complete a 10-play, 68-yard drive, Kell capped his day with a five-yard touchdown scamper with just 1:31 remaining to put the Polar Bears ahead for good. The junior also tossed a 19-yard scoring strike to senior Ian Merry with 12:55 left to put Bowdoin ahead at the time, 10-3.

Wesleyan came right back to tie the game, 10-10, on its next possession, consuming 7:04 of the clock as freshman Blake DuBois (18-for-33, 168 yards) tossed an eight-yard TD pass to freshman Kyle Weiss with 5:44 to go. The pass hit off the hands of intended receiver senior Chris Helsel in the endzone and was grabbed just above the ground by a diving Weiss to even the count. Bowdoin then received the kickoff and went from its own 32 to paydirt in 4:07.

Wesleyan mounted a final drive after returning the kickoff following the final Bowdoin TD to its own 20. From there, DuBois scrambled for nine yards before completing four passes to get the Cardinals to the Bowdoin 26-yard line with less than 30 second remaining. On 2nd-and-10 from there, DuBois suffered his third interception of the contest as Bowdoin junior Tyler Tennant, who also had eight tackles on the day, picked off the attempt at the Bowdoin 10 to seal the win.

Bowdoin scored first in the contest on a 23-yard field goal by senior Nolan McNair at 6:20 of the first period. Those were the only points of the first half as Wesleyan, which reached the Bowdoin three-yard line early in the second quarter, faked a field goal but the run by kicker Helsel was stopped for a loss by junior Nick Tom and freshman Chris Martin. Bowdoin came up empty on a long drive to end the first half when McNair missed a 25-yard field goal attempt wide right. He also had a 25-yard try on the opening drive of the third period block by Wesleyan senior Alex Zedlovich.

Wesleyan got 109 yards rushing from freshman Vince Miller on his 21 carries. Defensively, Wesleyan was led by the 18-tackle effort, three for a loss, of senior Cyprian Oyomba while freshman Cameron Davila added 12 and senior Peter Overman chipped in with 11.

Leading Bowdoin with 11 stops was junior Kevin Zikaras while senior Damon Hall-Jones racked up nine tackles, three for a loss, and intercepted a pass.

Bowdoin defeated Wesleyan for only the second time in the last 12 meetings and earns their first win in the state of Connecticut since 1996.