BOX
SCORE
BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College football team accumulated
595 yards of total offense and scored their most points since 1951
in a 55-14 victory over Bates on Saturday. With the win, the Polar
Bears (3-4) have a chance to win their third consecutive CBB
Championship next weekend at Colby. The Bobcats fall to 1-6 with
the loss.
On Senior Day in Brunswick, the Polar Bears dominated in all
facets of the game, rushing for 341 yards, passing for 254 and
holding Bates to just 178 yards of total offense.
After forcing a three-and-out to start the contest, Bowdoin
marched down the field in seven plays, covering 68 yards to take
the early lead. James Lathrop capped the drive by cutting outside
after breaking through the line and going 35 to paydirt for the
score. Bates was able to respond late in the period, taking over
after a fumbled punt return by the Polar Bears. With the offensive
lined up to the right side of the formation, Tom Beaton took a
direct snap and beat the Bowdoin defense to the corner of the end
zone on a fourth-and-goal to deadlock the score with 7:20 left in
the period.
Bowdoin would score the next 35 points, however, to put the
contest out of reach. After Bates tied the score, quarterback
Oliver Kell directed the Polar Bears down the field on a 10-play,
63-yard drive, closing it out on a seven-yard rush up the middle to
give Bowdoin the 14-7 lead. Bowdoin pushed their lead to 21-7 in
the second quarter on a 10-play, 53-yard drive that ended in a
three-yard scoring run by Ian Vieira. The Polar Bears upped their
advantage to 28-7 before the break when Nick Tom broke loose up the
middle for an 18-yard scoring scamper with 1:43 remaining in the
half.
The onslaught continued in the third quarter as Bowdoin took the
opening kickoff and went 86 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 31-yard
run by Tom. On the ensuing possession, Bates drove into Bowdoin
territory, but Kevin Zikaras picked off a Ryan Katon pass and
returned it 75 yards down the sideline for the touchdown to make it
42-7 Bowdoin.
Bates would stop the bleeding late in the third quarter as Katon
connected with Mark Flaherty on a perfectly-thrown 25-yard
touchdown pass to cut it to 42-14, but it took Bowdoin just three
plays to respond as Kell found Tim Kelleher for a 53-yard scoring
strike and a 49-14 lead. Nolan McNair added a pair of
fourth-quarter field goals to close out the scoring.
Bowdoin's 55 points are five shy of the school record set by the
1951 squad in a 60-42 win over Colby, while their 595 yards of
total offense were five yards shy of the school mark of 600 set
against WPI in 1970.
Kell finished with 92 yards rushing and 254 yards passing to
lead the Bowdoin offense. Six different receivers caught passes,
led by Ian Merry's four catches for 64 yards. First-year Greg
Pierce totaled 122 rushing yards - all but 16 coming in the fourth
quarter - averaging 13.6 yards per carry. Zikaras led Bowdoin with
six solo tackles while Dominic Ridgard had two sacks.
Bates was led by 11 tackles from Myles Walker and nine from Kyle
McAllister, who also had a fumble recovery and pass breakup. Beaton
rushed for 31 yards while Katon led the Bobcats with 94 yards
passing.
The Polar Bears have beaten Bates five-straight times, equaling
the longest streak of wins over their rivals from Lewiston. Bowdoin
holds a 65-39-7 edge in Division III's 10th-longest rivalry, and
also beat Bates five straight occasions from 1968-73.
Bowdoin can earn their third consecutive CBB title with a win
next week in their season finale at Colby. A Colby win would result
in the first three-way tie in the series since 1995. Bates finishes
out their season against Hamilton next Saturday.
Photos courtesy of Brian Beard and Creative Images
Photography.
