BOX
SCORE
LEWISTON, Maine - Bates defensive end Tyler Kuehl intercepted a
pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to give the Bobcat
football team their first lead of the game with 9:39 remaining in
an eventual 28-24 win over Bowdoin on Saturday. It is the first win
of the season for the Bobcats (1-6) and their first win over the
Polar Bears (2-5) since 2003. Both teams will need Bowdoin to
defeat Colby next week in order to claim a share of the CBB
title.
Under pressure from defensive tackle Devin Horvath, backup
quarterback R.J. Shea's pass on 3rd and 9 from the Bowdoin 31 was
tipped at the line of scrimmage by Kuehl, and the 6-3, 255-pound
lineman gathered the ball and rumbled 25 yards across the field for
the go-ahead score, only a minute after the Bobcats had closed the
gap to 24-21 on Matt Gregg's 23-yard touchdown reception.
Bowdoin got the ball back twice before the game was through.
First the Polar Bears marched from their own 38 all the way to the
Bates 1-yard line but were stuffed in a goal-line stand by the
Bobcats, ending a 13-play, 59-yard drive with 4:08 left in the
game.
With Bates taking over at its own 3, Bowdoin forced a
three-and-out, and the Polar Bears took the ball over at the Bates
26 when Pat Noone returned a 33-yard Gavin Segall-Abrams punt 12
yards. An 11-yard strike from Shea to Justin Starr helped Bowdoin
get as far as the Bates 11, but on 3rd and 6, with 73 seconds left
in the game, Brett McAllister picked off Shea's pass in the back of
the end zone to preserve the win.
Shea took over for Bowdoin's senior quarterback, Oliver Kell,
after Kell was injured on a quarterback keeper at the start of the
third quarter. The 6-5 sophomore Shea, who entered the game with
zero pass attempts in his career, completed 10 of 23 passes for 97
yards in the second half. Kell was 10 of 15 for 75 yards and one
interception. Both quarterbacks rushed for touchdowns, with Shea
netting 23 rushing yards and Kell netting 17. Nick Tom rushed for a
game-high 73 yards as Bowdoin was limited to 293 yards of offense
to 330 for Bates.
For Bates, rookie quarterback Trevor Smith was outstanding again
in his second career start, completing 21 of 31 passes for 269
yards and three touchdowns and also rushing for a
team-high 29 yards, leading Bates to victory despite throwing three
interceptions. The Bobcats overcame four turnovers, including one
on each of their first three possessions of the game.
Senior Tom Beaton led Bates receivers with his second straight
monster game, catching nine passes for a career-high 152 yards and
a score, a week after posting career receiving highs with 10
catches and 121 yards. Beaton caught a 58-yard touchdown with 7:37
left in the third quarter on a flea-flicker to begin to turn the
game's momentum toward Bates. Smith handed off to running back
Dylan Taylor on the play, but Taylor pitched back to Smith, who
launched the ball over 40 yards to a wide-open Beaton downfield,
and Beaton ran the final 25 yards for the score that closed the gap
to 17-14.
The play was the first from the line of scrimmage for Bates after
Shea's 1-yard touchdown plunge capped a 15-play, 76-yard scoring
drive.
Bowdoin seized back the momentum early in the fourth quarter when
Matt Leotti stepped in front of a Smith pass and ran 58 yards down
the sideline for a touchdown with 12:36 left in the game, giving
Bowdoin a 24-14 lead. But Bates responded quickly, starting out its
next drive at its own 48, advancing 15 yards on a Bowdoin
face mask penalty, 11 more on an 11-yard sideline catch by Evan
Tierney, and closing the game to 24-21 with 10:44 left in the game
when Smith hit senior Matt Gregg in stride near the left pylon for
a 23-yard touchdown.
As Bates opened the game with three turnovers on its first three
possessions, the Polar Bears converted them into 10 points. Smith
was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage of the game, when
his pass to Gregg was bobbled and snatched out of the air by Bobby
Welch, who returned the ball back 39 yards to the Bates 32. Kell
immediately hit Tom for 21 yards, and then a 9-yard jaunt by Tom
quickly had the Polar Bears at the Bates 2. Kell scored on a 1-yard
keeper two plays later.
Welch caused a second turnover on Bates' second possession, forcing
and recovering a fumble by Taylor. After a three-and-out by
Bowdoin, Bates drove from its own 27 to the Bowdoin 13, thanks in
great part to 11- and 20-yard catches by Beaton. But on 2nd and 7
at the 13, Smith was picked off in the end zone by a diving Will
McIver. Bowdoin drove 71 yards inside the Bates 10 before settling
for a 26-yard field goal by Bill Donahue, and the Polar Bears had a
10-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Bates responded in good measure, however, as Cam Evans leaped for
an athletic interception to give the Bobcats the ball at their own
43. Smith hit receiver John Squires with a laser over the middle
that went for 29 yards, and later an 11-yard connection with Beaton
gave Bates a first down at the Bowdoin 15. Three plays later, on
third down and 4, Smith hit H-back Ryan Weston, and the 6-5,
260-pound sophomore plowed into the end zone for a 9-yard score,
closing the gap to 10-7 before halftime.
Laurence Duggan made a team-high 10 tackles, including two
quarterback sacks and two quarterback hurries, to lead the Bowdoin
defense. For Bates, Ted Durkin and Kevin Helm had 12 tackles
apiece, while Brett McAllister added 11 to go with the key
interception. Linemen Rich McNeil and Devin Horvath totaled nine
and eight tackles, respectively.
Bates plays at Hamilton next week at noon in the season finale,
while Bowdoin hosts Colby at 12:30 p.m.
Photos courtesy of Brian Beard and Creative Images
Photography.