Sophomore Sean Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) caught three touchdown passes and the Bates football team rallied from 21 points down to defeat the Hamilton College Continentals 26-21 Saturday afternoon, concluding the 2019 season in style.
The Bobcats tallied their first score of the afternoon out of the timeout with 23 seconds left in the second quarter. Junior quarterback Brendan Costa faked a pitch to a motioning first-year Mohamed Diawara and rolled to his right. The fake pitch fooled enough defenders for Costa to find Bryant down the seam for the touchdown, trimming the Hamilton lead to 21-6 after a failed two-point conversion.
One play after the Bates special teams forced a turnover to start the second half, Costa rolled to his left and lofted a pass toward the near pylon where Bryant reeled it in for a 20-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and Bates trailed 21-12 with 13:58 left in the third quarter.
Down 21-19 with 1:08 remaining in the game, Costa scrambled to his left and threw across his body over the middle, finding a wide open Bryant for the game-winning 25-yard touchdown reception.
Three of Bryant's five catches for a game-high 93 yards went for touchdowns.
Bryant finishes the season as Bates' leading receiver, with 15 catches for a team-high 300 yards and a team-leading four touchdowns.
