As senior captain and slotback Shawn Doherty said after the Bates football team's win over Bowdoin on Saturday, "We would have liked to have put more points up in the second half," but the bottom line was, 17 points got the job done.
Taking Bates' quarterback snaps for all but two drives, junior Matt Cannone (Windham, N.H.) directed an attack that kept the ball away from Bowdoin, left Bates' defense to rest a little longer, and struck for the most picturesque touchdown of the season for the Bobcats.
Cannone's numbers tell the story pretty well. He rushed the ball effectively, netting 72 yards on 17 carries, including a career-long 25-yard gain. He completed a career-high 10 of his 12 passes for 102 yards, one yard short of his career best. And his bomb down the right sideline, which was caught in stride by Kevin Davis for the game's first touchdown, was the first scoring pass of Cannone's career. Perhaps most importantly of all, Cannone, along with first-year backup QB Nick LaSpada directed an offense that committed no turnovers all game.
Continued strong play by Cannone and LaSpada would go a long way toward Bates (3-4) winning its season finale this Saturday at Hamilton (0-7), which would represent the program's first back-to-back seasons at the .500 mark or above since 1981-82.
