Bates linebacker Coleman Peeke brings down Colby tight end Brennan Moore.

GAME STATS: Colby 10, Bates 7 (4OT)

LEWISTON, Maine -- Brian Bachow's 22-yard field goal in the fourth overtime period gave the Colby College football team a 10-7 victory over Bates College Saturday in the driving rain at Garcelon Field.

The game conditions dominated play, as the rain grew in intensity for most of the game. By the conclusion, the cinder track between the field and the stands was flooded with several inches of water. The Bobcat logo at midfield had already given way before halftime to the muck and mire that swallowed both teams' progress. The teams combined for only 340 yards of total offense.

Colby raises its record to 2-4 and takes the inside track on winning a CBB (Colby-Bates-Bowdoin) title. Bates stays winless at 0-6.

Bates went ahead in the third quarter, when Terence Ryan sacked Colby quarterback Justin Smith and forced a fumble at the Colby 7-yard line, which Bates lineman Eric Obeng scooped up and ran in for the touchdown.

Colby evened the game at 7-7 early in the fourth quarter, as Smith's 37-yard scamper fueled a 57-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown by Chris Bashaw (34 carries, 73 yards; 4 receptions, 36 yards).

Bates senior Jamie Walker (Needham, Mass.) came within two carries of matching his own Bates single-game record, toting the ball 43 times for a total of 135 yards.

Bates outgained Colby on the ground, 177 yards to 142, but Smith's 100 passing yards on 13 completions out of 29 attempts gave Colby an 185-155 advantage in total offense. Bates largely abandoned the passing game, as junior quarterback Brandon Colon connected on three of just 15 passes for 14 yards.

Bates defensive line coach Skip Capone (left) congratulates linebacker Ron DiGravio for a fine play. DiGravio had 11 tackles, including two for a loss.

The first overtime passed with neither team getting close to the goal line. But on Colby's possession in second overtime, after Bates had already stalled on its possession, Bashaw's 11-yard run brought the Mules to the Bates 4. But junior Anthony Begon (Lynn, Mass.) sacked Smith for a 10-yard loss on the next play. Colby elected to try for a 31-yard field goal on second down, and Bachow's kick traveled low and short of the goalposts.

Three successive penalties backed the Mules out of scoring range in third overtime. Bates countered with five Walker rushes that brought the Bobcats inside the Colby 10. But on fourth-and-5 from the Colby 9, Andrew Johnson's (Naples, Fla.) 26-yard field goal attempt was stuffed by Colby's interior linemen.

Walker was stopped on fourth-and-one at the Colby 16 in fourth overtime, turning the ball over to the Mules for their winning drive. Smith hit Justin Candon for a 14-yard gain to the Bates 11 to lead off their possession. Three Bashaw rushes took Colby to the Bates 5, and Bachow's game-winning kick on fourth down set off a wild celebration for the visiting Mules.

Junior linebacker Todd Wilcox (Brentwood, N.H.) led Bates with 12 tackles, including seven solo, and three for a total loss of four yards, as well as two pass breakups. Senior Terence Ryan (Milton, Mass.), junior Ron DiGravio (Farmington, Maine) and junior Graham Raymond (Westfield, Mass.) each had 11 tackles, with Ryan collecting 1.5 sacks. Begon had 2.5 sacks for the Bobcats.

Bates plays at Bowdoin next Saturday, Nov. 4, at 12:30 p.m. Colby will play at Tufts at 12:30.