Tom Beaton made a spectacular 29-yard catch over defensive back Harry Melendez to put the Bobcats on the Trinity 1 in the second quarter.

LEWISTON, Maine -- Trinity College downed Bates College 35-14 in both schools' football season opener on Saturday, as the defending NESCAC champions rolled to their 11th straight win.

Trinity fumbled the ball away five times in the game but overcame that with a stifling run defense, limiting Bates to 30 rushing yards on 29 attempts, and a quick-strike offense that collected 400 yards despite a time-of-possession deficit of 25:29 to 34:31.

Craig Dubrosky passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns, both in the second quarter, one each to Michael Galligan (7 catches, 93 yards) and Winston Tuggle (3 catches, 117 yards). Tuggle's 71-yard catch and run up the middle pushed the Bantam lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter, and the Bantams added a deflating touchdown with 13 seconds left in the half when Dubrosky found Galligan in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard score, sending the teams into halftime with a 21-7 Trinity lead.

Trinity extended the lead to 28-7 in the third quarter on Robert Jackson's 1-yard plunge.

Bates closed the gap to 28-14 as senior receiver Tom Beaton (West Newbury, Mass.) scored on a 3-yard run with 13:01 left in the fourth quarter, but the Bantams padded the lead back to 21 points two minutes later on a faked punt, as Ben Sherry galloped through a surprised Bates defense for a 37-yard touchdown run.

Oliver Starnes paced the Bantam ground attack, netting 73 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown, an 8-yard scamper in the first quarter. Trinity gained 190 yards on the ground.

Trinity linebackers Walter Fallas (18 tackles) and Francois Auzerais (13 tackles) were all over the field for the Bantams, who also came up with four sacks of Bates sophomore quarterback Ryan Katon (Durham, Conn.).

Katon completed 25 passes on 43 attempts for 203 yards and a touchdown, and was picked off twice. Beaton caught 7 passes for 87 yards and also ran for 18 yards on six carries, including the touchdown. Tight end Sean Wirth (Barrington, R.I.) had a career-high eight receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown, a difficult 9-yard sideline catch on a well-thrown pass from Katon with 3:09 left in the second quarter.

Some key plays early in the game helped turn the game in Trinity's favor. Midway through the first quarter with the game scoreless, Drusbosky launched a pass from the Bates 33 to near the goal line, where senior Kyle McAllister (Exeter, N.H.) tipped it into the hands of senior Bill Jennings (Marshfield, Mass.) for an apparent interception. The play was called back, however, on a roughing the passer penalty. The Bantams moved up 15 yards to the 18, and two Starnes rushes later had the game's first touchdown.

Early in the second quarter after Trinity had gone ahead 14-0, the Bobcats drove from their own 37 to the Trinity 1, after Beaton made a spectacular leaping, twisting catch along the sideline, good for 29 yards. But the offense sputtered, backing up to the six after a false start penalty, followed by two incompletions. On third and goal from the 6, Katon found Beaton coming across the middle, but Trinity's Mike O'Connor stripped the ball a yard shy of the goal line. The ball was recovered for a touchback by the Bantams.

Sophomore linebacker Brett McAllister (Exeter, N.H.), Kyle's younger brother, shared the Bobcats team with 10 tackles in his first collegiate start and also recovered three fumbles to highlight the Bobcats' defense. Senior Rich McNeil (Lawrence, Mass.) was also in on 10 tackles.

Bates returns to action next Saturday for Parents & Family Weekend, hosting Tufts at 1 p.m. Trinity will host Williams on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Stats and Play by Play: Trinity 35, Bates 14