After an impressive win at Tufts, the Bates football team looks to build on its momentum when the Bobcats travel to Hartford Saturday to take on the Trinity College Bantams at 1pm.

Bates (1-3) is looking for its first win over Trinity (4-0) in football since 1979; the Bantams have won the last 24 meetings on the gridiron. 

Trinity is a well-balanced team, ranking second in the NESCAC in points scored (35.5) and points allowed (12.3) per game. Bates ranks fifth as a team offensively at 19.3 points per game and seventh in defense at 22.3 points per game. 

Running back William Kirby ranks second in the conference in rushing yards per game (82) while quarterback Spencer Fetter is the top passer in the NESCAC at 320.5 yards per game. DeVante Reid and Jonathan Girard are the top two pass catchers in the conference, averaging 118.5 and 110.3 receiving yards per game respectively. 

Fetter and Bates senior quarterback Brendan Costa (Westport, Mass.) rank first and second in the NESCAC in total offense, with Fetter averaging 334.5 yards per game and Costa averaging 280 yards per game. Fetter does most of his damage with his arm though, with just 56 rushing yards on the season. Costa has passed for 912 yards and rushed for 208 yards. 

Girard is first in the NESCAC with seven receiving touchdowns and Bobcat receiver Sean Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) checks in with five receiving touchdowns, second in the conference. Bryant averages 71 receiving yards per game, sixth in the NESCAC.

Defensively, the Bobcats sport two of the top linebackers in the conference, with junior Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week senior Spencer Adams (Bedford, N.H.) tied for second in the conference with 39 tackles each. 

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Bates College vs. Trinity College
When: Saturday, Oct. 16, 1 p.m.
Where: Jessee/Miller Field | Hartford, Conn.
Live Coverage: Video | Stats
All-Time Series: Trinity leads 38-7
Last Meeting: Trinity 51, Bates 0 (Lewiston, Maine | Oct. 12, 2019)

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TRINITY LAST WEEK:

Junior quarterback Spencer Fetter threw for 330 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 34-7 victory at Hamilton College. Trinity remains atop the NESCAC alongside Williams and Wesleyan at 4-0. The victory gives Bantam Head Coach Jeff Devanney 100 wins in his career, as the Bantam graduate boasts a career mark of 100-19 for a .840 winning percentage.

Following a scoreless first quarter, Trinity reached the end zone in the first minute of the second quarter on a 10-play, 76-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard pass from Fetter to senior wide receiver DeVante Reid. On Trinity's next two drives, Fetter connected twice for touchdowns with senior wide receiver Jonathan Girard, one from 27 yards out and another from 16 yards out to make it 20-0.

Fetter finished with 29 completions in 34 attempts and Girard finished the day with a 153 yards on 11 receptions including three touchdowns. Reid finished with 73 yards on seven catches and a touchdown. Running back William Kirby had a big day both on the ground and in the air despite a first half fumble, rushing 18 times for 107 yards and catching 6 balls for 50 yards, including a touchdown catch. 

The Bantams' defense was impressive, allowing just 273 total yards from Hamilton in comparison to the Bantams' 543 yards of offense. Bantam junior linebacker Cade Klarides-Ditria led the team with five tackles and Joe Lepore finished the day with 2.5 sacks. 

BATES LAST WEEK:

Senior quarterback Brendan Costa threw three touchdown passes to Sean Bryant and ran for a touchdown as well to lead the Bates football team past Tufts by a final score of 33-10 Saturday afternoon at the Ellis Oval. 

Costa (Westport, Mass.) returned to his home state in style, throwing for 254 yards and rushing for a game-high 113 yards, propelling Bates (1-3) to its first win over Tufts (0-4) since 2013. 

Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) turned in another outstanding performance, catching five passes for 91 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Christian Olivieri (Hull, Mass.) added four receptions for 80 yards on the afternoon while senior Derek Marino (Marblehead, Mass.) caught two passes for 39 yards.

Senior Spencer Adams (Bedford, N.H.) continued his outstanding season with a game-high 12 tackles. He also broke up two passes and recorded an interception. 

A turnover led to the first points of the afternoon for the Bobcats, who never trailed on the day. Facing a third and seven from their own 33, the Jumbos appeared to have a first down thanks to the legs of quarterback Michael Berluti. But as Berluti dove for the marker, he lost control of the ball and senior Jose Calleja (Secane, Pa.) fell on it for the Bobcats at the Tufts 42-yard line with 9:31 left in the first quarter.

The Bobcats went to work, with Costa completing a screen pass to senior Caleb Bolden (Dover, N.H.) on second and eight for nine yards and a first down. Bates moved the ball to the Tufts 20 on a completion to Bryant. Then on second and 10, Costa faked the hand-off to senior Chris Capo (West Newbury, Mass.) and fired a strike to Bryant at the five. The veteran receiver did the rest, diving into the end zone for the touchdown. 

Adams was named the NESCAC Football Defensive Player of the Week Sunday by the New England Small College Athletic Conference and Costa was awarded the College Division Gold Helmet Award for the top performance by a New England Division II or III football player by the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation.

BATES' AND TRINITY'S LAST MEETING:

Trinity dominated every phase of the game in handing the Bates football team a 51-0 loss for the second time in a row at Garcelon Field.

The Bantams led 30-0 at the halftime with a 17-0 advantage in first downs. They scored three more touchdowns in the third quarter before finishing out the game with a scoreless fourth quarter.

The Bobcats were outgained by a 416-105 margin in total offense, as a balanced Trinity attack gained 194 yards on the ground and 222 through the air.

Seamus Lambert completed 14-21 passes for 222 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He handed off to Tijani Harris 27 times for 139 yards and a touchdown, while Koby Schofer caught five passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

BATES' PROBABLE STARTERS:

MULTIPLE OFFENSE

LT 73 Peter Simplicio So. 6-5 265
LG 73 Cole De Magistris So. 6-5 243
C  71 Nick Florio Sr. 6-0 280
RG 56 Erik Stephens Sr. 6-1 260
RT 77 Cameron Winslow Jr. 6-4 306
TE 89 Steven Guerrette So. 6-3 220
WR 32 Christian Olivieri Sr. 5-11 185
WR 81 Sean Bryant Sr. 6-3 200
WR 84 Derek Marino Sr. 6-3 205
QB 3 Brendan Costa Sr. 5-11 190
RB 26 Caleb Bolden Sr. 5-8 185

DEFENSE

DL 44 Tim Simplicio Sr. 6-2 245
DL 90 Matthew Juneau Fy. 6-2 226
DL 99 Finn Duffey Fy. 5-11 285
DL 52 Jack Ryan Sr. 6-2 251
LB 6 Mike Bulman Sr. 5-11 200
LB 5 Tony Hooks Jr. 6-1 225
LB 53 Spencer Adams Sr. 6-0 220
CB 21 Owen Straley Sr. 5-8 163
CB 2 Mohamed Coulibaly Jr. 6-0 175
S 4 Anthony Costa Sr. 5-9 178
S 17 Thomas Formus Sr. 6-0 202

SPECIALISTS

K 86 Simon Redfern Sr. 6-1 192
P 35 Archie Green Jr. So. 5-11 185

TRINITY'S PROBABLE STARTERS:

OFFENSE

QB 12 Spencer Fetter Jr. 6-3 190
RB 4 William Kirby So. 6-1 205
C 73 Kyle Woodring Sr. 6-1 280
G 76 Federico Ernst Sr. 6-3 305
G 71 Ryan Wiley Jr. 6-5 285
T 68 Robert Mihaly Jr. 6-4 292
T 79 Patrick Donovan-Jenkins So. 6-3 265
TE 86 Jack Barrett Sr. 6-4 235
WR 11 Wes Terzi Jr. 6-1 205
WR 1 DeVante Reid Sr. 5-11 190
WR 2 Jonathan Girard Sr. 6-4 220

DEFENSE

NT 99 Christian Anzeveno Jr. 6-1 260
DE 53 Noah Glantz Sr. 6-3 240
DE 96 Lucas Folan Jr. 6-2 235
LB 48 Luca De Lancellotti So. 6-0 200
LB 42 Brian Casagrande Sr. 6-1 225
LB 59 Cade Klarides-Ditria Jr. 6-2 225
LB 40 William Crowley Jr. 6-0 195
DB 3 Darren Warren Jr. 5-11 185
DB 17 Justin O'Neil-Riley Jr. 5-9 165
DB 24 Aidan Kennedy Sr. 5-10 195
DB 32 Matt McCarthy Sr. 5-11 200

SPECIALISTS

K 91 Hampton Trout So. 5-11 185
P 69 Nick Mangino So. 6-3 245