LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team takes on Colby College for the 122nd time when the Bobcats welcome the Mules to town Saturday at 1pm for the annual "
Big Game."
The Mules (2-4) have struggled on offense this season, averaging 11.2 points per game, ninth in the NESCAC. Bates (1-5) is averaging 17.5 points per game, good for sixth in the conference. Defensively, the Bobcats allow 28.7 points per game, ninth in the NESCAC while the Mules rank seventh in the conference, allowing 24.3 points per game.
On offense, neither team runs the ball much, with Bates averaging 76 rushing yards per contest and Colby ranking last in the NESCAC at 59.5 rushing yards per game.
Senior quarterback
Brendan Costa (Westport, Mass.) is quickly approaching the Bates single-season total yards record he set in 2019. Costa recorded 1,739 total yards that year and through six games this season he has 1,623 total yards, second in the NESCAC.
Costa is also nearing the Bates record for passing yards in a single season. He has 1,341 passing yards so far this year and the Bates record is 1,636, set by Hugo Colasante '78 in 1977.
Sean Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) and
Derek Marino (Marblehead, Mass.) are his top receivers, ranking fifth and sixth respectively in the NESCAC in receptions this season. Bryant is tied for second in the conference with five receiving touchdowns.
Costa's counterpart Matt Hersch of Colby throws the ball well too, with 1,153 passing yards this season, third in the conference behind Costa and Trinity's Spencer Fetter. Hersch's favorite targets are Jack Sawyer (334 receiving yards, 2 TDs) and Matt Panker (310 receiving yards, 1 TD).
Defensively, Bates junior linebacker
Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) is tied for first in the NESCAC with 62 total tackles on the season. Will Nipon and Nick Donatio lead the Colby defense with 42 and 41 tackles respectively.
This game marks the beginning of the annual CBB series. Bates won four CBB titles in a row before the Mules prevailed the past two seasons. The Bobcats take on Bowdoin on Saturday, Nov. 6 and Colby plays the Polar Bears on Nov. 13 to wrap up this year's edition of the classic three-way rivalry. Whoever emerges with the best record among the three teams against each other earns the CBB series trophy.
THE PARTICULARS:
What: Bates (1-5) vs. Colby (2-4)
When: Saturday, Oct. 30, 1 p.m.
Where: Garcelon Field (Lewiston, Maine)
Live Coverage: Video | Stats
All-Time Series: Colby leads 68-47-6
Previous Meeting: Colby 23, Bates 20 (Oct. 26, 2019 in Waterville, Maine)
COLBY LAST WEEK:
The Mules led undefeated Trinity College 12-0 at halftime but the Bantams scored 35 unanswered points in the second half, handing Colby its fourth loss of the season by a final score of 35-12.
Colby's second possession of the afternoon resulted in six points when Keon Smart carried the ball in from 12 yards out following an 11-play Mules drive. The Bantams struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half, punting the ball three times and also handing the football over to Colby on a fumble.
With the stingy Colby defense giving the ball back to its offense for the fourth straight Trinity possession, Smart extended his team's lead to two scores, this time rushing in from two yards out. After missing on his first extra-point attempt of the day, Moises Celaya's kick was blocked. Heading into the locker rooms at the half, the Bantams trailed by two scores for the first time all season at 12-0.
Things began to click for Trinity in the second half when quarterback Spencer Fetter capped off a nine-play drive on a one-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Jack Barrett. On the first play from scrimmage following the touchdown, Luca de Lancellotti forced and recovered a fumble that the Bantams would capitalize on as William Kirby's three-yard rushing score put the Bantams on top 14-12.
They didn't look back, running away from the Mules down the stretch.
Smart carried the ball a season-high 14 times for a season-high 64 yards and two touchdowns for Colby. Matt Hersch completed 12 of 23 passes for 137 yards and Emmanuel Tshowa caught two passes for 45 yards to pace the Mules.
BATES LAST WEEK:
Senior quarterback Brendan Costa threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for a game-high 88 yards and a touchdown in the Bates football team's 38-21 loss to the undefeated Williams College Ephs last Saturday at Garcelon Field.
Costa (Westport, Mass.) completed 19 of 38 passes for a game-high 231 yards in the contest. The Bobcats (1-5) fell behind 17-0 before cutting the deficit to 10 with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter on a 40-yard strike from Costa to senior Liam Kelly (Milton, Mass.) for the latter's first collegiate touchdown catch.
The Ephs (6-0) showed why they are one of the top teams in the conference, answering on the ensuing drive. Mario Fischetti returned the kickoff 47 yards to the Bates 45. Then on third and one from the Bates 36, Joel Nicholas took the handoff and ran between the tackles 36 yards for the touchdown, putting the Ephs up by 17 again after the extra point.
Senior Jack Ryan (Cornwall on Hudson, N.Y.) had an excellent game for Bates, tallying a team-high 10 tackles, with four solo stops. He also picked up 1.5 sacks. Hooks sacked the quarterback twice and finished with nine total tackles. Senior captain Mike Bulman (Hanover, Mass.) had a half sack, nine total tackles and a game-high seven solo stops.
Kelly paced Bates with three catches for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Williams finished with 384 yards of total offense while Bates tallied 340 yards on the day. The Ephs scored four of their five touchdowns on the ground, finishing with 189 rushing yards to Bates' 109 yards, most of which came from Costa.
BATES AND COLBY'S LAST MEETING:
The Bates football team nearly came back from a 23-point deficit behind a then career-high 268 passing yards from quarterback
Brendan Costa before falling 23-20 at Colby in 2019.
The momentum was all on the side of the home team early. Colby converted each of four first-half drives into points and held a 23-0 lead with less than a minute to play in the first half. Devin Marrocco rushed for three short touchdowns and Mule quarterback Matt Hersch went 7 for 13 for 130 yards on the four drives, completing passes to five different receivers. Running back Chris George picked up 28 yards and Marrocco added 36 to go with his three touchdowns.
In the first 29 minutes of play the Bobcats turned the ball over on downs twice, threw one interception, and punted the ball away once. With 40 seconds to play, Bates turned its fifth and final drive of the half into a 70-yard scoring drive, reaching the end zone as the clock ticked zero. Costa (Westport, Mass.) was 3-5 on the drive and accounted for all 70 yards through the air. He connected with Jackson Hayes (San Marino, Calif.) for a 47-yard touchdown to end the half. The game entered halftime with a score of 23-6.
In the second half, Bates came out of the locker room and kept the momentum going. Colby was only able to gain 78 second-half yards to 147 from the Bobcats. The Bobcats stayed in the game with their stiff defense and their special teams play. Colby kicker/punter Moises Celaya was tormented by the Bobcats in the second half, having a field goal and a punt blocked, and also being tackled on another punt attempt. He was only able to get away two of his four punts, and those only netted 27 yards of field position on average.
Bates marched 52 yards on 11 plays after forcing a three-and-out to start the third quarter. Costa found Sean Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) for a 20-yard game to the Colby 23. Bryant had a terrific day, catching four balls for a game-high 89 yards. Bates worked the ball down to the one and on third and goal Liam Spillane (Byfield, Mass.) punched it in to trim the Colby lead to 23-12.
On the ensuing Colby drive, captain Jon Lindgren (Plainville, Conn.) blocked Celaya's field goal attempt with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
Down 23-12 entering the fourth quarter, the Bobcats struck again. On third and eight from their own 38, Costa rushed for 12 yards to midfield. Then he connected with Bryant for a 33-yard gain to the Colby 17. On 3rd and 13 from the Colby 20, Costa found Mohamed Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) for the latter's first collegiate touchdown. Bates successfully went for two, with Costa passing the ball to Parker Smith (Claremont, N.H.), making the score 23-20 in favor of Colby.
The Mules' defense stood strong when it mattered. Down three, Bates had the ball on the Colby 37-yard line after Peter Daley (Wilmington, Mass.) blocked Celaya's punt. The Mules held on three crucial plays in the red zone. Set up with a first and 10 from the 11 yard line, defensive lineman Patrick Sopko (six tackles, two for a loss, one sack) backed the Bobcats up when he reached around his blocker and dragged down Costa with one hand for a sack. On third and 17 it appeared Bates had taken the lead on a touchdown pass from Costa to Stephen Brackett (Sudbury, Mass.), but a holding penalty pulled the points off the board. The ensuing retry of third down fell incomplete, as did the fourth down attempt and the ball was turned over on downs.
Bates got one final drive attempt with just over one minute to play. With the Bobcats set up by the second failed punt attempt at the Colby 45, the Mules held despite only rushing three and forced an incompletion on fourth and three that bounced in and out of the receiver's hands.
BATES' PROBABLE STARTERS:
MULTIPLE OFFENSE
LT 73 Peter Simplicio So. 6-5 265
LG 76 Quinn Woods Sr. 6-3 266
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 63 Cole De Magistris So. 6-5 243
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
NT 93 Drew Kremhelmer Fy. 6-0 299
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
LB 19 Tyler Hamilton Sr. 6-0 212
CB 24 Jarrin Sato So. 5-8 162
CB 2 Mohamed Coulibaly Jr. 6-0 175
S 4 Anthony Costa Sr. 5-9 178
S 22 Owen Palmieri So. 5-8 180
SPECIALISTS
K 86 Simon Redfern Sr. 6-1 192
P 35 Archie Green Jr. So. 5-11 185
COLBY'S PROBABLE STARTERS:
OFFENSE
LT 76 Lou Gordon Sr. 6-3 260
LG 72 Bryce Leos Fy. 6-4 305
C 66 Ty Mahar Sr. 6-1 250
RG 74 Mike Maglio So. 6-3 260
RT 65 Cooper Tamisiea Fy. 6-1 250
TE 89 Patrick Sweetnam Sr. 6-6 240
WR 82 Jack Sawyer Fy. 6-1 205
WR 17 Duke Ferrara Fy. 6-1 175
WR 0 Matt Panker Jr. 5-7 155
QB 3 Matt Hersch Sr. 6-0 180
RB 4 Devin Marrocco Sr. 5-9 190
K 12 Moises Celaya Sr. 5-8 180
3-4 DEFENSE
DL 90 Rome Banaitis So. 6-1 225
NT 48 Wellington Pereira So. 6-1 225
DL 29 Nick Wilcox Sr. 6-3 215
LB 56 Cole Premtaj Jr. 5-11 195
LB 22 Mark Kassis So. 5-11 200
LB 9 Marc Dougherty Jr. 5-11 222
LB 6 EJ Brister So. 6-1 225
CB 1 Javon Williams Jr. 5-11 186
CB 21 Brett Holmes Sr. 5-10 160
FS 2 Will Nipon Jr. 5-10 162
SS 20 Nick Donatio So. 5-11 175
P 12 Moises Celaya Sr. 5-8 180
