LEWISTON, Maine -- For the third straight season, the Bates football team gave the Amherst College Mammoths all they could handle in a 28-20 loss Saturday at Garcelon Field in the season opener for both teams.

The Bobcats (0-1) found themselves down 14-0 after the first quarter. Bates answered with 17 unanswered points in the second quarter, taking a 17-14 halftime lead. A Chad Peterson QB sneak with 9:39 left in the third quarter put Amherst (1-0) ahead for good. But the game remained close throughout. 

With Bates down 14-0 and Amherst driving late in the first quarter, senior safety Anthony Costa (West Springfield, Mass.) picked off a Brad Breckenridge pass in the end zone, getting Bates the ball back at the 20-yard line. 

On second and eight from the 22, senior quarterback Brendan Costa (Westport, Mass.) found junior wide receiver Mohamed Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) for a 10-yard gain. Costa followed that up with a 14-yard completion to senior Derek Marino (Marblehead, Mass.) and an Amherst personal foul on the play put the ball in plus territory at the 39. Costa rushed for three yards and connected with Diawara for a six-yard gain to the Amherst 30, ending the first quarter with Bates down by two scores.

Senior Christian Olivieri (Hull, Mass.) ran the ball for three yards to start the second quarter, picking up the first down to the Amherst 27. Then on third and seven, Costa found Marino again for another first down, to the Amherst 11. The drive stalled but senior Simon Redfern (Providence, R.I.) got Bates on the board with a 26-yard field goal.

Down 14-3, Bates forced a punt on the next Amherst drive. Costa tried to go deep on the first play from scrimmage and senior Jackson Hayes (San Marino, Calif.) made a great leaping effort, coming down with the ball almost simultaneously with Amherst's Ryan Monteleone at the Mammoths 14-yard line. The officials ruled Monteleone had the interception and the Bates defense went back to work.

On third and one from the 23, Amherst running back Kellen Field was hit in the backfield by sophomore Daniel Lynch (Berlin, Conn.), who forced the fumble. Senior Tim Simplicio (West Hartford, Conn.) jumped on the loose ball for the recovery, putting the Bobcat offense in business with 8:18 left in the second quarter.

Costa immediately found Marino for an 11-yard gain and a seven-yard completion to Diawara set Bates up with second and three from the Amherst seven. Costa rushed four yards down to the three and on second and goal found senior receiver Sean Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) for the touchdown, cutting the Amherst lead to 14-10 after Redfern's extra point split the uprights.

The Bobcat defense forced a three-and-out and Bates got the ball back on its own 40 with 3:37 left in the second quarter, down by four.

Olivieri converted a first down on a 4th and 1 rush up the middle for two yards to the Amherst 49. Then the Bobcats hit a huge play, with Costa finding Diawara behind the defense for a 49-yard touchdown. The ball traveled about 60 yards in the air, landing in Diawara's hands in-stride in the end zone for the go-ahead score. 

Redfern's extra point put Bates up 17-14 with 2:11 left until halftime.

On Amherst's ensuing drive, the Mammoths worked the ball into Bates territory until senior linebacker Spencer Adams (Bedford, N.H.) picked off a Peterson pass at the Bates 30, ending the threat. 

The Mammoths got the ball trailing by three to start the third quarter and marched down the field. They converted a pair of big third downs early in the drive and Field ran the ball 24 yards down to the Bates 10, setting up a first and goal. The Bobcats kept the Mammoths out of the end zone the next three plays but a Peterson sneak on fourth and goal put Amherst back in front. 

The 13-play, 75-yard drive also took 5:21 off the clock.

Down 21-17 after the extra point, Bates refused to back down. Olivieri opened the next Bobcat drive with an 18-yard rush to the Bates 43. The Bobcats moved the ball into Amherst territory and Costa connected with Diawara for a 21-yard gain to the Amherst 20. 

The Mammoths tightened on defense and Redfern drilled a 34-yard field goal, trimming the deficit to 21-20 with 5:35 left in the third quarter.

Amherst missed a field goal on its next possession and Bates got the ball back at its own 21-yard line. But a three-and-out set up the Mammoths with great field position at their own 48. 

The fourth quarter began with the Mammoths leading the Bobcats by one point and facing a third and two at the Bobcat 34.

The Bobcats stuffed Jack Roberge for no gain but Field picked up the first down with a two-yard run on fourth down. On the next play from scrimmage, Peterson found Joe Masterson on the near sideline. He somehow stayed in-bounds, shaking a couple Bates tacklers before racing 32 yards for the touchdown, opening up a 28-20 lead for the Mammoths after the extra point.

Bates appeared to have the answer, holding the ball for the next 7:59 and converting multiple third and fourth downs on the drive, including a 15-yard strike to Marino on fourth and nine from the Amherst 36 and an eight-yard completion to Bryant on fourth and six from the Amherst 17.

But the Bates offense could not finish the drive, with two passes falling incomplete and Costa rushing for a loss on third and goal. On fourth and goal from the 15, Costa tried to find Diawara again, but this time he was unable to split a pair of defenders and the ball fell incomplete for the turnover on downs.

The Mammoths missed another field goal on their next drive, giving Bates one last chance with 1:12 remaining in regulation.

Costa immediately found Bryant for a 15-yard gain to the Bates 37. Bates was able to advance the ball to midfield with 50 seconds left in the contest, down eight. 

Then Matt Albino made a big play for Amherst, sacking Costa back to the 46. A pair of passes fell incomplete and Costa's fourth down pass to Bryant came up two yards short of the sticks, giving the ball back to Amherst and sealing the win for the Mammoths. 

Costa completed 25-48 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 16 times for 30 yards. Olivieri was the leading rusher for Bates, carrying the ball nine times for 35 yards. Senior Chris Capo (West Newbury, Mass.) provided a spark for the Bobcats, averaging 6.5 yards per carry and rushing four times for 26 yards. 

Diawara caught a career-high five balls for a career-high 93 yards and a touchdown. Marino easily set career-highs with a game-high eight catches for 56 yards. Bryant added seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. 

On defense, Bates junior Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) tallied a team-high 12 tackles, including five solo stops. Adams had his best game as a Bobcat, recording 11 tackles and an interception. Senior Thomas Formus (Ridgefield, Conn.) broke up a pass, tallied a team-high six solo stops, with seven tackles overall, including a tackle for loss. Junior Mohamed Coulibaly (Philadelphia, Pa.) broke up a pass and finished with six total tackles, including a tackle for loss.

For Amherst, Peterson completed 23-32 passes for 264 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception. Breckenridge played for one series, completing 2-3 passes and throwing an interception.

Field had a good day on the ground, carrying the ball 22 times for 103 yards and a touchdown. Turner Garland caught five passes for 83 yards and Masterson caught seven passes for 63 yards, including the fourth-quarter touchdown. Carson Ochsenhirt proved to be a big play threat for Amherst, catching three passes for 73 yards. Daniel Dolan added six catches for 34 yards. 

Defensively, Matt Durborow led the way for the Mammoths, tallying 12 total tackles, with a game-high eight solo stops. 

The Mammoths also scored on special teams when Trey Doyle blocked a Bates punt and Roberge recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 8:23 left in the first quarter, putting the Mammoths up 14-0 at the time. They had gone up 7-0 earlier in the quarter on a Field eight-yard rushing touchdown.

The Bobcats are back in action next Saturday when they visit Middlebury. Kick is set for 1pm.