The Bates football team looks to build on a strong week one performance when the Bobcats visit Middlebury for a 1pm showdown Saturday at Alumni Stadium.

The last time Bates played on the road at Middlebury was in 2018 and the two squads faced off in a thriller, with the Panthers edging the Bobcats 35-34.

Middlebury is led by head coach Bob Ritter. In 2019, he guided the team to a perfect 9-0 season (including a 28-0 win over Bates) en route to claiming the league title. The Panthers also captured NESCAC Championships in 2007 and 2013, with Ritter taking home NESCAC Coach of the Year honors in all three championship seasons. The Panthers are coming off a week one 41-13 loss at Williams while the Bobcats fell 28-20 at home to Amherst.

THE PARTICULARS:

What: Bates (0-1) vs. Middlebury (0-1)

When: Saturday, Sept. 25, 1 p.m.

Where: Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium (Middlebury, Vt.)

Live Coverage: Video | Stats

All-Time Series: Middlebury leads 46-14-3

Previous Meeting: Middlebury 28, Bates 0 (Sept. 21, 2019 in Lewiston, Maine)

MIDDLEBURY LAST WEEK:

The Middlebury football team (0-1) saw its nine-game win streak come to an end, as the Panthers fell 41-13 at Williams (1-0) on Saturday.

The Ephs scored on their initial possession of the game, covering 80 yards in nine plays. Quarterback Robert Maimaron capped the drive with a one-yard run and the point after by Ivan Shuran made it 7-0 with 8:50 on the clock.

Middlebury needed only 2:29 to pull even, as Will Jernigan tossed a short pass to Peter Scibilia, who scampered 17 yards for the score. Zach Moore booted the PAT to knot the score at 7-7. Williams jumped back in front by the end of the opening frame on a seven-yard run by Joel Nicholas.

A pair of quick scores just before the half extended the Eph lead to 28-7. Maimaron scored on a two-yard run with 3:29 remaining, after a 33-yard pass over the middle to Frank Stola gave Williams a first-and-goal. Four plays later, Jerrett Wesner intercepted a Jernigan pass and Maimaron needed only one snap to find the end zone, connecting with Mike DeGasperis for an 18-yard scoring strike. The first of those touchdowns also came off of a turnover.

In the third quarter, Jernigan gave the Panthers a spark on their second possession, hitting on three-straight passes for 61 yards, including two to Dan Thompson. The last of those resulted in the first-career touchdown for receiver Donovan Wood from 23 yards to make it a 28-13 contest.

Nicholas added a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter, one from four yards and the other from six, making the final 41-13.

Scibilia finished with 67 yards on the ground on 10 carries and hauled in a team-high five passes for 47 yards and a score. Jernigan went 15-31 for 215 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.

Gordon Pollock led Middlebury with 10 tackles and Jack Pistorius had nine, while Macken McDonald recorded a sack.

Williams outgained the Panthers 424-315 and came away with a 4-1 advantage in turnovers.

BATES LAST WEEK:

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. 

Senior quarterback Brendan Costa (Westport, Mass.) completed 25-48 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 16 times for 30 yards. Senior Christian Olivieri (Hull, Mass.) 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. 

Junior Mohamed Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) caught a career-high five balls for a career-high 93 yards and a touchdown. Diawara's 49-yard touchdown reception came on a beautiful pass from Costa that carried 60 yards in the air down the middle of the field. Senior Derek Marino (Marblehead, Mass.) easily set career-highs with a game-high eight catches for 56 yards. Senior Sean Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) added seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. 

On defense, Bates junior linebacker Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) tallied a team-high 12 tackles, including five solo stops. Senior linebacker Spencer Adams (Bedford, N.H.) 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. Senior Anthony Costa (West Springfield, Mass.) picked off a pass and sophomore Daniel Lynch (Berlin, Conn.) forced a fumble that senior Tim Simplicio (West Hartford, Conn.) recovered.

BATES' AND MIDDLEBURY'S LAST MEETING:

Will Jernigan completed 22-30 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visiting Middlebury Panthers to a 28-0 win over the Bates football team in 2019 at Garcelon Field. 

Middlebury (2-0, NESCAC) tallied 468 yards of total offense and held Bates (0-2, NESCAC) to 188 yards on the day. Penalties plagued the Bobcats all afternoon. They were called for 13 penalties for a total of 117 yards. By comparison, Middlebury got called for five penalties for 36 yards. Alex Maldjian ran the ball well for Middlebury, tallying 18 carries for 141 yards and a touchdown. Maxwell Rye led the Panther receivers with seven catches for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Tyler Bridge (Wells, Maine) led Bates with 11 carries for 45 yards. He also caught a pass for 11 yards. Liam Spillane (Byfield, Mass.) added five carries for 30 yards and then-sophomore Christian Olivieri (Hull, Mass.) added a pair of receptions for 39 yards.

Bates struggled on offense in-part due to the loss of starting quarterback Brendan Costa (Westport, Mass.) to an injury. He completed six passes for 36 yards before leaving the game. With backup quarterback Jack Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) already injured, then first-year Liam Foley (Foxboro, Mass.) stepped up and made his collegiate debut.

Foley completed seven passes for 58 yards and did not turn the ball over. Bates won the turnover battle, picking off Jernigan twice and recovering two fumbles. 

BATES' PROBABLE STARTERS:

MULTIPLE OFFENSE

LT 72 Brendan Lovett Jr. 6-3 285
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 89 Steven Guerrette So. 6-3 220
WR 7 Mohamed Diawara Jr. 6-1 183
WR 81 Sean Bryant Sr. 6-3 200
WR 1 Jackson Hayes Sr. 5-9 165
QB 3 Brendan Costa Sr. 5-11 190
RB 32 Christian Olivieri Sr. 5-11 185

3-4 DEFENSE

DE 49 Nolan Potter Sr. 6-3 230
NT 54 Matt Connelly So. 6-0 250
DE 52 Jack Ryan Sr. 6-2 251
OLB 6 Mike Bulman Sr. 5-11 200
ILB 5 Tony Hooks Jr. 6-1 225
ILB 53 Spencer Adams Sr. 6-0 220
OLB 19 Tyler Hamilton Sr. 6-0 212
CB 21 Owen Straley Sr. 5-8 163
CB 2 Mohamed Coulibaly Jr. 6-0 175
S 25 Quinn Kieselowsky Jr. 6-0 185
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

MIDDLEBURY'S PROBABLE STARTERS:

MULTIPLE OFFENSE

TE 8 Jimmy Connell Sr. 6-4 230      
LT 52 Colin Paskewitz Sr. 6-4 280              
LG 74 Charles Farrell Sr. 6-3 275            
C  57 Anthony Petrosinelli Sr. 6-0 250           
RG 79 Ben Barry Sr. 6-3 260
RT 76 Logan Tonini Jr. 6-4 285
WR 84 Donovan Wood So. 6-1 180
WR 1 Greg Livingston Sr. 5-11 175
WR 3 Charlie Reinkemeyer Sr. 6-0 180
RB 34 Peter Scibilia Sr. 5-10 195
QB 12 Will Jernigan Sr. 6-2 220

4-3 DEFENSE

DE 20 Nick Leone Sr. 6-1 230                      
DT 97 Ryan Whitney Jr. 6-2 270
DT 62 Thomas Kenary So. 6-3 245
DE 51 Charles Roselle Sr. 6-3 230
LB 7 Kwesi Adu-Diawuo Jr. 6-1 220
LB 31 Jack Pistorius Sr. 6-2 205
LB 38 Zander Bailey Sr. 6-3 210
CB 25 Liam Roy Jr. 5-9 180
FS 29 Gordon Pollock Sr. 6-0 190 
SS 48 Nate Stewart Sr. 6-0 195                 
CB 49 Finn Muldoon Jr. 6-1 205

SPECIALISTS

PK 65 Zach Moore Sr. 5-9 185
P   86 Cole Crider Jr. 6-0 195