LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team welcomes undefeated Wesleyan University to town for
Back to Bates: Family Day this Saturday at Garcelon Field. Kickoff is set for 1pm.
The Cardinals (2-0) have won back-to-back games against Colby and Hamilton to start the 2021 season. They traveled to Waterville and beat the Mules 21-5 before hosting Hamilton last week and winning 30-14.
Bates (0-2) is coming off a tough road defeat at Middlebury, which came on the heels of a tight 28-20 home loss to Amherst in the Bobcats' season opener.
THE PARTICULARS:
What: Bates (0-2) vs. Wesleyan (2-0)
When: Saturday, Oct. 2, 1 p.m.
Where: Garcelon Field (Lewiston, Maine)
Live Coverage: Video | Stats
All-Time Series: Wesleyan leads 34-4
Previous Meeting: Wesleyan 48, Bates 12 (Sept. 28, 2019)
The Cardinals boast the top-ranked defense in the conference through two weeks, surrendering just 8.5 points per game. Meanwhile, Bates boasts the leading tackler in the conference, with junior Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) averaging 12 tackles per contest. Wesleyan ranks fourth in total offense at 375.5 yards per game, with wide receiver Logan Tomlinson leading the receiving corps at 87 yards per contest and Charlie McPhee pacing the Cardinals at 70 rushing yards per contest. Bates senior quarterback Brendan Costa (Westport, Mass.) ranks third in the conference in total offense, at 212.5 yards per game.
BATES LAST WEEK:
The Bates football team's defense held its own but the Bobcat offense couldn't get anything going in a 24-0 loss at Middlebury Saturday afternoon.
Middlebury (1-1) outgained Bates (0-2) 355-201 en route to the victory.
The Panthers got on the board right away on their opening drive, going 72 yards on eight plays in 2:32. Peter Scibilia had a 12-yard rush, while quarterback Will Jernigan found Donovan Wood for an 18-yard connection as key plays on the drive. Jernigan later rushed for 18 yards on a pair of carries before connecting with Greg Livingston for an 11-yard touchdown strike.
The Panthers made it a 10-0 game at the 12:25 mark of the second quarter with a 20-yard field goal from Andrew Hass.
Late in the quarter, Jernigan connected with Scibilia for 12 yards and Livingston for 38, setting up his own three-yard keeper for the 17-0 advantage.
The Panthers added to their 17-point halftime lead early in the third quarter. An interception by Gordon Pollock left the hosts at midfield. Scibilia ground out 14 yards rushing, before Jernigan broke free on an option play for a 20-yard touchdown run.
The Bates defense kept the Bobcats in the game throughout the afternoon. Junior Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led all tackles with 12 stops, including one tackle for loss, while senior Tyler Hamilton (White River Junction, Vt.) had 11, with a half tackle for loss. Hooks also recovered a fumble and broke up a pass. Sophomore George Hawkins III (Jacksonville, Fla.) netted eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Senior captain Mike Bulman (Hanover, Mass.) and senior Nolan Potter (Wells, Maine) both forced fumbles. Potter and sophomore Matt Connelly (Wellesley, Mass.) each recorded a sack and senior Tim Simplicio (West Hartford, Conn.) teamed with first-year Finn Duffey (Scituate, Mass.) on a sack of Jernigan.
Senior quarterback Brendan Costa (Westport, Mass.) completed 14 of 30 passes for Bates, throwing for 115 yards. He also led the ground game with 35 yards on 14 carries. Senior Sean Bryant (Falmouth, Maine) paced the receivers with three catches for 32 yards.
WESLEYAN LAST WEEK:
In a game that saw the Cardinals (2-0) outgain the Continentals (1-1) 419-250, including 194-31 on the ground, Wesleyan led 20-0 at the half and 27-0 early in the third quarter as the big margin iced the game away early. The Continentals rallied but Wesleyan won by a final score of 30-14.
Wesleyan was efficient on offense, running 74 plays compared to 45 for Hamilton as the Cardinals also dominated in time of possession (39:37 to 20:14). The Cardinals picked up 23 first downs compared to just 10 for the Continentals while Wesleyan went 8-for-14 on 3rd down conversions for the game.
Quarterbacks Ashton Scott (8-for-15, 134 yards, 2 TD) and David Estevez (8-for-12, 91 yards, 2 TD) combined for stellar QB play, amassing 225 yards with 4 TD and 0 INT for the game. Estevez also rushed 17 times for 69 yards.
Charlie McPhee had a career day at RB, gaining 100 yards on 20 carries for his first career 100-yard game. The senior easily eclipsed his previous career-high of 63 yards which came against Colby in the 2019 season.
Logan Tomlinson had another big day at WR, as the sophomore tallied seven catches for 81 yards and 2 TD. After missing the entire 2019 season due to injury, the junior WR has burst onto the scene in his first two games playing for the Cardinals, totaling 10 catches for 174 yards and 3 TD.
Wesleyan was led on the defensive end by Joe Schaefer who totaled seven tackles (three solo) while Danny Banks racked up five tackles, one INT and one pass breakup. Harry LeGoullon had five total tackles including one TFL. Nick Helbig tallied one sack and Jack Nally chipped in three tackles, one INT and one pass breakup.
2019'S BATES/WESLEYAN GAME:
Playing without injured quarterback Brendan Costa, the Bobcats fell 48-12 to Wesleyan on Saturday, September 28, 2019 in Middletown, Conn.
Bates only threw eight passes while rushing 48 times. Matt Golden led the team with 16 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, while Jaason Lopez rushed 18 times for 48 yards. Tyler Bridge paced Bates with 46 receiving yards on two catches.
On the defensive side, Zach Doyon led the way with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Tony Hooks totaled six tackles with a sack, and Owen Straley and Nolan Potter each broke up a pass.
Wesleyan gained 16 first downs while holding Bates to just eight. The Cardinals also held a 394-to-117 advantage in total offense with 212 yards passing and 182 rushing.
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 80 Chris Capo Sr. 5-8 180
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
WESLEYAN'S PROBABLE STARTERS:
MULTIPLE OFFENSE
LT 70 Justin Johnson Sr. 6-3 270
LG 58 Sam Folse Jr. 6-3 275
C 60 Bryce Jenkins Sr. 6-1 260
RG 66 Jackson Ryan Sr. 6-4 290
RT 59 Justin Lockwood So. 6-2 230
TE 80 Liam Downey Sr. 6-4 215
WR 83 Matt Simco Sr. 6-4 205
WR 3 Logan Tomlinson Jr. 6-3 190
WR 37 Luis Sanchez So. 5-8 160
QB 7 Ashton Scott Sr. 6-1 190
RB 22 Charlie McPhee Sr. 5-11 190
4-3 DEFENSE
DE 49 Jackson Eighmy Sr. 6-1 250
DE 94 Colton Weier So. 6-1 250
DT 55 Nick Helbig Jr. 6-2 270
DT 74 Keith Henderson Jr. 6-1 270
OLB 15 Isaiah Miller Sr. 6-0 215
MLB 9 Harry Legoullon Jr. 6-1 220
OLB 40 Joe Schaefer So. 6-1 210
CB 2 Danny Banks Sr. 6-0 180
CB 1 Darreyl Williams Jr. 5-11 180
S 10 Alex Beauchesne So. 6-0 200
S 5 Jack Nally So. 5-11 190
SPECIALIST
PK/P 28 Daniel Yoon So. 5-9 175
