LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team and the Bowdoin College Polar Bears renew their rivalry this Saturday at Garcelon Field under the lights for "The Big Game", the 124th meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. Kickoff is set for 5:30pm.
The Bobcats (1-3) are averaging 15.3 points per game on offense, eighth in the NESCAC. The visitors from Brunswick are averaging 19.5 points per contest, sixth in the conference. Bowdoin (1-3) is also sixth in scoring defense while the Bobcats rank ninth.
Bowdoin running back Andre Eden averages 74.5 rushing yards per game, third in the NESCAC. Polar Bear QB Andrew Boel averages 219 passing yards per game, with three touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. Jed Hoggard paces the Bowdoin pass catchers at 66.3 receiving yards per game and two touchdowns.
For the Bobcats, sophomore quarterback
Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) is averaging 193 passing yards per game with four touchdown passes in three games. His two favorite targets by far this year have been seniors
Mohamed Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) and
Christian Olivieri (Hull, Mass.), who rank sixth and seventh respectively in the NESCAC in receiving yards per game. Both players have made 16 catches on the season, with Diawara pacing Bates in yards (279) and touchdowns (3).
Defensively, Bates senior captain
Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and junior
George Hawkins III (Jacksonville, Fla.) are two of the top five tacklers in the conference. Hooks is second in the NESCAC at 9.5 tackles per game while Hawkins III is fifth with eight per game. Max Jacobs leads Bowdoin with 7.5 tackles per game.
The Bobcats have dominated the rivalry recently, winning nine of the last 10 games between the two schools.
THE PARTICULARS:
What: Bates (1-3) vs. Bowdoin (1-3)
When: Saturday, Oct. 15, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Garcelon Field (Lewiston, Maine)
Live Coverage: Video | Stats
All-Time Series: Bowdoin leads 67-49-7
Previous Meeting: Bates 25, Bowdoin 24 (Nov. 6, 2021 in Brunswick, Maine)
BOWDOIN LAST WEEK:
The Bowdoin College football team suffered its third straight setback in a 31-13 loss at Tufts on Saturday evening. Following a scoreless first quarter, Tufts scored 21 straight points in a span of ten minutes in the second quarter to take command of the game. Bowdoin was able to score a late TD on an Andre Eden two-yard run before halftime to make it 21-6 at the break. Tufts scored ten more points in the quarter to extend their lead to 31-6 before a late Eli D'Herete touchdown plunge make it a 31-13 final.
Tufts' offense got rolling early and compiled a season-high 559 yards of total offense en route to the win. Bowdoin posted 305 yards of offense, but struggled on the ground, compiling just 78 yards on 35 attempts. Andrew Boel went 11-28 for 188 yards passing, with Colton Fahey catching five balls for 150 yards. Eli D'Herete gained 55 yards rushing on seven attempts for the Polar Bears. Ty Jones-Garland led the Bowdoin defense with ten tackles, including 2.5 for a loss. Axel Rommell and Gordon Gozdeck had interceptions for the Polar Bears.
BATES LAST WEEK:
Senior
Mohamed Diawara caught a 28-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining and the Bates football team rallied from nine points down to defeat the Amherst College Mammoths 27-23 Saturday afternoon in NESCAC action. It's the first win of new Bates head coach
Matt Coyne's career at the helm of the program, and the first time Bates has beaten Amherst in football since 1999.
With Bates down 23-20 and only 1:04 remaining on the clock, the Bobcats started their game-winning drive on their own 28. Facing a third and seven, sophomore quarterback
Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) found senior wide receiver
Christian Olivieri (Hull, Mass.) for a 19-yard gain to midfield. On a 3rd and 10, Bosselait connected with Olivieri again, this time for 11 yards to the Amherst 39. The Bosselait-Olivieri connection continued to click on the next play, as the speedy receiver got 12 more yards to the Amherst 27.
Bates spiked the ball and on the next play Bosselait found Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) wide open down the seam for the game-winning touchdown.
Bosselait completed 23-40 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns. Olivieri had a big day with a game-high nine catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Diawara caught five passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, junior
George Hawkins III (Jacksonville, Fla.) led the way with a game-high 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Ryan recovered a pair of fumbles for Bates.
The Bobcats finished with 308 yards of total offense and held Amherst 216 total yards. Bates was an impressive 12-17 on third down, and, crucially, 3-3 in the red zone.
BATES AND BOWDOIN'S LAST MEETING:
Senior
Brendan Costa threw for four touchdowns in the second half and the Bates football team twice erased a 10-point deficit to win 25-24 at Bowdoin Saturday night at Whittier Field, in the 123rd meeting between the rivals.
Bates won for the ninth time in the past 10 matchups with Bowdoin, behind a hobbled but gritty defense and some big passing plays from Costa, who turned just nine completions on 26 attempts into 213 yards and four scores. Chris(Hull, Mass.) caught three passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, while
Jackson Hayes (San Marino, Calif) had three catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns. Senior
Derek Marino (Marblehead, Mass.) caught a 5-yard toss from a scrambling Costa to score the go-ahead touchdown with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter.
Bowdoin drove 68 yards to set up a would-be game-winning 28-yard field goal attempt by Sean Mitchell that missed wide left of the goalpost, setting off a celebration for the Bobcats and their considerable contingent of fans.
Bowdoin's pass rush stymied Bates' offense in the first half, consistently giving Costa (Westport, Mass.) little time to throw. The Bobcats managed just three first downs in the first half, two of them on 20-yard-plus runs by Costa. Meanwhile the Polar Bears mounted two 63-yard scoring drives for the 10-0 lead at intermission. Bowdoin's second drive of the game featured a balanced mix of 12 plays (five rushes, seven passes) and ended in a 29-yard field goal by Mitchell. The Polar Bears forced a Bates punt and then drove 63 yards again on seven plays, capped by a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by Andre Eden.
After Bowdoin's initial offensive success, Bates held the Polar Bears to three and out on their next four drives as the game settled into a battle of defense and field position.
BATES' PROBABLE STARTERS:
OFFENSE
LT 73 Peter Simplicio Jr. 6-5 280
LG 76 Quinn Woods Sr. 6-2 275
C 71 Nick Florio Sr. 6-0 265
RG 77 Cameron Winslow Sr. 6-4 306
RT 63 Cole De Magistris Jr. 6-4 270
TE 89 Steven Guerrette Jr. 6-3 225
WR 7 Mohamed Diawara Sr. 6-1 180
WR 81 Sean Bryant Sr. 6-3 200
WR 1 Jackson Hayes Sr. 5-9 165
QB 8 Colton Bosselait So. 6-0 200
RB 4 Reza Badiee Sr. 5-11 201
DEFENSE
DL 94 Matthew Juneau So. 6-1 220
DL 98 Kyle Hamilton Jr. 6-3 230
DL 93 Drew Kremhelmer So. 6-0 275
DL 52 Jack Ryan Sr. 6-2 255
LB 17 Thomas Formus Sr. 6-0 205
LB 5 Tony Hooks Sr. 6-1 225
LB 23 George Hawkins III Jr. 6-1 205
CB 21 Owen Straley Sr. 5-9 165
CB 2 Mohamed Coulibaly Sr. 6-0 180
S 24 Jarrin Sato Jr. 5-8 170
S 14 Jose Calleja Sr. 5-10 175
SPECIALIST
P/K 35 Archie Green Jr. Jr. 5-11 190
BOWDOIN'S PROBABLE STARTERS
OFFENSE
LT 79 Brandon Krupp Sr. 6-2 271
LG 58 John Penczar Fy. 6-2 269
C 77 Tim Ladka Jr. 6-1 252
RG 55 Tal Brill Jr. 6-1 238
RT 75 Julian Brawn Fy. 6-2 252
TE 9 Brendan King Sr. 6-3 230
TE 24 Willem Federico Sr. 6-2 221
WR 8 Colton Fahey Jr. 5-10 190
WR 82 Jed Hoggard So. 6-2 193
QB 1 Andrew Boel Jr. 5-11 184
RB 3 Andre Eden Jr. 5-11 188
DEFENSE
DL 49 Axel Romell So. 6-3 215
DL 33 Liam Wholey Jr. 6-4 225
DL 91 Aidan Reidy So. 6-3 228
LB 52 Drew Ortiz Sr. 5-11 221
LB 31 Maz Jacobs Sr. 5-10 197
LB 14 Ty Jones-Garland Sr. 6-0 198
CB 5 Aise Pream Jr. 5-6 146
CB 29 Aidan MacNeil Jr. 6-3 199
S 2 Koy Price So. 6-0 198
S 26 Dan Fiore Jr. 5-9 175
S 6 Jack Havener Jr. 5-9 165
SPECIALISTS
K 96 Jotham Casey So. 5-11 186
P 97 Andrew Rowader Sr. 5-10 175
