LEWISTON, Maine -- Sophomore quarterback Colton Bosselait tied a Bates football program record with 31 completions, and senior wide receiver Christian Olivieri shattered the team mark for receptions with 17, in the Bobcats' 40-28 loss to Middlebury College Saturday afternoon at Garcelon Field.

Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) tied a team mark originally set in 2009 by Trevor Smith '13, when Smith completed 31 passes against Colby. Olivieri (Hull, Mass.) now sits alone atop the single-game reception list having eclipsed the previous high-water mark of 12, a total achieved on four separate occasions. Jason Coulie '00 caught 12 passes in a game twice, last doing so in 1999 vs. Wesleyan.

The Panthers (5-1) opened the scoring at 10:43 in the first quarter when Donovan Wood secured a 26-yard pass from Cole Kennon for the game's first touchdown. 

Mohamed Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) soared for a leaping one-yard TD catch from Bosselait at the 2:49 mark, capping a nine-play 70-yard drive by the Bobcats and knotting the score at 7-7 heading into the second. 
 
A pair of Bates' turnovers proved to be detrimental early in the second quarter. An interception by Middlebury's Liam High on the visiting team's 48-yard line caused an abrupt end to the Bobcats' six-play drive. The Panthers proceeded to author a swift 1:27 touchdown drive of their own, set up by a 46-yard pass reception by Patrick Jamin (86 yards receiving), and finalized when Charles Armstrong secured a one-yard touchdown toss by Kennon.

Trailing 13-7 after a missed Middlebury extra-point attempt clanked the left upright, Bates looked to take advantage of the miscue. The garnet-and-white would not get the opportunity, however, as Teddy Daniel forced a fumble on the subsequent kickoff return, a loose ball that was pounced upon by Middlebury's John Greenburg at the Bates 18-yard line.

It would take Middlebury exactly 16 seconds and one play to net its third TD of the day, this time an 18-yard touchdown catch by tight end Anson Clough with 11:08 to go before the half. Another missed extra point by the Panthers' Andrew Haas, this time off the right upright, made it 19-7 Middlebury.

Not going away, the 'Cats immediately countered with a healthy eight-play, 70-yard push up the field, culminating with a 14-yard Bosselait hookup with Jackson Hayes (San Marino, Calif.) to slice the deficit to five (19-14) after the successful extra point by Archie Green Jr. (Upland, Calif.). The touchdown marked the third of the season for the senior receiver, and second in as many games.

Middlebury immediately matched its host's 70-yard march with one of its own as the Panthers put together a 12-play drive, ending with the team's second one-yard touchdown pass reception, this time to WR Greg Livingston (84 yards receiving) with 1:28 to go in the half. 

The Bobcats, looking to inch slightly closer before the halftime horn, mounted a nine-drive, 67-yard drive to set up a 25-yard field goal attempt with 11 ticks on the clock. Green, Jr.'s effort would be blocked by the Panthers, keeping the score 26-14 Middlebury heading into intermission.

The squads would again trade touchdowns within the first 4:37 of the third quarter to put the score at 33-21 Panthers with 10:23 to go in the session. Diawara accounted for the Bates TD, a 25-yard reception that closed out a tidy three-play, 75-yard drive for the garnet-and-white. The stage was set for Diawara's team-leading fifth touchdown of the year after TE Steven Guerrette's (Jr.-Bow, N.H.) 46-yard reception the play before. 

The 'Cats, which have not proved victorious vs. Middlebury since the 1988 campaign, would alternate punts with the Panthers over the next three possessions before Bates snapped the offensive slump with a seven-play, 64-yard touchdown drive to slip to within five of its guest.

The scoring effort consisted of four successful slings to Olivieri, the fourth of which snapped the team single-game reception record ... and represented an 11-yard TD for the senior.

With Middlebury now clinging to a 33-28 surplus heading into the fourth quarter, the offense would stall in the first two possessions for each. It would be the Panthers that would awaken first, doing so with 3:28 remaining in regulation as a 12-yard TD catch by Carter Stockwell put the visitors ahead by 12 and, ultimately, sealed the hard-fought "W".

In a contest that would experience 882 total yards (686 through the air), it would be Cole Kennon's five touchdown passes that would make the difference in the outcome. The Middlebury QB recorded 326 passing yards, hitting 26 of his 43 attempts. 

LeeCharles McNeil rushed for 116 yards and score in the Middlebury victory.

Bosselait, who passed for a team-record 372 yards in last season's triumph over Hamilton, threw for a modest 360 yards, going 31-for-47 with four touchdown passes. Olivieri ends the day with 177 receiving yards (121 total yards).

Jarrin Sato (Jr.-Honolulu, Hawaii) and Thomas Formus (Sr.-Ridgefield, Conn.) paced the Bates' defense with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.

The garnet and white (2-4) takes to the road for its next gridiron action with a visit to Williams College next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.