AMHERST, Mass. -- 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. 

It was a back-and-forth contest to say the least between the Bobcats (1-3) and the Mammoths (0-4) on Saturday. 

Amherst jumped out to a 9-0 lead thanks to a Conor Kennelly 38-yard field goal with 50 seconds left in the first quarter and an Andy Skirzenski 55-yard interception return for a touchdown with 9:33 left in the second quarter. However, senior Jack Ryan (Cornwall on Hudson, N.Y.) blocked the PAT, keeping the deficit to single digits. 

The Bobcats answered on the ensuing drive, with a 15-play, 75-yard march down the field that ate 7:17 off the clock. A pass interference penalty got Bates to midfield. Then on second and eight, Bosselait ran for eight yards to the Amherst 37. On a third and six, he found Olivieri for 15 yards to the Amherst 18. A defensive holding call gave Bates first and goal at the Amherst eight.

Then on second and goal from the nine, the Bobcats executed a trick play to perfection. Bosselait put senior wide receiver Jackson Hayes (San Marino, Calif.) in motion and threw a backwards pass to his right that Hayes caught. He immediately turned to his right and lofted a touchdown pass to senior captain Sean Bryant (Falmouth, Maine), cutting the deficit to 9-6 with 2:16 remaining in the second quarter. Amherst's Caleb Donelson blocked the extra point, keeping the home team's lead at three points.

Down 9-6 at the half, the Bobcats got their offense going on their second drive of the second half. 

Olivieri gave the Bobcats good field position at their own 45 with a 10-yard punt return. Then on third and eight, Bosselait and Hayes hooked up for a gain of 11 yards to the Amherst 42. The Bobcats converted another third and 10 when Bosselait completed a 10-yard pass to Bryant to the Amherst 32. 

Bosselait rushed for five yards and followed that up with a 26-yard strike to Diawara, all the way to the Amherst one-yard line. 

A rush for a loss of three combined with a false start, pushed the Bobcats back to the nine-yard line. But on third and goal, Bosselait found Diawara on a nice fade route in the end zone for a touchdown. Junior Archie Green Jr. (Upland, Calif.) made the extra point and Bates grabbed a 13-9 lead with 5:33 to go in the third quarter.

A short Bates punt set the home team up with good field position to start the fourth quarter and the Mammoths took advantage. Quarterback Mike Piazza found Jack Betts for 26 yards to the Bates five and on second and goal Piazza ran the ball in from four yards out to give Amherst a 16-13 lead after Kennelly's extra point.

The Bobcats had to punt on their next possession, but a big play by the defense got them the ball back. On third and two from the Amherst 32, Piazza dropped back to pass and the ball slipped out of his hands. Ryan jumped on the loose ball and Bates was in business at the Amherst 24 with 8:27 to go in regulation.

A pass interference call got the ball to the Amherst nine. Then on third and goal from the eight, Bosselait threw a fade route to his right to Olivieri, who out-jumped the defender for the go-ahead touchdown with 7:32 to go. Green Jr. made the extra point and Bates led 20-16.

The Mammoths responded with a 15-play, 72-yard drive that culminated in a Louie Eckelkamp two-yard rushing touchdown. The Mammoths took 6:17 off the clock and led 23-20 after Kennelly's extra point.

But the Bobcats pulled off their remarkable nine-play, 72-yard drive in just 51 seconds to win the game. 

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.

Ben Taylor and Flynn McGilvray led the Mammoths with six tackles each. 

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 is back in action this Saturday when Bowdoin comes to town for a 5:30pm kick.