LEWISTON, Maine -- The visiting Amherst College Mammoths put up 14 points in the third quarter to grab a three-score lead and hung on from there to defeat the Bates football team 17-7 Saturday afternoon at Garcelon Field.

In rainy conditions, neither team's offense could get going early in the contest. The teams traded punts throughout the first quarter, with the first big play coming early in the second quarter. Amherst's Luke Harmon intercepted a pass from Bates junior captain quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) and returned it 34 yards to the Bates 33. But the Bobcat defense stood strong, forcing a four-and-out as the Mammoths turned it over on downs.

But Bates (0-4) gave it right back to Amherst (2-2) on the first play from scrimmage, as the Mammoths' Trey Doyle forced a fumble on an end-around to senior captain Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) and Kevin Agnew recovered the ball for the visitors at the Bates 33.

The Mammoths moved the chains once, but the Bates defense did well to force a 35-yard field goal attempt. Matthew Kelley made it, and Amherst led 3-0 with 7:10 left in the second quarter.

They did not relinquish the lead.

Bates moved the ball to the Amherst 29 on the next drive, but a sack by Anthony Leneghan put the Bobcats in a third and long situation, which led to an Agnew interception. 

The teams traded punts to end the half, and Bates trailed 3-0 at the intermission.

Amherst got the ball to start the third quarter and the Mammoths added to their lead with a five-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a 41-yard touchdown pass down the seam from quarterback Jack Cox to Gabe dos Santos. The extra point made the score 10-0 in favor of the visitors with 13:05 left in the third quarter.

The Bobcats had to punt again, and the Mammoths went on what turned out to be essentially a game-sealing drive. They marched 61 yards in 15 plays, taking 7:09 off the clock. Cox was able to sneak the ball across the goal line on a 4th and goal, making the score 17-0 after the extra point.

Bates continued to fight on defense, and the offense got on the board early in the fourth quarter. Starting with the ball at their own 40 after an Amherst punt, the Bobcats went 60 yards in 11 plays. Bosselait found Guerrette for a gain of 12 yards and sophomore Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) for a gain of 11.

A big roughing the passer call put the ball at the Amherst 18 and Bosselait connected with Guerrette for a 10-yard gain to the eight. Then on third and goal, Bosselait's pass to Guerrette was tipped but landed in the hands of first-year Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) for the touchdown. First-year Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point and Bates trailed 17-7 with 8:06 left in the game.

Amherst ate 3:41 off the clock on their next drive and the Bobcats went four-and-out, allowing the Mammoths to essentially run out the clock. 

The Mammoths won the time of possession battle, holding on to the ball for 35:01 to Bates' 24:59. Amherst gained 310 yards of total offense and held the Bobcats to 221 total yards. 

Cox completed 17-26 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown for the visitors and Bosselait finished 18-35 for 184 yards and a touchdown for Bates. Guerrette led all receivers with seven catches for 85 yards and Beltran caught seven passes for 76 yards. Gabe dos Santos caught four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown for the Mammoths. Louie Eckelkamp ran the ball 12 times for 58 yards for Amherst while the Bobcats struggled to run, finishing with 37 net rushing yards as a team.

Defensively, senior Jarrin Sato (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the way with nine tackles, including seven solo stops for Bates. First-year Michael Spencer (Mansfield, Texas) also recorded nine tackles (five solo) and notched a pass break-up. Junior captain Matt Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.) made nine total tackles as well. Sophomore Presley Green (Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla.) made three solo tackles and broke up two passes. Harmon and Doyle notched seven tackles each for Amherst.

The Bobcats are back in action next Saturday when they visit rival Bowdoin for a 2pm kick.