Bates will face a challenge stopping the Williams rushing attack, which ranks second in the NESCAC at 171 yards per game. Bates is surrendering 148.1 rushing yards per game. However, Williams has the worst passing offense in the NESCAC, averaging just 133.5 passing yards per game. Bates checks in at sixth in the NESCAC, averaging 193.9 passing yards per contest. 

Bates sophomore wide receiver Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) is tied for second in the NESCAC with 49 catches on the season. He has tallied 533 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

The Bobcats are led by junior captain Matt Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.) on defense, as he ranks seventh in the NESCAC at 7.5 tackles per game. 

THE PARTICULARS:

What: Bates (0-8) vs. Williams (2-6) 

When: Saturday, Nov. 18, 1 p.m.

Where: Garcelon Field (Lewiston, Maine)

Live Coverage: Video | Stats

All-Time Series: Williams leads 28-6

Previous Meeting: Williams 41, Bates 28 (Oct. 29, 2022 in Williamstown, Mass.)

WILLIAMS LAST WEEK: 

A late touchdown pass pushed the host Amherst College Mammoths past the visiting Williams College Ephs by a final score of 21-14.

Two early turnovers put Williams in a hole. Williams quarterback Owen McHugh led a 17-play drive that lasted nearly ten minutes. Unfortunately for the Ephs, the drive ended near the goal line with an interception by the Mammoths' Christian Moore. Moore returned the pick for 76 yards, and Amherst quarterback Mike Piazza found Michael Quarter on a 20-yard touchdown reception on the very next play to open scoring at 7-0. Moore was involved on the next drive also, as he recovered a fumble and returned it to the end zone to quickly expand the Amherst lead to 14-0. 

Williams responded in strong fashion after the two turnovers with a 17-play, 73-yard touchdown drive finished by a short pass from McHugh to Sam Jaffe. An Ivan Shuran extra point made it 14-7. Amherst flirted with another score right before the half, but they were unable to convert and the lead stayed at seven into the break. 

The second half opened with Holden Gehring picking off Piazza on the fourth play from scrimmage. Gehring played both sides of the ball, with 4 receptions for 43 yards on offense and the interception. The possession did not amount to a score, however, as a costly personal foul brought back a McHugh rush and set up a third-and-long that the Ephs did not convert. Another stroke of good luck befell Williams on their next defensive drive, as a recovered loose ball brought them possession on the Amherst 3-yard line. Another short pass from McHugh, this time to Paul Harshbarger, knotted the score at 14-14. Both sides traded possessions for the rest of the third quarter. 

Amherst was driving as the fourth quarter began, and that drive ended in a 4-yard touchdown pass for the Mammoths, bringing the game to its final score at 21-14. The Ephs threatened once again near the end of the game, but another interception by Moore sealed the victory for Amherst. 

McHugh finished the day with 70 yards on 9-16 passing and the two scores. He also added 63 yards on the ground. The Ephs' leading rusher, Jon Oris, gained 111 yards on the day.

The Ephs defense was led by Tim Landolfi, who had 5 tackles, and Drew Michalek, who added 4 more.  

BATES LAST WEEK: 

18 Bates football seniors were celebrated Saturday as the Bobcats took on Hamilton College at Garcelon Field in a Veterans Day tilt between the NESCAC rivals. It would be the visiting Continentals that would secure the 21-7 road win, snapping a three-game losing streak vs. the garnet and white. 

After an opening 18-play drive concluded with a missed field goal by the home team, Hamilton's Matt Branbury found a hole in the Bates defensive line, and walked in the first touchdown of the game to make the score 7-0 Hamilton with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter. 

The Bobcats' subsequent possession resulted with a three-and-out result. This set the stage for Hamilton quarterback Luke Kurzum, who proceeded to show off his running game as he started off the second quarter with a scramble into the end zone to advance the Hamilton lead to 14-0 with 13:41 left in the period. 

Possessing a chance to set a dominant tone in the first half, after forcing another punt, Branbury brought in another touchdown with 7:14 left in the first half, extending Hamilton's lead to 21-0. 

With time winding down in the first half, junior captain Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) was able to find sophomore Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) on a corner route to get Bates their first touchdown of the day, making the score 21-7 after first-year Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the PAT with 35 seconds before intermission.

The second half proved to be a defensive battle as both teams traded turnovers and punts,with neither squad able to put any points on the board.

Despite the result, Beltran served as the star of the afternoon for Bates, collecting 112 yards on 11 receptions. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Jackson Collins (Glen Ridge, N.J.) contributed 11 tackles on the day, nine of the solo variety.

BATES' AND WILLIAMS' LAST MEETING:

Senior Christian Olivieri recorded two touchdown receptions and quarterback Colton Bosselait threw for three scores and ran for another, but the Bates football team fell 41-28 at Williams in NESCAC action. 

A week after setting the Bates program record for receptions in one game, Olivieri (Hull, Mass.) caught a game-high seven passes for a team-high 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including one for the highlight reels.

With Bates trailing 27-14 in the third quarter, the Bobcats had the ball and a first down at the Williams 36-yard line. Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) rolled to his right and threw a dime deep to the end zone. Olivieri leapt over the defender and caught the ball with one hand, bringing it into his chest for the touchdown. Archie Green Jr. (Upland, Calif.) made the extra point and Bates trailed 27-21 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.

But that's as close as the Bobcats got against the Ephs, as the Williams offense proved difficult to stop throughout the afternoon.

On just the second play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, Dan Vaughn connected with Cameron Lee for a 66-yard touchdown and the Ephs led by 13 again.

They went up 41-21 on a 37-yard strike from Vaughn to Sam Jaffe with 8:46 left in the fourth quarter.

Bates answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that concluded with a short touchdown pass from Bosselait to Olivieri with 5:58 remaining, making the score 41-28. But the Ephs were able to run out the clock on their next possession, clinching the win over the Bobcats.

BATES' PROBABLE STARTERS

OFFENSE
OL 73 Peter Simplicio Sr. 6-5 280
OL 60 Tyler Castriotta Sr. 6-0 285
OL 66 John Antolik Fy. 6-1 280
OL 72 Kevin McDonald Fy. 6-3 255
OL 75 Matthew Schreiber Sr. 6-3 295
WR 14 Jake Walters Fy. 6-4 200
WR 6 Sergio Beltran So. 5-11 180
WR 80 Maverick Selementi So. 6-0 185
TE 89 Steven Guerrette Sr. 6-3 232
RB 4 Ryan Lynskey Fy. 5-11 190
QB 9 Liam Foley Sr. 5-11 195

DEFENSE
DL 90 Matt Juneau Jr. 6-1 227
DL 93 Drew Kremhelmer Jr. 6-0 275
DL 99 Finn Duffey Jr. 5-10 250
DL 98 Kyle Hamilton Sr. 6-3 245
LB 44 Jackson Collins So. 5-11 225
LB 39 Ryan Rozich Fy. 5-11 205
LB 2 Matthew-Michael Assivero Fy. 5-11 195
DB 12 Presley Green So. 5-9 175
DB 21 Johnny Walker Sr. 6-0 185
DB 23 Jack Morrison Fy. 5-10 195
DB 5 Michael Spencer Fy. 5-10 162

SPECIALISTS
P 97 Parker Huynh-Benningfield So. 5-10 185
K 49 Marcos Ruiz Fy. 5-8 200

WILLIAMS' PROBABLE STARTERS

OFFENSE
OL 54 Tim Forth Sr. 6-5 280
OL 63 Michael Tartaglia Jr. 6-3 295
OL 65 Joseph Ngnombouowo So. 6-6 300
OL 77 John Freeman Sr. 6-5 295
OL 79 Henry Walsh Sr. 6-5 300
QB 12 Owen McHugh Fy. 6-0 185
RB 28 Jon Oris So. 5-9 190
TE 32 William Baker Fy. 6-5 235
WR 46 Sam Jaffe So. 6-2 235
WR 84 Paul Harshbarger Sr. 5-10 190
WR 88 Cameron Lee Jr. 5-9 175

DEFENSE
DB 8 James Hemmer Sr. 6-0 215
DB 16 Drew Michalek Sr. 5-10 205
DB 5 Holden Gering Fy. 5-10 160
SAF 6 Jack Wallace So. 6-0 208
SAF 20 Campbell Pang So. 6-1 210
LB 39 Ben Paquin Jr. 6-0 205
LB 7 Ethan Scott Jr. 6-1 230
LB 49 Tim Landolfi Sr. 6-1 220
LB 25 Zach Barnes Sr. 6-0 212
DL 90 Ryan Levrault Jr. 5-8 195
DL 97 Calvin Jackson Sr. 6-2 245

SPECIALISTS
K 4 Ivan Shuran Jr. 5-11 180
P 89 Tim Brown Sr. 6-0 215