LEWISTON, Maine -- The Williams College Ephs scored on their first four drives of the game Saturday on their way to a 43-0 win over the Bates football team in the season finale for both squads.

Williams (3-6) gained 556 yards of total offense in the contest, while holding Bates (0-9) to 163 yards of total offense. 

It was a balanced attack Saturday for the visitors, with the Ephs passing for 300 yards and rushing for 256 yards. 

The Bobcats got the ball into the red zone twice on the afternoon, but failed to score. Williams converted on all seven of their red zone opportunities.

Bates won the coin toss to start the game and deferred to the second half. Williams received the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on nine plays. Ephs quarterback Owen McHugh found Paul Harshbarger for a 15-yard touchdown to put the Ephs up 7-0 with 10:55 left in the first quarter.

The Bobcats got a nice 14-yard run from sophomore running back Adam Steinberg (Westborough, Mass.) on their opening drive to get the ball to their own 41. But the drive stalled there. Sophomore punter Parker Huynh-Benningfield (Austin, Texas) unleashed a perfectly placed punt that came to rest 51 yards away at the Williams nine. 

The Ephs got out of the shadow of their own end zone thanks to a 16-yard run by McHugh. Then running back Jon Oris got the ball into Bates territory with a 26-yard run. Ivan Shuran ended up making a 36-yard field goal to put the Ephs up 10-0 with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter.

First-year quarterback Seneca Moore (Lansing, Mich.) took off for a 34-yard run on the next Bates drive, moving the ball to the Williams 41. A costly fumble on second and nine was recovered by Bates but left the Bobcats with a third and 34. Steinberg gained 10 yards on a reception, but the Bobcats were forced to punt. Once again, Huynh-Benningfield came through, delivering a 52-yard punt that was downed at the Williams three.

The Ephs picked up a first down and then McHugh found Brady Stahelski for a 48-yard gain to the Bates 36. A pair of Oris rushes got the ball to the Bates eight. Then McHugh ran it in for a touchdown, making the score 16-0 in favor of the visitors after the extra point was no good. 

Still down by two scores early in the second quarter, the Bobcats turned the ball over when Campbell Pang intercepted a pass and returned it to the Bates 32. It took just three plays for the visitors to score from there, as McHugh found Riley O'Connell for a 12-yard touchdown.

Now down 23-0, the Bobcats picked up one first down on their next drive before Ethan Scott sacked Moore on third and seven to force a punt.

The Ephs missed a field goal on their next possession, but the Bobcats turned it over when Nate Dlugos picked off a pass on third and four. Then Williams ran a trick play when Harshbarger took an end-around and threw a pass to Cameron Lee for a 36-yard touchdown, making the score 30-0 in favor of Williams after the extra point with 1:52 left until halftime.

The second half proved to be much lower scoring for the visitors but the Ephs still kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard, forcing a fumble on the opening drive of the third quarter after Bates got the ball down to the Williams 15 yard line. 

Sophomore Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) paced the Bobcats with three catches for 65 yards. He finishes the season third in the NESCAC in receptions with 52. Defensively, first-year Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) led the Bobcats with eight total tackles, including two solo stops. Senior Anthony Morton Jr. (Philadelphia) added four tackles, with two tackles for loss. 

This marks the first time Williams has shut out Bates in football since 2010.