LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team hosts Hamilton Saturday at Garcelon Field, with the penultimate home game of the season getting underway at 12pm. Beforehand, the Bobcats will honor their 18 seniors, with festivities starting shortly before the coin toss.
The 18 seniors being honored on Senior Day are: Offensive lineman
Tyler Castriotta (Milford, Mass.), defensive lineman
Matt Connelly (Wellesley, Mass.), defensive lineman
Ben Conrad (Ivoryton, Conn.), defensive lineman
Michael Cruz (Rollinsford, N.H.), offensive lineman and team captain
Cole De Magistris (Emerson, N.J.), quarterback
Liam Foley (Foxborough, Mass.), kicker / punter
Archie Green Jr. (Upland, Calif.), tight end and team captain
Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.), defensive lineman
Kyle Hamilton (White River Junction, Vt.), wide receiver
Zoo Jones (Philadelphia), defensive back
Hunter Klingensmith (Belchertown, Mass.), linebacker
Daniel Lynch (Berlin, Conn.), linebacker
Anthony Morton Jr. (Philadelphia), defensive back
Jarrin Sato (Honolulu, Hawaii), offensive lineman
Matthew Schreiber (Mount Sinai, N.Y.), offensive lineman
Peter Simplicio (West Hartford, Conn.), tight end
Alex Suny (North Reading, Mass.), and cornerback
Johnny Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
With the Bobcats looking for their first win of the year, Saturday's contest has the potential to be a high-scoring affair. Hamilton surrenders 27.1 points per game and Bates allows 35.4 points per contest.
When Bates has the ball, they like to target sophomore wide receiver
Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.), whose 38 catches ranks seventh in the NESCAC. Beltran has tallied a team-high 421 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Guerrette is another favorite target of Bates quarterbacks, with 26 receptions for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Junior captain quarterback
Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) has completed 101 passes in 196 attempts for 1,169 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
First-year running back
Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) has carried the ball 72 times for 250 yards and a touchdown for Bates.
Defensively, junior captain
Matt Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.) is seventh in the NESCAC in tackling, averaging 7.3 total tackles per game.
On offense, Hamilton is led by converted quarterback Matt Banbury, who has carried the ball 75 times for 263 yards, an average of 3.5 yards per carry, the same as Lynskey. Rookie quarterback Luke Kurzum runs the ball well, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. He's completed 100 of 173 passes for 1,033 yards and seven touchdowns. Lucas Perez-Segnini didn't play last week but has been Hamilton's top receiver this year, with 20 catches for 243 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, Hamilton's Cole Rivell is second in the NESCAC with 9.3 tackles per game.
THE PARTICULARS:
What: Bates (0-7) vs. Hamilton (2-6)
When: Saturday, Nov. 11, 12 p.m.
Where: Garcelon Field | Lewiston, Maine
Live Coverage: Video | Stats
All-Time Series: Tied at 22 wins apiece
Last Meeting: Bates 19, Hamilton 14 (Clinton, N.Y. | Nov. 12, 2022)
HAMILTON'S LAST TIME OUT:
Middlebury College's Cole Kennon threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers' 41-7 win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Hamilton's Steuben Field on a cloudy and calm Saturday, Nov. 4.
The Continentals were trying to extend their win streak to three games but came up short.
Middlebury led 10-0 after one quarter. The Panthers took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in nine plays. Carter Stockwell ran it in from the 2 and Zach Levy added the extra point 3:22 into the quarter.
On Middlebury's next possession, a 73-yard drive ended on a 24-yard field goal by Levy with 13.7 seconds left in the first.
The Panthers made it three scores in three possessions early in the second quarter. After a short punt gave Middlebury the ball at their own 46, Kennon threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Mike Ahonen with 10:55 remaining.
Trailing 17-0, Hamilton responded with their lone touchdown. Luke Kurzum, who was named the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 30, completed all five of his passes for 72 yards during the drive. On second-and-goal from the 2, defensive lineman Chase White was one of three players lined up behind Kurzum. The quarterback faked the handoff and threw to White who was wide open on the right side at the goal line. He romped into the end zone.
The Panthers' next drive stalled and they were forced to punt for the first time. The punt was partially blocked and traveled just five yards, which gave the Continentals the ball in Middlebury territory. Hamilton made it to the red zone, but Kurzum was sacked and fumbled, and the Panthers recovered.
BATES' LAST TIME OUT:
Trinity College scored 31 unanswered points to start Saturday's NESCAC showdown as the host-Bantams earned a 52-7 victory over the Bates football team.
With Bates winning the coin toss and choosing to kick to start the contest, the Bantams took advantage of the opportunity on offense, capping a nine-play, 52-yard opening drive with a successful 27-yard field goal by Matthew Jumes.
The Bobcats could only get off a total of two plays during their initial drive as a Ma-Lyke Davis interception provided possession for the home team at the Bates 31-yard line. In four plays, Trinity found the end zone as quarterback Spencer Fetter hit running back Tyler Dinapoli with a short pass to the right side, resulting in a 11-yard touchdown.
Dinapoli proceeded to record his second TD of the quarter as the sophomore dashed for a three-yard rushing effort at the horn as the Bantams inflated its cushion to 17-0.
Both squads would alternate punts over the first three possessions of the second quarter before Fetter, on the Bantams second series of the period, hit first-year wide receiver Patrick McCaffrey for a 29-yard score with 1:09 left before intermission.
Looking to get on the board before the half, rookie running back Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) supplied a three-yard run to open the Bobcats' drive. Linebacker Kevin Clark put an immediate end to road team's march as the graduate student picked off a pass attempt at the Bates 40-yard line.
With 00:40 remaining, the Bantams would need just two plays to strike pay dirt with Fetter finding wide receiver Sean Clapp deep down the middle for a 33-yard touchdown.
Bates did avoid the shutout as senior quarterback Liam Foley (Foxborough, Mass.) hooked up with Nolan Hobbs (South Portland, Maine) for a two-yard score at the 2:05 mark, providing the first-year tight end his first collegiate touchdown. First-year Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the PAT for Bates.
Lynskey proved to be the offensive star for the Bobcats, leading the garnet and white with 71 yards rushing on 14 attempts. Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.), who grew up in nearby Cromwell, Conn., shined in his homecoming as the first-year linebacker paced Bates with 10 tackles in the effort.
BATES AND HAMILTON'S LAST MEETING:
Quarterback Colton Bosselait broke the school record for touchdowns responsible for in a season and the Bates football team finished the 2022 season in style with a 19-14 win at Hamilton.
With his three touchdown passes , Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) finished the 2022 campaign with 21 touchdowns accounted for: 17 passing, four rushing. That total surpassed the program record of 19 formerly held by Chuck Laurie '79 (2 rush, 17 pass), who set the mark back in 1978. Bosselait's 17 passing touchdowns tied him with Laurie and Jim Murphy '69 for the most passing touchdowns in one season in Bates history. His 1,817 passing yards on the year broke a record set by Brendan Costa '22 in 2021, when Costa passed for a then-record 1,680 yards.
Bosselait completed 19 of 26 passes for 260 yards to lead Bates to a third straight win over Hamilton, with all three of his touchdown passes going to seniors, as the class of 2023 finished their careers on a high note.
Senior Mohamed Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) caught six passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Jackson Hayes (San Marino, Calif.) caught six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Senior captain Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) capped off his remarkable career at Bates with a game-high 10 total tackles, including eight solo stops. He finished the season with 102 total tackles, most in the NESCAC.
Bates held a 19-14 lead with 16 seconds remaining in regulation. The Continentals had the ball at their own 47, with hopes of a last-second game-winning touchdown pass in their heads. But senior Thomas Formus (Ridgefield, Conn.) clinched the victory for Bates, intercepting a Matt Banbury pass along the near sideline at the Bates 34. Formus finished the game with five total tackles, including a sack.
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 8 Colton Bosselait Jr. 6-0 210
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
HAMILTON'S PROBABLE STARTERS
OFFENSE
QB 15 Luke Kurzum Fy. 6-1 190
TB 4 Matt Banbury Sr. 6-0 203
WR 85 Ezra Lombardi Sr. 5-8 174
WR 16 Josh Harmon Jr. 6-1 179
WR 89 Jack Hoag Fy. 5-6 145
TE 88 Mark Howrigan Sr. 6-3 218
LT 56 Sam Feldman Sr. 6-0 217
LG 65 Colin Howe Sr. 6-1 252
C 60 Andrew Chronis Jr. 5-11 251
RG 76 James Luce So. 6-2 250
RT 77 Jake LaMalva Jr. 6-1 301
DEFENSE
DE 91 Gavin Lawlor Jr. 6-3 237
DT 99 Jake Holmes Sr. 5-11 247
DT 21 Chase White Jr. 6-0 240
DE 93 Aidan Held Jr. 6-3 213
LB 39 Cole Rivell Sr. 6-2 208
MLB 44 Nick Hoff Jr. 5-10 222
LB 48 Hayden Zeller Sr. 5-10 220
CB 12 Kyle Bratcher So. 5-10 180
CB 7 Joe Cairns Jr. 6-2 204
FS 5 Kevin Lyons Jr. 6-0 190
SS 8 James Bourque Sr. 5-11 195
SPECIALISTS
K 37 Ben Waterman Fy. 6-2 195
P 84 Carmelo Velardo Fy. 5-9 175
