LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team takes on Colby College for the 124th time when the Bobcats host Colby for a night contest Saturday at 6pm.
This year's "Big Game" marks the beginning of the annual CBB series. Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin split the series last year, while the Mules prevailed the previous three seasons.
Before the recent run by Colby, Bates won four CBB series titles in a row from 2014-2017.
The Bobcats visit Bowdoin on Saturday, Oct. 14 and Colby hosts the Polar Bears on Nov. 11 to wrap up this year's edition of the classic three-way rivalry. Whoever emerges with the best record among the three teams against each other earns the CBB series trophy.
THE PARTICULARS:
What: Bates (0-2) vs. Colby (0-2)
When: Saturday, Sept. 30, 6 p.m.
Where: Garcelon Field (Lewiston, Maine)
Live Coverage: Video | Stats
All-Time Series: Colby leads 70-47-6
Previous Meeting: Colby 38, Bates 17 (Oct. 1, 2022 in Waterville, Maine)
COLBY LAST WEEK:
The Trinity College football team shook off a slow start and scored 48 unanswered points en route to a 48-7 victory over host Colby College in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) clash.
The Mules struck first at the 8:34 mark of the first quarter as Miles Drake found Jack Swayer on a five-yard pass to the end zone, capping off a nine-play, 45-yard drive, to hand Colby a 7-0 lead. The Bantams responded with an 11-play, 68-yard drive, but came up just short of the end zone, settling for a 24-yard field goal from Matthew Jumes to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 4:13 left in the opening quarter.
Jumes delivered again for the Bantams at the 11:37 mark of the second quarter to put Trinity within a point, 7-6. After the Bantams defense forced a three-and-out for the Mules, the Trinity offense stormed 50 yards on 10 plays and grabbed the lead for good behind a 21-yard field goal from Jumes, his third of the half.
On the next Mules possession, Trinity's Tyler Jameson intercepted a pass from Drake and raced 25 yards down to the Colby 20-yard line. The Bantams were unable to take advantage of the takeaway as Colby forced a fumble on a strip sack to regain possession at the 23-yard line. The Trinity defense kept Colby off the scoreboard during their final possession of the half, sending the Bantams to halftime with a 9-7 lead.
The Bantams offense scored on every possession in the third quarter to pull away.
BATES LAST WEEK:
Sophomore wide receiver Sergio Beltran turned in a huge performance for the visiting Bates football team, but the Tufts University Jumbos rushed for 329 yards and defeated the Bobcats 44-16 Saturday night in NESCAC action.
Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) caught seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Bates (0-2) kept the game close with Tufts (1-1) during the first half of action, but the Jumbos pulled away in the second half.
The Bobcats got the ball to start the game and moved it into Tufts territory to the 47. But a deep shot on third and eight came up empty, and Bates had to punt. Senior Archie Green Jr. (Upland, Mass.) did a good job, pinning the Jumbos at their own 12 with a 35-yard punt. The Jumbos moved the ball to their own 39, and on second and nine, quarterback Michael Berluti executed a read-option to perfection, taking the ball 61 yards down the far sideline for a touchdown.
Bates got the ball back with 9:10 left in the opening quarter, and the Bobcats went on an extended drive. Starting at their own 25, Bates went 70 yards on 14 plays, taking 7:36 off the clock, the longest drive of the game for either team. Junior captain quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) had rushes for 10 and eight yards, and he hit his tight end senior captain Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) twice on the drive. First-year Marcos Ruiz (Haskell N.J.) hit a 23-yard field goal, trimming the Tufts lead to 7-3 with 1:34 left in the first quarter.
Running back Chartellis Reece was the story of the game for the Jumbos, carrying the ball 20 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns. He opened the ensuing Tufts drive with his biggest run of the game, a 38-yard sprint to the Bates 35. Then he took it 14 yards to the 21 and four yards to the Bobcat 17 as the quarter came to a close.
On third and goal from the 10, Berluti found wide receiver Cade Moore with a perfectly thrown pass between two Bates defenders on the far sideline for a touchdown, making the score 14-3 in favor of Tufts after the extra point, with 12:11 left in the second quarter.
The Bobcats went three-and-out on their next possession and Tufts extended the lead to 17-3 thanks to a Vaughn Seelicke 26-yard field goal with 6:17 on the clock.
Bates refused to back down, pulling off a 10-play, 77-yard drive as time ticked down in the first half. Facing a third and 11 from the Tufts 46, Bosselait hit Beltran with a deep ball, a 40-yard pass to the Tufts six. On the very next play, Bosselait made a perfect back shoulder throw to Beltran at the near pylon on the far side of the field for the touchdown, trimming the Tufts lead to 17-10 after Ruiz made the extra point.
The Jumbos only had 41 seconds to work with on their next drive, but they made the most of them. They ended up making a 32-yard field goal, taking a 20-10 lead over the Bobcats into halftime.
Tufts outscored Bates 10-6 in the third quarter and 14-0 in the fourth quarter. The Jumbos put up 469 yards of total offense and held Bates to 261 total yards. Berluti completed 12-19 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Bosselait finished 11-20 for 162 yards and two touchdowns. First-year Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) paced Bates on the ground, running the ball 11 times for 35 yards. Moore caught five passes for 59 yards and a touchdown for Tufts.
First-year Jack Morrison (Manchester Center, Vt.) made a team-high seven total tackles for Bates, with five solo stops. EJ Comerford led the Jumbos with nine total tackles, including one for loss.
BATES AND COLBY'S LAST MEETING:
The Bates football team jumped out to a 10-point lead, but five turnovers and 31 unanswered points from the Colby College Mules were the difference in a 38-17 loss for the Bobcats.
Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, the Bobcat offense got to work behind the arm of quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.), who found senior wide receiver Christian Olivieri (Hull, Mass.) for a 48-yard strike to the Colby 11-yard line. On third and nine from the 10, Bosselait hit Olivieri again for an eight-yard gain. Then senior running back Reza Badiee (La Jolla, Calif.) rushed one yard for a first down, and punched it in on the next play for his first career touchdown. Archie Green Jr. (Upland, Calif.) made the PAT and the game stood tied at seven with 2:10 left in the opening quarter.
The Bates defense forced a three-and-out and the Bobcat offense went back to work, with senior Mohamed Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) catching a pass for 16 yards and rushing for 24 yards to the Colby 18. The drive stalled there and Green Jr. drilled a 35-yard field goal, putting Bates up 10-7 with 11:38 left in the second quarter.
The Bobcats continued to impress on defense in the first half when Jarrin Sato (Honolulu, Hawaii) picked off Colby quarterback Matt Hersch's pass with a diving grab at the Bates 28. Then on third and two at the Bates 36, Bosselait found Diawara on the far sideline. He shook multiple defenders and sprinted 64 yards for a touchdown. Green Jr. made the extra point and the Bobcats led 17-7 with eight minutes remaining until halftime.
Bates continued to shut down the Mules, forcing another three-and-out. But a Bates fumble gave the ball back to the Mules and permanently changed the momentum of the game. Nine plays and 35 yards later, Hersch punched it in with eight seconds left and Colby trailed the Bobcats 17-14 at the half after the extra point.
The Bobcats got the ball to start the third quarter but Bosselait's pass was intercepted by Nick Donatio, who returned it to the Bates 18. The Bobcat defense held and Lowell Carr made a 31-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 with 12:11 left in the third quarter.
Bates and Colby traded punts the next few possessions before Hersch found Jack Sawyer on a go route down the far sideline for a 50-yard touchdown, putting the Mules ahead for good with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
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 63 Cole De Magistris Sr. 6-4 270
WR 84 Drew Sachs Jr. 6-0 190
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 0 Jarrin Sato Sr. 5-8 170
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
COLBY'S PROBABLE STARTERS:
OFFENSE
QB 11 Miles Drake So. 6-2 182
RB 0 Keon Smart Jr. 5-8 180
WR 15 Jack Sawyer Jr. 6-2 212
WR 17 Duke Ferrara Jr. 6-2 180
WR 85 Matt McHugh Jr. 6-0 207
TE 86 Atticus Duncan Jr. 6-7 229
OL 65 Cooper Tamiseia Jr. 6-3 267
OL 75 Michael Anazodo Sr. 6-6 308
OL 72 Bryce Leos Jr. 6-5 296
OL 51 Nick Mueller Sr. 6-1 265
OL 74 Mike Maglio Sr. 6-2 265
DEFENSE
DE 91 Tyler Robbins Sr. 6-2 233
N 97 Andrew Iferenta Sr. 6-1 280
DE 90 Rome Banaitis Sr. 6-2 249
LB 8 Payton Reid Sr. 6-1 224
LB 22 Mark Kassis Sr. 6-0 215
LB 50 Julian Young Jr. 6-2 228
LB 9 Mark Dougherty Sr. 6-0 221
CB 21 Joshua East Jr. 5-11 174
CB 19 Declan McNamara So. 6-3 194
Saf 2 Will Nipon Sr. 6-0 189
Saf 20 Nick Donatio Sr. 5-11 194
SPECIALISTS
K 62 Christos Tzoumakas Fy. 5-9 170
P 12 Eli Soehren Fy. 6-2 205
