LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team rallied from 17 points down, but fell just short in a 30-24 loss to rival Colby College Saturday night in NESCAC action.

Bates (0-3) was driving for the win at the end of regulation, only to have a pass picked off in the end zone by the Mules (1-2), which clinched the win for the visitors. 

The Bobcats received the ball to start the game, and while junior captain Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) started the drive with some surgical passes, a Bates fumble gave the ball away to the Mules. Colby running back Keon Smart then rushed for 17 yards over two snaps, including a 12-yard scamper into the end zone to give Colby a 7-0 lead at the 13:14 mark in the first quarter.
 
Bates started a long drive at the 5:39 point in the first quarter. Bosselait mixed the rushing attack with several QB sneaks for a first down, as well as feeding sophomore Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) and first-year Colin Quinlan (Duxbury, Mass.) at wide receiver. A 15 yard pass to senior captain Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) put the 'Cats at first and goal. The Colby defense was able to hold Bates with their heels on the goal line, forcing the Bobcats to settle for a field goal from first-year Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.).

Colby was not going to let Bates keep the momentum coming out of the first quarter, with a pass from Thomas Keeling to Keon Smart being taken to the 75 yards to the house on the first snap of the drive to quickly extend the Mules lead to 14-3.

While it was a quiet beginning to the second quarter, the Bates offense came alive, starting their drive on their own 35. After a long and consistent drive, Bosselait lofted a pass to Guerrette, which the tight end came down with for a touchdown to cut the Colby lead to 14-10 with 6:43 left in the first half. The air attack was working like a well-oiled machine, with 59 of the 65 yards on the drive coming through the passing game to the 'Cats' receivers.
 
With Bates punting on their own 28 yard line with 0:25 left in the half, a dropped snap led to a blocked punt, and a Colby touchdown. Mike Williams recovered the ball in the end zone for Colby, and the Mules took a 21-10 lead into the half. 

There was little going on for most of the third quarter, and with a Bates drive crossing into Mules territory, Colby defensive back Joshua East was able to knock the ball loose coming down from a pass and come away with an interception. Two plays later, Smart broke free of the defense and ran for his second long touchdown of the day, this time for 69 yards. This run, at the 4:05 point of the third quarter, brought the Colby lead to 27-10, with the Mules kicker missing the extra point attempt. 

With time winding down in the third quarter, a free play allowed Bosselait to unload a 59-yard heave to sophomore Matthew Holmes (Carpinteria, Calif.), putting Bates on Colby's 10-yard line. A play action pass to Guerrette got the Bobcats their second touchdown of the game, and injected a little life into the Bates sideline with 14:54 in the fourth quarter remaining. 

Bates kept the momentum going after their last scoring drive, with Guerrette continuing his big game with three more receptions, all for at least 10 yards to push the Bobcats into Colby territory. Another play-action play from Bosselait allowed a wide open Holmes to snag his first career touchdown. Bates cut the lead to a nail-biting 27-24 with 7:43 left in the half. 

On their own 39-yard line, Colby's Thomas Keeling let loose a 39-yard bomb to Matt McHugh to put the Mules in field goal range. Bates held the line after that, however, limiting Colby to three points and a 30-24 deficit with 3:48 left to try and march the ball down the field for a victory. 

Bates had to move down the field with haste, and the passing attack was on point. Beltran continued to shine with a 15-yard reception to push Bates to their own 40-yard line. First-year Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) turned around for a beautiful 19-yard reception to push the drive to Colby's 44-yard line. Guerrette brought in another pass, this one for 15 yards, to put Bates on Colby's 25-yard line. While the Bobcats seemed to have all the momentum, two dropped passes led to a desperation heave, and Colby's Lincoln Merrill picked off the pass to dash the hopes of the home team. 

Holmes finished with six catches for a team-high 110 yards and a touchdown. Guerrette had a career day as well, catching nine passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Beltran added a game-high 10 catches for 67 yards. 

Bosselait completed 28-49 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns. He was also picked off two times.  Keeling completed 12-19 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.

Smart was borderline unstoppable for the visitors, rushing 15 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. 

Defensively, first-year Michael Spencer (Mansfield, Texas) and junior captain Matt Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.) led the way for Bates with eight total tackles each. Spencer had a team-high five solo stops, broke up a pass, and recorded a tackle for loss. Juneau finished with a pair of tackles for loss and a QB hurry. First-year Trenton Boltz (Johnstown, Pa.) recorded a sack and the duo of junior Finn Duffey (Scituate, Mass.) and senior Kyle Hamilton (White River Junction, Vt.) combined on a sack. Senior Jarrin Sato (Honolulu, Hawaii) broke up a pair of passes.

Colby's Julian Young led all players with 13 total tackles, to go along with a fumble recovery and two tackles for loss.

The Bobcats return to action next Saturday at 1pm in Lewiston, as they take on Amherst for Back to Bates Family Weekend.