LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team's starting offensive line of fifth-year senior
Peter Simplicio, first-year
Ryder Smith, first-year
Matthew Pierotti, sophomore
John Antolik, and sophomore
Kevin McDonald earned a spot Tuesday on D3football.com's "Team of the Week" after Saturday's 24-13 win over Wesleyan caught the attention of the NESCAC and the nation.
With four of the five starters underclassmen, the Bates offensive line was outstanding on Saturday, opening up huge holes for sophomore running back
Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.), who scored on touchdown runs of 24 and 59 yards. They did not allow a sack, and successfully picked up a pressure on third and long that resulted in the longest forward pass in Bates football history, an 86-yard touchdown strike from senior captain quarterback
Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) to sophomore receiver
Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.). It was also the driving force that helped Bates pull off a game-clinching drive in the fourth quarter that took nearly eight minutes off the clock before sophomore
Marcos Ruiz hit a 38-yard field goal to go up by 11 with 1:50 to play. It was the first win at Wesleyan for the Bates football team since 1981.
Simplicio (West Hartford, Conn.), Smith (Hubert, N.C.), Pierotti (Hanover, Mass.), Antolik (Phoenix, Ariz.), and McDonald (Atlanta, Ga.) have been road graders all year, helping Bates rank third in the NESCAC in rushing yards per game at 135.3 through three contests.
It's the first time a Bobcat (or Bobcats) has been named to the D3football.com Team of the Week since punter
Justin Foley '19 earned a spot on Nov. 3, 2015.
The Team of the Week, presented by Scoutware, is D3football.com's weekly honor roll, in its 26th season of recognizing the top performance at each position from the previous week. Players are nominated by schools.
This is just the latest honor for Bates football, coming on the heels of Lynskey being named the NESCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week and Ruiz earning NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week.
The Bobcats (1-2) are back in action this Saturday when they visit rival Colby (0-3) for a 7 p.m. kick.
