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" for the second time this year after Saturday's 21-20 win over Middlebury caught the attention of the NESCAC and the nation.

The offensive line did a terrific job protecting senior captain quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) as he completed 13 of 15 pass attempts, ensuring he was not sacked en route to a season-high 173 yards and three touchdowns. The Bates offensive line is accustomed to blocking for an option offense but made the switch to more pass protection and Bates became only the second team this year to keep Middlebury from sacking their quarterback.

"The Hogs" still blocked well in the run game, helping sophomore Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) achieve his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season. Lynskey carried the ball 26 times for 105 yards in the win. 

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 second in the NESCAC in rushing yards per game at 168.4 through seven contests. 

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. The Bates offensive line was also recognized earlier this season by D3football.com after the Bobcats upended Wesleyan on the road.

Both the Wesleyan and Middlebury wins were historic ones for the Bates football program, as the Bobcats had not beaten Wesleyan in Middletown, Conn. since 1981 and they hadn't beaten Middlebury anywhere since 1988. On top of that, Wesleyan and Middlebury were both in first place in the conference standings when Bates beat them.

This is the first time Bates football has had a player or players named to the D3football.com Team of the Week twice in one season. The offensive line joins running back Sean Atkins '03 as the only Bates players to make the list twice in their careers.

It's also the latest honor for Bates football, coming on the heels of slotback Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) being named the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week and senior captain Matt Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.) earning NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week.

The Bobcats (2-5) are back in action this Saturday when they host rival Bowdoin (2-5) for a 5:30 p.m. kick.