LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team looks to bounce back from a close loss at Colby when they welcome the Tufts University Jumbos to town Saturday night for a 6 p.m. kick under the lights at Garcelon Field.

The Bobcats (1-3 NESCAC) enter the game with the number two rushing offense in the NESCAC, led by sophomore Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.), who averages 92.3 rushing yards per game, tops in the conference. As a team, the Bobcats average 170.8 rushing yards per game. Lynskey has already found the end zone five times this year, and the Bobcats had by far their best game on the ground last week thanks to the addition of junior Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) to the mix. Utilizing a combination of Lynskey, Beltran, and quarterbacks Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) and Seneca Moore (Lansing, Mich.), Bates ran the ball for a season-high 277 yards against the Mules, their most rushing yards in one game since 2019. Tufts is in the middle of the pack in rush defense, allowing 112.3 yards per game on the ground, fifth in the conference. Bates will need to run the ball effectively again this Saturday, as the Jumbos are first in the NESCAC in pass defense, allowing just 167 yards per game through the air.

Tufts (2-2 NESCAC) boasts the number two passer in the NESCAC in quarterback Michael Berluti, who is averaging 268.8 passing yards per contest. However, Berluti only has four touchdown passes and has also been picked off four times so far this season. He is completing 54.6 percent of his passes. Berluti's favorite target is Cade Moore, who ranks fifth in the NESCAC at 73.8 receiving yards per game. Meanwhile, running back Christian Shapiro is averaging 57.5 yards per game on the ground, fifth in the conference.

Defensively, the Bobcats are hoping to bounce back from a rough performance against Colby that set them back to seventh in the NESCAC in scoring defense (22 points allowed per game) and ninth in rushing defense (137.5 yards allowed per game). Prior to the Colby game, the Bates rushing defense ranked second in the NESCAC, but the Mules ran for 274 yards last Saturday. The run defense will be crucial against the Jumbos, as Tufts ran the ball for 329 yards and four touchdowns a year ago against the Bobcats.

Sophomore linebacker Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn) and sophomore safety Michael Spencer (Mansfield, Texas) lead the way for Bates, with Rozich tied for fourth in the NESCAC with 30 tackles on the season and Spencer right behind him with 29 tackles this year. Jameer Alves leads Tufts with 26 tackles through four games.

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THE PARTICULARS:

What: Bates (1-3) vs. Tufts (2-2)

When: Saturday, Oct. 12, 6 p.m.

Where: Garcelon Field (Lewiston, Maine)

Live Coverage: Video | Stats

All-Time Series: Tufts leads 65-18-3

Previous Meeting: Tufts 44, Bates 16 (Sept. 23, 2023 in Somerville, Mass.)

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TUFTS LAST WEEK:

The Jumbos led 16-14 at the half against unbeaten Trinity College, but the visiting Bantams scored on all four of their second-half possessions to post a 42-24 win over the Jumbos at Ellis Oval.

The Bantams wasted no time taking the lead in the opening quarter, as Trinity went 75 yards over 10 plays before Tyler Dinapoli pushed in from two yards out to make it 7-0 just 5:19 into the contest. Tufts responded with a scoring drive of its own on its first possession, as it drove down to the Trinity 4 before having to settle for a Vaughn Seelicke 20-yard field goal to make it 7-3. 

The Jumbos would force a 3-and-out on their next possession, and moved the ball to the Trinity 20 early in the second quarter but a sack pushed the Jumbos out of field goal range to end the drive. 

On the next possession, Tufts got a much needed turnover as Jaylen Callender forced a fumble and Jeff Xu jumped on the ball at the Trinity 34 to set up the hosts in great field position. It would take just one play for Tufts to take the lead, as quarterback Michael Berluti connected with Cade Moore from 34 yards out for his first of two touchdowns on the day to make it 10-7 Jumbos. 

Late in the second quarter, Trinity regained the lead as Nolan O'Brien turned a broken play into a seven-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds left in the half to make it 14-10. There was enough time though for the Jumbos to answer, as Berluti was clinical on the two-minute drill going 4-for-5 for 75 yards on the drive connecting with Cade Moore three times including plays of 33 yards and 30 yards. The last catch of the drive for Moore was the biggest, as he connected with Berluti for a five-yard touchdown strike with nine seconds to play in the half to make it 16-14 Tufts at the break. 

Berluti was 17-20 for 210 yards and two scores in the first half for the Jumbos. 

In the third quarter, Tufts had its first drive of the half stall and Trinity blocked the ensuing punt to take over at the Jumbo 42 yard line. Two plays later, Zander Zebrowski hit O'Brien for a 36-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-16. Once again the Jumbos fought back, as they put together a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive finished by a 21-yard touchdown catch from senior tight end Jack Elliott followed by a successful two-point conversion to make it 24-21 Tufts with 8:14 left in the third quarter. 

That would be the final points of the day for the Jumbos though, as Trinity tallied the final 21 points unanswered to pull away for the win. 

Berluti finished 21-for-33 for 278 yards and three touchdowns passing, adding 10 yards on the ground as well. Christian Shapiro led Tufts with 47 yards rushing on 10 carries, while Moore finished with six receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns. CJ Burton pulled in a career-high six catches for 51 yards, and Elliott and Henry Fleckner each had three grabs apiece. 

Xu had a strong game defensively for the Jumbos, as the linebacker had a career-high 10 tackles to go with a half-sack and fumble recovery. Henry Ferrelli and Jameer Alves each had nine tackles as well, while Johnny Ferrelli recorded eight stops. 

Tufts finished with 354 yards of total offense, but struggled on third downs with just a 2-for-9 conversion rate. 

BATES LAST WEEK:

The Bates football team took the lead in the second half only to see the host Colby College Mules score twice in the fourth quarter to defeat the Bobcats 28-26 last Saturday night in NESCAC action.

The Mules (1-3 NESCAC) were able to stop a late Bates (1-3 NESCAC) two-point conversion attempt that likely would have forced overtime. 

With the score tied at 14 and 11:21 left in the third quarter, junior Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) ran it in from nine yards out for his first career rushing touchdown. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play on the Bobcats moved the PAT try back 15 yards. The attempt was no good and Bates led 20-14. 

The Bates defense forced a punt on the next possession, and the Bates offense was able to get the ball to midfield. The drive stalled there, but junior punter Parker Huynh-Benningfield (Austin, Texas) pinned the Mules at their own one yard line with 4:51 left in the third quarter.

Then Colby went on the drive that changed the game, going 99 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. Facing a 3rd and 14 at the Bates 41 early in the fourth quarter, Colby quarterback Miles Drake found Jack Nye for a 41-yard touchdown, tying the game at 20. Christos Tzoumakas made the extra point, and the Mules grabbed a one-point lead with 14:53 left in regulation.

The teams traded punts, as the game remained a one-point affair until the Mules struck again. Starting their drive at their own 25, the Mules simply handed the ball off to running back Keon Smart, who did the rest, sprinting 46 yards to the Bates 29. Then he ran 24 yards to the Bates five, and punched it in on the next play, extending the Colby lead to 28-20 after the extra point with 8:22 remaining in regulation.

The Bobcats were able to move the ball well on their next possession, as senior captain quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) found his fellow senior captain Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) for a couple of nice gains. An 18-yard pass to Guerrette got the ball to the Colby 14, and the Bobcats went back to the run game. They slowly moved closer to the end zone, and on second and goal from the one, sophomore running back Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) punched it in to get Bates to within two.

But the two-point conversion failed, as Bosselait rolled to his right looking to throw. He fired a pass that got tipped and fell incomplete, preserving Colby's 28-26 lead with just 1:54 left in regulation.

The Mules recovered a Bates on-side kick attempt. The Bobcats still had two timeouts and used both of them after the defense was able to contain Smart on the first two plays of the Colby drive. But once again, a deep ball did in the Bobcats, as Drake connected with Nye for a 34-yard gain. With no timeouts left, the Bobcats could only watch as Drake took three knees to run out the clock.

Drake completed 21-24 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Smart ran the ball 25 times for 154 yards and two touchdowns, while Drake also ran well, gaining 110 yards on 11 carries. Nye caught six passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Beltran had a huge game running the ball, carrying the rock 11 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. Lynskey didn't have as much room to run as the previous week, finishing with 68 net rushing yards on 20 carries. He found the end zone twice though on the ground for the Bobcats. Bosselait completed 5-10 passes for 61 yards. He and sophomore quarterback Seneca Moore (Lansing, Mich.) both ran the ball well, with Bosselait carrying it 11 times for 54 yards and a touchdown. Moore was electric, averaging 12 yards per carry, as he rushed four times for 48 yards.

Defensively, sophomore safety Michael Spencer (Mansfield, Texas) led the way for Bates, tallying 10 total tackles, including seven solo stops and one tackle for loss. Trevor Smith and Sebastien Romain paced the Mules with nine tackles apiece.

BATES' AND TUFTS' LAST MEETING:

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 in the second game of the 2023 season.

Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) caught seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Bates kept the game close with Tufts 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. 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. Quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) had rushes for 10 and eight yards, and he hit his tight end Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) twice on the drive. A big personal foul against the Jumbos got the ball to the Tufts 10. Bates worked it down to the five before the drive finally stalled and 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. Starting at their own 26, Tufts moved the ball thanks to Berluti completing passes of 22 yards to Henry Fleckner and 12 yards to Ryan Doyle. With the ball at the Bates 40, the Jumbos called timeout with 19 seconds remaining. Then Berluti connected with Doyle again for eight yards and with Moore for 17 yards to the Bates 15. The Jumbos ended up making a 32-yard field goal, taking a 20-10 lead over the Bobcats into halftime.

Tufts went on an 11-play, 63-yard drive to start the third quarter. But Bates forced the hosts to kick another field goal, staying within striking distance at 23-10 after Seelicke connected from 27 yards out with 10 minutes left in the third.

Unfortunately for the visitors, Bosselait's first interception of the season came on the ensuing drive, and Tufts capitalized on the short field, going 47 yards in four plays, capped off by a 10-yard touchdown run from Reece.

Now down 30-10, the Bates offense started clicking again. Facing second and 17 from their own 23, the Bobcats struck gold when Bosselait found Beltran for a 57-yard completion to the Tufts 20. On third and goal from the four, Bosselait found Beltran again for his second touchdown of the evening, cutting the deficit to 30-16 after the extra point got blocked.

But the Jumbos put the game away with an early fourth-quarter score. They put up 14 points in the final quarter of action and blanked the Bobcats down the stretch. Tufts did not punt nor did the Jumbos turn the ball over all game. Their only drive that did not end in points was the final one, as the hosts ran the clock out.

BATES' PROBABLE STARTERS:

OFFENSE
OL 73 Peter Simplicio Sr. 6-4 290
OL 51 Ryder Smith Fy. 6-0 265
OL 63 Matthew Pierotti Fy. 6-2 270
OL 66 John Antolik So. 6-2 290
OL 72 Kevin McDonald So. 6-3 260
TE 89 Steven Guerrette Sr. 6-3 230
WR 83 Ryan Gleason So. 5-9 165
WR 82 Jeff Vidou Fy. 6-0 190
WR 0 Sergio Beltran Jr. 5-11 185
RB 4 Ryan Lynskey So. 5-11 195
QB 8 Colton Bosselait Sr. 6-0 195

DEFENSE
DB 2 Matthew-Michael Assivero So. 5-11 190
DB 5 Michael Spencer So. 5-11 180
DB 21 Johnny Walker Sr. 6-0 185
DB 30 Marquez Narvaez-Estrada Fy. 5-9 160
LB 18 Colin Pierce Jr. 6-1 190
LB 39 Ryan Rozich So. 6-0 215
LB 9 Matt Juneau Sr. 6-2 225
DL 44 Jackson Collins Jr. 5-11 225
DL 99 Finn Duffey Sr. 5-10 250
DL 41 Shane Broughton Jr. 5-11 255
DL 98 Kyle Hamilton Sr. 6-3 250

SPECIALISTS
P 97 Parker Huynh-Benningfield Jr. 5-11 180
K 49 Marcos Ruiz So. 5-8 185

TUFTS' PROBABLE STARTERS:

OFFENSE
LT  71 Brad Abbott So. 6-3 270
LG 65 Jack Lynch Sr. 6-4 285
C   74 Micah Maiava Sr. 6-4 310
RG 75 Matthew Maiava Sr. 6-3 310
RT 73 Michael Maiava Sr. 6-4 295
WR 10 Cade Moore Sr. 6-2 190
WR 2 Henry Fleckner Sr. 6-0 180
WR 5 Matt Rios So. 6-3 185
QB   8 Michael Berluti Sr. 6-1 180
RB 28 Christian Shapiro So. 5-8 185
TE 85 Jack Elliott Sr. 6-2 210

DEFENSE
DE 93 Javier Rios Gr. 6-1 230
DT 52 Vince Gilchrist Sr. 6-3 245
DE 99 Dom DeCrescenzo Sr. 6-2 255
LB 45 Will Duncanson Sr. 5-10 230
LB 37 Jeff Xu Jr. 6-1 220
LB 40 Johnny Ferrelli So. 6-1 210
CB 22 Ty Richardson So. 5-11 175
CB 25 Louis Timmins Sr. 6-2 200
S 6 Jayden Callender Sr. 5-9 190
S 0 Jameer Alves Sr. 5-11 200
S 35 Henry Ferrelli 6-0 185 Sr.

SPECIALISTS
K 47 Vaughn Seelicke Jr. 6-1 170
P 29 Andrew Leigh So. 5-7 170