CLINTON, N.Y. -- The Bates football team wraps up its 2024 season this Saturday when they visit Hamilton for a noon kickoff, as the Bobcats look to spoil Senior Day for the Continentals. 

Bates (2-6 NESCAC) enters the game leading the NESCAC and ranking 32nd in all of NCAA Division III with 196.4 rushing yards per game. Sophomore running back Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) is first in the conference and eighth in the country at 1,018 rushing yards on the season. 

Hamilton (0-8 NESCAC) struggles to run the ball, averaging just 65.4 rushing yards per game. Neither team has had a ton of success through the air, as Bates with their run-heavy approach ranks last in the NESCAC in passing yards per game at 99.8 and Hamilton second-to-last at 169.5. The Continentals are last in the conference in scoring offense, averaging just 9.4 points per game.

Luke Kurzum quarterbacks Hamilton's offense and has completed 58.9 percent of his passes this year for 964 yards and three touchdowns, along with five interceptions. His favorite target is Chester Boynton, who averages 56.3 receiving yards per game and has two touchdowns. Nate Wildman is Hamilton's leading rusher, with 171 rushing yards on the season. 

Defensively, sophomore Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) continues to lead the NESCAC in tackling, averaging 8.5 tackles per game. Ian Fratarcangel is the top tackler on Hamilton at 6.8 tackles per game.

The Bobcats have won two straight at Hamilton and three of the last four in the series overall.

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THE PARTICULARS:

What: Bates (2-6) at Hamilton (0-8) 

When: Saturday, Nov. 9, Noon.

Where: Steuben Field (Clinton, N.Y.)

Live Coverage: Video | Stats

All-Time Series: Hamilton leads 23-22

Previous Meeting: Hamilton 21, Bates 7 (Nov. 11, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine)

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HAMILTON LAST WEEK: 

Middlebury College's Brian Moran was 25-of-35 for 254 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers' 35-0 NESCAC win against the Hamilton College Continentals in the 44^th playing of The Old Rocking Chair Classic at Middlebury's Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 2.

Middlebury scored on their first possession as Jeremy Kiefer caught an 11-yard pass for a touchdown with 9:35 left in the first quarter. Zach Levy added the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

Connor McClellan scored the Panthers' second touchdown on a one-yard run 1:52 into the second quarter.

Middlebury made it 21-0 on a touchdown drive that started at its own 13 with 1:05 remaining in the half. Moran found Kiefer in the end zone from six yards out with just one second to go.

The Continentals started their first drive of the second half at their 49 after a long kickoff return by junior Liam Leonard and a personal foul penalty on the Panthers. The drive stalled at the Middlebury 30 where Hamilton turned it over on downs.

The Continentals earned even better field position three plays later when senior Jake Dale intercepted Moran's pass at the Panthers' 35-yard line. A six-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Henry Rubey was wiped out by an offensive holding penalty, and Hamilton eventually missed a 33-yard field goal attempt.

The Continentals drove to the Middlebury 42 on their next drive before turning the ball over on downs again. The Panthers took advantage of the short field and scored on a six-yard touchdown catch by Mike Ahonen seven seconds into the fourth quarter. Levy's PAT gave Middlebury a 28-point advantage.

Hamilton drove to the Panther 39 on the ensuing possession but turned the ball over on downs for the third time. Middlebury went on a 13-play, 61-yard march that took more than six minutes off the clock and culminated with a two-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Izzo Lizardi with 6:55 left in the fourth.

BATES LAST WEEK:

Sophomore running back Ryan Lynskey broke the NESCAC record for rushing yards in one game, but the Bates football team could never wrestle the lead away from Bowdoin in a 35-24 loss Saturday night at Garcelon Field. 

Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) tallied 344 yards on the ground, breaking the single-game conference record previously held by Trinity College's Thomas Pierandri, who rushed for 304 yards against Wesleyan in 2003. The previous Bates record was held by Sean Atkins '03, who ran for 302 yards against Bowdoin in 2002. Lynskey's performance puts him at 1,018 rushing yards on the season, the first Bates 1,000-yard rusher since Atkins in 2002.

Despite Lynskey's big game, the Bobcats (2-6 NESCAC) never led in the contest, as Bowdoin quarterback Peter Macaulay completed 16-23 passes for 272 yards and five touchdowns. 

Bowdoin (3-5 NESCAC) struck first, taking advantage of a short Bates punt to go 45 yards in seven plays, capped off by a Macaulay pass to Ty Connolly for 17 yards and a touchdown, putting the Polar Bears up 7-0 after the extra point with 8:57 left in the first quarter.

A second straight Bates three-and-out to start the game led to another Bowdoin touchdown drive. This time they went 66 yards on five plays, with Macaulay finding Jed Hoggard for a 35-yard TD strike with 4:26 left in the first quarter.

Now down 14-0, the Bobcats answered in a big way. On the second play from scrimmage on their next drive, Lynskey burst through the line and raced away from everyone, taking the ball 72 yards to the house. Sophomore Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point and the Bobcats were within a score with 3:46 remaining in the opening 15 minutes of action.

The Bates defense forced a three-and-out of their own and the Bobcats took over at their own 48 after a 31-yard punt. Lynskey took the handoff on the first play from scrimmage and raced 46 yards to the Bowdoin six. Sam Schwartz made a touchdown saving tackle, and the Bowdoin defense stiffened from there, forcing the Bobcats to try a field goal. Ruiz knocked it through the uprights from 24 yards out and the Bobcats trailed 14-10 with 52 seconds to go in the opening quarter.

Bowdoin moved the ball to the Bates 28 on their next possession, but they went for in on fourth down and sophomore linebacker Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) stuffed Robbie Long on a rush attempt for a loss of two yards, and Bates took over.

Unfortunately for the Bobcats, their next drive ended after just three plays when Schwartz picked off a Bates pass at the Bowdoin 38-yard line.

The Polar Bears failed on a fourth-down attempt for the second drive in a row, but this time it came on a QB sneak attempt at the goal line after they went 61 yards on six plays. Junior Shane Broughton (Arlington, Mass.) and a pack of Bobcats stopped Long's push at the line of scrimmage. 

But the Bates offense went three-and-out, without gaining any yards, forcing the Bobcats to put from their own one-yard line. 

Not surprisingly, the Polar Bears got the ball back with terrific field position at the Bates 30. On third and 10 from the Bates 18, Macaulay found Austin Hiscoe for an 18-yard touchdown, putting the Polar Bears up 21-10 after the extra point with 3:08 remaining until halftime.

Bowdoin led by 11 at halftime and the Polar Bears maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest.

BATES AND HAMILTON'S LAST MEETING:

The Continentals defeated the Bobcats 21-7 last year at Garcelon Field.

After an opening 18-play drive concluded with a missed field goal by the home team, Hamilton's Matt Branbury found a hole in the Bates defensive line, and walked in the first touchdown of the game to make the score 7-0 Hamilton with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter. 

The Bobcats' subsequent possession resulted in a three-and-out. This set the stage for Hamilton quarterback Luke Kurzum, who proceeded to show off his running game as he started off the second quarter with a scramble into the end zone to advance the Hamilton lead to 14-0 with 13:41 left in the period. 

Possessing a chance to set a dominant tone in the first half after forcing another punt, Branbury brought in another touchdown with 7:14 left in the first half, extending Hamilton's lead to 21-0. 

With time winding down in the first half, quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) was able to find Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) on a corner route to get Bates their first touchdown of the day, making the score 21-7 with 35 seconds before intermission.

The second half proved to be a defensive battle as both teams traded turnovers and punts, with neither squad able to put any points on the board.

Despite the result, Beltran served as the star of the afternoon for Bates, collecting 112 yards on 11 receptions. On the defensive side of the ball, Jackson Collins (Glen Ridge, N.J. ) contributed 11 tackles on the day, nine of the solo variety.

BATES' PROJECTED 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 0 Sergio Beltran Jr. 5-11 185
WR 11 Quinn Carver Fy. 6-0 175
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 32 Carmel Crunk Fy. 5-11 205
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

HAMILTON'S PROJECTED STARTERS:

OFFENSE
QB 9 Henry Rubey Jr. 6-1 171
RB 1 Nate Wildman So. 5-11 209
WR 85 Ezra Lombardi Sr. 5-9 173
WR 38 Lucas Perez-Segnini Sr. 6-2 205
WR 13 Chester Boynton So. 5-8 173
TE 45 Will Peters Jr. 5-11 196
LT 62 Matt Morgan Sr. 6-3 281
LG 55 Jake Gosselin So. 5-11 247
C 60 Andrew Chronis Sr. 5-11 286
RG 76 James Luce Jr. 6-2 273
RT 77 Jake LaMalva Sr. 6-1 307

DEFENSE
SPECIALISTS