LEWISTON, Maine -- The two teams who like to run the ball the most in the NESCAC meet this Saturday when the Bates football team welcomes the Williams College Ephs to Garcelon Field for a 1 p.m. kick. 

Fans can enjoy the Bobcat Block Party, free and open to the public on Central Ave. before and during the game from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Ephs have run the ball 224 times this year and the Bobcats have run the ball 202 times. Trinity is the next-most prolific rushing team in the conference at 182 attempts. 

It's worked well for Williams as they are averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Quarterback Owen Johansen is a converted tight end who averages 8.6 yards per rush. He has carried the ball 56 times for 470 yards and six touchdowns this year. The six-foot, three-inch, 210-pound junior is a load to bring down. He's also thrown nine touchdowns this year to only one interception, completing 59 percent of his passes. Johansen ranks second in the NESCAC in rushing yards and Williams running back Jon Oris ranks third, at 93.8 yards per game. Oris averages 5.5 yards per carry and has five rushing touchdowns. 

Of course, the Bobcats have the top rusher in the NESCAC in reigning conference Offensive Player of the Week junior captain Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.), who is averaging 100.4 rushing yards per game and leads the conference with seven rushing touchdowns. 

Tackling is always important and Saturday will be a great test for the top two tacklers in the NESCAC: Bates junior captain linebacker Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) and sophomore linebacker Carmel Crunk (Lancaster, Calif.), as the duo averages 11.8 and 8.6 tackles per game respectively. Meanwhile, Williams is lead by Luke Mangini and Zakkai Moore, who are tied for fifth in the conference at 8.2 tackles per game.

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THE PARTICULARS:

What: Bates (2-3) vs. Williams (4-1)

When: Sat., Oct. 18, 1 p.m.

Where: Garcelon Field (Lewiston, Maine)

Live Coverage: Video | Stats

All-Time Series: Williams leads 30-6

Previous Meeting: Williams 24, Bates 21 (Oct. 19, 2024 in Williamstown, Mass.)

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WILLIAMS' LAST TIME OUT:

Williams College escaped Farley-Lamb Field with a 24-17 victory on Saturday afternoon in a back-and-forth battle with the Middlebury Panthers. The Ephs overcame a slow start to take a lead into halftime, and then staved off the Panthers' final effort to preserve a hard-earned win.

The outcome came down to a Middlebury 4th-and-11 from the Williams 11-yard line, with 41 seconds left. The Panthers had one last chance to cap off a furious drive with a touchdown that would have tied the game at 24. 

As the play unfolded, Middlebury quarterback Brian Moran's receivers were blanketed in coverage by the Ephs, and his desperation loft to Robert Votruba was incomplete, allowing Williams to take the ball back with just over thirty seconds left and kneel out the clock.

The team's offensive play of the day came four minutes prior, with the score knotted at 17. The Ephs had just taken over the ball at their own 30-yard line following a missed field goal by the Panthers' Tony Wang. Owen Johansen took the snap on 1st-and-10, and waited patiently in the pocket for Zach Falls to streak open over the middle. Johansen took a hit, but he still threw a perfect strike to Falls at the Williams logo, and Falls outran his pursuing cornerback down the left sideline for a 70-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 4:25 to play.

Falls' big moment capped a monster day for the sophomore wideout, as he finished with five catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Falls has led the Ephs in receiving for the last three games, and has four touchdowns in that span. Against Middlebury, he was complemented nicely by Jon Oris, who finished with 17 rushes for 81 yards and a touchdown.

BATES' LAST TIME OUT:

Bates football junior captain Ryan Lynskey rushed for 221 yards and a career-high four touchdowns as the Bobcats scored twice in the fourth quarter to rally for a 35-28 win over Tufts University Saturday under the lights at Ellis Oval. 

It's the most points Bates has ever scored against Tufts in a football game, and the most points the Bobcats have scored in one contest since they put up 38 against Hamilton in 2013.

Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) ran the ball a career-high 32 times in the win, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. His 221 rushing yards are the second-most for Lynskey in one game in his Bates career, trailing only his NESCAC-record 344 rushing yards last season against Bowdoin. His four rushing touchdowns are the most by a Bobcat in one game since Sean Atkins '03 rushed for a NESCAC-record seven touchdowns against Bowdoin in 2002.

The Bobcats (2-3 NESCAC) trailed 28-21 with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Senior Parker Huynh-Benningfield (Austin, Texas) lined up to punt and lofted a 30-yard boot to the Tufts 17. The ball hit the leg of an unsuspecting Jumbo and junior captain Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) fell on the ball at the 15, giving Bates new life deep in Tufts territory.

On second and 10, sophomore Jeff Vidou (Cornish, N.H.) took a pitch and ran the ball to the right for 13 yards to the Tufts two. Then Lynskey punched it in, getting Bates to within a point with 4:21 left. But the extra point got blocked by Tufts' Vince Gilchrist, and the hosts maintained a 28-27 lead.

The Jumbos (2-3 NESCAC) got the ball back with a chance to take some time off the clock. But they went three-and-out. Rozich stuffed running back Christian Shapiro for two yards on first down. Then Major Spencer III (Mansfield, Texas) broke up a pass intended for Tufts receiver Matt Rios. Another incomplete pass set up a punt, and the punt traveled only 29 yards, giving Bates great field position at their own 44 with 3:22 to go.

On third and eight, a pass interference call on Tufts gave the Bobcats a first down at the Jumbo 39. Then senior Jack Morrall (Hopkinton, N.H.) carried the ball five yards to the Tufts 34, taking the game to the two-minute warning. A pair of Lynskey runs got the ball to the Tufts 24 with 1:03 left. The Jumbos called a timeout, only to see Lynskey run right up the gut for a 24-yard touchdown, giving the Bobcats a 33-28 lead with 58 seconds left. Bates executed a perfect two-point conversion, with senior quarterback Jack Perry (Newbury, Mass.) finding Vidou in the flat for an easy score. 

Now up by seven, the Bates defense just needed to make one stop to clinch the win. The Jumbos moved the ball to their own 43 before Major Spencer III picked off Tufts quarterback Hudson Weidman on a pass over the middle to clinch the victory. 

BATES AND WILLIAMS' LAST MEETING:

The Bates football team turned in a strong performance but ultimately fell three points short in a 24-21 loss at Williams last year.

The Bobcats trailed by 10 at halftime but rallied to cut the deficit to three in the fourth quarter. The Ephs got the stop they needed at the end of the game to hold on for the victory. 

A Mario Fischetti three-yard touchdown run put the Ephs up 24-14 with 10:01 remaining in regulation. Bates answered with a 14-play, 75-yard drive. On second and 16 from their own 30, senior captain quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) found wide receiver Matthew Holmes (Carpinteria, Calif.) for a 25-yard gain and a first down to the Williams 45. Then, with Bates looking at a second and 15 from the Williams 39, an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Ephs moved the ball to the Williams 24. Bosselait hit Jermaine Anson (Manchester, N.H.) for a gain of six yards. Then the QB took matters into his own hands with a five-yard rush to the Williams 13.

The Bobcats appeared headed in the wrong direction until Bosselait connected with senior captain Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) on third and 13 from the Williams 16 for the latter's first touchdown catch of the season, trimming the deficit to 24-21 with 3:58 left in regulation after Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point.

Williams picked up one first down on their next drive before senior Kyle Hamilton (Hartford, Vt.), senior captain Matt Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.), and Jack Morrison (Manchester Center, Vt.) all made big tackles to force the Ephs to punt. 

The Bobcats got the ball back at their own 41 with 1:50 remaining, with a chance to win the game or potentially force overtime. But an incomplete pass and a sack set them back to their own 36. Bosselait was able to find senior Drew Sachs (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) for an eight-yard gain to the 43, setting up fourth and eight. Unfortunately, a dropped pass on fourth down gave the ball back to the Ephs, who ran out the clock. 

Bosselait finished the game 10-21 for 115 yards and two touchdowns. He did not throw any interceptions but he did get sacked three times. Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) ran the ball 20 times for 126 yards, averaging a robust 6.3 yards per carry. Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) added eight carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Guerrette paced the receivers with two catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.) added three catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. Juneau paced Bates with 10 solo tackles, while linebacker Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn) added nine solo tackles and two tackles for loss. Senior safety Johnny Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in six total tackles (five solo) with two tackles for loss.

The Bobcats held the top rushing team in the NESCAC to just 3.4 yards per carry, as Williams quarterback Owen McHugh paced the Ephs in passing and rushing. He completed 21-32 passes for 141 yards and added 14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Fischetti and Jon Oris also scored rushing touchdowns for Williams. Jack Kennedy added eight catches for 64 yards to pace the Williams receivers. Holden Gering, Andrew Kreakie, and Zach Barnes notched seven tackles apiece for the Williams defense. Gering also broke up two passes.

Bates recorded 313 yards of total offense while holding Williams to 265 yards on the day. 

BATES' PROBABLE STARTERS:

OFFENSE
OL 51 Ryder Smith So. 6-0 270
OL 76 Andrew Finn Jr. 6-2 260
OL 53 Zach Louvat Jr. 6-2 260
OL 66 John Antolik Jr. 6-2 275
OL 72 Kevin McDonald Jr. 6-3 265
TE 88 Damien DiGiovine Sr. 6-2 240
WR 11 Quinn Carver So. 6-0 182
WR 24 Jeff Vidou So. 6-0 195
WR 6 Jermaine Anson Jr. 5-8 180
RB 4 Ryan Lynskey Jr. 5-11 200
QB 3 Jack Perry Sr. 6-0 180

DEFENSE
DB 2 Samuel Christopher So. 5-10 173
DB 5 Michael Spencer Jr. 5-11 180
DB 23 Jack Morrison Jr. 5-10 195
DB 1 Marquez Narvaez-Estrada So. 5-9 160
DB 12 Major Spencer III So. 6-0 190
LB 39 Ryan Rozich Jr. 6-0 215
LB 9 Carmel Crunk So. 5-11 215
DL 32 Brooks Potter Fy. 6-2 213
DL 90 Ryan Kimmel Jr. 6-2 240
DL 41 Shane Broughton Sr. 5-11 255
DL 21 Liam Keaney Fy. 6-2 205

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

WILLIAMS' PROBABLE STARTERS:

OFFENSE
OL 70 Cam Maguire Sr. 6-3 295
OL 78 Declan McKiernan So. 6-2 270
OL 62 Will Robke Jr. 6-3 285
OL 76 Rowan Stenson Sr. 6-4 270
OL 72 Joseph Ngnombouowo Sr. 6-6 305
TE 3 Riley O'Connell Sr. 6-0 230
WR 5 Holden Gering Jr. 5-0 165
WR 89 Jimmy Montesano So. 6-5 230
WR 86 Zach Falls So. 6-5 205
RB 28 Jon Oris Sr. 5-9 190
QB 15 Owen Johansen Jr. 6-3 210

DEFENSE

DB 5 Holden Gering Jr. 5-0 165
DB 17 George Papadopoulos Sr. 5-9 175
DB 29 Brady Carroll Jr. 6-3 200
DB 26 Wyatt Cotton Jr. 5-10 180
LB 45 Zakkai Moore So. 5-10 215
LB 44 Luke Mangini So. 6-0 230
LB 38 David Hyde Jr. 6-0 195
DL 40 Leslie Williams Sr. 5-11 215
DL 67 Anthony Scala Sr. 6-0 295
DL 69 Will Gale So. 5-9 340
DL 93 Ben Yedid So. 6-3 260

SPECIALIST

K/P 34 Leonardo Maiuolo Jr. 5-8 172