LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team got off to a fast start but the visiting Williams College Ephs stormed back in the second half to defeat the Bobcats by a score of 37-30 Saturday afternoon at Garcelon Field. 

Bates (2-4 NESCAC) led 23-7 at halftime only to see Williams (5-1 NESCAC) score 30 unanswered points to start the second half. Zach Falls caught three touchdown passes for the visitors, and a Jon Oris 92-yard touchdown run with 5:25 left in the game put the Ephs up by 14 points, flipping the script on Bates.

The game could not have started any better for the Bobcats, as they received the opening kick and went 75 yards on 13 plays. Sophomore Quinn Carver (Boston) caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from senior Jack Perry (Newbury, Mass.) and Bates led 6-0. The extra point got blocked, but the defense allowed just one first down before forcing Williams to punt on their opening drive.

Bates started their next drive at their own 26 and junior captain running back Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) ripped off a 24-yard run to midfield. The drive stalled, but for the second straight week the Bobcats made a big play on Special Teams, as Williams returner George Papadopoulos fumbled the punt from senior Parker Huynh-Benningfield (Austin, Texas) and junior Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.) recovered it for Bates.

On the first play from scrimmage after the muffed punt, the Bobcats executed a perfect reverse and Carver ran the ball into the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown, making the score 13-0 after junior Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point. 

The Bobcats led 13-0 after one quarter, but the Ephs got on the board early in the second. Facing a 4th and 1 at their own 39, the Ephs got a 29-yard run from Oris for a first down. Then quarterback Drew Renzella found Henry Machnik for 13 yards to the Bates 22. An 11-yard run from Justice McGrail moved the ball into the red zone and 3rd and 7 from the eight-yard line, Renzella connected with Falls for the touchdown, trimming the Bates lead to 13-7 after the Leonardo Maiuolo extra point.

Later in the quarter, Perry found Lynskey for a 17-yard gain and the Bobcats took advantage of a couple pass interference calls, setting up Ruiz for a 28-yard field goal. He split the uprights and Bates led 16-7 with 1:51 left until halftime.

The Ephs went three-and-out and a problem with snap caused Williams punter Leonardo Maiuolo to narrowly avoid catastrophe by running away from multiple Bobcat defenders before he could get a punt off. It only went 13 yards and Bates was in business at the Williams 32 with 52 seconds left.

Perry found sophomore Jeff Vidou (Cornish, N.H.) for a seven-yard gain and on 3rd and 3 the senior quarterback took matters into his own hands with a 13-yard rush to the Williams 12. After two straight incomplete passes, Perry was able to connect with Gleason on a fade route in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown with just three seconds remaining until halftime. Ruiz made the PAT to put the Bobcats up 23-7.

But Williams wasted no time flipping the game on its head coming out of the locker room after halftime. First, Renzella found Falls for a 76-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter. The two-point conversion pass to Oris was good and the Bates lead was cut in half. The Bobcats went three-and-out and the Ephs struck again. This time, it was a 46-yard touchdown pass from Riley O'Connell to Falls. A Renzella pass to Sam Jaffe tied the game as the Ephs once again were able to get two points following their touchdown. 

The 16-point halftime lead was gone and the game stood tied at 23 with 10:04 left in the third quarter.

Late in the third, the Bobcats moved the ball into Williams territory, but a Bates fumble gave it back to the Ephs, and the visitors took advantage, taking the lead for good early in the fourth quarter when Renzella found Henry Machnik for a 36-yard touchdown. 

Both offenses stalled until Oris took a handoff and ran it off left tackle down the far sideline, taking it 92 yards to the house with 5:25 remaining in regulation.

Now down by two scores, the Bobcats did make it interesting late. Perry found Gleason for gains of 14 and 35 yards, moving the ball to the Williams 38. Then he connected with Gleason again, this time for a 38-yard touchdown, and all of a sudden it was a 37-30 game with 3:52 left after the Ruiz extra point.

Williams went three-and-out, and the Bobcats got the ball back with 2:46 left in regulation. They advanced as far as their own 48 before Brandt Bickford made the game-clinching interception for the visitors, picking off Perry with 1:19 left.

Perry completed 14-27 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. He threw two interceptions and got sacked three times. He also lost a fumble. The Bobcats were hurt by injuries as both Lynskey and senior running back Jack Morrall (Hopkinton, N.H.) were forced to leave the game early. Lynskey carried the ball 15 times for 52 yards and Morrall carried it eight times for 37 yards. Gleason caught four passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. 

Renzella only completed 7-16 passes for the Ephs but he made them count, with three of his seven completions going for touchdowns. He threw for 149 yards and Oris carried the ball 25 times for 198 yards and a score. Falls finished with five catches for 138 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, junior captain Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) paced the Bobcats with 11 total tackles, including eight solo stops. Zakkai Moore tallied 10 total tackles for Williams, with 4.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.

Total offense was pretty even, with Williams tallying 413 yards of total offense to 406 for Bates. 

The Bobcats are back in action next Saturday when they travel to Middlebury for a 1 p.m. kick.