The Bates football team heads to Middlebury on Saturday looking to beat the Panthers for the second straight season following a milestone win a year ago. 

Last year's victory snapped a 34-game losing streak for Bates to the Panthers. And if the Bobcats can win again this year, it would be their first at Middlebury since 1969. 

The Panthers have dropped three straight games but remain a dangerous team, having lost on the road to conference powerhouse Trinity by just two points last week. They are led by running back Connor McClellan, who averages 88.2 rushing yards per game. 

---

THE PARTICULARS:

What: Bates (2-4) @ Middlebury (2-4)

When: Saturday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m.

Where: Alumni Stadium (Middlebury, Vt.)

Live Coverage: Video | Stats

All-Time Series: Middlebury leads 49-15-3

Previous Meeting: Bates 21, Middlebury 20 (Oct. 26, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine)

---

MIDDLEBURY LAST WEEK:

The Middlebury football team rallied from a 15-point deficit to get within two with 4:54 remaining, but Trinity stopped a game-tying two-point conversion to hold on for a 28-26 decision on Saturday.

The Bantams struck first on their opening possession of the contest. Quarterback Jaxon Carroll connected with Tate Hoffmeister on the right sideline for a 34-yard touchdown. Max Wallace split the uprights to take a 7-0 lead with 10:24 left.

Trinity increased its advantage with 47 seconds remaining in the quarter when Carroll found Jamieson Hodlin for a one-yard strike, followed by a Wallace point after attempt (PAT) for a 14-0 advantage.

Middlebury took the ensuing kickoff and put together a 12-play, 51-yard drive capped by a 40-yard field goal by Tony Wang at the 11:31 mark of the second quarter.

Middlebury continued its strong second stanza, quickly moving down the field on an 80-yard drive that encompassed 10 plays and 2:56 of action. Quarterback Brian Moran found Jordan Angstreich on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 38 seconds left before an extra point made it 14-10.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Bantams put the ball on the ground. Michael Votta pounced on the loose ball to put Middlebury at the Trinity 15-yard line. Wang banged through a 30-yard field goal to pull within one (14-13) at halftime.

The Bantams took the opening kickoff of the third stanza and added to their lead on a Jack Tosone rushing touchdown off of left tackle from 30 yards to make it 21-13.

Trinity kept the momentum on its side late in the frame. Carroll found Josh Woodford on the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown. Wallace converted the PAT to extend the  lead to 28-13 with 2:08 left.

Middlebury began its comeback bid when Connor McClellan scampered into the end zone from 35 yards on the third play of the final stanza. Wang converted his third PAT of the contest to make the score 28-20 with 12:52 remaining.

The Bantams received the ensuing kickoff and methodically plodded down the field with a drive spanning 7:58 of action, pushing to the Panther 11. Wallace set up for a 19-yard field goal, but Brian Olson blocked the attempt with his right hand. The bounding ball fell into the arms to Charlie Grant, who raced 89 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 28-26. Middlebury went for a two-point conversion to tie the contest, but a Moran pass to Angstreich came up short of the goal line.

The visitors forced Trinity to punt and started with the ball at their own 37 and 3:06 on the clock. Moran led the Panthers to the Trinity 40 over the next nine plays, but a 4th-and-12 passing attempt fell incomplete with 41 ticks left.

BATES LAST WEEK:

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.

BATES AND MIDDLEBURY'S LAST MEETING:

Senior captain Colton Bosselait threw three touchdown passes -- two to Sergio Beltran -- and the Bates football team knocked off Middlebury 21-20 at Garcelon Field, the first win for the Bobcats over the Panthers since 1988.

Bates trailed Middlebury by a score of 20-14 with 8:58 left in regulation. On second and five from the Bates 30, Bosselait connected with Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.) down the seam for a 39-yard gain, moving the ball to the Middlebury 31. Another pass to Gleason gained nine yards to the 22. Then Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) ripped off a run of seven yards to the Middlebury 15. On third and nine from the Panther 14, Bosselait hit Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) at the 10-yard line on the near side. The talented slotback did the rest, shaking his defender and sprinting to the end zone. Beltran dove in and the Bobcats led 21-20 with 3:36 remaining after Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point.

Middlebury answered with a 12-play, 46-yard drive, getting the ball down to the Bates 22-yard line. On third and six from the 22, Jack Morrison (Manchester Center, Vt.) and senior captain Matt Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.) teamed up to sack Middlebury quarterback Brian Moran for a loss of two yards. This set up a fourth and eight, and the Panthers opted to attempt a 41-yard field goal with the wind at their backs. However, their kicker slipped and fell as he made contact, and the ball fell short of the uprights. Bates took over at their own 24 with 1:14 left in the game.

The Panthers still had timeouts remaining, so the Bobcats had to pick up a first down to secure the victory. Lynskey was more than up to the task, ripping off a run of seven yards on the first play from scrimmage. He gained two yards on his next run, and two more the third time he got the rock, moving the chains and clinching a win Bates fans will remember for a long time.

Bosselait was outstanding, completing 13-15 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Lynskey carried the ball 27 times for 107 yards, his fourth 100-yard game of the season. Beltran caught five passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns, to go along with four carries for 19 yards. Gleason added four catches for 64 yards and fifth-year senior captain Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) chipped in two catches for 31 yards. 

On defense, Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) led the way with a career-high 11 total tackles, including eight solo stops. He also broke up a pass. Fifth-year senior Johnny Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10 total tackles, with seven solo stops while Juneau tallied nine total tackles, with six solo stops. Juneau had a half sack and Walker broke up a pass. 

Moran completed 19-29 passes for 202 yards for the Panthers. Connor McClellan carried the ball 13 times for a team-high 59 yards and a touchdown while Mike Ahonen paced all receivers with seven catches for 73 yards on the day.

Defensively, Middlebury's Matt Shaw led all players with 12 total tackles, including nine solo stops. Charlie Ozolin added 10 total tackles with eight solo stops. Both players recorded two tackles for loss apiece.

The Panthers put up more total yards than the Bobcats by a count of 369 to 311. But Middlebury missed three field goals, which gave the Bobcats some key defensive stops throughout the afternoon.

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 33 Michael Seward Fy. 5-10 220
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

MIDDLEBURY'S PROBABLE STARTERS

OFFENSE
OL 75 John McGurk So. 6-4 285
OL 73 Frank Fehrenbach So. 6-3 270
OL 51 George Clough Sr. 6-0 280
OL 61 Forrest Nelson So. 6-2 290
OL 69 William Zambito Sr. 6-5 320
TE 45 Ollie Orvis Sr. 5-10 220
WR 8 Mike Ahonen Sr. 6-2 200
WR 17 Luis Kuehberger Fy. 6-3 190
WR 87 Jordan Angstreich Fy. 5-11 188
RB 2 Connor McClellan So. 6-0 210
QB 12 Brian Moran Sr. 6-4 225

DEFENSE
DL 90 Owen Halter Sr. 6-1 245
DL 66 Casy Adjei Jr. 6-0 250
DL 54 Calvin Szoradi So. 6-5 255
LB 7 Michael Votta Jr. 6-0 200
LB 44 Matt Shaw Jr. 6-0 220
LB 49 Tommy Schwartz So. 6-2 220
LB 56 Carson Eutsay Fy. 6-1 240
DB 39 Charlie Ozolin Jr. 6-3 210
DB 26 Charlie Grant Jr. 5-11 180
DB 9 Shane Johnson Sr. 6-0 202
DB 23 James Woodward So. 5-9 190

SPECIALISTS

K 96 Tony Wang Sr. 5-11 183
P 97 Ty Brinkmann So. 6-3 175