SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- The Bates football team hopes to get back on the winning track when they travel to Tufts for a primetime game Saturday at Ellis Oval, with kick-off set for 7 p.m.
Statistically, the teams are incredibly even, with the Bobcats and Jumbos both giving up 22.3 points per game on defense. Offensively, Tufts holds a slight edge at 15.8 points per game to 13 points per game for Bates.
Tufts quarterback Justin Keller has completed 53-86 passes for 495 yards and two touchdowns. He has also been picked off two times. Keller can also run the ball, with 43 carries for 171 yards. Matt Rios is the only Tufts receiver to score a touchdown, as he's caught 15 passes for 166 yards and two scores. Christian Shapiro has carried the ball 53 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns.
Johnny Ferrelli leads the Tufts defense with 30 total tackles on the season.
Junior captain running back
Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) has been a workhorse for the Bates offense, carrying the ball 92 times for 281 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore
Quinn Carver (Boston) has caught 10 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.
Junior captain
Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) is averaging 11.8 tackles per game for the Bobcats, tops in the NESCAC.
Bates has dropped nine of their last 10 games to Tufts, with their most recent win a 33-10 victory at Ellis Oval in 2021. However, the Jumbos have lost back-to-back games for the first time in three years entering this Saturday's contest. The Bobcats are looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
THE PARTICULARS:
What: Bates (1-3) at Tufts (2-2)
When: Saturday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.
Where: Ellis Oval (Somerville, Mass.)
Live Coverage: Video | Stats
All-Time Series: Tufts leads 65-16-4
Previous Meeting: Tufts 45, Bates 22 (Oct. 12, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine)
TUFTS LAST WEEK:
The Tufts University football team kept it close through the first half, but 27 unanswered points helped host Trinity College pull away for a 41-14 win over the Jumbos in Hartford.
With the loss, the Jumbos dropped to 2-2 on the season while Trinity upped its mark to 3-1.
Trinity got on the board late in the first quarter with a Jaxon Carroll touchdown pass to Nolan O'Brien from 12 yards out to make it 7-0. The Bantams would see the same connection lock up for six early in the second quarter, as O'Brien pulled in a 80-yard touchdown grab to make it 14-0.
On the ensuing kick-off, sophomore Keller Rogers returned the ball 62 yards to the Trinity 38-yard line. Seven plays later Christian Shapiro pushed in from two yards out to make it 14-7, as the drive was extended with a big 10-yard grab by Matt Greco on 3rd and 8 to set up the score.
Trinity answered back with 3:24 to go in the first half, as Jack Tosone scored on a two-yard rush to make it 20-7 at the halftime break.
The Bantams continued to add to their lead until junior Justin Keller hit Matt Rios for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 3:43 to play to finish the game's scoring.
Keller was 10-of-17 for 85 yards through the air with a touchdown, while adding 30 yards rushing on 11 attempts. First-year Nate Johnson saw his first action as a Jumbo, rushing for 24 yards on three carries while going 4-for-11 for 25 yards passing.
Shapiro rushed for 38 yards on 10 carries, adding a long of 18 yards, while Greco had seven catches for 54 yards. Rios also pulled in three balls for 32 yards.
Johnny Ferrelli had a team-high 12 tackles including one for loss, while Nate Sousa and Amari Watson each had six stops. Cameron Pineda pulled in his third interception of the season, tops in the NESCAC, and Riley Yaker and Trevor Hillier had five tackles.
Senior Vaughn Seelicke made both of his extra points, and Andrew Leigh averaged 38.6 yards on his punts while putting two inside the 20.
BATES LAST WEEK:
The Bates football team fell 13-6 in overtime to Colby College in a defensive struggle Saturday night at Garcelon Field.
The Bobcats (1-3 NESCAC) thought they had the game won in regulation. With the score 6-3 in favor of the home team, Colby's Will Schneider lined up for a 32-yard field goal with just 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He missed wide left, but an offsides call against Bates gave him another chance. Schneider made the 27-yard kick, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra session, Colby quarterback Miles Drake found Jack Duffy on third and 10 for a 21-yard gain to the Bates four. Drake connected with Henry Emswiler on the very next play for a touchdown, the first of the game for either team. Schneider made the PAT and the Mules (2-2 NESCAC) led 13-6.
Bates had one chance to match Colby's touchdown. Senior quarterback
Jack Perry (Newbury, Mass.) delivered a 13-yard pass to junior
Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.) on a third and eight, getting the ball to the Colby 10. But the next four plays didn't gain a single yard, as the Mules broke up three straight passes to secure their seventh consecutive victory over the Bobcats.
The loss spoiled a terrific performance from the Bates defense, which held the Mules to just 195 yards of total offense. The Mules averaged only 2.9 yards per play.
Junior captain linebacker
Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) matched his career-high with 14 total tackles, including seven solo stops. He recorded one sack and two tackles for loss. Meanwhile, safety
Major Spencer III (Mansfield, Texas) and sophomore cornerback
Marquez Narvaez-Estrada (Montgomery Village, Md.) both intercepted passes. The Bobcats sacked Drake three times and finished with 10 tackles for loss.
Bates struggled on offense, only tallying 232 yards of total offense and failing to score a touchdown. But junior
Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) stood out at placekicker, making a pair of field goals. His career-long 41-yard field goal with 10:10 left in the second quarter tied the game at three and his 38-yard field goal with 1:04 left in the third quarter gave Bates the lead.
Junior captain
Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) carried the ball 29 times for a game-high 89 yards. Meanwhile sophomores
Quinn Carver (Boston) and
Jeff Vidou (Cornish, N.H.) found some room to run on the outside, with Carver carrying the ball four times for 26 yards and Vidou rushing twice for 17 yards.
Gleason led the Bates receivers with two catches for 25 yards and Perry completed 9-18 passes for 86 yards.
BATES' AND TUFTS' LAST MEETING:
The visiting Tufts University Jumbos used a big second quarter to take command of the game on their way to a 45-22 victory over the Bates football team under the lights at Garcelon Field.
Christian Shapiro paced the Jumbos with 26 carries for 107 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Michael Berluti tallied one touchdown pass, one touchdown run, and one touchdown catch in the contest while completing 15-21 passes for 138 yards.
With the score tied at seven, Tufts took the lead for good early in the second quarter, as they went 76 yards on seven plays. An 11-yard completion from Berluti to Jack Elliott plus a 15-yard facemask penalty on Bates put the ball in Bobcat territory at the 37. Berluti scrambled for 11 yards to the Bates 26 and followed that up by finding Henry Fleckner for 24 yards to the Bates two. On second and goal, Shapiro punched it in for the go-ahead score.
Poor special teams play hurt Bates in the second quarter, as the Jumbos took advantage of outstanding field position to score two more touchdowns. Down 14-7, the Bobcats got to the Tufts 48. But a surprise punt attempt by the quarterback got tipped by Max Nunnally and the Jumbos got the ball back at their own 43. They went 57 yards on nine plays and capped off the drive with a trick play, as wide receiver Henry Fleckner passed the ball to Berluti for a 22-yard touchdown.
The Bobcats went three-and-out on their next drive, and the ensuing punt only went 14 yards, giving Tufts the ball at the Bates 45. Berluti found Cade Moore for gains of 12 and 17 yards. Bates forced a fourth and two from the eight, but Berluti found Moore again, this time for five yards and a first down. On second and goal from three, Berluti ran it in for the touchdown, as Tufts went up 28-7 after the extra point.
Up by 21 at halftime, the visitors extended their lead to 24 points by winning the field position battle early in the third quarter. Ty Richardson snagged an interception to begin the quarter for Tufts, giving the Jumbos the ball at their own 43. They went three-and-out, but a 49-yard punt from Andrew Leigh pinned the Bobcats at their own three. The Bobcats were unable to get a first down, and Tufts got the ball back after the punt at the 50. Helped by another facemask penalty, the Jumbos moved the ball down to the Bates 12 before being forced to kick a 30-yard field goal. Vaughn Seelicke made the kick to put the Jumbos up 31-7 with 7:48 left in the third quarter.
The Bobcats finally got the offense going again, going 64 yards on 11 plays on their next drive.
Marquez Narvaez-Estrada (Montgomery Village, Md.) returned the kick-off 32 yards to the Bates 36. Bates got the ball to the 50 thanks in part to a holding penalty against Tufts. Then quarterback
Seneca Moore (Lansing, Mich.) connected with senior captain
Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) for 17 yards to the Jumbo 33. Moore ripped off three straight runs to get the ball down to the Tufts nine. On third and five from the Tufts 12, senior captain quarterback
Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) hit
Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) for a nine-yard gain to the Tufts three. On second and goal,
Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) muscled his way into the end zone for his NESCAC-leading sixth rushing touchdown of the season. Lynskey followed that up by running it in for the two-point conversion, trimming the deficit to 31-15 with 2:01 left in the third quarter.
Tufts had the answer though, as they converted a key third down early in the fourth quarter, and marched down the field from there. On third and two from the Bates nine, Berluti connected with Moore for a touchdown, putting the Jumbos back up by three scores at 38-15 with 10:27 left in regulation.
The Bobcats got back to within 16 on their next drive, with the big play a 57-yard pass from Bosselait to
Quinn Carver (Dorchester, Mass.) to get the ball to the Tufts 13. On third and eight from the 11, Bosselait hit Beltran for a touchdown, trimming the deficit to 38-22 after
Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point.
Bates forced a punt on the next Tufts possession, but they got the ball back at their own 13 still down two scores with just 4:29 left in regulation. They went four-and-out, giving Tufts the ball deep in Bobcat territory. Another Shapiro rushing touchdown capped off the scoring in the contest.
