LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates football team hosts Hamilton Saturday at noon for the 2025 season finale and fans should arrive early as the Bobcats are celebrating their 18 seniors before the game.

Team captain Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.), quarterback Jack Perry (Newbury, Mass.), defensive back Presley Green (Pompano Beach, Fla.), quarterback and holder Matthew Wiley (Bow, N.H.), outside linebacker Colin Pierce (Hanover, N.H.), wide receiver Matthew Holmes (Carpinteria, Calif.), wide receiver Adam Steinberg (Westborough, Mass.), outside linebacker Xander Scavone (Ridgefield, Conn.), safety Will Sutton (West Newbury, Mass.), running back Jack Morrall (Hopkinton, N.H.), inside linebacker Michael Donahue (Cohasset, Mass.), defensive tackle Shane Broughton (Arlington, Mass.), defensive end Jackson Collins (Glen Ridge, N.J.), long snapper Domenic Virelli (Melrose Park, Ill.), offensive lineman Dylan Roberts (Swampscott, Mass.), wide receiver Maverick Selementi (Montclair, N.J.), tight end Damien DiGiovine (Westford, Mass.), and punter Parker Huynh-Benningfield (Austin, Texas) will be on Garcelon Field for the final time as Bates football players. 

The 18 senior football players will be joined by senior student managers Zachary Henderson (Windsor, Conn.), Seonmin Jeong (Anyang, South Korea), and Graham Spurrell (Cranston, R.I.) in being recognized for their contributions to the program over the past four years.

The Bobcats face a Hamilton defense that is giving up 30.5 points per game, the most in the NESCAC. Bates has won three of their past five against the Continentals, but Hamilton has won each of the last two matchups. Both teams are trying to break losing skids, with Hamilton having lost five straight games and Bates having dropped three straight.

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THE PARTICULARS:

What: Bates (2-6) vs. Hamilton (1-7)

When: Saturday, Nov. 8, Noon.

Where: Garcelon Field (Lewiston, Maine)

Live Coverage: Video | Stats

All-Time Series: Hamilton leads 24-22

Previous Meeting: Hamilton 24, Bates 21 (Nov. 9, 2024 in Clinton, N.Y.)

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HAMILTON LAST WEEK:

Middlebury College's Connor McClellan ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter, and the Panthers rallied for a 24-21 win against the Hamilton College Continentals in the 45^th playing of The Old Rocking Chair Classic at Hamilton's Steuben Field on a blustery Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers took their first lead two plays after a Hamilton punt traveled just 18 yards into a stiff breeze to the Middlebury 35. After an eight-yard pass from Brian Moran to Luis Kuehberger, McClellan rumbled 57 yards for the touchdown and a 23-21 advantage. Tony Wang added the extra point for the final margin.

Hamilton drove to the 50-yard line on the ensuing drive but on third-and-long, Charlie Ozolin intercepted a pass at his own 26.

The Continentals forced a three-and-out and were going to get the ball back with a little more than two minutes remaining, but they were flagged for roughing the punter and handed the Panthers an automatic first down. McClellan ran five yards for a first down on third-and-three, and Middlebury ran out the clock from there.

Hamilton scored on its first drive, which covered 82 yards and nearly five minutes. Nate Wildman '27 punched it in around left end from one yard out and put the Continentals up 6-0 with 5:31 to go in the first quarter. A nine-yard run by quarterback Luke Kurzum '27 on fourth-and-five kept the drive alive. Carmelo Velardo '27 nailed the PAT for the 7-0 lead.

McClellan put the Panthers on the scoreboard with a 19-yard touchdown run 4:02 into the second quarter. A defensive pass interference penalty on third down at the Hamilton 28 kept the drive alive. Wang tied the score with his extra point.

The Continentals responded on their next possession. Kurzum faked a handoff to Wildman and found Mitchell Ivatts '29 cutting to the middle of the end zone for a 12-yard scoring toss with 8:32 left in the second. A 25-yard completion to Wildman on third-and-18 and a roughing the passer flag on Middlebury immediately preceded Ivatts' touchdown. Velardo's PAT made it 14-7.

The Panthers tied the score again with 58.2 seconds remaining in the first half. On second-and-six at the Hamilton seven, Moran was lined up in the shotgun and dropped the snap from center. He picked the ball up around the 10 and ran into the end zone.

Middlebury missed a 38-yard field goal attempt on its first possession of the second half and the Continentals came right back and went in front for the third time. The 79-yard, six-plus-minute drive was capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jack Hoag '27. Kurzum rolled out to his right and lofted a perfect ball to Hoag, who had a step on his defender and caught the ball as he crossed the goal line with 1:49 to go in the third quarter.

Wang pulled the Panthers within four points at 21-17 on a 44-yard field goal with 11:59 left in the fourth quarter. Wang, who had the wind at his back, bounced the kick off the inside of the left upright and over the crossbar.

BATES LAST WEEK:

It was only two big plays in the second quarter, but that's all Bowdoin needed on Saturday as the Polar Bears defeated the Bates football team by a score of 17-9 in NESCAC action. 

The Bobcats tallied 17 first downs in the contest to just six for Bowdoin and out-gained the Polar Bears in total yards by a count of 285 to 187. It's the fewest yards allowed by a Bates defense in one game since 2015.

Points on the scoreboard is what matters though, and Bowdoin quarterback Soren Hummel found Ty Connolly for a 48-yard touchdown with 11:47 left in the second quarter and Jude Baker for a 32-yard touchdown with 3:56 left until halftime to put the Polar Bears ahead for good. Caden Perry made a 30-yard field goal with 14:40 left in regulation to spot the home team a 17-0 lead.

Down by three scores, Bates got the offense going after the defense forced a punt with 9:04 left in the second quarter. Sophomore quarterback Sean Greene (Bedford, N.H.) got sacked on the opening play of the ensuing drive but classmate Jeff Vidou (Cornish, N.H.) helped him out with a 10-yard run. Then Greene used his legs for a 12-yard gain to the Bowdoin 47. Sophomore Quinn Carver (Boston) ran it for four yards and Greene ripped off a 10-yard run to the Bowdoin 33. Then he used his arm to find Vidou for a nine-yard game to the Polar Bear 24. Greene picked up the first down before giving the ball to Vidou who ran it in from 22 yards out for his first career rushing touchdown.

The extra point got blocked, but Bates was within 11 at 17-6 with 4:42 left in the contest after the nine-play, 63-yard drive. 

The Bobcats tried an on-side kick, but Bowdoin recovered. Bates was able to force a three-and-out on defense, using all their timeouts and getting the ball back at their own 16 with 4:12 left. The Bates offense matriculated the ball down the field, but too much time came off the clock. By the time junior Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made a 24-yard field goal to cut the deficit to eight, there was only 1:07 left in regulation and Bates had no more timeouts.

The ensuing on-side kick got recovered by Bowdoin and the Polar Bears took two knees to run out the clock.

BATES AND HAMILTON'S LAST MEETING:

Hamilton, trailing by two touchdowns in the first half, came all the way back to defeat Bates 24-21 in last year's season finale in Clinton, N.Y.

The game started with the momentum squarely in Bates' favor. On their first possession, the Bobcats marched 87 yards down the field in just 3:53, capped off by a 26-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Colton Bosselait to wide receiver Jake Walters for an early 7-0 lead.

Bates extended its advantage in the second quarter, as running back Ryan Lynskey punched it in from one yard out to cap a 9-play, 28-yard drive that ate up 5:20 of clock. The Bobcats now led 14-0 and appeared to be in control.

With the clock winding down in the second quarter, Hamilton's offense finally found its rhythm. Quarterback Luke Kurzum led a methodical drive, connecting with Lucas Perez-Segnini for a 3-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half. The 9-play, 55-yard drive took just 56 seconds, slicing the Hamilton deficit to 14-7 at the intermission.

In the third quarter, Hamilton picked up right where they left off, opening the second half with a series of efficient plays. Kurzum again found Perez-Segnini, this time for a 24-yard touchdown, as Hamilton knotted the game at 14-14 with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that consumed 5:18 of clock.

Hamilton's offense kept clicking in the fourth quarter. After a strong defensive stand, the Continentals began another long, methodical drive. Once again, it was Kurzum to Perez-Segnini for another 24-yard touchdown — their third connection of the day — putting Hamilton ahead, 21-14. The 11-play, 85-yard drive was capped off with 8:55 remaining and lasted 6:18, as the Continentals slowly took control of the game.

A Velardo 30-yard field goal put the Continentals up 24-14 after Hamilton got the ball back, thanks to a Joe Cairns interception at the Bates 22-yard line. 

With 2:07 remaining in regulation, the Bobcats came charging back with a quick strike. Bosselait hit wide receiver Ryan Gleason for an 18-yard touchdown pass, trimming Hamilton's lead to just three points, 24-21. The drive took only 2:27, as Bates moved 67 yards in seven plays.

Unfortunately, time was not in the Bobcats' favor as Hamilton controlled the remaining 2:07 to secure the victory.

Kurzum finished the day hitting on 25-of-32 passing with 248 yards. Perez-Segnini, with his three TD catches, ended the day with 126 yards receiving.

For the Bobcats, Bosselait ended his senior campaign with a 129 yards passing (10-for-14) with two touchdown passes and a pair of picks. Lynksey, coming off a NESCAC-record 344 yards rushing vs. Bowdoin, ran for a team-best 73 yards on the day.

Linebacker Ryan Rozich topped all players with 10 solo tackles for Bates.