HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Bates football team got off to a slow start on Saturday and the Bobcats weren't able to recover in a 30-13 loss to Trinity at Jessee/Miller Field. 

The Bantams (1-1 NESCAC) led 20-0 at halftime and added a long touchdown early in the third quarter to go up by 27 points. The Bobcats (1-1 NESCAC) pulled to within 14 with 12:07 remaining, but that was as close as they'd get.

Bates junior captain running back Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) had to work hard to gain a team-high 59 rushing yards on 22 carries. He scored both Bobcat touchdowns in the contest, a five-yard run with 5:18 left in the third quarter and a four-yard plunge to cut the deficit to 27-13 early in the fourth quarter.

Senior captain Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) led the Bobcats in both passing (3-4 for 58 yards) and receiving (3 catches for 39 yards) on the afternoon. When passing the ball, he connected twice with sophomore Quinn Carver (Boston) for 39 yards and once with sophomore Jeff Vidou (Cornish, N.H.) for 15 yards. Vidou also ran the ball four times for 24 yards. 

Sophomore linebacker Carmel Crunk (Lancaster, Calif.) tallied a game-high 16 total tackles and broke up a pass. Meanwhile, junior Michael Spencer (Mansfield, Texas) added 12 tackles with a team-high six solo stops. Junior captain Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) had a big game, tallying 11 total tackles while also blocking a kick and intercepting a pass.

Nolan O'Brien had a day to remember for Trinity, catching nine passes for 140 yards and two receiving touchdowns. On top of that, he returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown. Jack Tosone and Tyler Dinapoli both ran the ball well, with Tosone carrying the ball 17 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. Dinapoli added 16 carries for 81 yards. Jaxon Carroll completed 12-20 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. The Bantams gained 386 yards of total offense.

On defense, the Bantams held Bates to just 209 yards of total offense. Shane Mosia tallied 13 total tackles, with a game-high seven solo stops. Lincoln Moore hurried the quarterback three times and tallied 11 total tackles. Five different Trinity players recorded a sack on Saturday.

Bates went three-and-out on their opening drive, hurt by a delay of game penalty. Then O'Brien returned a punt 21 yards to the Trinity 47. Trinity marched down the field, converting three third downs on their way to the opening score of the game, a 12-yard touchdown pass on third-and-eight from Carroll to O'Brien.

The Bobcats went three-and-out again, and O'Brien returned the punt 79 yards for a touchdown. Rozich blocked the extra point but Bates trailed 13-0 with 6:16 left in the first quarter. 

Bates struggled in the first quarter, failing to record a first down. The offense got a spark thanks to Rozich's interception with 12:50 left until halftime. Beltran caught a pass for six yards Lynskey picked up a first down on the ground. A 15-yard facemask penalty put the ball at the Trinity 42. Bates got the ball down to the Trinity 27 before a holding penalty pushed them out of field goal range, forcing another punt.

Trinity answered with a back-breaking 10-play, 91-yard drive for their third touchdown of the first half, a nine-yard run from Tosone.

Down 20-0 at halftime, the Bobcats surrendered a 53-yard touchdown pass from Carroll to O'Brien on Trinity's opening drive of the third quarter.

That's when the Bates offense got going, as they went 75 yards on 13 plays for their first touchdown of the day. The only downside was the drive took 7:21 off the block, and the Bobcats still trailed 27-6 after a failed two-point conversion. Big plays on the drive included a 36-yard pass from Beltran to Carver on 3rd and 8 to get the ball to the Trinity 25 and a 15-yard pass from Beltran to Vidou to pick up a first down on 3rd and 15 from the Trinity 18. Lynskey was able to punch it in on second and goal for the touchdown.

The Bates defense got a stop and the offense got the ball back with 1:53 left in the third quarter. The Bobcats went 69 yards on 10 plays, running the option to perfection with Beltran at the helm. Lynskey and Beltran both had runs of 10 yards on the drive, with Lynskey scoring from four yards out on first and goal. The extra point made the score 27-13 in favor of Trinity with 12:02 left in regulation.

On Trinity's next drive, the Bates defense thought they had a stop on fourth and one when Rozich brought down Tozone. But a measurement determined that Trinity barely got the first down at the Bates 34. They continued to move the ball down the field and a short Max Wallace field goal put the game out of reach for Bates at 30-13 with 5:02 left.

The Bobcats are back in action next Saturday when they host defending NESCAC champion Wesleyan (1-1) at 1 p.m. on Garcelon Field.