LEWISTON, Maine -- Matt Fitzsimons passed for 254 yards and a touchdown as the defending NESCAC champion Wesleyan University Cardinals pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Bates football team 23-7 Saturday afternoon at Garcelon Field. 

The Bobcats (1-2 NESCAC) hung with the Cardinals (2-1 NESCAC) for most of the game despite the early loss of senior captain Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) due to injury.

Wesleyan struck first, going on a 16-play, 76-yard drive that started late in the first quarter and stretched well into the second, totaling more than 10 minutes. Tyler Flynn punched it in on third-and-goal from four yards out and Gage Hammond made the extra point, putting the Cardinals up 7-0 with 7:05 left in the second. 

But the Bobcats answered with an impressive drive of their own, going 75 yards in 10 plays. A roughing the passer call got the ball into Wesleyan territory and a 27-yard strike from senior quarterback Jack Perry (Newbury, Mass.) to junior captain Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) got the ball to the Cardinal 17. On third and 13 from the Wesleyan 20, the Bobcats got a big pass interference penalty whistled against the visitors, moving the ball down to the five. Lynskey muscled his way into the end zone on the next play and junior Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point, tying the game at seven with 1:49 remaining until halftime.

Unfortunately for Bates, Wesleyan wide receiver Blake Newcomb took over on the ensuing drive. He caught passes of 12, 35, and 12 yards, with the 35-yard catch a leaping grab over two Bates defenders. Then he drew a pass interference penalty to get the ball to the Bates five. Matt Diaz ran it in from there to put the Cardinals up for good at 13-7. A missed PAT made it a six-point game at halftime.

The Bates defense forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter. Then the Bobcat offense went on a 13-play, 40-yard drive that took 7:16 off the clock. The drive stalled at the Wesleyan 33 and senior punter Parker Huynh-Benningfield (Austin, Texas) pinned the Cardinals at their own 10. 

For the second time in the contest, the Cardinals ate up more than 10 minutes of clock on a drive, going 76 yards in 15 plays. Kicker Gage Hammond made a 30-yard field goal to extend the Cardinal lead to 16-7 with 11:17 remaining in regulation.

The Bobcats failed to do much on offense on their next drive, with a personal foul penalty and sack causing the drive to only gain one net yard despite taking almost two and a half minutes. 

Then the Cardinals struck the knockout blow, as Fitzsimons found Donte Kelly for a 50-yard touchdown pass, giving Wesleyan a healthy 23-7 lead with 7:06 left.

Perry got picked off by Wesleyan's Vincent Lytle on the next drive and the Cardinals burned more than four minutes off the clock before junior Michael Spencer (Mansfield, Texas) intercepted a Fitzsimons pass in the end zone for a touchback with 1:08 to go in the contest.

The next Bates drive featured a 43-yard pass from Perry to sophomore Quinn Carver (Boston) and a 32-yard strike from Perry to senior Matthew Holmes (Carpinteria, Calif.), but another Wesleyan sack caused the Bobcats to fail to add a tally before the end of the contest.

Wesleyan sacked Bates quarterbacks five times for 40 yards and held the Bobcats to just 6-13 on third downs. Meanwhile, the Cardinals converted 10 of 14 third-down chances and only allowed their QB to get sacked once.

The Cardinals gained 351 yards of total offense to 225 for Bates. The Bobcats managed just 32 net rushing yards.

Perry completed 11-22 passes for 188 yards and an interception. Lynskey ran the ball 17 times for 51 yards and a touchdown. Holmes caught four passes for 68 yards and Carver added three catches for 54 yards. 

Four Wesleyan players combined for 97 net rushing yards as both teams were stout against the run. Fitzsimons completed 20-31 passes, with Newcomb catching eight balls for a game-high 116 yards. Kelly added five catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Chris DeMartino had a monster day on defense for the visitors, tallying a team-high six total tackles, with 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. 

Junior captain Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) led all players with 11 tackles, including four solo stops. He also broke up a pass. Junior Ryan Kimmel (Jeannette, Pa.) recorded a sack for Bates. 

The Bobcats return to action next Saturday when they host Colby (1-2) at 7 p.m. as part of Back to Bates weekend.