Bates College

LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates football showed fight in the second half Saturday at Garcelon Field, but fell 31-13 to Middlebury despite a big game from junior wide receiver Jeff Vidou.

Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Panthers (2-3 NESCAC) broke through early in the second with an 80-yard touchdown pass on the opening play of the quarter. Middlebury added a second touchdown and a field goal to lead 17-0 at the half.

The Bobcats nearly answered before the break. Sophomore quarterback Jack Gilmore (North Arlington, N.J.) moved the offense from the Bates 25 to the Middlebury 18 in the final two minutes, finding Vidou (Cornish, N.H.) for a 29-yard gain on third down and junior Quinn Carver (Boston) on a pair of first-down completions, but the drive eventually ended on an interception.

Bates responded to another Middlebury score late in the third. The Bobcats drove 80 yards in eight plays, with Gilmore's 11-yard run and a 15-yard roughing penalty setting up sophomore Connor Hennessey's (Newton, Mass.) 43-yard touchdown pass to Vidou with 1:55 left in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Bates put together its best drive of the day. Gilmore led a 12-play, 77-yard march that included a 15-yard scramble, a pair of Carver receptions for 11 and 5 yards, and a 12-yard completion to Vidou. Gilmore capped it with an 8-yard touchdown pass to senior Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.), bringing the game to 24-13 with 4:25 remaining.

Gilmore finished with 237 passing yards and added 57 yards on the ground. Vidou led all receivers with a career-high 178 yards and also returned a kickoff 40 yards in the fourth quarter. Hennessey, Carver, Gleason, and Foley all contributed in the passing game, and senior Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) handled punting and kicking duties.

Defensively, the Bobcats got key stops from seniors Michael Spencer (Mansfield, Texas), Jack Morrison (Manchester, Vt.), Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.), and sophomore Liam Keaney (Swampscott, Mass.), who each broke up passes, while senior Camden Zambrowicz (Sandown, N.H.) pressured the quarterback in the fourth quarter.

Bates (0-6 NESCAC) travels to Colby next Saturday, October 31 at 7 p.m.