The Bates football team turned in their best performance of the young season to date in a heartbreaking loss to Tufts last week, and this Saturday they hope to get in the win column by bringing a similar high level of play to Williamstown, Mass. when they take on the Williams College Ephs at 1 p.m. on Farley-Lamb Field.
The Ephs like to pound the rock, as they average 159 rushing yards per game, second-most in the NESCAC. By contrast, they only average 64.7 passing yards per game, as they lost their starting quarterback to a season-ending injury in their first game of the season. Williams running back Jack Fabiano leads the conference in rushing at 89 yards per game. The Bobcats will need to be stout against the run, as they currently allow 186 rushing yards per game, the most in the NESCAC.
Sophomore linebacker
Liam Keaney (Swampscott, Mass.) has been a star so far for Bates. His 1.5 sacks per game ranks first in the conference and is tied for sixth in all of NCAA Division III this season. Keaney's 2.17 tackles for loss per game is good for a tie for ninth in the country to date.
The Bobcats had by far their most productive game on offense last week, with sophomore quarterback
Jack Gilmore (North Arlington, N.J.) connecting with six different receivers on his way to a career-high 241 passing yards and an impressive 68.4% completion percentage. Meanwhile, first-year running back
Ryan Foley (Foxborough, Mass.) impressed with 103 yards on the ground. He and the "hogs" up front have a challenge this week, as Williams allows just 71.7 rushing yards per game, third-fewest in the conference. The Bobcats boast the sixth-leading receiver in the NESCAC, with sophomore
Riley Provencher (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) averaging 55.7 receiving yards per game.
THE PARTICULARS:
What: Bates (0-3) @ Williams (2-1)
When: Saturday, Oct. 10, 1 p.m.
Where: Farley-Lamb Field (Williamstown, Mass.)
Live Coverage: Video | Stats
All-Time Series: Williams leads 31-6
Previous Meeting: Williams 37, Bates 30 (Oct. 18, 2025 in Lewiston, Maine)
WILLIAMS LAST WEEK:
Williams was unable to get much going on offense as host Trinity (3-0) blanked the Ephs on Saturday afternoon at Jessee/Miller Field, 45-0. The Bantam defense held Williams (2-1) to just 110 yards of offense and five first downs, plus returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns as Trinity won this showdown for the fifth straight year.
The Ephs entered the game averaging more than 200 rushing yards per game, but they were up against the top-ranked rushing defense and it showed as they mustered just 62 yards on the ground. The NESCAC's leading rusher, first-year Jack Fabiano, was limited to 18 yards on only six carries, while his classmate Aiden Clark led Williams with 20 yards on seven attempts.
Trinity, meanwhile, featured a balanced attack with quarterback Jaxon Carroll completing 10-of-16 throws for 219 yards and a touchdown, and Tate Hoffmeister and Josh Woodford combining for 149 yards on 29 carries with the former finding his way into the end zone twice.
On its second possession of the game, Trinity got on the board on a 14-yard touchdown run by Hoffmeister on a 4th-and-1 play, breaking the initial contact in the backfield before finding open space up the middle to the end zone.
Late in the first quarter, Williams looked to have something going on offense, converting a pair of third downs to move the ball just shy of midfield only to have a 3rd-and-1 pass on the first play of the second quarter get picked off at the Bantam 33. Trinity took advantage of the turnover and boosted its lead to 14-0 on a 19-yard toss to Patrick McCaffrey.
In the final five minutes the Bantams tacked on 17 more points on a 47-yard field goal, a 57-yard pick-six and a 2-yard dive to enjoy a 31-0 at the intermission.
In the second half, Williams took the kickoff and got a first down before being stymied on a 4th-and-1 play. Two plays later, Hoffmeister broke free for a 42-yard scoring scamper.
The best scoring opportunity for the Ephs came when first-year Finn Ryan blocked a Trinity punt that gave Williams the ball in Bantam territory for the only time all game. But the Bantam defense continued to stonewall the Ephs, breaking up a fourth-down pass to turn the ball over on downs.
A Trinity 31-yard pick-six with 8:05 to play concluded the scoring.
BATES LAST WEEK:
Bates football erased a 14-point deficit and had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but a blocked field goal sealed a heart-breaking 22-21 loss Saturday against Tufts.
Sophomore Jack Gilmore (North Arlington, N.J.) directed the Bates offense for most of the afternoon, finishing with a long list of explosive plays: completions of 51, 40, 36, 28 and 20 yards, plus an 11-yard touchdown run.
First-year Ryan Foley (Foxborough, Mass.) was Bates' workhorse on the ground, carrying the ball 23 times for 103 yards while piling up chunks of yardage on both scoring drives, including runs of 16, 9 and 8 yards mixed in with the game-tying three-yard touchdown. Sophomore Riley Provencher (Old Orchard Beach, Maine), junior Jeff Vidou (Cornish, N.H.), sophomore Cole Piaseczynski (Rowley, Mass.) and senior Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.) each hauled in a 20-plus-yard catch from Gilmore at some point in the game
The Bates defense forced two takeaways, as interceptions by junior Tomas Diaz (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and senior Michael Spencer (Mansfield, Texas) led the defensive effort. Sophomore Liam Keaney (Swampscott, Mass.) turned in a monster performance, sacking the quarterback twice and notching a game-high eight total tackles, with seven solo stops.
Gilmore led a 13-play drive that stalled on fourth-and-1 at the Tufts 1-yard line, but Diaz's interception two plays later set up Gilmore's 11-yard touchdown run, and senior Marcos Ruiz's (Haskell, N.J.) PAT cut it to 14-7. Spencer then picked off Tufts deep in Bates territory to send the game to the break still down just one score.
Bates opened the third quarter with an 8-play, 75-yard drive jump-started by a 51-yard Gilmore-to-Provencher strike and finished off by Foley with his touchdown run to tie the game at 14. After the Bates defense forced a punt, Gilmore and the offense struck again, going 76 yards in six plays and capping it with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Piaseczynski. Ruiz's PAT made it 21-14 Bates, the Bobcats' first lead of the game.
From there the game swung repeatedly. A Gilmore pass was intercepted deep in Tufts territory, but Bates' defense held, and the Bobcats traded field position with Tufts for much of the fourth quarter before Tufts finally broke through on a touchdown catch with 55 seconds left, then converted a two-point pass to go up 22-21. Gilmore wasn't finished, firing a 40-yard completion to Gleason and a 13-yard strike to Piaseczynski to get Bates into field-goal range, and Foley added a run to set up a potential game-winner. Ruiz's 33-yard attempt was blocked with no time remaining, sealing the result.
BATES AND WILLIAMS' LAST MEETING:
The Bates football team got off to a fast start but the visiting Williams College Ephs stormed back in the second half to defeat the Bobcats by a score of 37-30 last season at Garcelon Field.
Bates led 23-7 at halftime only to see Williams score 30 unanswered points to start the second half. Zach Falls caught three touchdown passes for the visitors, and a Jon Oris 92-yard touchdown run with 5:25 left in the game put the Ephs up by 14 points, flipping the script on Bates.
The game could not have started any better for the Bobcats, as they received the opening kick and went 75 yards on 13 plays. Quinn Carver (Boston) caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Jack Perry (Newbury, Mass.) and Bates led 6-0. The extra point got blocked, but the defense allowed just one first down before forcing Williams to punt on their opening drive.
Bates started their next drive at their own 26 and running back Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) ripped off a 24-yard run to midfield. The drive stalled, but for the second straight week the Bobcats made a big play on Special Teams, as Williams returner George Papadopoulos fumbled the punt from Parker Huynh-Benningfield (Austin, Texas) and Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.) recovered it for Bates.
On the first play from scrimmage after the muffed punt, the Bobcats executed a perfect reverse and Carver ran the ball into the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown, making the score 13-0 after Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point.
The Bobcats led 13-0 after one quarter, but the Ephs got on the board early in the second. Facing a 4th and 1 at their own 39, the Ephs got a 29-yard run from Oris for a first down. Then quarterback Drew Renzella found Henry Machnik for 13 yards to the Bates 22. An 11-yard run from Justice McGrail moved the ball into the red zone and 3rd and 7 from the eight-yard line, Renzella connected with Falls for the touchdown, trimming the Bates lead to 13-7 after the Leonardo Maiuolo extra point.
Later in the quarter, Perry found Lynskey for a 17-yard gain and the Bobcats took advantage of a couple pass interference calls, setting up Ruiz for a 28-yard field goal. He split the uprights and Bates led 16-7 with 1:51 left until halftime.
The Ephs went three-and-out and a problem with snap caused Williams punter Leonardo Maiuolo to narrowly avoid catastrophe by running away from multiple Bobcat defenders before he could get a punt off. It only went 13 yards and Bates was in business at the Williams 32 with 52 seconds left.
Perry found Jeff Vidou for a seven-yard gain and on 3rd and 3 the senior quarterback took matters into his own hands with a 13-yard rush to the Williams 12. After two straight incomplete passes, Perry was able to connect with Gleason on a fade route in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown with just three seconds remaining until halftime. Ruiz made the PAT to put the Bobcats up 23-7.
But Williams wasted no time flipping the game on its head coming out of the locker room after halftime. First, Renzella found Falls for a 76-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter. The two-point conversion pass to Oris was good and the Bates lead was cut in half. The Bobcats went three-and-out and the Ephs struck again. This time, it was a 46-yard touchdown pass from Riley O'Connell to Falls. A Renzella pass to Sam Jaffe tied the game as the Ephs once again were able to get two points following their touchdown.
The 16-point halftime lead was gone and the game stood tied at 23 with 10:04 left in the third quarter.
Late in the third, the Bobcats moved the ball into Williams territory, but a Bates fumble gave it back to the Ephs, and the visitors took advantage, taking the lead for good early in the fourth quarter when Renzella found Henry Machnik for a 36-yard touchdown.
Both offenses stalled until Oris took a handoff and ran it off left tackle down the far sideline, taking it 92 yards to the house with 5:25 remaining in regulation.
Now down by two scores, the Bobcats did make it interesting late. Perry found Gleason for gains of 14 and 35 yards, moving the ball to the Williams 38. Then he connected with Gleason again, this time for a 38-yard touchdown, and all of a sudden it was a 37-30 game with 3:52 left after the Ruiz extra point.
Williams went three-and-out, and the Bobcats got the ball back with 2:46 left in regulation. They advanced as far as their own 48 before Brandt Bickford made the game-clinching interception for the visitors, picking off Perry with 1:19 left.
