LEWISTON — Bates College coach Matt Coyne expected to face a tough defense in Saturday’s NESCAC football matchup against Amherst at Garcelon Field.
The Bobcats weren’t going to be given chances, and they needed to capitalize on those they created. Two such chances were derailed by interceptions in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Amherst’s Gabe dos Santos capitalized on his opportunity, and his big second half helped the Mammoths defeat the Bobcats 17-7.
“Bottom line is, we made a couple mistakes, and we didn’t make enough plays, and that’s simply it,” Coyle said.
Dos Santos, a senior backup receiver, entered the second half without any receptions in his career. Most of his athletic success at Amherst has been as a jumper for the track and field team.
He had been waiting for his chance on the football field, and it finally came Saturday.
“I got my shot in the second half, and then I just had to make the most of it,” dos Santos said. “I was telling myself when they said I was going to get a shot this game, I’m like, ‘You know, I’m going to get the opportunity, this only comes one time, so I got to capitalize.’”
He did.
Early in the third quarter, on a third-and-6, quarterback Jack Cox completed a 12-yard pass to dos Santos that moved the ball to the Bates 41. On the next play, Cox and dos Santos connected for a 41-yard scoring strike that pushed the Mammoths’ lead to 10-0.
“I just saw the safety attach to me,” dos Santos said, “and then, honestly, I think speed kills, so he couldn’t keep up with me. So I just beat him around the back, and Cox threw a great ball. Caught it and scored.”
Dos Santos’ touchdown was one of only a few big plays allowed by the Bates defense, which relies heavily on young players — four of their top six tacklers Saturday are underclassmen (and three of those are freshmen).
Amherst (2-2) forced Bates (4-0) to punt and got the ball back with 11:22 left in the third quarter.
The Bobcats defense almost got off the field but was called for pass interference on a third-down play. That allowed the Mammoths to continue to drive down the field, and as they did they drained more than seven minutes off the clock before Cox scored on a QB sneak on fourth-and-goal from the Bates 1. After the kick by Matthew Kelley, the lead was up to 17-0 with 4:13 left.
Dos Santos caught two more passes on that drive and finished with four receptions for 66 yards.
“I just got my shot, and they kept the hot man in,” he said.
Bates finally changed the zero by its name on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. The drive was aided by a roughing the passer penalty on Amherst on third-and-long, and Colton Bosselait completed 12- and 10-yard passes to Steven Guerrette and a 11-yard pass to Sergio Beltran to move the ball down to the Amherst 8-yard line.
On third-and-goal, Bosselait looked to Guerrette, who has 16 receptions the past two weeks, but his throw to the end zone deflected off the tight end. But running back Ryan Lynskey was nearby, and he hauled in the loose ball for an 8-yard touchdown catch. Marcos Ruiz’s extra point cut Amherst’s advantage to 17-7 with 8:06 remaining in the game.
“That was fortunate. You know, the ball bounced our way, so we got lucky there a bit,” Coyle said. “It was a good drive by the offense there, and it was fortunate to get that in there and give us a chance, you know, with eight minutes left, two scores down.”
Bates’ defense forced another punt, but the offense’s next drive was a four-and-out turnover on downs that gave the ball back to the Mammoths at the Bates 39 with 3:18 left.
Amherst ran most of the time off the clock before giving the ball back to Bates with 38 seconds to play.
The Mammoths were coming off a 49-0 loss to Trinity that dos Santos said served as motivation while they prepared to face Bates.
“All week — especially after last week, not the outcome we wanted, so we just came with a different attitude, a different focus, just really locking in,” dos Santos said.
PICKED OFF
The Bobcats’ two long drives of the first half ended with interceptions — by Luke Harmon and Kevin Agnew — on the Amherst side of the field.
Bates also fumbled the ball away on a run by Guerrette that was recovered by Agnew at the Bobcats’ 33.
The Mammoths changed quarterbacks, from freshman John Collier, who started and played the first three drives, to Cox, a junior. Amherst gained only 15 yards on eight plays, but that was enough to set up Kelley for a 35-yard field goal that put Amherst up 3-0.
Each team was limited to five first downs in the opening half, during which Amherst outgained Bates 120 yards to 107.
“Amherst always has a great defense. I think if you look at it historically across the league, they’re almost one and two in points allowed a game,” Coyle said. “So we knew it was going to be tough. They’re very well-coached. They have very good players over there. We just didn’t make enough plays in that area today.”
Bosselait finished 18-for-35 passings for 184 yards. Guerrette followed up last week’s nine-catch, two-touchdown performance against Colby with seven catches for a game-high 85 yards receiving. Beltran also caught seven throws and gained 76 yards.
The Bobcats managed only 37 net yards rushing.
Amherst tallied 310 yards of offense to Bates’ 221. Cox completed 17 passes for 167 yards. Sam Gerber had a team-high six catches for 26 yards, Carter Jung five for 32 yards and Owen Gaydos had four receptions for 35 yards.
The Bobcats, still seeking their first victory, play the second round of the CBB rivalry series next week against Bowdoin (2-1) in Brunswick.
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