WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Bates football team turned in a strong performance but ultimately fell three points short in a 24-21 loss at Williams Saturday afternoon in NESCAC action.
The Bobcats (1-5) trailed by 10 at halftime but rallied to cut the deficit to three in the fourth quarter. The Ephs (4-2) got the stop they needed at the end of the game to hold on for the victory.
A Mario Fischetti three-yard touchdown run put the Ephs up 24-14 with 10:01 remaining in regulation. Bates answered with a 14-play, 75-yard drive. On second and 16 from their own 30, senior captain quarterback Colton Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) found junior wide receiver Matthew Holmes (Carpinteria, Calif.) for a 25-yard gain and a first down to the Williams 45. Then, with Bates looking at a second and 15 from the Williams 39, an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Ephs moved the ball to the Williams 24. Bosselait hit sophomore Jermaine Anson (Manchester, N.H.) for a gain of six yards. Then the QB took matters into his own hands with a five-yard rush to the Williams 13.
The Bobcats appeared headed in the wrong direction until Bosselait connected with senior captain Steven Guerrette (Bow, N.H.) on third and 13 from the Williams 16 for the latter's first touchdown catch of the season, trimming the deficit to 24-21 with 3:58 left in regulation after sophomore Marcos Ruiz (Haskell, N.J.) made the extra point.
Williams picked up one first down on their next drive before senior Kyle Hamilton (Hartford, Vt.), senior captain Matt Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.), and sophomore Jack Morrison (Manchester Center, Vt.) all made big tackles to force the Ephs to punt.
The Bobcats got the ball back at their own 41 with 1:50 remaining, with a chance to win the game or potentially force overtime. But an incomplete pass and a sack set them back to their own 36. Bosselait was able to find senior Drew Sachs (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) for an eight-yard gain to the 43, setting up fourth and eight. Unfortunately, a dropped pass on fourth down gave the ball back to the Ephs, who ran out the clock.
Bosselait finished the game 10-21 for 115 yards and two touchdowns. He did not throw any interceptions but he did get sacked three times. Sophomore Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) ran the ball 20 times for a career-high 126 yards, averaging a robust 6.3 yards per carry. Junior Sergio Beltran (East Palo Alto, Calif.) added eight carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Guerrette paced the receivers with two catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Ryan Gleason (Millbury, Mass.) added three catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. Juneau paced Bates with 10 solo tackles, while sophomore linebacker Ryan Rozich (Cromwell, Conn) added nine solo tackles and two tackles for loss. Senior safety Johnny Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in six total tackles (five solo) with two tackles for loss.
The Bobcats held the top rushing team in the NESCAC to just 3.4 yards per carry, as Williams quarterback Owen McHugh paced the Ephs in passing and rushing. He completed 21-32 passes for 141 yards and added 14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Fischetti and Jon Oris also scored rushing touchdowns for Williams. Jack Kennedy added eight catches for 64 yards to pace the Williams receivers. Holden Gering, Andrew Kreakie, and Zach Barnes notched seven tackles apiece for the Williams defense. Gering also broke up two passes.
Bates recorded 313 yards of total offense while holding Williams to 265 yards on the day. The Bobcats grabbed the lead first, with the defense stopping Williams on a fourth down pass attempt at the Bates 30 to start the game. The offense went 70 yards on 10 plays, with Beltran running the ball into the end zone from eight yards out to put Bates up 7-0 with 5:18 left in the first quarter after the Ruiz extra point.
The teams traded punts for the next few possessions before Williams was able to go on a seven-play, 48-yard drive, to tie the game. A big pass interference call against Bates got the ball to the Bobcat six. And on second and goal, Oris punched it in, tying the game at seven after the Ivan Shuran extra point with 8:55 left until halftime.
The Bobcats went three-and-out, and a short punt set the Ephs up with great field position at the Bates 45. An unnecessary roughness penalty cost the Bobcats this time, moving the ball down to the 11. McHugh ran it in from there to put Williams ahead for good.
Up by seven, Williams got three key points as time expired in the second quarter, as Shuran drilled a 47-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-7.
Bates got the ball first to start the second, but an eight-play drive ended when the Bobcats got stuffed on fourth down at their own 43. The defense stepped up though, forcing a three-and-out.
Then Lynskey showed off his electric play-making ability, bursting through the line for a 61-yard run to the Williams 26. Bates picked up another first down via runs from Anson and junior Adam Steinberg (Westborough, Mass.) before Bosselait found Gleason for a 14-yard touchdown, trimming the deficit to 17-14 with 8:25 left in the third quarter.
Neither team scored again until the opening drive of the fourth quarter, as the Ephs went back up by 10 and held on from there.
Bates is back in action next Saturday when the Bobcats host Middlebury at 1 p.m.
Bates football falls just short in 24-21 loss at Williams
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241019_b7z2.xml
2024
Bates
21
Williams
24
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bates (1-5) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Williams (4-2) | 0 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
Oct 19, 2024