The Bates football attempted something on Saturday that it had failed to do in its previous 20 tries: beat the Jumbos. This year was no
different.
On a day that saw Trinity's 31-game win streak halted at the hands of the Williams Ephs, another impressive streak was kept intact, as the Jumbos defeated the upset-minded Bobcats, 21-12, in front of a packed Homecoming crowd. With the win, the Jumbos (2-0) extend a winning streak over Bates that dates back to 1986.
Sophomore David Halas caught his second and third touchdowns of the young season from senior quarterback Matt Russo, including a fourth-quarter 21-yard connection in the corner of the end zone that put the game out of reach.
The sophomore from Southbury, Conn., is quickly making a case as one of the league's newest talents. After just two games, Halas has six catches for 117 yards, and three touchdowns.
"Our early-season success we can owe to our off-season workouts," said Halas. "[Russo and the wide receivers] are comfortable with each other and know how to read each other on the field."
Early on, the Bobcats seemed determined to change their fortunes against the Jumbos. After recovering a bad snap at the Tufts 28 and a pass interference call that set up a first-and-goal from the Tufts one-yard line, and junior quarterback Brandon Colon connected with senior Adam Poplaski for a touchdown.
In the beginning of the second quarter, Colon brought his team close to another score with a 43-yard pass to freshmen Matt Gregg, bringing the ball to the Tufts 11-yard line. But senior Jamie Walker's touchdown run was called back on a holding penalty, and the Bobcats settled instead for a 27-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Zach Demma.
After their 31-6 drubbing by Amherst in Week 1, the Bobcats came out ready to play in this week's affair.
"We got beaten pretty badly last week," said Dylan Macnamara, Bates' All-NESCAC wide receiver and senior captain. "We just wanted to come out and have a good showing early, which we did."
After falling behind 9-0, the Jumbos overcame their flat start with a pair of touchdowns before halftime. The first was keyed by a 24-yard pass from Russo to Halas that set up a first-and-goal from the Bates two-yard line. Junior fullback Matt Gaylord then rumbled in to the end zone, getting the Jumbos on the board.
An interception by senior quad-captain Brett Holm kept the momentum going as Tufts looked to take its first lead of the game. A few plays later, it was Russo connecting with Halas for a five-yard score to give the Jumbos a 14-9 lead.
"We got the momentum going in our way," sophomore left guard Dave Libardoni said. "It was important that we established our offense going into the half."
Another Bobcat field goal before the break brought the score to 14-12, but in the second half, the Bates offense was stymied by a once again resilient Tufts defensive effort. As usual, the vaunted side was led by its All-New England defensive end Chris Decembrele. The senior quad-captain had eight tackles on Saturday and came close to getting his first career interception, diving after a tipped Colon pass attempt.
"I really thought I had [the interception]," said Decembrele, who also had two pass break-ups on the day. "But the ref thought he saw it hit the ground. At the end of the day, I thought we battled tough and made some big plays."
The Jumbo defense succeeded in shutting down Macnamara, Bates' number one wide out. Macnamara, who caught a touchdown in last year's tilt against Tufts, was held to four catches and just 10 yards on the day.
"They did a great job of covering me all game," added Macnamara. "I was basically a non-factor."
The two teams exchanged punts for the duration of the third quarter as both sides waited to cash in on a mistake from the other.
That hiccup occurred in the fourth quarter, when Bates sophomore punter Chris Hertz was unable to handle a shaky snap. Tufts Junior Gary Heffernan pounced on the loose football, and Tufts took over deep in Bates territory.
"That was a huge momentum changer in the game," said Macnamara, who, like many other Bobcats before him, finishes 0-4 in his career against Tufts. "That gave them a very short field in a two-point game, which you absolutely can't do. It was definitely a game changer."That set up Russo's 21-yard strike to Halas, that in the end, clinched the 21st straight victory for Tufts over Bates.
