“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” It may be a cliché, but that designation doesn’t make it any less true. Bates’ football team certainly found themselves following Yogi Berra’s words of wisdom as they stormed back to score twice in the fourth quarter and steal a Homecoming victory from Tufts.
Despite the result, it was special to see the Jumbo students and alumni out in full force.
“It’s always fun to play in front of your alumni and home crowd. Night games are always the best. The crowd was great,” senior linebacker Jeff Xu wrote in a message to the Daily.
Amid the tailgating and afternoon celebrations, the Jumbos set out to defeat the Bobcats for a fourth straight time. The Jumbos wasted no time getting on the board, taking their opening drive to the house after just four plays. The four-play, 72-yard march was punctuated by a 42-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Hudson Weidman to sophomore wide receiver Keller Rogers.
“It’s always good to have a fast start,” Xu wrote. “I loved seeing our offense play this weekend.”
After three straight drives resulting in punts, Tufts’ junior quarterback Justin Keller had a pass picked off by Bates defensive back Samuel Christopher. The turnover set in motion Bates’ first touchdown drive of the game. Spearheaded by running back Ryan Lynskey, the Bobcats tied the game when wide receiver Matthew Holmes hauled in a 9-yard pass from quarterback Jack Perry. After getting the ball back from a Jumbo three-and-out, Perry connected on a 36-yard completion to set the Bobcats up within the red zone before Lynskey powered his way into the end zone for the Bobcats’ second score of the game.
The Jumbos entered the second quarter of what looked to be a barn burner, trailing by a score and struggling to contain Lynskey. Still undeterred, on their first drive of the quarter, the Jumbos matriculated down the field, spurred on by a defensive pass interference call. Weidman found junior wide receiver Matt Rios in the end zone, with Rios reeling in an over-the-shoulder catch to tie the game at 14.
Regarding Weidman, Xu elaborated, “He is a great player and has worked very hard this off season.”
Things remained quiet until four minutes were remaining in the half, when Lynskey punched in his second score of the game. No. 4 powered over the Jumbo defensive line to gain four yards and cross the pylon. Not to be outdone, the Jumbos compiled a responding drive that featured seven rushing plays of their own, split between Weidman and junior running back Christian Shapiro. Their pounding of the rock paid off, as graduate student receiver Henry Fleckner snagged a 10-yard pass from Weidman while backpedaling, knotting the game at 21 as halftime commenced.
On their first drive of the second half, the Jumbos assembled another balanced drive, traveling 73 yards down the field into the Bobcats' end zone. The only completed pass of the drive was a six-yard launch to junior wide receiver Matt Greco to set up fourth-and-one. Shapiro converted the fourth down with a two-yard run, before gliding untouched into the end zone two plays later after Tufts faked out the Bates defense into thinking Weidman had kept the ball following the handoff. After two punts closed out the quarter, the Jumbos found themselves in the driving seat of a back-and-forth contest as crunch time approached.
The Jumbos’ defense appeared up to the task of halting the Bobcats on their quest for a comeback. Sophomore linebacker Ryan Horigan made a key tackle on Lynskey on a fourth-and-two play to force a turnover on downs. With just over 10 minutes remaining, the Jumbos appeared to be in control of the contest.
However, with five minutes remaining, a special teams play prompted the Jumbos’ undoing. Bates punter Parker Huynh-Benningfield launched a boot downfield, with Tufts sophomore returner Cameron Pineda calling for a fair catch. The ball clipped the foot of defensive back Ryan Saccu, allowing the Bobcats to recover what went into the books as a muffed punt. The Bobcats capitalized, with Lynskey scoring his third rushing touchdown of the evening on a two-yard rush. A missed extra point, however, meant that the Jumbos clung to a 28–27 advantage.
Nonetheless, the Bobcats regained possession after a Jumbo three-and-out and uncorked a seven-play drive, which saw Lynskey find the end zone again — this time on a 24-yard scramble — for his fourth rushing touchdown of the contest. Following a successful two-point conversion, the Bobcats led 35–28 with just under one minute to go.
“The triple option is a tough offense to go against and Lynskey is a hard runner,” Xu remarked.
Weidman and the Jumbos returned to the field ready to knot the match at 35, but their efforts were fruitless. After two quick completions to Shapiro and Fleckner, defensive back Major Spencer III intercepted a Weidman pass, all but sealing the game for the Bobcats.
In the end, Weidman finished with a solid 204 passing yards and 85 rushing yards, along with three passing touchdowns. The stars of the show however were Lynskey — who totaled 221 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns — and the Bobcat defense, which picked off Weidman twice.
Though the final result left much to be desired, the Jumbos can keep their heads high following an instant classic of a Homecoming game. They look to get back to .500 at 3–3 next Saturday in Clinton, N.Y., against Hamilton.
“Unfortunate that the game ended the way it did. We are working hard to come out better next week,” Xu concluded.
The photo story for the Homecoming game can be found here.
