After a 0-2 start to the season, the Polar Bears rolled past Hamilton to get their second consecutive victory on Saturday. However, in the process of doing so, starting quarterback Grant White '14 broke his collarbone, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.
Against the top defense in the league, the Polar Bears only threw the ball 12 times, opting instead for 46 rushing attempts.
The focus on running the ball, according to captain Pat Noone '12, allowed the team to "manage the time ...and be physical." Bowdoin is third in the league in time of possession, averaging 31:15 per game.
Defensive linemen Peter Troubh '12 and Dan Evans '12 led a vicious Bowdoin pass rush that sacked Hamilton's quarterback Jordan Eck six times. With 12 sacks thus far this season, Bowdoin is on pace to set a new record.
The exceptional defense held Hamilton to a school record -34 rushing yards. The secondary defense—despite giving up 226 yards of pass offense—came up with the big stops when it mattered.
"The sacks are big momentum shifters, they really fire you up as a unit...but you also have to give credit to the secondary and the linebackers who had good coverage and made sure guys weren't open," said captain Ian Vieira '12.
The Continentals only converted on three of 13 third downs and were zero of three on fourth downs.
But going forward for the Polar Bears, there remains a big question mark at quarterback.
Midway through the second quarter, White scrambled and after breezing past a couple of Hamilton players, he was brought down in a potentially illegal tackle, breaking his collarbone in the process. Mac Caputi '15, son of Head Coach Dave Caputi, entered the game as his replacement. With White out for the rest of the season due to his injury, and second string quarterback Thomas Romero '14 still recovering from a broken hand, the first year will be calling plays for the foreseeable future.
For White, it was a disappointing end to what was developing into a promising full first year as a starter.
"We put in a lot of work to get ready for the season and you only get eight games, but football's a sport where injuries happen, so you can play even less than that. I'm definitely disappointed because we were starting to move the ball very well," said White. "[But] I'm still going to be around and help Mac anyway I can."
Mac Caputi declined to comment.
Asked what it was like to have his son in as quarterback, Coach Caputi, said, "I had no choice." Mac Caputi, who went 4-10 for 66 yards against Hamilton, struggled early on with his accuracy throwing an interception on his first pass of the game and not completing a pass until the third quarter. However, he remained poised while leading the Polar Bears down the field and threw a long 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael English '14.
"I thought he displayed a lot of confidence, he handled the situation maturely and he didn't panic," said Noone when asked of Mac Caputi's play, adding, "I think that he led the team and he's going to give us a chance in every game and that's all you can ask for."
This is not the situation the Polar Bears envisioned in the preseason when White and Romero competed for the starting position. While there is hope that Romero could be back this season, currently Mac Caputi is the starting quarterback and the team has every confidence in him.
Tomorrow's game against Trinity however presents a whole new challenge. At 4-0 this season and undefeated in their last 42 games at home, the Polar Bears face the number one ranked defense in the league that averages a miniscule 5.8 points per game allowed as well as only 193 yard of total offense per game. While Mac Caputi would normally be able to rely on the ground game and utilize play action for the pass offense, this may not work on a ground defense that has only allowed 127 yards all season. Vieira described it as very tough defense that "likes to play smashmouth ball," while "trying to run the ball down your throat" as the top-ranked run offense in NESCAC at nearly 228 yards per game.
The Polar Bears face a tough schedule ahead with three of their last four opponents Trinity, Wesleyan and Bates. While this team has shown that it has the potential to be one of the top teams in the league, a win tomorrow against Trinity would go a long way towards fulfilling that potential.