In the first three games of last season, the Polar Bears’ starting quarterback Grant White ’14 threw 436 yards and 2 touchdowns at a 62.7 completion percentage. In the fourth game against NESCAC rival Hamilton, White injured his shoulder, leaving the reins of the team to backup Mac Caputi ’15.
Despite his relative inexperience, Caputi led the Polar Bears to a 4-4 overall finish, the team’s best record since 2008.
Along the way, Bowdoin retained the Colby-Bowdoin-Bates trophy for the sixth straight season and even made an appearance on ESPN’s Top 10 for two interceptions against Tufts.
The Polar Bears’ key offensive weapons last year included running back Zach Donnarumma ’14 and receiver Pat Noone ’11, who together accounted for 1071 of the team’s 1837 yards of total offensive yards while scoring a combined five touchdowns.
Sean O’Malley ’13 has assumed Noone’s mantle as the lead receiver. He will be looking to improve on his explosive 8.2 yards per reception average last year, but surely recognizes the difficulty of duplicating Noone’s record-breaking senior year. He looks to work alongside Cam Bishop ’13, Nick Goldin ’13, and sophomores David Black and Ethan Drigotas to round out the teams’ receiving core.
As Donnarumma, Caputi, and White return this season healthier, stronger, and more experienced, fans can expect more players to share the offensive load.
Depth proves to be a theme on the defensive side of the ball as well. The defense features a returning linebacker core of juniors Griffin Cardew and Joey Cleary, and no defensive position lacks a key contributor from last season. Beau Breton ’12, a defensive back, says he considers this experience their greatest asset.
“We were going through a new defense last year. We don’t have that adjustment period this season because a lot has carried over,” he said.
“Everyone is taking a bigger leadership role including individual commitment to the film room and understanding the concepts.”
With talent and leadership on both sides of the ball, it comes as no surprise that captain and offensive lineman Martin Robledo ‘13 is confident in the team’s prospects.
“There’s no reason we shouldn’t be in contention for a league title,” he said.
The expectations for an appearance on ESPN, however, are not as high as the season goals. O’Malley noted that, “sometimes you need more luck than skill.”