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Volume CXXXIII, Number 4 |
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Football's perpetual optimism
SEAN WALKER
Staff Writer
A young Bowdoin football team discovered last Saturday that taking one
play off can be the difference between a win and a loss. From the line
of scrimmage, Middlebury's Bill Lazzaro broke through the Polar Bear defense
and sprinted 74 yards to the end zone in the game's first play. This play
proved to be pivotal, as the Panthers held a 7-0 lead into halftime.
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| Chris Sakelakos '02 in Saturday's opening game. (Colin LeCroy, Bowdoin Orient) |
"We're very frustrated. We feel we shot ourselves in the foot on
that first play," said co-captain Leroy Gaines '02. He echoed the
entire defense's frustration; a defense that played a superb game, with
the exception of one key breakdown.
The Bear's missed tackles on Lazzaro and a blocked punt led to two Panther
touchdowns, which would prove to be the margin of victory for Middlebury.
Junior quarterback Justin Hardison completed 19 of 32 passes for 129 yards.
After orchestrating an 11-play drive, Hardinson also scored Bowdoin's
lone touchdown on a quarterback sneak with 10:47 remaining in the game.
The Panthers finished the matchup atop a 21-7 score.
Game mistakes are often the product of youth. Middlebury's squad is comprised
of mainly upperclassmen, but the Polar Bear team is a much younger one
this season. At one point of the game, five of eleven Bowdoin defenders
were first years, an occurence virtually unheard of in NESCAC.
However, captain Gaines and Head Coach Dave Caputi indicated that the
mistakes made on Saturday cannot be attributed solely to youthful inexperience.
Both were impressed by the play of the team's first years. "They
made some first-year mistakes, but I was very pleased," Caputi said.
According to the head coach, offensive linemen Shaun Gagnon and Greg Barry,
along with defenders Jesse Demers and Jarrett Young, representing the
class of 2005, all had strong games.
Gaines echoed his coach's sentiment. "We asked a lot of the younger
players, and I thought they played great," he said. "I was impressed
by how they stepped it up on the field. We're going to depend on them
this year because of numbers."
Gaines plays next to Andrius Knasas '02 on the line, and said that he
was a bright spot in the Polar Bear defense on Saturday. "He had
a great game," Gaines stated. "He played well last season, but
I think he's going to have an amazing year and surprise people."
In talking about the matchup, Coach Caputi also singled out Knasas and
Gaines for their strong play against Middlebury.
Caputi had mixed feelings post-game, both pleased and disappointed with
the team's offensive execution. "We did a good job putting together
a 17-play drive, but we didn't convert," he said. "It was great
to be able to engineer the drive, but we need to capitalize."
Capitalizing upon scoring opportunities is a major Bear goal for tomorrow's
game. According to Gaines, the men's "game plan is to stay in shape
this week. Amherst has some great running backs, and possibly the best
wide receiver in the NESCAC. We'll have to play against our own fatigue
on defense."
"We're regrouping pretty well [from the Midd loss]," Caputi
said. "It's important for our kids to know how close we were to success,
and also how far away we put ourselves with some simple mistakes."
The Bears' next contest won't be an easy one, as the Lord Jeffs from
Amherst finished in a tie for the NESCAC championship last year with Middlebury
and Colby.
In order for Bowdoin to be victorious in tomorrow's hostile environment
away from home, the men will have to eliminate what every coach hates:
missed opportunities. As Caputi said, "We had opportunities to make
big plays and we didn't. [Middlebury] turned them into big plays, we didn't."
As the Polar Bears learned last weekend, every play can turn into a big play. Hopefully, their learning will aid their battle tomorrow at 1:30 P.M.