Volume CXXXIII, Number 8 November 2, 2001 f

Wesleyan hands football 41-31 loss
SEAN WALKER
STAFF WRITER

In a game that wasn't nearly as close in the second half as the score might indicate, the Bowdoin Polar Bears were defeated for the second straight week at the hands of Wesleyan, 41-31.

Justin Hardison '03. (Colin LeCroy, Bowdoin Orient)

During the game, standout Cardinals receiver George Thompson treated a large homecoming crowd to several acrobatic catches. Thompson, whom head coach Dave Caputi called "as good a wideout as the NESCAC has seen in the past ten years," caught eight passes for 135 yards and two touchdown passes.

Wesleyan's passing game, led by Thompson and quarterback Brennan Carney, who completed 25 of 36 passes for 341 yards, was complemented by a strong game from running back Young Douglas. Douglas, who rushed for 119 yards on 22 carries, also scored three touchdowns.

There were a few bright spots on Bowdoin's offensive end last Saturday. The line appears to have become more of a cohesive unit in every game, providing junior quarterback Justin Hardison with more passing time in the pocket.

Hardison was able to use this protection against Wesleyan, passing for 207 yards and one touchdown. Senior running back Mike Taylor rushed for 101 yards and put a touchdown on the board for the Bears.

Performances from Hardison, Taylor, and the rest of the offense were not enough. "We lost our focus against Wesleyan," Caputi said. "We're a young team, but that's no excuse."

The Cardinals were able to muster 496 yards against a lackluster Bowdoin defense, which gave up over 40 points for the second game in a row.
Sophomore Jeb Boudreau led the Polar Bear defense once again with nine tackles. Captain Leroy Gaines had seven tackles and a sack, and fellow senior Jim Chalmers tackled a season-high eight opponents.

The defense looks to regain the power it displayed three weeks ago against Hamilton, but has been depleted by injury. "We're trying to regain our health this week while we prepare for Bates this weekend," Caputi said.

This week's practices have included a change in some of the squad's defensive formations. "The past two weeks, we faced teams that basically went to the air from the first to last snap," Gaines said. "This week, we expect Bates to come at us with a strong ground game."

The players' enthusiasm has shown through in practice this week, despite the disappointing Homecoming loss last weekend. The Colby-Bates-Bowdoin championship series opens this weekend when the Polar Bears travel to Lewiston to meet the Bobcats.

Bates (0-6) lost the opening game of the CBB series to Colby last weekend, 42-0.

Caputi is hoping that the team will come with the enthusiasm necessary to win during the first leg of the CBB series.

"We have to be emotionally interested in the game," he said.

For Taylor and the rest of the seniors, this is will be the last time they get a shot at their CBB rivals. While the first six games of the season are important to the players, winning the CBB championship would be more than enough to eliminate the sting of a 1-5 start.

"These next two are by far the most exciting games of the season," Gaines said. "Coach Caputi is constantly reminding us that the CBB title is like a built-in playoff for us.

"This can be seen by the intensity at practice this week, because those games are so steeped in tradition...it's hard not to feel excited for them," he continued.