Courtesy of Steve McLaughlin

Nothing was stopping quarterback Soren Hummel ’29 and the Polar Bear offense last Saturday against Wesleyan University. Passing for 211 yards and three touchdowns, Hummel led the football team to its first win of the season, beating the Cardinals 25–17.

Hummel started playing football in fifth grade, first flag and later progressing to tackle, but it was his multi-sport ability that eventually drew him to the quarterback position.

“I’ve always played baseball, so I could throw it a little bit,” Hummel said. “I enjoyed throwing and the thinking aspect of it.”

Following his first year of high school, Hummel knew he wanted to pursue collegiate football. During the college recruiting process, Hummel fell in love with the coaches and the familial aspect of the Bowdoin program.

“The coaches here, I really liked them when I came and talked to them. I thought that they were very knowledgeable about the game…, super excited to be out there and with the team,” Hummel said. “I thought that that was something special and something I didn’t get at any other schools I was talking to.”

On the Monday before the Wesleyan game, Hummel was informed that he would be starting. Even though it was his first collegiate start, and an away game at that, Hummel was excited for the opportunity to lead the offense.

“The most we’d scored was 17 in a game, and our defense had been playing well all year, so we really wanted to come in and put a game together that was more complete,” Hummel said. “And that was my main focus, was just to take the steps forward and really prove to the offense that we could be what we haven’t shown.”

After the Polar Bear defense forced Wesleyan to punt on its first possession, the offense started its first drive from its 22-yard line. In a four-wide receiver set, Hummel found converted-quarterback Michael Wolfendale ’27, who had slipped behind the Cardinals’ defense for a 78-yard touchdown pass and run.

“We had talked all week about running that specific play. The first read was the tight end, but he was covered up, and [Wolfendale] was wide open, and then he just took it from there,” Hummel said. “It was a great catch, and it’s a great way to start a game. Just getting up and seeing him taking off down the field was a pretty cool feeling.”

The Polar Bears’ first drive of the second half started at its 23-yard line, and Hummel led the team down the field with a nice string of intermediate passes. Nineteen yards out from the endzone, Hummel found Conrad Babka ’29 running towards the front right pylon for the touchdown, putting the team up 14–10.

After the touchdown, the Polar Bear special teams unit forced a muffed punt, giving the offense possession from the Wesleyan ten-yard line. On third and goal, Hummel threw a back-shoulder ball to Cole Daignaught ’29 for another passing touchdown. Hummel noted how the team has been enhanced by its diverse composition of class years.

“We’re a really young team on both sides of the ball, so it’s really cool to have so many first years and sophomores making plays but also having our upper classmen set the tone for us early,” Hummel said. “It was super cool that [Daignaught] and [Babka] got the touchdowns because they’ve really been doing a lot for our team.”

With his performance against Wesleyan, Hummel now leads the team in all passer stats, including rating, touchdowns and total yards. Hummel will start again tomorrow versus Trinity College, and he will likely be the main quarterback for the remainder of the Polar Bears’ season. With enthusiasm and vigor from the win, Hummel and the football team hope to build on their success.

“We still have three games left. One against an opponent that’s at the top of the league [Trinity], and then the [Colby-Bates-Bowdoin] games, and all three of these games are really [important],” Hummel said. “So just continuing the build on last week…, we’re trying to take it one week at a time, and put together the best game we can. I feel excited.