Courtesy of Brian Beard

Last Saturday, the football team (2–6) defeated Bates College (2–6) by a score of 17–9 on its Senior Day at Whittier Field. The victory marks the Polar Bears’ third straight win over Bates, the longest streak since the team won five in a row between 2004 and 2008.

The first quarter saw very little offense from both teams. The Bobcats had a 61-yard drive ending in a missed field goal, keeping the score at 0–0 through the first 15 minutes of play. The Polar Bear offense got going in a drive that started at the end of the first quarter and carried into the second. On a third down at the Bates 48-yard line, quarterback Soren Hummel ’29 zipped a ball to Ty Connolly ’27, who eluded his defender and ran all the way to the endzone for the touchdown, putting the Polar Bears up 7-0.

Captain tight end Jake Gaylord ’26 mentioned how the offense used its playmakers to attack the Bates cornerbacks.

“We knew that there was gonna be some one-on-one opportunities, and we’re gonna put our playmakers, like [Connolly], in a position to break tackles,” Gaylord said. “He was able to do that, so that was super cool to see.”

Two possessions later, the offense was driving again when Jude Baker ’29 ran past the defense, and Hummel found him for the 32-yard touchdown pass and run.

“On the second touchdown, I took two people, and [Baker] ran over the linebacker untouched,” Gaylord said. “It worked out where he just caught a great ball over the middle and then ran it to the endzone.”

Both defenses made great plays in the third quarter, with each team stalling out on its respective drive attempts. After a Caden Perry ’27 30-yard field goal early into the fourth quarter, the Polar Bears were up 17–0.

Head Coach BJ Hammer was very pleased with the offense’s performance and will continue to work with the team to take advantage of scoring opportunities this coming week.

“[We had] good prep all week [and a] good game plan that got executed really well. I thought the offense created some big explosive plays,” Hammer said. “And we got to convert better in the red zone. We had two opportunities with very short fields and only came away with three points, so that’s the only real operational thing we can really work on.”

The Bobcats scored their first points of the day later in the fourth quarter with a touchdown but missed the extra point and added a field goal a couple drives later. Bates attempted an onside kick, but Gaylord jumped on the ball, allowing the Polar Bears to kneel out the clock.

“I think the biggest thing was even though they might have scored, there was never any doubt on the sideline. This whole year we’ve seen a lot of just great resilience throughout every game,” Gaylord said. “My assignment was to catch the onside kick, and I tried to keep it pretty simple and not really think too much about it.”

While the scoring was concentrated in the second quarter, the offense had many great plays throughout the contest. Hummel threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Connolly rushed 16 times for 42 yards and caught four passes for 55 yards, including the opening touchdown. Baker had six catches for 60 yards and the second touchdown of the afternoon.

The Polar Bear defense has been a significant contributor all season. The unit held Bates scoreless for over 55 minutes and didn’t allow any Bobcat first downs in the third quarter.

Defensive lineman Angus Leary ’28 had seven tackles, 2.5 sacks and a massive forced fumble in the second quarter. Leary was awarded NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance, the second Polar Bear to be named one this season.

Leary described his approach to his pass rushes, noting all the little adjustments he makes per snap.

“I try to look at how the tackle is pass setting, if he’s going far back, if he’s leaning into me or whatnot,” Leary said. “And then from there, I make a counter move and hopefully try to get around him and get to the QB as fast as possible.”

Zach Taylor ’28 added to Leary’s performance with seven tackles of his own, 1.5 for loss and a recovery of Leary’s forced fumble. Ferris Collins ’28 and KJ Beckett ’27 each had an interception to stall the Bobcat offense as well.

Hammer was proud of the defense’s ability to shut down Bates’ scoring for the majority of the game.

“I thought we physically beat up the Bates offensive line, and that’s what you need,” Hammer said. “But what I was really proud of against an option team, our guys were very sound. And that’s a good sign for our guys as a disciplined football team. They tackled well in space and didn’t give up any explosive runs.”

The win sets up a championship game in Waterville tomorrow at 5 p.m., when the Polar Bears look to regain the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) trophy after a one year hiatus.

“I think winning the CBB is everything at this point of the season, and it was one of my goals coming into the season,” Gaylord said. “Winning the CBB would mean everything to me, and it would be a successful season in my book.”