Returning home after two tough losses on the road, the Bowdoin Football Team will look to improve to .500 on the season when it takes the field in a Homecoming clash against Hamilton College tomorrow.
Bowdoin (1-2) hopes to jump-start its offense against a Hamilton (1-2) squad that is extremely tough on defense.
The Continentals are allowing opponents an average of only 55 yards on the ground per game so far this season.
Head Coach Dave Caputi said the Polar Bears need to play well if they are to notch a win in front of Bowdoin alumni.
"We have to make sure we continue to be productive," Caputi said. "They like to blitz so we'll have to protect the quarterback, throw on time, and make some big plays. As a team, we're starting to mature and that's an important part of development."
Last weekend the Polar Bears suffered a tough 21-13 defeat at Tufts.
The Bowdoin offense finished with 352 yards of total offense, outgaining Tufts by 147 yards, but were undone by turning the ball over four times.
Caputi praised the efforts of the offense. "Offensively, we went three-and-out only once and in 10 of our 14 drives we were able to gain more than one first down," Caputi said. "We did some good things, but we didn't finish some drives and do some of the things we needed to do to win."
After allowing two scores in the first 20 minutes of the game, the Bowdoin defensive unit locked in and shut down the Jumbos for the rest of the game.
"We came out of the gates a little slow," said Caputi, "but this was one of the better defensive performances we've had since I've been here."
The Polar Bears fought valiantly despite the loss. Down 21-7 with 42 seconds to play in the first half, sophomore quarterback Oliver Kell led the team on a 68-yard drive to score on a 31-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Justin Starr before halftime.
Kell finished 21-42 for 234 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
Sophomore Nick Tom led the team with six catches for 77 yards, and junior Laurence Duggan led Bowdoin with 43 yards rushing.
Sophomore Kevin Zikaras and junior Damon Hall-Jones each notched eight tackles in the game, including two for losses.
Before Fall Break the Polar Bears suffered another road loss, this time at the hands of Amherst, with a 30-6 score. After a 34-yard punt return by sophomore Matt Moran, Kell led the team on its only scoring drive of the afternoon. Kell completed the drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Nick Tomaino.
Bowdoin will play Hamilton at noon on Saturday at Whittier Field.