Coming off an impressive all-around performance against the Hamilton Continentals during homecoming weekend, the football team travels to the unfriendly confines of Trinity College to face an undefeated Bantam team on Saturday.
The Polar Bears are hoping to do what no football team has done in seven years—win at Trinity College.
"Trinity is a huge game," senior captain Matt Leotti said. "We've got to go out and have a great week of practice, and just bring it on game day."
In front of an excited crowd filled with Bowdoin alums, the Polar Bears showcased a dominant defense and a solid offense en route to a 21-7 victory over Hamilton College.
The first quarter was characterized by strong defensive play and sloppy offensive execution.
Bowdoin's best chance at scoring came on a short field goal attempt, but the Polar Bears were denied when a Hamilton defender managed to get a hand on junior Billy Donahue's kick.
Bowdoin eventually broke through on a 14-yard fade to the left side of the end zone from quarterback Oliver Kell '10 to first-year receiver Jon Gren to cap off a 56-yard drive.
After a pair of drives stalled for Bowdoin, Hamilton regained possession close to midfield, looking to tie the game before halftime.
The Hamilton quarterback rolled out to his left and fired a pass to a receiver near the sidelines, but linebacker Ian Vieira '12 jumped in front and intercepted the pass, giving the Polar Bears the ball on the Hamilton 49 yard line.
Bowdoin's offense made quick work of the Hamilton defense, as Kell led the Polar Bear offense down the field, completing five of seven passes.
After making the interception to give his team the ball, Vieira ended the Polar Bears' drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to put Bowdoin up 14-0.
Hamilton quickly responded with a score of its own on a 24-yard corner route to the back of the end zone, making the score 14-7.
The late first half offensive fireworks continued as Kell completed a 51-yard pass to receiver Justin Starr '10 to give Bowdoin first and goal at the Continental's nine-yard line.
However, the Bowdoin offense would get no closer, settling for a field goal attempt that would be blocked, leaving the Polar Bears just a single score ahead of the Continentals as the teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime.
The Bowdoin defense continued its dominant play from the first half, limiting the Continentals to just one first down in the third quarter and all but shutting down Hamilton's running game.
"We expected [Hamilton] to run the ball so we focused on taking that away and forcing them to beat us through the air," said Leotti. "Fortunately our defense was up to the challenge."
Bowdoin added to its lead with another Kell touchdown pass, this time a 6-yard completion to Starr.
The Polar Bear's two-touchdown advantage proved to be more than enough for the stingy Polar Bear defense, which frustrated the Hamilton offensive attack all game long.
"We played as a team, I think if we do that consistently, good things will happen," Leotti said.
Although the Polar Bear offense struggled to find its rhythm, Kell finished the day with an impressive 272 yards passing with two touchdowns.
Kell shrugged off his final stat line, saying, "I don't think this was one of my better games, I missed some open receivers on plays that could've made a big impact on the game. Starr could have had an even better day had I been able to find him on a few plays he got open on."
Big-play threat Pat Noone '12, racked up a quiet nine catches with over 91 yards receiving, falling one catch and 9 yards short of his fourth straight 10-catch, 100 yard performance.
As the Polar Bears prepare for their showdown with NESCAC powerhouse, Trinity, an air of quiet self-belief fills the team's locker room.
"They've built up such a strong tradition of winning at Trinity that their team expects to win every game," said offensive lineman Joe Smith '12.
"We're still growing as a program, but at the same time, we could very easily be 4-0 right now. A win this weekend would go a long way in giving us that same kind of confidence," he said.