Coming off its dramatic first win of the season against Tufts, Bowdoin is looking for more of the same tomorrow afternoon at Hamilton. After two tough losses to Williams and Amherst to open the 2010 campaign, the Polar Bears now have a major opportunity to turn their season around. They simply cannot stress enough the importance of being 2-2 by the end of this weekend.
"Without question being 2-2 at the midpoint of the season is huge," said senior captain Scott Roman. "It's very important that we get back to .500 at this point in the season, especially since it'll show the resilience of the team and show what we are going to become. If we can be 2-2 going into next weekend, it'd be a new season."
Although Bowdoin will face a winless Hamilton squad, the Polar Bears know that they will still have a tough matchup on their hands.
"Hamilton is a gritty football team," said head coach Dave Caputi. "There's a little bit of unpredictability going into this game since they have a different set of strengths. We need to prepare ourselves for a whole new style and philosophy than what Tufts brought. They will present some problems for us, but we also want to present problems for them, too."
Quarterback RJ Shea '12 also agreed that Hamilton cannot be underestimated.
"Hamilton is a unique and unorthodox team in both their offensive and defensive schemes. For teams unfamiliar with their style, Hamilton can be a trap game."
To avoid any potential pitfalls in this key matchup, the Polar Bears know that they cannot merely count on momentum from last Saturday against Tufts to carry them to victory. There is still plenty Bowdoin can improve upon, particularly in the first quarter.
"We have to come out of the gate faster," said Caputi, stressing the importance of a quick start. "It showed when we didn't get off to a great start against Tufts. We need high level of energy and focus from the start of the game. It is these little things that can turn into bigger things later on."
Following this trend that has plagued them the entire season, the Polar Bears quickly fell behind in the game last Saturday against Tufts 12-0 in the first quarter.
In the opening drive of the game, Tufts marched 66 yards in nine plays, just 3:25 into the game to take a 6-0 lead after Bowdoin blocked the PAT. Soon afterward, the Jumbos doubled their lead with an interception off an errant pass from Shea to Paul Hinman '11 that was returned 48 yards for another quick touchdown. Bowdoin blocked the PAT again, keeping the score at 12-0.
The Polar Bears caught their first big break early in the second quarter when first year linebacker Griffen Cardew picked off his first pass of the day, setting them up at midfield. Six plays later, Shea found Dave Westhaver '12 down the right sideline for a 24-yard touchdown strike that cut Tufts' lead to 12-7.
Tufts responded with a 15-play, 67-yard drive that ended in a 28-yard field goal, but Bowdoin quickly answered with another score of its own. After a 20-yard dash up the middle, first year running back Zach Donnarumma capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Tufts led 15-13 going into the half after Bowdoin's PAT attempt was unsuccessful.
"It's been tough having to play from behind," said Roman. "However, we buckled down on defense, making the adjustments we needed. The interception by Griff Cardew gave us the boost we needed to know we could win this game. The offense capitalized by putting drives together and scoring. The entire time made timely plays."
The second half belonged to Bowdoin. After a bobbled snap on a punt attempt that gave the Polar Bears the ball at the Tufts 18, Donnarumma seized the lead for Bowdoin in the third quarter with a six-yard run that made the score 19-15 after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
Billy Donahue '11 added a key field goal to extend Bowdoin's lead to 22-15 early in the fourth.
In the ever important field position battle, punter Grant White '14 placed two punts deep in Tufts territory over the final quarter.
Cardew sealed the Bowdoin victory with his second interception with 1:21 left.
"This victory was an entire team effort," said Shea. "Offensively, defensively, and on special teams, last Saturday was the most complete team effort I've seen since I've been here. Everyone played a heck of a game."
With some much-needed confidence and a favorable schedule down the stretch, Bowdoin hopes last Saturday can become something even bigger, starting with tomorrow at Hamilton.
"This is a big chance to right the ship," said Shea. "After the Tufts win, we felt good about ourselves and we now have a chance for a winning season. But we need to move on and get focused on Hamilton. We can't reach 6-2 without first being 2-2."