A midseason record of 1-3 was not what the Polar Bears envisioned at the start of the 2010 campaign. They will, however, have a major opportunity to revive their season if they can upset Trinity tomorrow afternoon at Whittier Field.
"No one thought we were going to be here at this point," said captain Scott Roman '11. "This game is the turning point in what can still be a good season. We can play with any team in the league. At 2-3, we can still have a still have a winning record, which is something not too many Bowdoin teams have done in the past."
Facing an experienced Trinity squad that has veterans at all major positions, Bowdoin knows it has a difficult task on its hands.
"Trinity is a very good team," said head coach Dave Caputi. "They are a senior-laden team that knows how to use its weapons well. We will have to be aggressive on both offense and defense and we will have to work on the little things if we want to attack and stop them."
A fast start would be a big step toward pulling off an upset.
"At 3-1, Trinity is the favorite on paper," said quarterback RJ Shea '12. "But, if we are able to get out ahead early, we can feed off this momentum. If we dig ourselves in a hole, it will be difficult to come back against a veteran [Trinity] team. However, if we find momentum, we can be a scary team."
An early hole is where the Polar Bears have found themselves all season, and last Saturday at Hamilton was no exception.
After driving down to the Hamilton 12 on its opening drive, the Polar Bears lost yet another fumble in the red zone. Bowdoin was never able to fully recover as Hamilton turned Bowdoin's mistakes into a commanding 21-0 first-half lead.
"We made too many mistakes and had too many self-inflicted wounds," said Caputi. "We had opportunities to stop them, but we didn't capitalize. I felt like we battled back well in some situations of adversity, but unfortunately we created our own adversity."
Down 21-3 at halftime, Bowdoin did its best to stage a rally. After a botched punt attempt at the Bowdoin 41 and a subsequent block by Brendan Garner '11, the Polar Bears had the ball at the Hamilton 24.
After a 10-play drive during which Bowdoin converted two fourth-down attempts, first year running back Zach Donnarumma capped the drive with a one-yard run and the PAT by Billy Donahue '11 left the score at 21-10 with 6:08 left in the third quarter.
The Polar Bears had a chance to close the gap at the end of the third, but Donahue's 31-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
Bowdoin's comeback attempt effectively ended the next drive when Hamilton's James Stanell raced down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown, extending the Hamilton lead to 28-10 after the PAT early in the final quarter. The Polar Bears reached Hamilton territory only once in their final three drives.
On the day, Shea finished 11 for 22 passing for 114 yards, and his two interceptions were turned into 10 Hamilton points. Pat Noone '12 was Bowdoin's leading receiver with eight catches for 54 yards, while Donnarumma finished with 70 yards and the only Bowdoin touchdown.
On defense, linebacker Ian Vieira '12 recorded a game-high 13 tackles, including a sack and Kevin O'Connor '11 added two additional sacks.
"I think our guys were disappointed with their performance," said Caputi. "I would not say they are discouraged though. We're playing a lot of young players and they've been making mistakes. However, they can also learn from these mistakes as well."
It will be cutting down on such mistakes that the Polar Bears know will make the biggest difference on the field tomorrow.
"Trinity is the most athletic team in the league," said Shea. "They've always been historically good. We absolutely cannot turn the ball over, which has been our Achilles' heel on Saturdays. If we fix this, Trinity will definitely be in for a highly competitive game."
Bowdoin will host Trinity tomorrow. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.