Tomorrow at 1 p.m., the Polar Bears have the chance to start anew at Whittier Field as they take on defending NESCAC champion Amherst. 
Last Saturday, the football team lost  its season opener to a potent Middlebury offense 42-18 while simultaneously losing starting quarterback Grant White ’14.
A unexpected late hit in the first half knocked White to the ground and resulted in a concussion. He was sidelined for the game and will not play against Amherst this weekend. 
On Bowdoin’s opening possession, a pass attempt by White was intercepted and returned to the nine-yard line. A couple plays later, Panther quarterback McCallum Foote found an open receiver for a quick 7-0 lead. 
Reflecting on the game, Head Coach Dave Caputi pointed towards several early interceptions as one of the offense’s first-week mistakes.
“We gave them the ball in fourth- down territory. We gave them 21 points. And then in some of the other drives, we lost sight of the ball and had coverage lapses,” said Caputi.  
The game didn’t truly spark to life until the Polar Bears were against the wall. With three minutes left in the first quarter, a delay of game penalty knocked the team back to their own seven yard-line. he refused to let this start plague the offense. Over the next four minutes, White led a charge downfield showcasing his dual-threat talents, accounting for 60 of the team’s 72 yards—38 on the ground and 22 in the air. Sophomore David Black was on the receiving end for all of White’s passes during this drive. Jimmy Garvey ’14 capped off the drive as his 27-yard kick sailed through the uprights. 
The Polar Bears stopped the Panthers’ counter-attack in only two minutes, but this victory was short-lived. In their ensuing possession, White was knocked out of the game. 
Dissapointed by the loss of his starting quarterback, Caputi said he remains confident that the offense, led by Thomas Romero ’14, can still run smoothly. 
In Middlebury’s next possession, Foote wove a 24-yard touchdown pass through Bowdoin’s defense, extending their lead to 14-3. 
Even though he seemed rattled by the defense in his first series, Romero looked comfortable in his second go-around as he led a 77-yard drive on only seven plays. He found Nick Goldin ’13 for 40 yards and capped the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Black. 
Although the Bowdoin team entered the half time locker room on a high note, they couldn’t surmount the 21-9 deficit in the second half. The Polar Bears only mustered two field goals and a touchdown against the Panthers. 
Running back Greg Pierce ’13 scored this touchdown, collecting 82 yards on 18 carries overall. According to Caputi, Pierce will  be key to the team’s ground game. With star running back Zach Donnarumma ’14 on the injured reserve list, Caputi understands the difficulty of losing both him and star receiver Sean O’Malley ‘13, but refuses to allow injuries to become excuses. 
“They have a certain physicality, hardness, and provide both a physical and emotional lift,” said Caputi. “When you take those guys away, that hurts us. Is it a reason we lost? No.”
With White now injured as well, Romero will start  tomorrow’s battle.
Amherst quarterback Max Lippe does not seem nearly as productive (12 of 18, 116 yards and 1 touchdown) as Middlebury’s Foote, who earned NESCAC Football Player of the Week  honors for his performance against Bowdoin. To exploit Lippe’s inexperience, the defense can hope to bring more pressure to the backfield than they did against Middlebury. 
In addition to applying pressure on Lippe, Caputi hopes the defensive line can stop runners earlier. Amherst’s running backs proved they are more than capable of exploiting a hesitant defense after picking up 376 yards on the ground in last weekend’s 38-14 win against Hamilton. 
Amherst’s powerful offense affords Bowdoin the opportunity to make a statement of defense. This will be another occasion for the once-supporting cast of Pierce, Romero, and Black to move into the spotlight and lead the Polar Bears forward.