In the past two weeks, the football team won their first two games of the season, beating out Tufts 13-10 on October 5, and topping Hamilton 27-21 over Homecoming weekend last Saturday. Kicker Andrew Murowchick ’16 was honored as NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week after both games. He is tied for first in the conference with six field goals, and is yet to miss a kick or extra point attempt this season (10-10). Running back Zach Donnarumma ’14 was named NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week after the Tufts victory, in which he ran for 136 yards on 29 carries.
On October 5, the Polar Bears travelled to Somerville to take on Tufts in their third game of the season. The Jumbos were first on the scoreboard with a 30-yard field goal less than 11 minutes into the second quarter. The Polar Bears retaliated with a drive of their own, resulting in a 30-yard field goal from Murowchick to tie the game at 3-3. With halftime approaching, Bowdoin constructed a 10-play, 73-yard scoring drive ending in a one-yard rushing touchdown by Donnarumma, going up 10-3 just before the end of the half.
In the middle of the third quarter, Bowdoin increased the scoring gap to 13-3 when the team added a 29-yard field goal by Murowchick.
Tufts made a surge late in the game by putting together a nine-play 69-yard scoring drive that brought the score to 13-10 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The game ended when TJ Wickstrom ’14 intercepted a pass at the Bowdoin goal line with 35 seconds left on the clock quarter to seal Bowdoin’s 13-10 victory.
“We are a pretty gritty and tough team and I think that really showed when the defense came up with a huge stop in the last minute,” said quarterback Mac Caputi ’15.
The Polar Bears got their second win of the season with a 27-21 victory over Hamilton this past Saturday at Whittier Field. Bowdoin started the game strongly, receiving the opening kickoff and reaching the Continentals’ end-zone just four plays later when Caputi found Daniel Barone ’16 on the right sideline.
The Polar Bears scored again later in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead when Donnarumma broke loose from the left tackle and rushed into the end zone. Midway through the second quarter, Bowdoin increased its lead to 21-0 after Hamilton fumbled off of a Bowdoin punt. Caputi capitalized on Hamilton’s mistake with a rollout to Michael English ’14, making the score 21-0.
Hamilton was able to score before the end of the half, gaining 61 yards on five plays to make it 21-7 at half time. After Murowchick tallied a 20-yard field goal early in the third quarter and brought the score to 24-7, Hamilton posted an impressive 81-yard drive culminating in a 13-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 24-14.
The Continentals continued their comeback with a 76-yard drive early in the fourth that cut Bowdoin’s lead to 24-21 with eight minutes left on the clock. But the Polar Bears quashed Hamilton’s momentum by driving down the field to set up for a 26-yard field goal by Murowchick before sealing the victory with an interception by Jon Fraser ’15 on Hamilton’s ensuing drive.
“Our offense was incredible against Hamilton,” said Wickstrom. “We ran the ball with authority and made big plays that sparked the whole team.”
“[Head Coach Dave Caputi] has reiterated from the beginning of the year that our goal should be to give great effort and play with great intensity for four quarters,” said Murowchick. “I think with that mindset we can compete with any team in the league.”
Caputi himself is not as optimistic about the team’s performances; he wants to focus on correcting the mistakes made in the past few games in order to come out strong against Trinity this weekend.
“The effort has been impressive, but we have to tighten up some other things,” he said. “On Saturday, we got into the red zone, and we scored a few field goals when we should’ve been scoring touchdowns. We lost some discipline on defense, and our kids played well but we gave up some big plays that hurt us.”
The Polar Bears hope to add another victory to their 2-2 record this coming weekend when they travel to Trinity to face the Bantams at 12:30 on Saturday.