Brunswick, Maine - The visiting Trinity College Bantam football
team collected five turnovers and racked up over 500 yards of total
offense in a 40-16 victory of the Bowdoin College Polar Bears in
New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football
action this afternoon. The Bantams remain the NESCAC's lone
unbeaten at 5-0 this season while the Polar Bears drop their second
straight game and fall to 1-4 on the year.
The day began auspiciously for the Polar Bears, but turned
downhill quickly. Bowdoin won the opening coin toss and chose to
receive the opening kickoff. Returner Nick Tom broke through to
midfield, but was separated from the ball by Harryl Smith
(Ridgewood, N.J.) and Trinity's Sam Viering
(Ponte Verde Beach, Fla.) recovered the fumble at the
Bowdoin 48. It took Trinity nine plays to score, with quarterback
Eric McGrath (Lynn, Mass.) scampering the
last five yards to give the visitors a 6-0 lead after a missed PAT.
Bowdoin answered, but a 10-play, 54-yard drive was stymied
inside the Trinity 5, and the Polar Bears settled for a 19-yard
field goal from Nolan McNair to trim the lead to 6-3 midway through
the opening quarter.
The Bantams scored the next 34 points, however, racking up 522
yards of total offense in the process. Trinity quickly replied with
a pair of scores before the end of the opening quarter - first on a
23-yard strike from McGrath to Michael Galligan (Shoreham,
N.Y.) and then on a 20-yard pass from McGrath to
Connor Wells (Haddam, Conn.). McGrath would finish
with 208 yards passing before being replaced in the third quarter.
Oliver Starnes (Ledgewood, N.J.) gave
Trinity a 30-3 lead at halftime with a one-yard scoring plunge
right before the break, and added another touchdown run from 11
yards out in the third quarter. Adam Cox (Garden City,
N.Y.) nailed a pair of field goals to extend the
Bantams' lead to 40-3 early in the fourth quarter.
Oliver Kell scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 15-yard run
and James Lathrop added a late touchdown as well for the Polar
Bears. Kell finished 17-29 for 238 yards while Tim Kelleher caught
five balls for 89 yards to lead the Bowdoin offense. Chris Martin
was Bowdoin's leading tackler with 11 stops.
Trinity's Ben Sherry (Wayland,
Mass.) sparked the Bantams with a pair of fake-punt
rushes on fourth downs that accounted for 72 total yards. Starnes
led the Trinity tailbacks with 97 yards on the ground. Galligan
finished with 102 yards receiving while Harryl Smith had four
tackles, a forced fumble and an interception for Trinity.
box score
