Hartford, Conn. – First-year RB Max Chipouras (Longmeadow, Mass.) rushed for 155 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 28-7 victory over the visiting Bowdoin College Polar Bears in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football action this afternoon on Jessee/Miller Field.  Trinity, ranked No. 4 in New England, improves to 5-0 to stay tied with Amherst at the top of the NESCAC Standings, while the Polar Bears drop to 1-4 with their 17th loss in a row against the Bantams.  The 2015 NCAA Division III Champion Trinity men's ice hockey team received their championship rings in a ceremony at halftime as part of the Family Weekend festivities on the Trinity campus.

After a scoreless first quarter, Trinity scored twice in a six-minute span in the second stanza, as Chipouras reached paydirt on runs of 24 and six yards.  The Polar Bears missed a 38-yard field goal after a Trinity fumble on a punt return that was recovered by Bowdoin rookie T.J. Collins (Mills, Mass.) early in the second quarter, and Trinity sophomore QB Sonny Puzzo (West Caldwell, N.J.) found classmate Bryan Vieira (Hull, Mass.) for a 36-yard pass that highlighted an 80-yard Bantam drive and ended with Chipouras' 24-yard scoring scamper moments later.  Bowdoin first-year QB Noah Nelson (Falmouth, Maine) was picked off by Bantam senior LB John Murtagh (Wayland, Mass.) to stop the ensuing Polar Bear drive at the Trinity 39-yard line.  Murtagh returned the interception 24 yards to the 50-yard line, and five running plays plus a 21-yard Puzzo pass to junior WR Darrien Myers (North Andover, Mass.) resulted in a Trinity touchdown and a 14-0 lead for the home team with 5:55 left before intermission.  Bowdoin advanced to the Trinity 27-yard line with 1:26 left in the second quarter, but Trinity senior captain LB Frank Leyva (Pinecrest, Fla.) and junior S Patrick Dorsey (Lynn, Mass.) stopped Polar Bear junior Tyler Grant RB Stratham, N.H.) for no gain on 4th-and-1 to end the threat.

Watch Sonny Puzzo's long TD pass to Bryan Vieira

Trinity took advantage of a short Bowdoin punt to score its third touchdown early in the second half on a 28-yard run by Chipouras, while a 21-yard run by junior Nick Gaynor (West Hartford, Conn.) and a 32-yard pass from Puzzo to Vieira set Gaynor up for a four-yard scoring scamper midway through the third quarter.  Bowdoin drove 62 yards on its next drive, including 30  yards on a pair of Bantam pass interference penalties, but Trinity junior S Spencer Donahue (Naperville, Ill.) intercepted Nelson in the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the seven-yard line and added a 43-yard return after the pick.  Bowdoin got on the board with 48 seconds left to play on a 37-yard pass from Nelson to sophomore TE Bryan Porter (Norwalk, Conn.).

Trinity outgained the Polar Bears, 432-220, as Puzzo added 170 passing yards on just 10 completions to Trinity's 239 yards on the ground.  Vieira finished with a game-high 115 receiving yards on five catches.  Bowdoin rookie Andrew Tichy (Fiskdale, Mass.) rushed 19 times for a team-high 44 yards and sophomore WR Nick Vailas (Boston, Mass.) added five catches for 55 yards for the visitors.  Defensively, Trinity held Bowdoin to 1.9 yards per carry on the ground for a total of 63 yards and forced incompletions on 24 of Bowdoin's 39 pass attempts.  Senior DE Lyle Baker (Andover, Mass.) and junior DL Jameson Law (Brewster, Mass.) paced the Bantams with six tackles apiece, while Baker added a sack and Law had one tackle for loss.  Junior CB Yosa Nosameifan (Boston, Mass.) broke up three passes for Trinity.  Senior LB Branden Morin (Raynham, Mass.) led all tacklers with 12 and added a tackle for loss and a pass breakup, while senior DB Jibrail Coy (Concord, Mass.) finished with seven tackles and two tackles for loss for the Polar Bears.

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