HARTFORD, Conn. - The Trinity College Bantams scored three touchdowns in the first 11 minutes en route to a 45-7 victory over the visiting Bates College Bobcats in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football action this afternoon on Jessee/Miller Field at Tansill Muldoon Stadium.  Trinity, ranked No. 1 in New England, remains perfect this season at 5-0, while the Bobcats drop to 1-4.  The Bantams visit Colby next Saturday at 1 p.m. and Bates plays Williams at home the same day at the same time.

On the first drive of the game, Trinity senior captain LB Brian Casagrande (Madison, Conn.) and classmate Noah Glantz (Scarsdale, N.Y.) helped the home team force a 3-and-out with a tackle for loss and sophomore Enzi Dabner-Teacher (Tarrytown, N.Y.) got a hand on the Bates punt to give Trinity excellent field position on its first offensive possession.  Opening on the Bobcat 41-yard line, Trinity quickly marched down the field and scored the game's first touchdown on an eight-yard pass from junior QB Spencer Fetter (Winter Park, Fla.) to senior captain WR Jonathan Girard (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) 1:39 into the game.  Trinity tacked on two more scores on a six-yard run by sophomore RB William Kirby (Darien, Conn.) and a 19-yard pass from Fetter to senior captain WR DeVante Reid (London, England) to lead, 21-0, with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

The Bantam dominance continued in the second quarter, resulting in a 31-0 halftime lead thanks to a 22-yard field goal by rookie Matt Jumes (Franklin, Mass.) and an 11-yard touchdown reception by Girard.  Kirby added a pair of touchdown runs early in the third quarter to make the score, 45-0.  Bates took advantage of a Trinity fumble to score its lone touchdown on a 28-yard scoring strike from Brendan Costa to Christian Olivieri.  George Hawkins recovered the fumble for the Bobcats.  Neither team's second unit scored in the fourth frame.

Fetter finished 20-for-25 passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns, while Costa was 15-for-28 for 195 yards with one touchdown and one interception.  Kirby rushed for 66 yards and three scores and sophomore Cal Messina (Pittsfield, Mass.) added 45 yards on the ground for the Bantams.  Garrett Evans paced Bates with 32 rushing yards.  Girard led all receivers with 108 yards on seven grabs, while Reid added six catches for 65 yards.  Sean Bryant caught seven passes for 81 yards for Bates.  Defensively, Trinity was paced by senior DB Aidan Kennedy (East Longmeadow, Mass.) who notched three tackles, a sack, and an interception, while Casagrande had four tackles and a sack.  Bates LB Tony Hooks totaled a game-high 14 tackles, while Anthony Costa added six tackles and a pass breakup, and Nolan Potter contributed four tackles and a sack.