Sophomore Colton Bosselait broke the school record for touchdowns responsible for in a season and the Bates football team finished the year in style with a 19-14 win at Hamilton Saturday afternoon.
With his three touchdown passes on Saturday, Bosselait (Westminster, Mass.) finishes the 2022 campaign with 21 touchdowns accounted for: 17 passing, four rushing. That total surpasses the program record of 19 formerly held by Chuck Laurie '79 (2 rush, 17 pass), who set the mark back in 1978. Bosselait's 17 passing touchdowns ties him with Laurie and Jim Murphy '69 for the most passing touchdowns in one season in Bates history. His 1,817 passing yards on the year breaks a record set by Brendan Costa '22 last season, when Costa passed for a then-record 1,680 yards.
Bosselait completed 19 of 26 passes for 260 yards to lead Bates (3-6) to a third straight win over Hamilton (2-7), with all three of his touchdown passes going to seniors, as the class of 2023 finished their careers on a high note.
Senior Mohamed Diawara (Philadelphia, Pa.) caught six passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Jackson Hayes (San Marino, Calif.) caught six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Senior captain Tony Hooks (New Rochelle, N.Y.) capped off his remarkable career at Bates with a game-high 10 total tackles, including eight solo stops. He finishes the season with 102 total tackles, most in the NESCAC.
Bates held a 19-14 lead with 16 seconds remaining in regulation. The Continentals had the ball at their own 47, with hopes of a last-second game-winning touchdown pass in their heads. But senior Thomas Formus (Ridgefield, Conn.) clinched the victory for Bates, intercepting a Matt Banbury pass along the near sideline at the Bates 34. Formus finished the game with five total tackles, including a sack.
Hamilton got on the board first in Saturday's contest, getting great field position when the Bobcats couldn't get a punt off on the opening drive of the game. Chase White tackled the Bates punter at the Bobcat 35 and it took just two plays for Hamilton to take the lead, with Banbury rushing it in from 11 yards out. Evan Reed's extra point made it 7-0 in favor of the hosts with 12:06 left in the first quarter.
Down 7-0 after one, the Bobcats struck back early in the second quarter. Bosselait found Hayes wide open on a go route, as the Bobcats took advantage of a blown coverage by the Continentals for a 33-yard touchdown. The extra point got blocked so Bates still trailed by one with 12:38 remaining until halftime.
Hamilton answered right away, going 80 yards in 10 plays, capped off by a two-yard touchdown pass from Banbury to Mark Howrigan, giving the Continentals a 14-6 advantage with 8:05 to go in the second quarter.
The teams traded punts, but a big sack by Formus pinned Hamilton at their own 10. A 30-yard punt gave Bates great field position. And it only took one play, a 41-yard strike from Bosselait to Diawara to trim the deficit to two. The play was perfectly executed, with Bosselait faking a handoff to the motion man, then faking another handoff to the tight end, while hiding the football from the defense. Before the Continentals knew what hit them, Diawara was wide open and Bosselait hit him in stride over the top.
The two-point conversion failed and the Bobcats found themselves down 14-12 at halftime.
Hamilton got the ball to start the third, and drove to the Bates 38. Facing a fourth and short, the Continentals went for it, but junior Johnny Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) broke up the pass, giving the ball back to Bates on downs.
The Bobcats marched down the field, converting a fourth and one at the Hamilton 27 when Bosselait found Diawara for seven yards to the Hamilton 20. Then on first and five at the Hamilton 15, Bosselait connected with Diawara again for the latter's team-leading seventh touchdown catch of the season. Junior Archie Green Jr. (Upland, Calif.) made the extra point and Bates never trailed again.
In fact, neither team scored after that, with both defenses recording shutouts in the fourth quarter.
Not that Hamilton didn't have any chances to rally. Early in the fourth quarter, Banbury appeared to have a 19-yard rushing touchdown, but he only made it 18 yards before junior Jarrin Sato (Honolulu, Hawaii) forced a fumble at the goal line. The ball went out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.
Later, on fourth and six at the 17, Banbury ran for five yards before senior Jack Ryan (Henderson, Nev.) forced him out of bounds, giving the ball back to Bates.
The Bobcats had a chance to add to their lead late in the fourth quarter, but Hamilton blocked a short field goal attempt, setting up one final drive for the home team that ended with the clinching Formus interception.
With the victory, Bates evens the all-time series with Hamilton at 22 wins apiece.
The Bobcats also claimed a share of the CBB series title on Saturday, with Bowdoin defeating Colby in NESCAC action. Bates, Colby, and Bowdoin all finish 1-1 this year in CBB series play.
Original source can be found here
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