By PAUL ZINN
Staff Writer
 

On the opening possession of the game, Bowdoin took the ball 65 yards. The drive was highlighted by the Polar Bears' air attack. After Hayes MacArthur put Bowdoin in Bates' territory with a 26 yard pass completion to Steve Lafond, he hit a wide open Steve Prinn for a 46 yard touchdown pass. One of the problems the Bobcats had all day was the lack of pressure that they put on MacArthur. In fact, the Bobcats did not get to MacArthur once, recording no sacks, and as a result, like this first possession, MacArthur was able to hit his wide receivers with pinpoint accuracy all afternoon. MacArthur was 13-19 on the afternoon, throwing for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns with one interception. As Frost Hubbard '00 put it, "We definitely did not get any pressure, whatsoever, on MacArthur." After the kickoff, the Bobcats went 3 and out and Bowdoin had the ball at their own 46, in excellent field position. After a 5 yard carry by Tim Lawson and an incomplete pass intended for Steve Lafond, the Polar Bears were faced with 3rd and 5, from the Bobcat 49. Once again, MacArthur came up big, hitting Steve Lafond for a 29 yard pass completion and a first down, putting the ball on the Bobcat 20. The Polar Bears would score four plays later, when Randy Petit, a defensive back, brought in mostly in short yardage situations, ran in from 3 yards out. The run capped a 54 yard drive and gave the Polar Bears a 140 lead with 9:19 left in the first quarter. On the first play from scrimmage, after the kickoff, Ryan Jarvis '00 coughed up the ball and Bowdoin recovered on the Bobcat 14 yard line. On the next play, Chris Houston ran the ball in and Bates trailed 21-0. The Bobcats looked stunned and faced a big 21-0 deficit with just over 6 minutes gone in the first quarter. Both teams got the ball once more in the first quarter. When Bates had it they picked up a first down, their first of the afternoon, but after that, the Bowdoin defense stopped Bates, and the Bobcats had to punt. The Polar Bears then moved the ball inside the Bobcat 30, but the drive stalled, and Alex Tatum '01 missed a 45 yard field goal.

When Bates got the ball back, they put together an excellent drive. One of the bright spots on the afternoon was Josh Howes '01 who, on the day, caught 6 Matt Bazirgan '00 passes for a total of 49 yards. On the third play of the drive, facing 3rd and 4 from their own 34, Bazirgan found Howes for a 17 yard completion and a first down in Bowdoin territory. One play later, Ryan Jarvis carried the ball 17 yards for a Bobcat first down to the Bowdoin 30. Then, on 2nd and 7 from the Bowdoin 15, Bazirgan found Alexi Whitney '00 for a 13 yard completion to the Bowdoin 2 yard line. Three plays later Bazirgan would take it himself, for the first Bobcat score of the afternoon. With plenty of time left the Bobcats looked like they could still make a run at the Polar Bears. However, on Bowdoin's fourth play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, MacArthur found Lafond for a 53 yard touchdown pass, giving Bowdoin a 21 point lead once again.

Bowdoin got the ball back again with 4:21 left in the first half. Once again, the Bowdoin air attack, led by Hayes MacArthur, would lead the Polar Bears to another score. A 44 yard pass to Steve Prinn brought the ball to the Bates 33 yard line. And then, on 3rd and 6 from the Bobcat 18 yard line, MacArthur found Lafond in the endzone for the 5th Polar Bear score of the day.

On Bates' first possession of the 2nd half, the Bobcats put together one of their best drives of the season. After two completions to Jason Coulie '00 and a 16 yard run by Jarvis, the Bobcats had the ball on the Bowdoin 41 yard line. Then, after an 11 yard completion to Howes, Bazirgan once again found Coulie for a 29 yard touchdown pass. This was one of the most impressive drives of the year, with the Bobcats moving the ball 75 yards in less than 3 three minutes. On their next possession, the Bowdoin offense moved the ball to the Bates 36 and after a 23 yard completion to Prinn, a Polar Bear score looked imminent. The Bobcat defense would not have it though, as Frost Hubbard '00 picked off a MacArthur pass at the Bates one yard line and returned it to the 17. The Bobcats could not move the ball, and after a Jason Place '01 punt, Bowdoin took over at the Bates 46 yard line. Bowdoin steadily moved the ball down the field, and 17 and 19 yard completions to Chris Day brought the ball to the Bobcat 11. Four plays later, Lawson took it in from 3 yards out, giving Bowdoin a 42-14 lead with less than a minute left, in the third quarter, and put the game well out of reach of the Bobcats. Bowdoin would add one more touchdown to complete a 49-14 victory over the Bates Bobcats.

The bright spots on the day were definitely the two well-executed drives by the Bobcats' Josh Howes. However, Bates just did not have it on Saturday. But give credit to the Polar Bears because they took full advantage. On the game Coach Harriman also said, "Any time a team has that bad of a day, everyone (players and coaches) must reevaluate." Looking ahead, Bates closes out the regular season this Saturday at home against an 0-7 Hamilton team. A win against Hamilton would give the Bobcats a two-win season, and that would be a step in the right direction. It would also raise the expectations for next year. Bates has also been in many of the games they have lost this season, which is not to say they should have won, but they certainly had their chances. So, get out to Garcelon this weekend and support Bates because this game does mean a lot to this team, especially the seniors, as it will be their final game in a Bobcat uniform.