Bates 19, Amherst 7
at Lewiston, Maine

Bates 19, Amherst 7

Amherst (0-1)   0   7   0   0   7
Bates (1-0)     3  10   6   0  19

TEAM  Q  TIME  PLAY
BAT   1  2:05  Rejean Guerriero 29 FG				 	 3-0
BAT   2 14:49  Jason Coulie 76 pass from Matt Bazirgan (Guerriero kick) 10-0
BAT   2 11:05  Guerriero 33 FG						13-0
AMH   2  8:05  OK Ugwonali 39 run (Liam Flemming kick)			13-7
BAT   3  8:15  Paul Fantasia 18 pass from Bazirgan (pass failed)	19-7

Full Game Stats

Bates was led offensively by the senior tandem of quarterback Matt Bazirgan (Newbury, Mass.) and wide receiver Jason Coulie (Manchester, N.H.). Bazirgan completed nine of 22 passes for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Coulie had six receptions for 140 yards, of which 76 came on the first play of the second quarter, in which Coulie ran a corner route and took off down the sideline. The extra point put the Bobcats up for good, 10-0.

Amherst's lone score came in the second quarter on a 39-yard rush by OK Ugwonali, who had 65 yards on 15 carries on the day. The touchdown, which came three minutes after Bates' Rejean Guerriero (Spofford, N.H.) kicked his second field goal of the game, cut the lead to 13-7.

The Bobcats iced the game in the third quarter, when senior wide receiver Paul Fantasia (Watertown, Mass.) made his only catch of the day. Bazirgan underthrew the ball a bit, but Fantasia came back to get it, tipped it over the defender, and brought it in while falling across the goal line.

Bates gave up just 201 yards of offense, while allowing the Lord Jeffs to convert on just one of 18 third-down opportunities and making six sacks for loss of 38 yards. The Bobcat defense, which held an opponent to under 10 points for just the second time in the past five seasons, was led by sophomore defensive lineman Jaime Sawler (Stratham, N.H.), who had 2.5 sacks for 18 yards, and junior Pat Collins (Walpole, Mass.), who had three tackles and a pair of interceptions.

The win was Bates' first to open the season since defeating Amherst 13-6 on opening day in 1990. Bates had not won a game against a team outside Maine since then, defeating Bowdoin and Colby twice each since then.