By DAVE RICHTER
Staff Writer
 

As the fall sports season hits the halfway point there is a lot to look back on, and a lot to reflect on, and thus many topics to write about. Still, in my mind there is only one obvious choice. Because they represent the vast majority of my readership, and because I have yet to write anything about them in the past, I thought I really owe it to the football team to write a little something about them. I've had a lot more exposure to the football team this year, thanks mostly in part to my job with Sports Information Director Extra Ordinaire Adam Levin. Basically I get paid five bucks an hour to watch the football games, and write down what happened on each play. Quite a sweet deal if you ask me, plus I feel I get a much greater understanding of the Division III game from that perspective. Also, for games like last week's I got to stay completely dry, unlike most of the spectators. What I saw from these kick-ass seats was a very different Bates team than last year. When they take the field, a loss just does not seem acceptable in the same way as it was last year. Even considering a number of injuries at key positions, the Bates squad has looked solid in its three games thus far. While obviously not everything has gone according to plan, there have been a number of bright spots that present a real hope for the future.

The best signs have been on the defensive side of the ball, where the Bobcats were able to hold down three of the best offenses in NESCAC. One thing that strikes me about this Bates defense is how small they are. Other than one or two guys on the line, there is nobody who if you saw on the quad would make you think, "Geez, that guy is freakin' huge!!" Instead of size, our defense comes at opponents with quickness and strength. Some of the biggest hits I have seen on the season have come from Keith Anthony and Pat Collins. Anthony is listed at 5'6", 160 pounds and Collins is listed at 5'10", 170 pounds. You wouldn't know it by watching them as I have seen them both lay hits on guys twice their size that have knocked them into next week. It just goes to show that you can't identify a football player by their size. These days the best way on this campus to identify a football player is to look for the guys who are limping around between classes. The Bobcats have seen a number of injuries in important positions like running back and quarterback. The lack of serious offensive output is due at least in part to injuries to guys like Matt Bazirgan '00, Paul Erickson '00 and Marlon Gresham '01 have hurt the Bobcats' offense this year. Bad luck once again seems to be a common theme for this year's Bobcat squad. Hopefully this year the team will turn itself around with some of the easier games on the schedule coming up in later weeks. Games with Colby and Hamilton take place at Garcelon Field, and everyone on the team that I have talked to expects to win those games. Imagine that, Bates football players talking about multiple wins. That is one thing that best characterizes this year's team and it shows that there is certainly hope for the future of this program.