Jumbo Football Makes First Road Trip of 2012 Season to Bowdoin on Saturday

JUMBO FOOTBALL at BOWDOIN
Saturday, October 6, 2012
At Whittier Field (Brunswick, ME), 1 pm
Video: http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/webcast
Audio: http://www.wbor.org/static/wbor.m3u
Live Stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/bowdoin/

Senior Vincent Lee had an interception in the end zone last week

The Jumbos travel to Bowdoin College for their first road game of the 2012 season on Saturday. Both Tufts and the Polar Bears enter the game in search of their first wins.

Tufts lost 31-23 to Bates College on an overcast Homecoming Day at Ellis Oval/Zimman Field last Saturday. For the second straight week, the Jumbos fell into an early hole and could not climb all the way out. Bowdoin came out strong against defending league champion Amherst in last week’s home opener, holding a 10-6 advantage heading into halftime. However, the Lord Jeffs controlled the second half and scored 16 unanswered points to take a 22-10 win.

The visiting Bobcats rushed to a 14-0 first-quarter lead at Tufts last week. The Jumbos had trailed Wesleyan 21-0 at home on opening day September 22. Last Saturday, they were able to get within 21-10 by halftime. Sophomore Connor McDavitt (Holden, MA) kicked the first field goal of his collegiate career, a 40-yarder with 14:42 on the clock in the second quarter. Junior running back Marcel Pitre (Chula Vista, CA) also rushed for a one-yard touchdown with 47 seconds remaining in the second quarter. He would finish the day with three rushing touchdowns, the most by a Jumbo back since the 2001 season.

Bates surged to a 28-10 advantage after three quarters, but Tufts rallied with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter. After converting a fourth and nine with a 14-yard pass from senior quarterback John Dodds (Mount Pleasant, SC) to senior receiver Mike Howell (Phoenixville, PA), Pitre scored from one yard out with 10:08 remaining to pull Tufts within 28-16. The Bobcats added a field goal, but the Jumbos responded with a two-yard touchdown by Pitre and were within a score at 31-23. However, Bates recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock.

Dodds, whose 70 passing attempts in the game were one shy of the Tufts record, completed 40 passes for 363 yards in the game. Senior tri-captain Dylan Haas (Yorktown Heights, NY) finished with 12 receptions for 99 yards. Dodds is currently ranked second in NESCAC with 266.5 passing yards per game. Haas, with 14 catches for 111 yards in two games, is tied for second in the conference with seven receptions per game.

The Jumbo defense forced two Bates turnovers, with senior Vincent Lee (Walpole, MA) intercepting a pass in the first quarter and senior Tommy Castle (Yarrow Point, WA) recovering a fumble caused by sophomore Colby Wilkinson (Keene, NH) in the fourth. Sophomore Trevor Barsamian (Princeton, NJ) also had a sack for the Jumbos. The Jumbos are ranked third in NESCAC in passing yards allowed with a 121.5-yard average.

For Bowdoin against Amherst, linebacker Griffin Cardew racked up 16 tackles, one shy of the school record, recorded 2.5 tackles for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble in the defeat. Senior tailback Greg Pierce continued to gain tough yards for the Polar Bears, carrying the ball 26 times for 76 yards and a score.

Senior defensive back/punter Beau Breton helped the Polar Bears win the battle of field position in the early going, punting six times for an average of 40.8 yards. He forced three fair catches and landed one punt inside the Amherst five. In addition to his efforts on special teams, Breton made 15 tackles on the afternoon. He leads the conference in tackles (26) and is second in punting (36.3 yards/kick) this fall.

Also among the conference leaders, Pierce stands fourth with 158 yards rushing while quarterback Thomas Romero has thrown for 251 yards to stand seventh. Bowdoin is seventh in the league in total offense (264.5 yards/game) and eighth in total defense (399.0 yards/game).

In last year’s meeting between the teams, Bowdoin opened and closed the scoring with mammoth interception returns for scores as the Polar Bears downed Tufts 27-6. With 10:43 remaining in the second period, Joey Cleary opened the scoring by picking off a pass at the Bowdoin one and running straight down the sideline for a 99-yard touchdown. Not to be out done, Cardew closed the scoring and sealed the win with a near instant replay with 4:10 remaining in the contest as he snared a pass at the goal line and returned the ball for an NCAA record-tying 100 yard return. Howell had a 27-yard touchdown reception in the game for Tufts.

Saturday will be the 107th meeting between the squads dating back to 1889. The Tufts-Bowdoin rivalry has always been one of the most tightly-contested rivalries in the NESCAC. The Polar Bears have won two straight, and three of the last four. The most noteworthy contest between the teams was the 1992 game, won by Bowdoin 7-6, that was played in Galway, Ireland - the first Division III game played in Europe.

TUFTS VS. BOWDOIN SERIES
Series Record: 58-46-2 Tufts
First Game: 1889, Tufts 8-4
Last Tufts Win: 2009, 25-22 ot
Last Bowdoin Win: 2011, 27-6
Current Streak: Bowdoin, 2 games
Large Margins: Tufts 60-7 in 1914; Bowdoin 47-7 in 1951

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