BRUNSWICK, MAINE -- Ephs football fell to Bowdoin by a score of 20-0 on Saturday, bringing the team's record to 1-1 after last week's win in the season opener against Colby. The Polar Bear defense posted their first shutout of the season and that team moved to 2-0 following a two-touchdown win over Hamilton last week.
Bowdoin opened the scoring with a 60-yard drive that ended in a field goal to go up 3-0 early in the first quarter. Both teams then tussled for the rest of the course, failing to score, until Bowdoin added a touchdown on a short pass from quarterback Andrew Boel to Brendan King. Williams managed to keep the game at 10-0 for most of the second quarter until a failed 4th down attempt from deep inside Ephs territory led to a short field and an easy Bowdoin touchdown.
The Williams defense played admirably despite offensive woes that kept the game out of reach. Senior linebacker Tim Landolfi had 8 tackles on the game, and defensive back Drew Michalek had 7. Defensive lineman Cameron Smith had 2 tackles for loss, and senior CJ Vilfort added 6 tackles and a sack.
Bowdoin opened the second half with a three-and-out, but forced one right back from Williams to reclaim possession. After more stagnant drives for both teams, Boel had the Polar Bears in rhythm until he was intercepted by Justice McGrail on the 2-yard line. Williams quarterback Owen McHugh then led a strong drive for the Ephs that got all the way to the Bowdoin 7-yard line before he was picked off in the end zone by Nick Viscusi. McHugh was 9 of 28 with 138 yards and the interception on the day. His counterpart Boel was 14 of 27 with 227 yards and two picks, the first going to McGrail and the second to Campbell Pang.
Williams running back Mario Fischetti also managed 79 yards on the game, and Ephs wideout Cameron Lee was the leading receiver with a 43-yard reception in the third quarter.
Ephs head coach Mark Raymond shouted out his defense's work, noting that his team "struggled to find any rhythm on offense," but that the "defense did a great job creating a couple of turnovers in key spots." "We just couldn't capitalize," he said.
Bowdoin (2-0) will travel to Middlebury next weekend, while the Ephs (1-1) go to Medford, Mass. to face Tufts.
