WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. -- Eph Football put together a strong second half and a steady defensive performance on Saturday afternoon to take down the Bowdoin Polar Bears, 34-14. With the win, the Ephs advanced to 3-1 on the season while the Bears fell to 1-3.
After battling on the road for two straight weeks, Williams took advantage of a boisterous home atmosphere – fueled in part by the gorgeous autumn weather – to get off to a hot start. On the second play of the game, senior Mario Fischetti took a handoff, broke through the Bowdoin defensive line, and outran multiple defenders in close pursuit to score a 68-yard touchdown and send the crowd into a frenzy. Senior Ivan Shurin's extra point made it 7-0, just 45 seconds into the game.
The ensuing Bowdoin drive ended in a punt after a strong defensive stand, and the Ephs began driving again, reaching Bowdoin territory after successive chunk plays. However, a few plays after sophomore quarterback Owen McHugh almost connected with sophomore Brady Stahelski for a deep touchdown, McHugh fumbled while scrambling for extra yards and Bowdoin recovered at their 27 yard line.
Bowdoin's next drive was short-lived, however, as quarterback Robbie Long threw an interception in the end zone to sophomore Holden Gering, continuing a strong start to the game by the Ephs defense.
A sack and a penalty killed the Eph's ensuing drive, but Leonardo Maiuol boomed a 70-yard punt to the Bowdoin 15-yard line to set up another quick Bowdoin three-and-out which ended the first quarter. At the first break, the Ephs led, 7-0.
On the first play of the second quarter, McHugh was intercepted along the sideline by Nick Viscusi. After another Eph defensive stand, McHugh was sacked and fumbled, with Bowdoin's Koy Price recovering the fumble and returning it for a touchdown to make the scpre 7-7 with 11:54 remaining in the second quarter.
The rest of the first half saw both defenses take firm control, with the Ephs failing to advance into Bowdoin territory on four more offensive drives, while the Bears never threatened to score either. At halftime, the game remained tied at 7-7.
After Fischetti's early touchdown, the Ephs offense struggled a bit in the first half, giving up three turnovers, allowing four sacks, and dealing with poor snaps and penalties. Eph head coach Mark Raymond noted that the defense was critical to maintaining a close game. "Three turnovers in the first half is hard to overcome, but our defense kept us in it," he said.
Senior linebacker Ethan Scott, who finished with two tackles, one for loss, added that the defense held its resolve during the adversity of the second quarter. "Coach [Raymond] preaches, you gotta overcome the [mistakes]," he said. "There were a lot of [mistakes] out there, and at the end of the day, we know we've gotta step up and take it one down at a time."
With some help from the defense, the Eph offense came alive in the third quarter. Bowdoin punted in its first drive, but the Ephs failed to convert a 4th-and-1 to give Bowdoin the ball back at the Williams 37-yard line. Once again, the Eph defense came through, forcing a turnover on downs with a sack by Anthony Scala on 4th-and-2.
The next Williams drive saw the Ephs break through. After two Jon Oris rushes gained eight yards, McHugh found Stahelski, who fought through pass interference to make a contested catch and gain 40 yards. On the very next play, McHugh hit Cameron Lee over the middle for a 22-yard touchdown, making it 14-7 with 6:41 left in the third quarter.
Another strong defensive stand set up the Ephs offense with good field position, and McHugh led a smooth six-play, 54-yard drive which culminated in a four-yard touchdown to first-year Jimmy Montesano. The touchdown came on a crisp fade pass, which Montesano caught despite a deflection, for his first career Williams reception and touchdown. The extra point conversion was unsuccessful due to a poor snap, but the Ephs led 20-7 with 0:53 remaining in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter began with yet another Ephs defensive stop. On the first play of the next Eph drive, Mario Fischetti burst through the right side, emerging untouched and sprinting to the house as the crowd roared. His 80-yard touchdown made it 27-7 with 13:45 still to play, and punctuated a huge day for the running back, who finished with 177 rushing yards on nine carries, for 19.7 yards per carry.
Coach Raymond noted that Fischetti capitalized on Bowdoin's defensive style. "They're so aggressive, that if you get through their first wave of people, you've got room to run, and if you make the last guy miss, you can get the big play, which is what he did," he said.
On Bowdoin's next drive, Gering made his second interception of the day, returning it 18 yards to the Bowdoin 29-yard line. Gering, who plays both receiver and corner back for the Ephs, noted that his receiving mindset is an asset on defense. "I think about if I'm receiver, what I'd be running, and that helps," he said.
After Gering's second pick, Lee added to the Eph lead, taking a short pass and bursting around a block down the right sideline for a 22-yard touchdown, his second of the day. With 11:44 remaining, the Ephs led 34-7, and the offensive turnaround was complete.
"[The offense] felt comfortable, they just weren't clicking yet, and they stayed with it," said Raymond. "They settled in, we got Owen some time, and we started making plays with really good skill position guys."
Bowdoin tacked on a touchdown to make it 34-14 on their next drive, the only offensive touchdown the Bears would score on the day. After that, the teams traded punts and then the Ephs ran the clock out to secure the victory.
The Eph defense controlled the game from start to finish. "We had a great game plan," said Scott. "We went out there, we had some new faces out there, and they all stepped up, they all executed, and we all met the standard we're held to."
In total, the Ephs defense held Bowdoin to just 238 yards, or 3.8 per play. Scala led the team with two sacks, while Gering, Calvin Pedatell, and Zakai Moore shared the team lead with four tackles. McHugh shook off his start, going 12-of-13 in the second half with three touchdowns. In the game, he threw for 244 yards, completing 17-of-24 passes, with the one interception in addition to his three scores.
Apart from Fischetti, Oris chipped in on the ground with 41 yards on 12 carries. Senior Will Sheskey added 34 yards on seven carries, doing solid work to salt the game away. Lee led the team in receiving, with 4 catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Stahelski added 58 yards on three catches, and sophomore Owen Johansen had 57 yards on three receptions.
The Ephs look to build further momentum next week on the road at Middlebury. The game will take place at 2 p.m. The Panthers are 3-1, coming off of a 29-21 win over Amherst.
