Furious second half rally leads Ephs to a 37-30 win over Bates

LEWISTON, Maine - Williams overcame a slow start with an electric second half performance to secure a road victory against Bates on Saturday afternoon. Facing a double-digit halftime deficit, the team put up 30 unanswered points and improved to 5-1 on the season.
 
Just like last week, receiver Zach Falls came up with a series of key plays for the Ephs, but his most clutch moment came right at the beginning of the second half to flip the game in Williams' favor.
 
Down 23-7, the Ephs had received the opening second-half kickoff and were looking at a second-and-2 from their own 24-yard line. Quarterback Drew Renzella, starting for the first time all year in place of an injured Owen Johansen, sat back in the pocket and lofted a deep ball to Falls over the middle.
 
The rest was history: Falls outjumped Bates' cornerback Samuel Christopher to make a superb juggling catch at the 30-yard line. Then, he regained his footing and eluded another Bates defender, stutter stepping toward the outside to find the end zone for a 76-yard TD. After a two-point conversion completion on a Renzella lob to Jon Oris, the Ephs had cut the deficit to 23-15, under 90 seconds into the second half, and the momentum would continue into an offensive onslaught for the rest of the game.
 
The play was Falls' second TD catch of the day, and the standout finished with five catches, 138 yards and three TDs. Renzella delivered a poised performance as well, finishing with 149 yards, three TD passes and no interceptions in the win.
 
With the victory, the Ephs have now taken down the Bobcats in eight straight matchups dating back to 2017.

Like last week, a Williams' victory was in doubt for much of the day, especially in the first half. Bates jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a 13-play TD drive, although Will Gale blocked the extra point to keep the deficit at just six for the Ephs. The Bobcats would add another touchdown to go ahead 13-0 toward the end of the first quarter.
 
The Williams' offense found a bit of steam at the beginning of the second quarter. A 26-yard run along the right sideline from Oris on fourth-and-1 positioned the team well, and Renzella then found Falls on a beautiful 8-yard fade route into the left corner of the end zone to cut the deficit to 13-7 with 10:52 to go in the half.
 
Unfortunately, Bates would score 10 unanswered points, including a last-second TD to close out the first half and put the Ephs behind 23-7 at the break.
 
Needing a spark badly, the Ephs got it immediately with the 76-yard Falls' TD catch to open the second half.
 
Then, the Williams' defense forced an immediate Bates' three-and-out thanks to a key third-down sack by Zakkai Moore. Moore would finish with a team-leading 10 tackles on the day, including four tackles for loss.
 
On the third play of the next Williams' drive, the fireworks continued. Riley O'Connell stepped in at quarterback on third-and-inches and faked a hand-off, before dropping back and firing a deep ball to a wide-open Falls, who waltzed into the end zone untouched for a 46-yard TD. 
 
Renzella came back under center and rolled to his right, finding Sam Jaffe sitting all alone in the end zone for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 23. Less than five minutes into the third quarter, the Ephs had made up a 16-point deficit and had stunned the Bates' crowd. 
 
The teams then traded punts, and Bates was driving inside Williams' territory when George Papadopoulos knocked the ball out of receiver Jeff Vidou's hands on a triple-option play. The fumble was recovered by the Ephs' Connor Acheson at the Williams' 39 to erase Bates' momentum and turn the keys back to the offense with 1:49 left in the third.
 
The highlights continued into the fourth quarter. On the first play, Renzella spotted Henry Machnik on a deep corner route, firing a gorgeous touch pass over the top of the defense. Machnik caught the ball along the left sideline and ducked into the end zone for a 38-yard TD to give Williams a 30-23 lead.
 
The game then settled down for the ensuing nine minutes. With 5:40 to play, a Bates' punt pinned the Ephs at their own 8-yard line, putting the offense in a tight position. But on the first play of the drive, Oris took an inside hand-off and cut to his left, breaking two or three tackles as he charged up the sideline for a 92-yard TD – the longest of the Ephs' season.
 
Oris' huge play put the Ephs on top, 37-23, with just over five minutes to go. But Bates scored an immediate TD in response and actually got the ball back with over two minutes left and a chance to tie the game.
 
The door was slammed shut, however, by cornerback Brandt Bickford, who made a diving interception with 1:19 to play to seal the 37-30 Williams' victory.
 
Williams has now won three in a row. The Ephs will look to make it four next weekend in an away matchup against the Tufts Jumbos. The Jumbos are 3-3 and coming off of a 38-28 win against Hamilton.