Compiling 344 yards of total offense takes a team effort, and Amherst displayed the versatility of their offensive attack on Saturday. Quad-captain quarterback Nick Kehoe '07 passed for 260 yards and was 14-23 on the day. Kehoe drew first blood early in the game, connecting with star receiver and fellow quad-captain Mark Hannon '07 on a 39-yard touchdown strike with 9:40 left in the first quarter. On that drive, Bates was sent an emphatic message that there was nothing that could put a wrinkle in the Amherst passing attack. Quad-captain offensive lineman Ryan Smith described the weather as a "non factor; we practice in rain and mud, so we can play in rain and mud." New England Indian summers aside, Amherst was not going to be denied showcasing the several threats of their offense.
Later in the first quarter, Hannon's speed was again illustrated with a 64-yard punt return to paydirt. After the score, it was clear that the Bobcats were on their way to a slow and painful declawing. In the first half, Kehoe showed his ability to spread the ball around, launching balls to senior wideout Justin Macione and throwing two more touchdown passes; another to Hannon and one to tailback Erik NeSmith '09.
But the first half wasn't all perfect spirals and dexterously caught balls, as it included the black and blue play of Amherst's stalwart defense. Head Coach E.J. Mills' unit held the Bobcats to a very unferocious 60 yards rushing. Senior defensive lineman Brendan McKee spent so much time in the Bates' backfield that the quad-captain registered three tackles-for-a-loss and led the team in tackles with nine. He also stormed into the backfield on several key plays and stymied any Bates momentum with 1.5 sacks. Offensive linebacker Dakota Jones '07 was also instrumental in holding Bates to a goose egg in the first half with a tackle-for-a-loss and stopping many Bobcat rushers at the line of scrimmage.
Though Bates had slightly more success passing the ball than running it in the first half, their gains were minimal. There was one glitch in the Bates passing attack that prevented them from ever getting in synch: the Amherst secondary.
Late in the first quarter, the Bobcat offense was trapped and tied by a defensive back Chris Mottau '08 interception which the Jeffs capitalized on to the tune of seven points. Junior defensive back Rob Grammer added insult to injury by intercepting Bates passer Brandon Colon in the second quarter. The excellent field position provided by the two interceptions gave merit to the phrase that sometimes the best offense really is a good defense.
The Amherst offense that played brilliantly in the first half came out a little sluggish in the second half. Scoring only once in the third quarter with a field goal, the offense couldn't establish much in the way of running the ball. The defense gave up a score in the third quarter when a Kehoe pass was intercepted on the Amherst 47-yard line and brought down to the 15. But the Jeff defense rallied in the fourth quarter and allowed the Bates offense to cross the 50 yard line just once more in the game.
Next week, Amherst will travel to Brunswick, Me. to face 0-1 Bowdoin College who fell this week to Williams College in a 27-0 rout. But the Bears, as Amherst found out last year when Bowdoin beat the Jeffs at home, are most dangerous when wounded.
NESCAC Notes
Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton Colleges and Wesleyan University were all beaten in week one. Middlebury and Trinity Colleges, Tufts University and Williams all join Amherst in heading into the week two with a 1-0 record.