Week 2 Preview - Amherst vs. Bowdoin

Contact: Ben Badua

Amherst College (1-0) vs.
Bowdoin College (0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013 * Pratt Field
Amherst, MA * 1 p.m.

MULTIMEDIA LINKS
GAMEDAY INSIDER FEATURE STORY:
The Brothers O'Malley

PRATT LOCKER ROOM GALLERY
(Courtesy of Chloe McKenzie '14)

PRATT LOCKER ROOM VIDEO

PRATT FIELD
Saturday's game will be the first contest played at the renovated Pratt Field complex. Getting a facelift during the offseason, the 122-year-old site was re-aligned and an artificial turf playing surface was installed. A new all-weather, eight-lane track, field house, and press box were also built.

Read more about the project here

LIVE COVERAGE
Amherst's season opener will feature live stats and a webcast.

THIS WEEK IN THE NESCAC
Wesleyan @ Hamilton (1 p.m.)
Colby @ Middlebury (1 p.m.
Bowdoin @ Amherst (1 p.m.)
Tufts @ Bates (1:30 p.m.)
Williams @ Trinity (1:30 p.m.)

THE SERIES
Amherst and Bowdoin have met 90 times since 1896, with the Jeffs holding a decisive 71-17-2 edge. Playing to a 0-0 tie in the inaugural meeting, the Jeffs won seven of the next eight matchups, outscoring the Polar Bears 148-18 during that stretch. Amherst's longest win streaks during the rivalry spanned nine games from 1961-69 and1971-79, while Bowdoin won three-straight from 1922-24 and two in a row in 1991-92. Recently the Jeffs have come out victorious in 13 of the last 14 meetings, having won seven-consecutive showdowns dating back to 2005.

LAST MEETING
Max Lippe '15 accounted for all three Jeff touchdowns, while completing 18 of his 22 passes for 141 yards to lead Amherst to a 22-10 victory over Bowdoin on Whittier Field. Running back Tyler Jacobs '15 had 52 yards on 17 touches (3.1 ypc), while Lippe scrambled for 33 yards and a pair of scores.

Wade McNamara '14 led the Jeffs in receiving with eight catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, while Jake O'Malley '14 had three catches for 28 yards. Converting 10-of-19 third downs, the Amherst offense outgained Bowdoin 382-222, including a 241-124 edge on the ground.

Striking first, Bowdoin capped off an eight-play 42-yard drive with a one-yard Greg Pierce touchdown run. Amherst tied the game early in the second quarter thanks to an 11-play, 61-yard drive that ended in a five-yard Lippe touchdown. Trailing 10-7 at the start of the third quarter, Amherst put together another long drive, going 61 yards in 12 plays before Lippe ran it in from four yards out.

Adding to its lead in the fourth, Amherst chewed up nearly six minutes, running 15 plays and moving 55 yards to set up a field goal. Capping off the scoring, the Jeffs pieced together a 64-yard, 12 play drive that ended in an eight-yard touchdown pass to McNamara.

AMHERST LAST TIME OUT
Amherst opened its 2013 season with a 23-7 win at Hamilton. Led by an opportunistic defense, the Jeffs turned five Continental turnovers into 13 points. Danny Chun '14 got the visitors started by picking off Colin Pastorella on Hamilton's first possession and taking it back 22 yards for the score.

Coming in for Pastorella on the Continentals' second series, first-year quarterback Chase Rosenberg promptly turned the ball back over to Amherst, as Ned Deane '15 picked off the rookie's first collegiate pass to set the Jeffs up on the Hamilton 31-yard line. After a four yard Kenny Adinkra '16 run, Lippe completed three-straight passes to set up a first and goal from the nine, but Amherst's drive stalled, forcing the visitors to settle for a 26-yard Phillip Nwosu '15 field goal.

Another Nwosu field goal extended the margin to 13-0 before a botched punt attempt set Hamilton up inside the Amherst five-yard line. Stopped on first down, running back Rico Gonzalez broke through the line for a four-yard score, suddenly trimming the margin to six at the intermission.

Intercepting a Rosenberg pass on the last play of the third quarter, Jaymie Spears '16 returned it 45 yards to the Hamilton nine-yard line. Three-consecutive Adinkra runs moved it inside the Hamilton one, allowing Nwosu to convert a 17-yard field-goal that made it 16-7. Getting a Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn '16 interception and a three-and-out on the Continentals' next two drives, the Jeffs put it away midway through the fourth quarter when Lippe hit Brian Ragone '16 on a slant across the middle for a 32-yard touchdown.

BOWDOIN LAST TIME OUT
McCallum Foote threw for 362 yards and three touchdowns to lead Middlebury to a 27-5 win over Bowdoin at Whittier Field - the Panthers' first since 2001. Foote went 36-of-59 and overcame two interceptions in the victory. William Sadik-Khan was his top target, catching 11 passes for 106 yards and two scores. Bowdoin was led by senior Zach Donnarumma's 95 rushing yards while Joey Cleary '14 had 15 tackles and Griffin Cardew '14 posted 11, including a safety.

Going 71 yards on nine plays, the Panthers capped off an impressive opening possession with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Sadik-Khan. A few possessions later, a muffed punt had Middlebury pinned inside the one-yard line, allowing Cardew to tackle Matt Rea in the endzone for a safety. The Panthers responded with a 68-yard, nine-play touchdown drive. Bowdoin intercepted Foote twice in the second quarter but could not convert either into points as Middlebury took a 21-5 lead into the half. With neither team able to gain any traction in the second stanza, the Panthers capped off the scoring when Rea punched in a one-yard run after a Bowdoin turnover in its own territory in the third quarter.

SCOUTING AMHERST
Causing five turnovers that led to 13 points, it was Amherst's defense that helped carry the day in a 23-7 season-opening win at Hamilton. Chun, Deane, Spears, Fairfield-Sonn, and Max Dietz '14 came away with interceptions for a unit that last year finished tied for second in the league in picks (13). The conference's best run defense a year ago (110.6), it was the secondary that stood out last Saturday, holding the Continentals to just 70 yards passing.

Outgained 376-60 in last year's meeting, Hamilton held the rushing advantage in week one, 153-101. Relying on a running back by committee a year ago, Amherst once again mixed it up in the backfield, with three different tailbacks seeing action. Adinkra got the bulk of the carries (19), averaging 2.4 yards per touch, while first-year Myles Gaines showed some explosiveness, gaining 8.0 yards per carry.

With a year of experience under his belt, Lippe started under center, completing 55 percent of his passes for 162 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Headlining a talented receiving corps, Ragone emerged as Lippe's favorite target in the opener, hauling in seven catches for 99 yards. Heavily reliant on the run at the beginning of last season, Amherst put forth a more balanced effort to start off the 2013 campaign, but struggled on third down, converting just 3-of-17 opportunities.

Taking over the kicking duties, Nwosu helped answer one of the team's biggest question marks heading into the year, connecting on all three of his field goal attempts. The junior started the day with a 26-yard try in the first quarter, before adding a 24-yard field goal in the second and a successful 17-yard attempt in the fourth.

SCOUTING BOWDOIN
Bowdoin opened its season with a 27-5 loss to Middlebury on Whittier Field - the Polar Bears' first loss to the Panthers at home since 2001. Bowdoin's only points came on a safety midway through the first quarter and a Andrew Murowchick '16 22-yard field goal at the start of the second. The Polar Bears twice intercepted Middlebury's McCullum Foote but could not turn either into points.

Surrendering 459 yards of total offense, it was the Panthers' passing game that dealt the biggest blow, accounting for 362 yards and three touchdowns. Led by Donnarumma, who picked up 95 yards on 22 carries (4.3 ypc), Bowdoin outgained Middlebury 166-97 on the ground. Quarterback Mac Caputi '15 completed seven of his 16 pass attempts for 92 yards and an interception, while Ken Skon '16 led the Polar Bears' receivers with three catches for 34 yards.

Cleary and Cardew anchored Bowdoin's defensive efforts, recording 15 and 11 tackles, respectively. Cardew also added a sack and two tackles for a loss, including the safety in first quarter.

PROBABLE STARTERS

STATISTICAL LEADERS

2013 STATISTICAL COMPARISON