Blythe Hastings ’23
Sports Editor
The Trinity Bantams football team dominated Bates on Saturday afternoon. The Bantams scored three touchdowns in the first 11 minutes of a 45-7 victory over the visiting Bates College Bobcats in the NESCAC football season this afternoon on Jessee Miller Field. Trinity, ranked No. 1 in New England and in the NESCAC, remains undefeated this season at 5-0, while the Bobcats drop to 1-4. This record is not going unnoticed as Junior Matthew Almansi ’23 reported that the atmosphere of the team is electric, and that they are hungry to continue winning this season.
On the first drive of the game, Trinity senior captain LB Brian Casagrande and teammate Noah Glantz helped the Bantams force a 3-and-out with a tackle for loss and Enzi Dabner-Teacher ’24 on special teams got a hand on the Bates punt to give Trinity excellent field position on its first offensive possession. Opening on the Bobcat 41-yard line, Trinity quickly marched down the field and scored the game’s first touchdown on an eight-yard pass from QB Spencer Fetter ‘23 to senior captain WR Jonathan Girard ’22 less than two minutes into the game.
Trinity continued to dominate, adding on two more scores on a six-yard run by sophomore standout RB William Kirby ‘24 and a 19-yard pass from Fetter to senior captain and star WR DeVante Reid to lead, 21-0, with little time left in the first quarter. The Bantam smack down continued in the second quarter, resulting in a 31-0 halftime lead thanks to a 22-yard field goal by kicker Matt Jumes ’24 and an 11-yard touchdown reception by Girard. Kirby added another two touchdown runs early in the third quarter to make the score, 45-0.
Bates took advantage of a Trinity fumble to score its lone touchdown on a 28-yard scoring strike from Brendan Costa to Christian Olivieri. George Hawkins recovered the fumble for the Bobcats. Neither team’s offense was able to score in the fourth quarter. Fetter finished 20-for-25 passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns, while Costa was 15-for-28 for 195 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Kirby rushed for 66 yards and three scores and sophomore Cal Messina ‘24 added 45 yards on the ground for the Bantams. Garrett Evans recorded 32 rushing yards for Bates. Girard led all receivers with 108 yards on seven grabs, while Reid added six catches for 65 yards. Sean Bryant caught seven passes for 81 yards for Bates. The Bantam defense was led by senior DB Aidan Kennedy who got three tackles, a sack, and an interception, while Casagrande had four tackles and a sack. Bates LB Tony Hooks totaled a game-high 14 tackles, while Anthony Costa added six tackles and a pass breakup, and Nolan Potter contributed four tackles and a sack. The Bantam football fanbase couldn’t be more excited for the standout year that the team is presenting, after a tough 2019 season. The Bantams play three more games and could potentially go undefeated in NESCAC play.
Ted Jastrzebski: Congrats to the Trinity football team. Keep up the winning ways.