A week before Bates College football’s contest with Tufts, the Jumbos did something they hadn’t done since Sept. 25, 2010: win. 

Tufts snapped a 31-game losing streak with a 24-17 victory over Hamilton College in its home opener last Saturday to start the season 1-0 for the first time since 2010. The Jumbos’ also defeated Hamilton in their home opener that season before going four years without a victory.

Who was the team that started Tufts on the road to 31 consecutive losses? That would be the Bobcats, who travel to Tufts on Saturday at 1 p.m. in search of their first victory of the season. Bates has won four straight against Tufts and is 57-17-3 all-time.

“They’re a good football team,” Bates coach Mark Harriman said. “We’ve been there. They’ve improved a lot in the last few years. They’ve had some good, young guys playing for them that now have some experience. Obviously, coming off a win, they believe in themselves.” 

The Bobcats are coming off a hard-fought 14-6 loss at three-time defending NESCAC champion Amherst. The Bobcats held the ball for 36 minutes, 21 seconds against the Lord Jeffs, but inefficiency on third down was their ultimate downfall. Bates finished 8-for-24 (33 percent) on third down.

“We have to do better on third down,” Harriman said. “We had our opportunities. We had a couple of penalties that hurt us. We had a couple of dropped passes that hurt us. We didn’t execute a few times and third-and-mediums where we were running the football.”

Yet, the Bobcats found themselves a two-point conversion away from taking the lead with 1:16 left in regulation after Cannone scored on a 1-yard run. The conversion failed and Amherst’s Nick Kelly scored 10 seconds later on a 42-yard run as the Lord Jeffs prevailed 14-6.  

The Bobcats’ run game fell well shy of their 231.5 yards per game average in the opener. Bates ran for 133 yards on 54 carries, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry. Quarterback Matt Cannone led all Bobcat rushers with 57 yards and a touchdown. 

“We’ll continue to mix it up with what the defense gives us,” Harriman said. “That was the thing we did better in the second half compared to the first half. We’d like to run the ball more efficiently than we did, not necessarily more times than we did, but more efficiently than we did.” 

While Bates’ offense left much to be desired (232 yards of total offense), its defense shined. Defensive back Ryan Newson had a career day, intercepting two passes, making 10 tackles and forcing a fumble. Linebacker Mark Upton recorded a career-high 11 tackles. Bates’ defense forced four fumbles, recovering two. 

Tufts quarterback Jack Doll threw 67 passes when the two teams met last season in Lewiston. He completed 46 for 397 yards.

Field hockey earns first win 

The first part of September wasn’t kind to Bates field hockey. Four games, four losses and just one goal scored.

The Bobcats’ offense broke out in a big way Wednesday as they received a first-half hat trick from Shannon Beaton during their 5-0 victory against Thomas. Beaton scored in the sixth, 14th and 16th minutes to get Bates into the win column. Beaton now has four of the Bobcats’ six goals this season. 

Sydney Beres and Claire Markonic registered goals in the second half and goalkeepers Cristina Vega and Katie Knox combined for the shutout. 

The Bobcats (1-4, 0-4 NESCAC) held a 22-3 edge in shots — 10-0 in the second half — and an 8-3 advantage in penalty corners. Bates had been outshot 104-31 entering the non-conference game. 

The Bobcats seek their first NESCAC win Saturday at Trinity. 

Knoth providing offense for men’s soccer 

Four straight matches without a goal was not the start Bates men’s soccer envisioned at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, the first 360 minutes of regulation and 30 more in overtime wielded nothing on the scoreboard. 

The scoreless streak to start the season reached 442 minutes before Peabo Knoth scored in the 53rd minute against Bowdoin to pull the Bobcats even with the Polar Bears. Bowdoin went on to win the match in double overtime on a goal by Eric Goitia in the 108th minute. 

Knoth again provided Bates’ offense in its following match against Wesleyan. Knoth chipped the ball over goalkeeper Emmett McConnell just 33 seconds into the contest for his second goal of the season. 

Knoth leads the team in both shots (17) and shots on goal (6). 

Aside from Knoth, the Bobcats (0-6-1, 0-4)  are struggling to find the net. They’ve been shut out five times in their first six matches. 

mkraft@sunjournal.com