LEWISTON, Maine – Outside linebacker Mike Aldo '13 (Mansfield, Mass.) forced two fumbles, blocked a punt and recorded three sacks to lead the Amherst College football team during its 20-7 season-opening win at Bates College Saturday afternoon. 

Amherst (1-0) now holds a 22-4-2 edge over Bates (0-1) in the all-time series and has won each of the past six meetings. Both teams will return to action next Saturday at 1 p.m., with Amherst hosting Bowdoin College and Bates welcoming Tufts to town. 

Aldo's performance stood out among all others, but it was Kevin Ferber '12 (Mahwah, NJ) who came up with the play of the game. With the score tied at 7-7 and Bates holding the ball on Amherst's 25-yard line, the Bobcats had time for one last play before halftime. Quarterback Trevor Smith rolled to his left and was sacked from the blind side by Aldo, who stripped the ball loose. Ferber recovered the fumble and ran it back 62 yards along the right sideline for the go-ahead touchdown. 

Amherst headed into intermission with a 14-7 lead after Ferber's touchdown and an extra point by Matt Rawson '12 (Bethesda, Md.), despite a 12-4 Bates advantage in first downs, a 19:07 to 10:53 edge in time of possession and a 183-113 edge in total offense.

The Bobcats would not score in the second half, while Amherst tacked on a field goal in the third quarter and another in the fourth. Rawson's 38-yarder surpassed his previous career long of 37, and he one-upped himself again with a 42-yard boot in the fourth. He also dropped five punts inside the 20, including three that landed inside the 10 and two that pinned Bates within three yards of the goal line. 

The Lord Jeffs ran the ball 33 times for 150 yards in the second half to control the clock, while Bates was forced to punt five times and turned the ball over on three other possessions in the final two quarters.

Eric Bunker '12 (Topsfield, Mass.) ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries for Amherst, while Ryan Silva '14 (Bristol, R.I.) added 62 rushing yards. Blake Grauer '12 (Claremore, Okla.) completed 14 of 25 passes for 83 yards but was picked off three times in his first collegiate start.

For Bates, Smith completed 24 of 41 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown but was sacked six times and picked off twice. After rushing for 43 yards on 22 carries in the first half, Bates' running game dwindled to produce just five yards in the second half on 14 carries.

Aldo had three of Amherst's six sacks, while Matt Sponheimer '13 (Orange, Conn.) notched two and Ferber added one. Danny Chun '14 (Monroe, N.Y) and Matt Pieterse '13 (Springfield, Mass.) had 12 tackles apiece for the Lord Jeffs, with Gordie Lockbaum '12 (Worcester, Mass.) and Landrus Lewis '13 (Pennsauken, N.J.) each intercepting a pass. 

Senior Cam Evans had two interceptions for Bates, while sophomore Andrew Kukesh had a game-high 13 tackles and Kevin Helm added 12 more.

Amherst scored on its first possession of the game after taking the ball over at the Bates 35 thanks to Aldo's blocked punt. Bunker converted a 4th-and-1 situation to keep the drive alive with a 6-yard run, capping things off with a 1-yard burst into the end zone. 

After the teams traded scoreless drives three times, Smith found Kevin Davis wide open over the middle on 3rd-and-goal for the tying score with 3:23 left in the half. Amherst went three-and-out on its next possession, and the Bobcats were trying to get a halftime lead before Aldo and Ferber turned the tables on the final play of the quarter.

Both teams traded three-and-outs to start the third quarter, but Amherst got some offensive traction on its next possession, driving 42 yards on 11 plays before Rawson's 38-yarder with 9:00 left in the period.

Amherst threatened to increase its lead in the final minutes of the third, reaching Bates' 19 after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved them from the 35 into the red zone. On Amherst's next snap, however, Kukesh forced a fumble that Will Taft recovered at the 17. Bates had the ball for the start of the fourth quarter, but Ferber sacked Smith for a 4-yard loss that stunted Bates' drive.

A fumble on Bates' next possession was forced by Aldo and recovered by Evan Rosenstein '12 (New Canaan, Conn.), giving the Lord Jeffs the ball in prime field position at Bates' 15. A tackle for a loss and a holding penalty backed the Jeffs up to the 30, but Amherst got five more yards back to give Rawson a 42-yard field goal opportunity, which he nailed for a 20-7 lead with 6:51 left in the game.

Amherst's offensive line has allowed the fewest sacks in the NESCAC in each of the past three years, and the Lord Jeffs got off to another good start in 2011 by not allowing the Bobcats to sack Grauer in Saturday's game.

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