BRUNSWICK, Maine - Despite an excellent second half surge on the road, the Amherst College football team was edged this Saturday by the Bowdoin College Polar Bears, 21-14. Bowdoin held a 14-0 fourth quarter lead, but Amherst responded with two passing touchdowns from Chad Peterson '23 in the final 10:58 before falling just a touchdown short of victory. The Mammoths fall to 3-2 on the year, while Bowdoin improves to 1-4.
 
The Mammoths return to Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium next weekend October 23 for a matchup with Hamilton College. 
 
First Half Highlights:

• Bowdoin began with the ball and ate up 8:40 of the first quarter before stalling in the red zone and turning the ball over on downs. Flynn McGilvary'23, Ryan Montelone'24 , Cal Archdeacon'24 and Michael Jeffery'22 made critical stops to halt the Polar Bears opening possession.
• Bowdoin QB Andrew Boel had a career day, going 22-28 for 307 yards and three touchdowns. Boel led the Polar Bears alongside RB Andre Eden (31 rushes, 105 yards) into the red zone once again on the Polar Bears second drive. The drive – another sustained attack by the Polar Bears – ended in a field goal attempt that Amherst was able to get a hand on and block. The block attempt was led by Michael Jeffrey '22.
• Amherst struggled offensively in the second quarter, as their drives ended in an interception, a fumble, and a punt.
• After recovering the fumble deep in their own territory, Bowdoin drove 77 yards on nine plays and scored on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Boel to Colton Fahey (5 receptions, 112 yards, 2 TDs) to grab a 7-0 lead with 3:34 left in the second quarter.
• On the final drive of the first half, Amherst was able to convert two third downs, led by QB Mike Piazza'24 and WRs PJ Clementi'22 (8 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD), Turner Garland'22 (5 receptions, 61 yards, 1 TD), and Owen Gaydos'25 (2 receptions, 20 yards). A third down sack ended the Amherst push and the first half.

 
Second Half Highlights

• Chad Peterson '23 (13-24, 163 yards, 2 TDs) began the second half under center for the Mammoths. Peterson and Kellen Field '22 (16 carries, 105 yards) led the Mammoths on a 43-yard drive after the second half kick before a fourth and three attempt at the Bowdoin 27-yard line went incomplete.
• Amherst forced a punt on Bowdoin's first drive of the second half and re-took possession on their own four-yard line. Despite a strong running attack from Field and Jack Roberge '25, Amherst was forced to punt, ending a successful push by Bowdoin to flip field position.
• Beginning from their own 31-yard line at the very end of the third quarter, Bowdoin took just three plays to go up 14-0 on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Boel to Fahey.
• Down two scores with 14:48 left on the clock, Amherst executed its best offensive possession of the day, going 75 yards on 11 plays in just 3:50. Peterson completed five passes for 70 yards on the drive and tossed a strike to Garland for a 35-yard touchdown to make the score 14-7 with 10:58 remaining.
• Bowdoin responded immediately in a back-and-forth, high-scoring fourth quarter. Boel connected with Austin Hiscoe (5 receptions, 68 yards) for 42 yards to move the ball deep into Amherst territory and finished the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Brendan King. Bowdoin took a 21-7 lead after the extra point with 6:23 remaining.
• Amherst staged another impressive drive that included a third and 10 conversion from Peterson to Clementi in their own territory. Field set Amherst up with a nine-yard run on third and one from the Bowdoin 16-yard line before Peterson found Clementi for a one-yard touchdown with 2:40 remaining.
• Up seven points, Bowdoin stayed on the ground with Eden on their final drive, converted one first down, and burned the clock down to four seconds after a downed punt at the Amherst 13-yard line. Amherst was unable to muster any late heroics on the final play of the contest.

 
By the Numbers:

• While Amherst owned the advantage in first downs 19-18, Bowdoin amassed 421 yards of offense to Amherst's 340 yards.
• In the critical time-of-possession battle, Bowdoin dominated, handling the ball for 36:38 on offense.
• Amherst was 8-15 on third down, while Bowdoin was an impressive 12-17.
• Peterson led the Mammoths with 162 yards and Mike Piazza '24 threw for 51 yards. Boel led the game with 307 passing yards.
• Clementi (71 yards), Garland (61), Carson Ochsenhirt '24 (29), and Field (28) were the primary receivers for the Mammoths, with Clementi and Garland each scoring a touchdown. Fahey (112), Hiscoe (68), and Aise Pream (48) led the receiving core for Bowdoin.
• Kellen Field rushed for 105 yards – a career-high – while Eden scampered for 105 yards for Bowdoin.

Defensively, Ryan Monteleone '24 led the Mammoths with nine tackles, while Flynn McGilvray '23 and Ben Taylor '25 had six and five tackles, respectively, on the defensive line.