It took nearly 23 months, but Hamilton College's football team is back in the win column after a 21-20 victory at Bowdoin College's Whittier Field on Oct. 11.
Hamilton improved to 1-3 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) while Bowdoin remained winless at 0-4. The Continentals' last victory was a 22-13 win against Bates College on Nov. 10, 2001.
Hamilton quarterback Brandon Holtslag '06 (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winning score with 10 minutes, 5 seconds left in the third quarter, and passed for another 177 yards.
After Bowdoin went up 20-14 on a field goal with 11:40 left in the third, the Continentals marched down the field on the ensuing possession to take the lead for good. Holtslag hit Tom Bradley '04 (Great Falls, VA/Langley) for 14 yards and then scampered 21 yards on a fourth-and-one to the Bowdoin 15 yard-line. A pass from Holtslag to Kevin Conole '04 (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) put Hamilton on the 1-yard line and Holtslag kept it from there, scoring on a 1-yard keeper to give the Continentals the lead. Peter Simon '05 (Miami, FL/Gulliver Prep) kicked the extra point to make it 21-20.
The Polar Bears broke into the scoring column first with a field goal midway through the first quarter. Hamilton answered right back on its next possession as James Trummer '06 (Saranac Lake, NY/Phillips Exeter) capped a six-play, 66-yard drive with a 37-yard touchdown scamper for a 6-3 lead. Trummer finished with 77 yards on 17 carries.
After the Continentals forced an incompletion on fourth-and-three in their own territory late in the period, they started a seven-play, 78-yard drive that was highlighted by a 37-yard strike from Holtslag to Bradley and a 20-yard pass to Conole to go deep into Bowdoin territory. Holtslag finished it off from there, scrambling ten yards to the corner of the end zone to up the lead to 13-3 early in the second quarter. The Polar Bears scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 17-14 halftime lead.
Hamilton picked off three passes in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Simon, John Rosato '07 (Allendale, NJ/Northern Highlands Regional) and Mike Murphy '05 (Baldwinsville, NY/CBA) had the interceptions. Chris Smith '04 (Foxborough, MA/Foxborough) also had a fantastic defensive effort for the Continentals, making nine solo tackles, including 4 for a loss.
Hamilton will host Colby College (2-2) at Steuben Field for Fallcoming Weekend on Oct. 18. Colby lost 31-0 to Amherst College on Oct. 11.
