BRUNSWICK

In its 125th season of football, the Bowdoin College Polar Bears will open their home slate on Saturday as they welcome Amherst to Whittier Field.

Bowdoin is coming off a 40-3 setback in week one at Middlebury, while Amherst slugged its way to a 34-0 shutout of Hamilton in its opener last Saturday. The teams have met in 71 consecutive seasons dating back to 1946 and the Purple and White are Bowdoin’s third-longest longest-running rivalry overall (94 games), behind only Colby and Bates.

The game kicks off at 1 p.m. Fans can follow all of the action live on the Bowdoin Athletics website this weekend. As with all Bowdoin home games, the contest will be carried live online — with instant replay — on the Northeast Sports Network (www.nsnsports.net), and live stats will be available at the link above.

Bowdoin scored on its first possession against Middlebury but was unable to find the end zone against the Panthers. Offensively, Nate Richam gained 63 yards in his first collegiate game — the most by a Polar Bear running back in his first career game since Greg Pierce ran for 122 in his first contest in 2008.

Nick Vailas caught five passes for 66 yards against Middlebury and has caught at least three passes in each of Bowdoin’s last nine games dating back to beginning of last year.

Defensively, Bowdoin first-year Andrew Joyce and junior Latif Armiyaw both rank among the top 10 in the conference in tackles (11) this year. Daniel Wagner set a Bowdoin record with three blocked kicks against Middlebury (one field goal, two extra points), while Andrew Sisti connected on his only field goal attempt — a 33-yarder. Punter Michael Chen averaged 34.1 yards on eight kicks against the Panthers.

Amherst held Hamilton to just 168 yards of total offense and running back Jack Hickey found the end zone three times as the Jeffs cruised to a win. Amherst has won a school record 20 consecutive games dating back to 2013

Quarterback Alex Berluti totaled 233 yards of offense against Hamilton, throwing for 182 and rushing for 51 more in the victory. Amherst forced three Hamilton turnovers and leads the conference after one week with a plus-two turnover margin.

Last year in Amherst, the Purple and White scored 24 first-quarter points to put away Bowdoin in a 37-6 victory. Amherst totaled 368 yards of rushing offense, including a team-best 111 by Jack Hickey.

In the loss, Bowdoin’s Tim Drakeley went 26-of-39 for 165 yards passing, including five tosses and a touchdown to tight end Bryan Porter.

Amherst owns a 74-18-2 edge all-time and has won a rivalry-best 10 consecutive games in the series.

Comments are not available on this story.