LEWISTON – In a matter of weeks, two of the biggest question marks for the Bates football team were replaced by a bigger one.

At least some of Bates’ success this season hinges on the play of senior Chris Gwozdz, starting at quarterback for the first time, and Lewiston native Rob Dion, who will get the starting nod at tailback in place of graduated All-NESCAC running back Sean Atkins.

Huge roles to fill for a couple guys who have only seen limited competitive playing time in their collegiate careers, and the pressure is increased due to a series of injuries to what appeared to be a dependable offensive line.

Atkins drew national attention last fall, scoring seven touchdowns against Bowdoin and making the highlight reel on ESPN. He finished the season with 1,069 yards, despite missing two games with injuries, and ended his career in possession of six Bates records.

More than defense, special teams or even Gwozdz, most of the added pressure falls on the shoulder pads of Dion, and Bates is best off if he doesn’t need to use them.

Atkins was the ideal back for Bates’ I-formation offense. Opposing teams would crowd eight defenders near the line of scrimmage but still were unable to stop him. He’d run left, run right, and left again, usually tattooing spike marks on linebackers’ helmets.

Dion, who saw time at wideout two years ago, is smaller but quicker and more versatile than Atkins, which according to Harriman’s game plan will force defenses to react differently to potential threats, like play-action wheel routes.

“We’re going to be able to utilize Rob in different ways than we used Sean, getting him out of the backfield and lining him up as a receiver,” Bates coach Mark Harriman said. “Rob has very good vision running the football and is able to find the cutback lane. He’ll stick the ball up in there when we need him to, but he allows us to open up our offense a little bit and get some mismatches with our other receivers.”

Gwozdz replaces Kane Jankoski, who spent two years calling plays in the huddle and led Bates to its second Colby-Bowdoin-Bates (CBB) title in four years last season. Bates ended the season with a three-game winning streak that it hopes to continue when it opens the season at home Saturday against Amherst. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

So far, Gwozdz and Dion have surpassed all expectations. Two weeks ago, during an intra-squad scrimmage, they hooked up for a 50-yard touchdown pass, which raised a few eyebrows among the handful of Bates fans and coaches in attendance.

“Regardless of who you’re replacing,” Harriman said, “there’s always a need for your guys to be productive. Both those guys have done a great job with that.”

It was a simple play-action pass: flood right and throw back against the grain to the halfback running a wheel route down the left sideline. The ball was slightly overthrown, but Dion cradled the ball over his shoulders and sprinted in for six. It seemed to be a sign that the offense had come together and could match the game intensity of Bates’ defense, which is returning 10 starters and kept the Bobcats in most of their ballgames last season.

Then injuries started putting offensive linemen on the bench, casting doubt on Bates’ ability to move the chains and putting more pressure on the defensive and special teams units to maintain manageable field position.

Expected to miss at least four games, Nick Markos went down with a muscular back injury and was followed by Justin Levesque, who tore his MCL and is doubtful to return Bates’ second game against Tufts on Sept. 28. Then, with the season opener only four days away, Mike Lopez dislocated a kneecap.

“We’ve gone from the (offensive line) being probably one of the most experienced positions on our team with those three seniors to potentially lining up with three sophomores on Saturday,” Harriman said. “We have some good young players, but obviously when you’re playing with seasoned veterans it makes things easier.”

Last year Amherst beat Bates 19-0 by keying on Atkins and giving up short hitches and out routes near midfield.

“They have a bend-but-don’t-break defense,” Harriman said of Bates not being able to score against Amherst last season. “For Saturday we need to establish a run game but also keep them off-balance. The key is to have big plays on first and second downs and stay on track. We anticipate it as a game going down to the wire, so we need to come out early and have some success.”