WATERVILLE – The Bates football team posed a challenging question Saturday.

How do you win after fumbling your first play from scrimmage, the ensuing kickoff, and having a punt blocked at your own 22-yard line two drives later?

Simple answer: You don’t.

Trailing 13-0 halfway through the first, the Bobcats clawed their way back to a 14-13 lead at halftime, only to have Colby take advantage of two second-half interceptions en route to a 27-14 victory at Seaverns Field Saturday.

“Not taking anything away from Colby, but you can’t spot anybody a 13-point lead,” Bates coach Mark Harriman said. “We were lucky to hold them to two field goals (in the first quarter). Our defense hung tough and we came back to make it a ballgame.”

Rodney Ames scored the eventual game-winner at the 8:51 mark in the fourth quarter. On second and one from Bates’ 23, Justin Smith scrambled left and threw across his body to Ames, who back peddled behind the secondary for the touchdown. The two hooked up again on the two-point conversion, with Ames running an out pattern to give the White Mules a 21-14 lead.

Smith took place of Robert Lippert, who injured his shoulder diving for a first down earlier in the drive.

“He’s only a freshman, but he has great potential and he’s still learning,” Colby coach Tom Austin said of Smith calling plays in the huddle. “The play he made to find (Ames) in the end zone was spontaneous and creative.”

Colby’s Josh Berman put the game out of reach with 1:02 left on the clock, intercepting Chris Gwozdz’s pass at Bates’ 30 and jogging into the end zone untouched. John Goss missed the point-after.

Despite the Mules’ last-minute touchdown, the Bobcats squandered several opportunities to expand its lead in the third quarter and had a chance to even things up late in the game.

In the third, facing a fourth and one on Colby’s 26, Gwozdz faked a handoff to fullback Ryan Fitzpatrick and connected with a diving Mike Moynahan at the 11. Three plays later, Gwozdz threw against the grain and was picked off at the goal line by Travis Austin, who returned the ball to Colby’s 47.

Bates moved the ball into Colby territory on its next possession, only to have Nat Carr’s 31-yard field goal miss wide left with six seconds left in the third quarter.

Colby, up 21-14 with four minutes remaining in the game, took to the ground to run out the clock, but Smith’s pitch to Aaron Stepka went behind the running back and was recovered by Bates’ Mike Horan at midfield.

The Bobcats only moved backwards on a Conor Sullivan sack and a false start.

Bates’ offense had one more chance with the ball, but Berman’s interception return for a touchdown put things out of reach.

“Colby is always a physical team and really gets to stopping the run game. Anytime you get to a point where you’re one-side and the defense knows what’s coming that hurts anybody,” Harriman said of Bates’ struggle to move the ball downfield.

One of the few bright spots for Bates was running back Ken Adams, who became only the second Bobcat to rush for a 100 yards (104) in five consecutive games. Chris Hickey accomplished the feat in 1988.

But it wasn’t a perfect day for the rookie tailback, as Adams fumbled Bates’ first play from scrimmage, which turned into a 39-yard field goal by Goss. The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Rob Maguire and led to an eight-yard touchdown run by Aaron Stepka. Goss then connected on a 33-yarder nearly five minutes later, which was set up by a blocked punt at Bates’ 22.

Bates rallied late in the quarter, gaining momentum from a Colby fumble on the Mules’ 47.

Gwozdz rolled right and threw a weak screen across the grain to Jamie Walker, who cut behind a block from John Pambianci and rumbled 24 yards for the score. Carr connected on the point-after.

With 2:22 left in the first half, Gwozdz found Owen Miehe in the back of the end zone. Miehe lined up on the right, faked an out route before cutting towards the uprights and made a diving catch between two defenders in zone coverage. Carr’s PAT gave Bates its temporary 14-13 lead.

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