BRUNSWICK – Bowdoin took a monkey off its back Saturday.

After five years of frustration, the Polar Bears were finally able to beat the Bates Bobcats.

Quarterback Ricky Leclerc orchestrated an offense that only turned the ball over once while the Bowdoin defense forced four turnovers in a 21-0 win at Whittier Field.

“They’ve forced some turnovers (the last two years),” said Bowdoin coach Dave Caputi. “Today, that was the difference for us.”

For the second consecutive week, Caputi had planned on alternating quarterbacks. Last week at Wesleyan, Caputi elected to go with Mike Ferrante early on. This week he went strictly with Leclerc after Ferrante opened the game as the starter.

“I was planning to alternate them,” said Caputi. “I just went with a feeling I had.”

Leclerc’s first series persuaded Caputi, as the junior directed the Polar Bears (2-5) on a 62-yard scoring drive. A 13-yard strike from Leclerc to Scott Brisson on third down keyed the drive. From the Bobcat 28, Ahron Cohen burst up the middle and went the distance untouched to put the Polar Bears up 7-0.

Cohen started over an injured Rob Patchett and rushed for 65 yards on the day. Patchett didn’t enter the game until midway through the second quarter. He ran for a 1-yard score late in the first half and totaled 83 yards rushing on 28 carries.

“We’ve got a lot of injuries,” said Caputi. “We weren’t sure if (Patchett) was going to play. It was a game-time decision. We tried to get a full game out of three tailbacks.”

While the Polar Bears were racking up yardage with 192 on the ground, the Bobcats (1-6) struggled to move the ball. The Bobcats fumbled three snaps from center and rushed for just 50 yards on 28 carries. They managed just two first downs in the first half while cracking the Bowdoin side of the field on only one drive.

“They came out ready to go,” said Bates coach Mark Harriman. “We didn’t show up offensively. You have to make your own field position and we certainly didn’t do that.”

Cornerback Brendan Murphy set up Patchett’s score with an interception of a Brandon Colon (14 of 33, 124 yards) pass. He returned it to the Bates 41. Patchett carried 10 times for 31 yards on the scoring drive and Leclerc kept it going with a 10-yard scramble on third down.

A John Regan interception had the Polar Bears on the offensive again early in the third quarter. On fourth-and-11 from the Bates 31, Leclerc found tight end Jared Prichard on a seam pass down the middle and Bowdoin led 21-0.

“(Jared) got behind (defensive back Matt Mann) and he split the two safeties,” said Leclerc. “It’s not hard to see a 6-foot, five guy. I put it up there and he got it.”

Bates would threaten midway through the fourth quarter on its only productive drive of the game. Colon completed five passes on the 11-play, 57-yard drive. That march ended however, when David Donahue jarred the ball loose from Matt Orlando after the Bates wideout caught a pass at the Bowdoin 1. Regan recovered the ball to preserve the shutout.

The Polar Bears now lead the series 61-39 with seven ties. Bowdoin hopes to get another monkey off its back next weekend as it attempts to win its first CBB title since 1998. That will be decided in winner-take-all match up at Colby.