LEWISTON — Bates College football was all about construction last year.

The sharp, new artificial turf, iron gates and roomy, metal bleachers were part of a long-term plan to help the Bobcats keep pace with their New England Small College Athletic Conference competition.

This year’s theme is precisely the opposite: Tearing down some walls and kicking in a few doors in pursuit of a long-overdue upward climb in the standings.

“We’re looking to take another step forward and turn the close games into victories,” Bates linebacker and senior tri-captain Kevin Helm said. “We were right there last year and have a good team coming back, so that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Perhaps you’ve heard those words before from the Bobcats’ camp. Thanks to a promising start and a few painfully near-misses at the finish in 2010, the distance from the valley to the summit doesn’t seem as daunting now.

Bates (2-6) beat Tufts for the first time in 25 years. The Bobcats led Wesleyan with two minutes remaining before fumbles proved their undoing in a 27-20 defeat.

Factor in close losses to in-state rivals Colby and Bowdoin and it was an autumn of mixed feelings.

Twelve points. Three plays. Choose your mathematical poison. Either way, it was all that separated Bates from its first winning season since 1980.

“Obviously it’s ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda,’ but by the same token it gave us some confidence that we’ve just got to make plays in critical situations to make the difference between winning games and losing games,” Bates coach Mark Harriman said.

Bates opens the season with back-to-back home games against Amherst (1 p.m. Saturday) and Tufts.

In addition to the sheen of the physical plant and the enhanced confidence that comes with being competitive in almost every game, Bates has a full year under its belt with new offensive and defensive schemes.

The Bobcats introduced the triple option and the 3-5-3 defense a year ago.

“We should be able to get off the ground a lot faster,” defensive lineman and tri-captain Pat Quinn said.

“It’s a mental thing but it’s just as much a physical thing too, being in the offense for the second year,” said offensive lineman Andrew Scichilone, also a captain. “We’re a lot farther along at this point than we were last year.”

Most of Bates’ primary offensive weapons return, headlined by junior quarterback Trevor Smith (1,207 passing yards, nine touchdowns), junior halfback Patrick George and 6-foot-7 receiver John Squires (30 catches, 510 yards, six TDs).

The Bobcats lost two offensive line linchpins when all-NESCAC tackle Ryan Weston and prospective third-year starter Mark Sylvester were lost for the season with injuries. But they get one back in Scichilone, whose knee gave out after only two starts in 2010.

Linebackers are the strength of Bates’ defense. Helm led NESCAC in tackles as a junior. Brett McAllister and Cam Evans are four-year starters.

“We hadn’t been in too many close games (until 2010). We had been, but not the same competitiveness as last year,” Helm said. “I think mentally the kids on the team are a lot more focused this year and know the opportunity we have. I definitely think there’s a better confidence about making the play.”

In its near-breakthrough season, Bates showed a tendency that so often vexes long-suffering teams on the cusp of competitiveness: Playing not to lose instead of playing to win.

“Now we’re trying to make the play rather than not mess up,” Quinn said.

“We’ve been young, and I think that was part of the problem,” noted Harriman. “Not having spring football, it’s nice to have as many guys as we have back. We certainly look a lot different at this time now than we did a year ago.”

After the two-week homestand, Bates will travel to Williams and Wesleyan.

The home schedule resumes Oct. 22 with Middlebury, followed by a trip to Colby on Oct. 29. The home finale is Nov. 5 against Bowdoin, and the schedule winds up Nov. 12 at Hamilton.

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