Playing on a slick, muddy field at Bowdoin College this past Saturday, the Wesleyan football team defeated the Polar Bears 21-14. With the win the team improved to a record of 4-2, its best start to a season since 2002.

“It was a sloppy day,” said linebacker Dave Brustein ’10. “We just kept getting after them and came off the field with a win; that’s all that matters.”

The game began with an surprising offensive explosion, given the steady rain and sub-par field conditions, the teams scored touchdowns on four of the game’s first five possessions. After forcing a Bowdoin punt on the game’s opening series, Wesleyan took advantage, marching 73 yards in 15 plays and chewing up a significant amount of clock along the way. Receiver Kevin Leamy ’09 brought the offense the majority of the way both receiving and running. He caught four passes from quarterback Zach Librizzi ’08 for 28 yards and took a right-side pitch for a nine-yard gain on the drive. Librizzi, who continued to add to his impressive season statistics with 300 total yards (20 rushes for 83 yards and 16-32 passing for 217 yards), finished off the opening drive, running for a touchdown for five yards out with 7:32 to go in the first quarter.

Both teams proved capable of passing through the torrential weather, as Bowdoin answered Wesleyan’s opening score with a nine-play, 59-yard touchdown drive. Bowdoin quarterback Oliver Kell connected with receiver Justin Starr on a 20-yard pass to reach the endzone.

“It seemed like the rain was going to slow everyone down, but the first quarter was anything but slow,” said Matt Ward ’10.

The Wesleyan offense continued to roll in the first quarter, benefiting from some good fortune to score again on their second possession. During the drive, a 47-yard pass from Librizzi glanced off the hands of receiver Mark Noonan ’08 and into the waiting mitts of receiver Ryan Walsh ’09 who took it to the Bowdoin 27-yard line. In another stroke of luck, as an endzone pass interference call gave Wesleyan a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Librizzi took care of the rest, rushing for a second touchdown, and the Cards led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Bowdoin started the second quarter with yet another scoring march, led by Polar Bear runningbacks Nick Tom and Ryan Duggan. Tom sparked the drive with a 24-yard run and Duggan rushed five times for 53 yards, 15 of which accounted for Bowdoin’s second touchdown.

The rain and mud eventually took their toll, however, as the teams went a combined 13 offensive series without scoring a point after knotting the score at 14-14. The Wesleyan defense continued its season-long stout play throughout the middle quarters of the game. Linebackers Vinny Colangelo ’09 and Peter Overman ’09 along with defensive back Justin Freres ’11 paced the Cards on defense with 11, seven, and seven tackles respectively. While the Bowdoin offense moved down the field often, the defense came up big in the red zone all day, holding their opponents scoreless after Duggan’s second quarter run.

The Cardinal offense almost went ahead in the middle of the third quarter, reaching the Bowdoin six-yard line. Head Coach Frank Hauser kept kicker Chris Helsel ’09 on the sideline and elected to go for it on fourth-and-two. A Taso Fotinos ’10 run to the left came up short, however, and the Cards turned the ball over.

The winning score came from the familiar duo of Librizzi and Walsh who, up to this point in the season, have connected 31 times for 533 yards and two touchdowns. While Walsh finished the day with a team-high 153 yards receiving, his 54-yard touchdown catch with 12:27 left in the fourth quarter proved the most important. Librizzi let the ball fly from the Wesleyan 46-yard line and Walsh grabbed it at the Bowdoin 30, outraced two Polar Bear secondary players, and put the Cards ahead for good.

The Wesleyan defense sealed the win at the end of the game, holding twice on fourth down in its own territory. With 2:49 to play and Bowdoin attempting its second fourth down conversion, Overman crashed through the middle of the Bowdoin offensive line and tripped up Duggan short of the first down.

After a 11-yard first-down run from Fotinos and three straight Cardinal runs, punter A.J. Taucher ’08 pinned the Polar Bears on their own 18 with 40 seconds left to play. Feres closed the door on a Bowdoin come back by picking off a last-minute bomb from Kell from the Wesleyan 46-yard line. Freres now has four interceptions on this season.

“It feels great to be coming out of NESCAC games with wins,” Brustein said. “We’ve got work to do these next two weeks to finish the season on top of the conference.”

This weekend the football game against Williams College will be the featured event of the University’s Homecoming/Parents’ Weekend festivities. Come out to cheer on one of the most successful football teams in recent school history.