Coming off a disappointing 23-0 loss to Amherst that dropped them to 2-3, the football Cardinals needed a win going into Saturday’s game at Bowdoin. They got one the hard way, jumping out of the gate with a huge early lead but eventually giving it up and having to come from behind in the final minute.

In the first quarter, the game looked as though it would be no contest. After just 3:41, Wesleyan took a 7-0 lead on Paulie Lowther’s ’13 first touchdown catch. The onslaught continued for the rest of the first period, with Nick Ferris ’12 returning a fumble 35 yards for the Cardinals’ second touchdown, and Shea Dwyer ’10 blocking a Bowdoin punt, recovering it at the Polar Bear 25, and running it back for Wes’ third TD of the quarter. Dwyer’s performance earned him NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week recognition.

However, in the second quarter, Bowdoin began its comeback. The Polar Bears were led by quarterback Oliver Kell, who had a stellar day, competing 35 of 56 passes for 472 yards, three TDs, and an interception. Kell also ran for 41 yards and a touchdown. That rushing touchdown came in the second period, as did a touchdown pass from Kell to receiver Pat Noone, who had 201 yards and two TDs on the day. Both of Bowdoin’s second quarter point-after attempts failed, with the first a missed kick and the second a failed two-point try. With Wes’ Pete Modera ’11 (nine catches, 91 yards, one TD) scoring his touchdown in the second on a 23-yard pass from QB Blake DuBois ’12, and the Cardinals’ point-after kick failing, Wes took a 27-12 lead into halftime.

Bowdoin opened the second-half scoring with a rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter. But Justin Freres ’11 swung the momentum back to the Cardinals, scooping up Kell’s fumble on an attempted two-point conversion run and returning it nearly the length of the field for a defensive PAT and two points, putting the Cardinals up 29-18. Wesleyan immediately capitalized on the momentum shift, using its ensuing possession to go 66 yards and score on a one-yard TD run by Greg McDonough ’12. Going into the fourth with a 36-18 lead, it certainly looked as though the Cardinals would have no trouble shutting down the Polar Bears.

But in the fourth quarter, Bowdoin’s Kell engineered three superb scoring drives, none of which lasted longer than three minutes. Suddenly, with 1:17 left, the Polar Bears had scored 21 unanswered points to take a 39-36 lead.

But the Cardinals were unfazed, and with the help of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Bowdoin and a 17-yard kickoff return by Te’Rhon O’Neal ’13, they started their final drive with great field position, at the Bowdoin 42 yard line. But the first three plays by the Cardinals, including a sack of DuBois, netted minus-three yards, and with Wes out of field goal range, down by three, and facing 4th-and-13 with just 52 seconds left, the situation looked bleak. DuBois rose to the occasion, though, completing a 16-yard pass to Mike Dudley ’13 for a first down. Two plays later, he completed a 29-yard pass across the middle to Lowther for the winning touchdown, giving Wes a 43-39 lead (after Matt Alexander’s ’12 extra point) with just 37 seconds left. Bowdoin refused to give in, however, with Kell leading the Polar Bears to the Wesleyan 35 in less than 10 seconds. After three incomplete passes, Pete Sugarbaker ’10 came up with a huge sack of Kell on fourth down to give the Cardinals the ball back with five seconds left and guarantee a win.

Although Bowdoin racked up 564 yards of offense, 513 of them by Kell, there were defensive standouts for the Cardinals. Freres had a 27-yard interception return, two contested passes and 12 tackles to go along with his 92-yard two-point conversion run. His performance was rewarded by the NESCAC, who named him the Co-Defensive Player of the Week. Offensively, the Cardinals were led by DuBois, who had an excellent day, completing 29 of 52 passes for 320 yards, three TDs, with no interceptions.

Little Three foe Williams (5-1) comes to Middletown this Saturday, Nov. 7, as part of the Homecoming/Family Weekend festivities. Wesleyan will look to improve on its 3-3 record, which currently puts the Cardinals in a three-way tie for fourth place in the NESCAC.