BRUNSWICK, Maine – Hamilton College's
Connor Laverty '28 ran for two touchdowns and
Carmelo Velardo '27 kicked a school-record four field goals in the Continentals' 26-7 win against the Bowdoin College Polar Bears at Bowdoin's Whittier Field on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 17.
Season Update
- Hamilton (1-4 NESCAC) recorded its first win since the 2025 finale against Bates College.
- The Polar Bears (0-5) lost their sixth straight game dating back to last year.
How It Happened
- The Continentals led 17-0 at the half. Bowdoin ended its first drive by missing a 40-yard field goal attempt wide to the right with 3:51 left in the first quarter. Three plays later, Luke Kurzum '27 and Matthew Kearns '28 hooked up for a 66-yard pass play down to the Polar Bear 11. After Bowdoin was flagged for a personal foul and gave Hamilton first-and-goal at the two-yard line, backup quarterback Laverty scampered around right end and inside the right pylon with 59.2 seconds remaining.
- On the first play of the second quarter Cameron Sewell '27 blocked a punt by the Polar Bears and it was downed just 13 yards past the line of the scrimmage at the Bowdoin 46. Laverty ended a seven-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run off right tackle with 11:39 to go.
- The teams traded punts on the next three possessions and the Continentals took over at their own 29 with about five minutes left. Hamilton drove 50 yards in 12 plays and Velardo booted a 38-yard field goal with 44 seconds remaining. Mitchell Ivatts '29 kept the drive alive with a 14-yard catch on third-and-13 to the Polar Bear 24.
- Bowdoin scored its touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. Michael Wolfendale ended the 80-yard march with a 23-yard touchdown catch from Soren Hummel.
- The Continentals went three-and-out on their first drive of the second half, but the Polar Bears couldn't capitalize. Hamilton responded with field goals on its next three drives and slowly pulled away.
- After the touchdown that opened the half, Bowdoin's next three possessions ended with a punt, an interception and a turnover on downs. The Continentals led 20-7 after three quarters and 26-7 with under a minute to go in the fourth.
Notes
- After the 38-yarder late in the first half, Velardo added field goals of 32, 27 and 37 yards. He also made two extra points. Velardo had made just one field goal in the first four games this season.
- Laverty has six rushing touchdowns in the last three games. He's tied for second in the conference with those six rushing scores. Laverty finished with a game-high 48 yards rushing on 12 carries.
- Kurzum was 20-of-26 passing for 274 yards. He leads the NESCAC with 128 completions and 1,436 yards, and is second with a completion percentage rate of 71.1 percent.
- Kearns ended up with five receptions for a game-high 113 yards. He's third in the conference with 445 yards.
- Ivatts added seven catches for 81 yards. He leads the NESCAC with 559 yards and is first in NCAA Division III with 10.8 receptions per game.
- Mat Bucher '27 was credited with a career-best 14 tackles including two stops for a loss of six yards. Bucher, who leads the conference with 11.4 tackles per game, added a quarterback hurry.
- Ryan Dickhaut '30 collected nine tackles, including seven solo stops, and came up with Hamilton's first interception this season.
- Jack Quinn '28 registered a career-high nine tackles.
- David Sack '30 picked up his first collegiate sack.
- Hummel was 22-of-36 for 221 yards. Zach Taylor topped the Polar Bears' defense with 14 tackles.
- Hamilton outgained Bowdoin, 366-308. The Continentals had the ball for more than 35 minutes and were 10-of-19 on third down conversions.
- Hamilton won at Bowdoin for the first time since 2019.
- The seven points allowed by the Continentals was their lowest total since the last game of the 2023 season when they also gave up seven to Bates.
Next Game
Hamilton returns home to face winless Colby College on Saturday, Oct. 24 at noon.
