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Date: November 9, 2002
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Stepka, MacPherson lead Colby to win

WATERVILLE, Maine --

Colby College sophomore running back Aaron Stepka (Farmington/Farmington, Conn.) broke the New England Small College Athletic Conference single-season rushing record Saturday.

Yet it was a 3-yard gain that proved to be the biggest carry of the day. Stepka scored from 3 yards out with just 10 seconds remaining to lift Colby to a 32-27 win against Bowdoin College in the 114th meeting between the two colleges.

Stepka rushed 44 times for 199 yards Saturday to finish the season with 1,370 yards on 293 carries. He had already set the NESCAC record for carries in a season last week in a victory over Tufts University. Stepka broke the single-season rushing record of Williams' Jamall Pollock, who had 1,293 yards in 1995.

Bowdoin (1-7) held Stepka to just 72 yards on 21 carries in the first half by concentrating on stuffing the run. Colby senior quarterback Pat Conley (Morse HS, Deerfield Academy/Bath, Maine) did most of his damage in the opening half with 183 of his 241 passing yards before halftime. Conley completed 18-of-29 passes and had three touchdowns in his final game.

Colby (4-4) got big games offensively out of seniors Ian MacPherson (Waltham/Waltham, Mass.) and Lee Carlson (Braintree/Braintree, Mass.). MacPherson caught seven passes for 79 yards and had two touchdowns, while Carlson added five catches for 92 yards and one touchdown.

The Polar Bears took a 24-20 lead into the fourth quarter and became the first team this season to score 20 points or more against Colby. Stepka got his first touchdown on a 7-yard run with 13:22 left in the fourth quarter, but Bowdoin blocked the extra point and the Mules led 26-24.

Bowdoin went ahead again when kicker Jon Rock (Waltham/Waltham, Mass.) converted on a 33-yard field goal with 10:15 remaining in the game for a 27-26 lead. Both teams had one drive stalled before Colby got the ball back with 6:23 to play at their own 27-yard line.

Colby used a 14-play, 73-yard drive to get the game-winning points from Stepka on his 3-yard touchdown run. Stepka ran the ball 13 times on the drive, including seven carries of 6 yards or more. MacPherson, though, may have had the biggest play on the drive. Facing a 3rd-and-5 on the Bowdoin 20, MacPherson made a tough 7-yard catch on the sideline to keep the drive moving. If he had dropped the ball, Colby likely would have had to attempt a 37-yard field goal on fourth down.

Bowdoin sophomore running back Rob Patchett (Boston College HS/Pembroke, Mass.) caught a 35-yard touchdown pass and had a 94-yard kickoff return. He finished with 65 yards rushing, 53 yards receiving and had two kickoff returns for 105 yards.

Senior linebackers Mike Moran (Manchester West/Bedford, N.H.) and Luke Webster (Manchester Central/Manchester, N.H.) each had nine tackles to lead Colby's defense. Sophomore defensive back Brandon Irwin (Sherburne-Earlville/Sherburne, N.Y.) added six tackles and had two interceptions. Senior Dan Parise (Westboro/Westboro, Mass.) also had six tackles.

Bowdoin junior linebacker Jeb Boudreau (Waltham/Waltham, Mass.) had 13 tackles and sophomore Andrew Parsons (Pinkerton/Derry, N.H.) had 12 tackles.