Off to a 2-0 start, winning their first two games by 16 points each, the Wesleyan football team if flying high heading into their second weekend trip up to Maine in the 2021 season. After opening the year with a 21-5 win at Colby, the Cardinals head to Lewiston, Maine on Saturday for a 1 PM start against the Bates in a game that will be on Homecoming Weekend for the Bobcats.

The Cardinals head into week 3 of the 2021 season in what will be the 39^th all-time meeting between the two sides on Saturday. Wesleyan heads into this year's iteration with a commanding 34-4 record all-time against Bates and are currently riding a 14-game winning streak in the season series., Wesleyan has won by 20+ points and scored 40+ points in three of the last four meetings including a 48-12 win in their last meeting, which came at Corwin Stadium on Sept. 28, 2019.

In that 2019 meeting, the last time these two sides met, the Cardinals ran away with a 48-12 win as Wesleyan held a commanding 34-0 halftime lead en route to the victory. The Cardinal defense forced four turnovers (3 INT, 1 fumble) and held the Bobcats to a mere 117 total yards of offense with just 53 through the air and 64 on the ground. QB Ashton Scott went 14-for-20 for 192 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT while rushing seven times for 31 yards. RB Glenn Smith rushed nine times for 118 yards and 2 TD. Defensively, LB Isaiah Miller racked up seven tackles with 2.5 TFL. Three Cardinals recorded one INT apiece. Bates attempted just eight passes as a team in that matchup while rushing 48 times. Wesleyan picked up 16 first downs while holding Bates to just eight for the game and outgaining the Bobcats 394-117.

The 2021 campaign marks the 138^th season of Wesleyan football with competition as the Cardinals look to conclude the fall with a ninth-straight winning season. Wesleyan went 8-1 and finished in sole possession of second place in the NESCAC standings in 2019, marking the third time in program history that the Cardinals won eight games in a season and the first time since 1969. Wesleyan posted thrilling wins against Amherst (31-28 2OT) and Williams (27-21 OT) to earn their third Little 3 title in the past seven seasons. The Cardinals saw 13 players earn a spot on the All-NESCAC Team, the most of any team in the conference.

Week 2 Recap (WES 30, HAM 14)
A long awaited return to Corwin Stadium at Andrus Field went very much according to plan for Wesleyan in a 30-14 victory over Hamilton. The Cardinals outgained the Continentals 419-250, including a 194-31 edge on the ground, while Wesleyan led 20-0 at the half and 27-0 early in the third quarter as the big margin proved more than enough in the end.

Wesleyan set the tone right from the jump, marching 86 yards down the field in 11 plays, finishing with QB/WR David Estevez '22 finding Matt Luttenberger '24 on a fake fun, pull-up pass from 5 yards out for the first score of the game. In contrast with their season opening 21-5 win at Colby where the Cardinals relied heavily on big plays to score on offense, Wesleyan grinded their way to scores against Hamilton, going on another extended drive to go up 14-0. This time it was a 13-play, 61-yard series of plays that culminated in QB Ashton Scott '22 finding WR Logan Tomlinson '23 for a leaping grab in the end zone.

A muffed Hamilton punt return later in the first half opened the door for another Wesleyan score, taking over at the Continental 20-yard line. On a 3^rd-and-long play, Scott looked to his right and found WR Matt Simco '22 open in the far right corner for the third Cardinal TD of the half to make it 20-0 at the break.

Coming out of halftime, Wesleyan's defense forced Hamilton into a 3-and-out on offense, punting the ball to the Cardinals who continued to pour it on. Estevez juked out several Hamilton defenders, scampering upfield for a big 28-yard gain and later he found WR Luis Sanchez '24 open for a 20-yard pickup on a big 3^rd-and-11 play. Now in the red zone, on the very next play, Estevez passed to Tomlinson on a screen play and the junior receiver did the rest, breaking a tackle and crossing the goal line for his second TD of the day, icing the game away for the Cardinals.

Wesleyan was efficient all day on offense, running 74 plays compared to 45 for Hamilton while dominating in time of possession (39:37 to 20:14). The Cardinals picked up 23 first downs compared to 10 for the Continentals while Wesleyan went 8-for-14 on 3^rd down conversions for the game. Scott (8-for-14, 134 yards, 2 TD) and Estevez (8-for-12, 91 yards, 2 TD) combined for stellar QB play, amassing 225 yards with 4 TD and 0 INT. Estevez also rushed 17 times for 69 yards.

RB Charlie McPhee '22 had a career day on the ground, rushing 20 times for a career-high 100 yards as this was his first 100-yard day of his collegiate career. Tomlinson finished with seven catches for 81 yards and 2 TD to lead the WR group.
LB Joe Schaefer '24 totaled seven tackles (three solo) to lead the Cardinal defense that saw Danny Banks '22 and Jack Nally '24 each tally an INT and pass breakup.

Week 1 Recap (WES 21, COL 5)
The Cardinals head into their home opener having scored a 21-5 season-opening win at Colby last Saturday in a game that saw Wesleyan hold the Mules without a touchdown, marking the first time Wesleyan held an opponent without a touchdown on the road since 2014. Wesleyan dialed up some big plays on offense, as Scott found WR Logan Tomlinson '23 for a 38-yard score late in the 2^nd quarter while WR Thomas Elkhoury '24 took a shovel pass from Estevez and took it 84 yards, untouched to the house as that score put Wesleyan up comfortably 21-3.

Colby actually led 3-0 midway through the 2^nd quarter but a crucial botched snap on a punt attempt saw Wesleyan pounce as the Cardinals had the ball on the Mules' 2-yard line. RB Charlie McPhee '22 punched it in from 1 yard out on his third try from in close to give Wesleyan the lead and on the next Colby play, QB Matt Hersch was picked off by Banks. The huge momentum swing continued on as the Cardinals' very next play was the Scott TD bomb to Tomlinson as suddenly, in the span of three plays and 17 seconds of game action, Wesleyan went from trailing 3-0 to leading 14-3.

Elkhoury's 84-yard catch and run early in the 4^th quarter from Estevez made it 21 unanswered Cardinal points as the Wesleyan defense came up with big plays and stop time and time again in the season opener. Colby registered a safety with 10:18 remaining to make it 21-5 and just a two-possession game. However, the Mules' ensuing drive stalled out in Wesleyan territory and the Cardinal ground game off McPhee and RB Owen Brickley '23 ran the final 7:06 of the clock down to give Wesleyan the comfortable victory.

Scott struggled with accuracy throughout the contest, finishing 7-for-19 but he certainly made the most of his seven completions, going for 155 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT. Estevez was credited for a passing TD on the shovel pass to Elkhoury as the Cardinal QB duo of Scott and Estevez combined for 246 yards passing, 2 TD and 0 INT.

Wesleyan's defense generated big plays all day, recording two INTs, two sacks and combined for eight TFL as a unit. Joe Schaefer '24 racked up eight tackles (six solo) with two TFL in his first career game. Nick Helbig '23 tallied five tackles, two TFL and one sack. Banks and DB Alex Beauchesne '24 each recorded an INT.

A Look at Bates
The Bobcats are off to an 0-2 start to the season with a close 28-20 home loss to Amherst and a 24-0 defeat at Middlebury representing their two losses. Bates has rushed for 204 yards in two games while giving up 377 on the ground to the Mammoths and Panthers combined. QB Brendan Costa it the team's leading rusher at 70 yards on 30 carries while RB Christian Oliveri has 48 yards on 11 carries (4.4 average rush) through two games.

Costa has been the primary QB for the Bobcats in their first two games, completing 50 percent of his passes (39-for-78) for 355 yards with 2 TD and 4 INT. He's coming off a game at Middlebury where he struggled going 14-for-30 for 115 yards, 0 TD and 3 INT.
WR Mohamed Diawara had a big day in the season opener, totaling five catches for 93 yards and 1 TD but he was shut down at Middlebury, finishing with just one catch for eight yards. WR Sean Bryant comes in with 10 catches for 93 yards and 1 TD on the season, totaling seven catches for 61 yards and a score against Amherst on Sept. 18. WR Derek Marino has a team-leading 11 catches through two games, which he has converted into 79 yards.

LB Tony Hooks leads the NESCAC in tackles (24) and tackles per game (12) so far in 2021 while LB Spencer Adams has 17 tackles and one INT and DB Anthony Costa has one INT and one pass breakup to lead the secondary unit into Saturday's contest. Bates has four sacks through two game, with three players registered one total sack each.