They made good in Maine
Players from area schools play key roles in Bowdoin football
When Bowdoin College senior tailback Jeff Smith slammed into the end zone from 4 yards out with 4:40 to play against Williams two weekends ago at his home field in Brunswick, Maine, it meant that the Polar Bears would not be left out in the cold against their longtime nemesis.
The score by the former Needham High most valuable player put Bowdoin ahead to stay in an opening-day game that it eventually would win, 28-14. The Williams College squad's 14-game winning streak in the New England Small College Athletic Conference and Bowdoin's 15-game losing streak against Williams, dating to 1979, were over.
Bobby Welch, a sophomore from Dover, put the exclamation point on the victory with an end-zone interception on the last drive mounted by Williams.
Smith and Welch, who was a Tri-Valley League all-star at Dover-Sherborn High School, are part of a 10-player contingent from the suburbs west of Boston on the Bowdoin roster, the majority starters or significant backups.
"Scoring that late touchdown was incredible, but it didn't hit me until I got to the sideline," Smith said. "It was pretty exciting for all of us - players, coaches, and our people in the stands.
"There was no reason for us to feel nervous against Williams. The pressure was on them, considering their history against us."
Bowdoin, which lost, 30-6, to Amherst College last weekend, was hoping to get back on the winning track yesterday against Tufts.
Smith, who had 54 yards on 13 carries as well as Bowdoin's first touchdown against Williams, took over as starting tailback last season, one in which Bowdoin was hit hard by injuries and finished 2-6, but won its last two games against Maine rivals Bates and Colby.
"Right now, the goal for the seniors is to finish at least 6-2, which would mean we were .500 for our Bowdoin careers," said Smith, an all-Bay State Conference selection and Eastern Massachusetts all-star who also played baseball and hockey at Needham High.
"Jeff Smith came here as a talented runner but he has really worked on his blocking and pass-catching out of the backfield, and he's consistent in all of those areas," said Dave Caputo, in his eighth year as Bowdoin's head coach. He said the Williams game was Bowdoin's best team victory during his tenure. "Bobby Welch started right away as a freshman and has really done a great job."
Welch, a captain and team MVP in high school, said he felt a sense of relief after his interception. "But it wasn't just by luck that we won. Our team felt we could do something special," said Welch, who was moved from free safety to cornerback this season.
Welch knows all about the ups and downs of football, since he played on two 2-9 teams, his sophomore and senior seasons, at Dover-Sherborn. During his junior year, the team enjoyed a 9-2 season, capping off its turnaround with a Thanksgiving Day win over Medfield, its first in several seasons.
Other local players starting for Bowdoin are senior tight end Mike Karrat, a three-sport athlete at Ashland High and a Tri-Valley League all-star in football and basketball; junior center Ray Wang of Sherborn, a three-sport captain at Dover-Sherborn and a superb blocker; senior three-year starting offensive lineman Matt McCall, a former Most Outstanding Lineman at Natick High and a Shriners All-Star ("Our best blocker," Caputo said); and junior linebacker Scott Roman of Dover (Roxbury Latin and Loomis Chaffee School), who also contributes on special teams and tied for the team high with nine tackles at Amherst.
Laurence Duggan of Weston, a team MVP at Milton Academy and another Shriners participant, is a junior who complements Smith at tailback and is adept at pass-blocking; and junior tight end Michael Welsh, a three-sport athlete at Milford High where he was the football team's Unsung Hero, stepped up while Karrat recuperated from a back injury.
Needham High alumnus and speedy freshman Ben Chadwick is breaking in at the corner position, and classmate Karl Nyangnoni of Sudbury (Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) has been injured but will be in the mix at defensive back.
"I like to recruit from the western 'burbs," said Caputo, whose 2005 team finished third in the conference with a 6-2 record, Bowdoin's best season in 30 years. "These players come from schools that are demanding academically and athletically. When coaches like Tom Lamb [Natick] or Tom Lopez [Lincoln-Sudbury] call about a recruit, I definitely listen." 