It was Senior Night for Hamilton Football as they matched up against Bates College this past Saturday. The team honored 20 seniors including all four team captains before the game. The walkouts included players’ family members, even furry ones, and spotlighted the achievements of the team’s departing players. The game would end with a first for the Continentals this season, a win.
Hamilton would win 24–21 in their final game of the season. This came off the back of standout performances from quarterback Luke Kurzum ’27, wide receiver Lucas Perez-Segnini ’25 and defensive back Kyle Bratcher ’26.
The game started off poorly for the Continentals. After winning the coin toss and deferring, they punted the ball to Bates. In a swift but methodical drive, Bates took advantage of a lackluster pass coverage to move the ball down the field. This culminated in a touchdown pass by backup quarterback Seneca Moore ’27 to Jake Walters ’27. The defense started the game still asleep and the offense and the rest of the team would soon follow suit.
Hamilton returned with a decent drive of their own but a dropped pass brought up a fourth down and with it a punt. Earlier in the drive the Continentals had been having minor snap problems, but they came to a head on this punt. The snap for the punt went past the punter and rolled around near Hamilton’s own 30 until the punter Tighe Hoey ’25 managed to track down the ball before he was tackled at the 28. This not only was an embarrassing play to make at the collegiate level but also gave Bates incredible field position.
Bates would take advantage of that blunder with a drive that went into the second quarter. A few plays took Bates to the two yard line where Ryan Lynskey ’27 would run it in for Bates second touchdown of the afternoon. A made extra point would make the score 0–14. Hamilton would once again attempt to strike back. This took the form of a long drive from the Continentals that ended with a 3rd down sack of Kurzum, leading to a successful Hamilton punt. Bates would get a nice nine yard rush off their first play of their possession before making a costly mistake. On the next run the ball would come loose and Bratcher would recover the fumble.
The offense was unable to make the most of this good fortune as a bad penalty halted any momentum and the team was unable to convert on a 4th and one. Bates would take the game into the two minute warning, where Bratcher would come up big again for the Continentals. In this play, Bratcher intercepted Bates at the 45 yard line for his sixth career interception.
This time, Hamilton would be able to capitalize off Bratcher’s great defensive play. The teams started up a quick two-minute drill with passes to Perez-Segnini. Smart rushing decisions from Kurzum allowed for the team to get to the three yard line and they called a timeout allowing for one last play with three seconds left in the half. With that, a pass was thrown to Perez-Segnini for a touchdown and with the extra point, Hamilton went into halftime cutting Bates’ lead to only seven.
Despite some costly mistakes, Hamilton left the half in high spirits, thanks mostly to the walk off touchdown and the 7–14 score. The half also marked a change in quarterback for Bates, switching from Moore to original projected starter Colton Bosselait ’25.
Hamilton was set to start with the ball for the third quarter and made the most of that momentum. The team would have a tidy possession, overcoming a few penalties. A game-tying touchdown came off a great pass to Perez-Segnini, who proceeded to make the best catch of the game as he reeled the football into the endzone one-handed. With the made extra point, Hamilton had managed to overcome the first half.
The teams traded punts on their next three possessions, with neither being able to put up a substantial drive. Finally, as the clock rolled in the fourth quarter, the Continentals drove for the go-ahead touchdown. Perez-Segnini would catch his third touchdown of the game, something that last occurred for Hamilton on Oct. 13, 2018 when Will Budington ’21 finished with three against Bowdoin College. The now mobile student section was loud as they began to see a Hamilton win on the horizon and channeled that energy into helping the team make a critical third down stop.
The next Hamilton possession would produce a field goal, practically ending any chance for a Bates comeback. Bates would drive down for a touchdown to make the score 24–21 but unfortunately had taken too much time in doing so. After a failed onside kick, Hamilton would run a few rushing plays before kneeling it down to end the game.
This was the team’s final game of the season, making them 1–8 on the season. This was the team’s first win since Nov. 11, 2023 when they defeated Bates 21–7. While the season overall was one to forget, this game was a bright spot in an otherwise bleak season.
