Hartford, Conn. - Junior free safety Steven Cella (Peabody, Mass.) picked off three passes and returned a punt 52 yards for touchdown to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 46-34 win over the visiting Bates College Bobcats in both team’s New England Small College Athletic Conference football opener this afternoon. Trinity, playing its first game under first-year Head Coach Chuck Priore, extends its winning streak against the Bobcats to 13 games dating back to 1979.

Trinity junior quarterback Greg Ward (Avon, Conn.) came close to shattering the College’s single game record of 400 passing yards. Ward finished with 19 completions in 28 pass attempts for 381 yards and two touchdowns. Ward also ran for a score in his Bantam debut.

Trinity sophomore tailback Brian Fabrizio (Norwell, Mass.) scored four touchdowns (two rushing and two receiving) while totaling 302 yards in total offense. He caught seven passes for 194 yards and rushed 26 times for 108 yards. Junior tight end Ray Cattaneo (Canton, Mass.) caught four passes for 55 yards.

Trinity jumped out to an early lead on a two-yard run by Ward with 8:54 left in the first quarter. Ward completed a 35-yard pass to Cattaneo and a 20-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Kevin Waters (Garden City, N.Y.) in the drive.

Bates quickly responded with a touchdown 2:30 later on one of sophomore Sean Atkins’ (New York, N.Y.) three rushing touchdowns. Atkins finished with career-high 218 rushing yards on 25 carries in the game, and caught three passes for 91 yards.

The teams traded touchdowns again later in the quarter 25 seconds apart, when Atkins followed a 69-yard touchdown pass from Ward to Fabrizio with an 80-yard touchdown run on the next play.

After a 27-yard field goal by Trinity sophomore Skip Sullivan (Milton, Mass.), Fabrizio scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard plunge. The Bantams threatened to blow the game open after Cella returned a Bates punt 52 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown making the score 30-14. But Atkins broke another first down run for a 67-yard score. Bates senior kicker ReJean Guerriero (Spofford, N.H.) added a 31-yard field goal to make the score, 30-24, with :25 remaining in the half.

Bates took their first lead of the game at 31-30, 7:16 into the third quarter on an 18-yard interception return by senior defensive back Tim Price (Wakefield, Mass.). Trinity answered on a 33-yard pass from Ward to Fabrizio and, after a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Bantams held a 36-31 advantage.

Guerriero cut the lead to two with a 25-yard field goal with 14:00 left in the game. Less than a minute later, Fabrizio scored his fourth touchdown on a 12-yard run. Trinity intercepted Bates sophomore quarterback Steve Barry (Boston, Mass.) three times in the final 8:50 of the game and Sullivan connected on a 37-yard field goal to solidify a 46-34 Bantam triumph. Cella intercepted his second and third passes of the game, tying a College record with three picks in one game.

Trinity sophomore linebacker David Midura (Easton, Mass.) finished with 12 tackles, while classmate Gavin O’Reilly (Cheshire, Conn.) notched seven tackles and an interception at strong safety. Both were making their first career starts for Trinity. Sophomore linebacker Ben Johnson (Lyndonville, Vt.) paced the Bobcats with 14 tackles.

Bates (0-1)                  14       0     7     3         --          34

Trinity, Conn. (1-0)     14      16    6     10      --         40

SCORING

1. 8:54 TC- Greg Ward two-yard run (Skip Sullivan kick)                          TC7-0

1. 6:24 B- Sean Atkins three-yard run (Rejean Guerriero kick)                  7-7

1. 5:24 TC- Ward 69-yard pass to Brian Fabrizio (Sullivan kick)              TC14-7

1. 5:01 B- Atkins 80-yard run (Guerriero kick)                                              14-14

2. 8:58 TC- Sullivan 27-yard FG                                                                    TC171-4

2. 5:11 TC- Fabrizio one-yard run (kick failed)                                            TC23-14

2. 3:24 TC- Cella 52-yard punt return (Sullivan kick)                                   T30-14

2. 3:04 B- Atkins 67-yard run (Guerriero kick)                                              T30-21

2. :25 B- Guerriero 31-yard FG                                                                      TC30-24

3. 7:44 B- Tim Price18-yard interception return (Guerriero kick)               B31-30

3. 3:22 TC- Ward 33-yard pass to Fabrizio (pass failed)                           T36-31

4. 14:00 B- Guerriero 25-yard FG                                                                 T36-34

4. 13:22 TC- Fabrizio 12-yard run (Sullivan kick)                                         T43-34

4. 7:06 TC- Sullivan 37-yard FG                                                                     T46-34

TEAM STATS

                                                                        Bates                                      Trinity

First Downs                                                      9                                                  19

Rushes-yards                                                  36-230                                      44-171

Passing yards                                                  157                                              381

Return yards                                                      163                                             238

Punts-yards                                                      8-257                                          4-144

Fumbles-lost                                                      2-0                                              2-2

Penalties-yards                                                  3-17                                          6-55

RUSHING

B- Sean Atkins 25-218, Jason Place 2-16, Marc Van Keuren 3-1, Paul Tenney 1-0, Steven Barry 5-(-5).

TC- Brian Fabrizio 26-108, Tom Pierandri 11-44, Greg Ward 7-19.

PASSING

B- Steve Barry 8-19-4-157

TC- Greg Ward 19-28-1-381.

RECEIVING

B- Sean Atkins 3-91, John Katsurikas 2-58, Brian Mulready 1-9, Rob Maguire 1-0, Paul Tenney 1-(-1)

TC- Brian Fabrizio 7-194, Peter Nesbit 2-62, Ray Cattaneo 4-55, Kevin Waters 3-47, Mike Indelicato 1-14,

Tom Pierandri 2-9.