Colby running back Jake Schwern set a program record with 257 yards rushing and four touchdowns to the lead the Mules in a 31-20 comeback win over Bowdoin in the college football season finale for both teams on Saturday.
The Mules, who trailed 20- 10 with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter, earned their first win of the season and finished at 1- 8, while the Polar Bears ended the year winless at 0- 9.
The Polar Bears got the scoring underway first, marching 90 yards in 10 plays and scoring on a 34- yard touchdown pass from Noah Nelson to Nick Vailas on a corner route.
The Mules responded with a 38-yard field goal from John Baron on their next possession, but Bowdoin answered with a 20-yard field goal from Andrew Sisti to maintain a 10-3 edge.
Schwern got his big day going for himself shortly after that, scampering 33 yards to pay-dirt to tie the game with 10:07 left in the second quarter.
Bowdoin carried a lead into halftime, as the Polar Bears covered 68 yards on a 10-play drive that ended with a 14-yard strike from Nelson to Bryan Porter, making it 17-10 at the break.
The third quarter opened with a flurry of action, as the Mules fumbled the opening kickoff, giving the Polar Bears the ball at the C-31, only to see Bowdoin return the favor with an interception to Will Caffey on their very first play from scrimmage.
The Polar Bears were able to cash in on their second possession of the quarter, getting a 23-yard boot from Sisti to extend the lead to 20-10 with 9:59 to go.
Bowdoin appeared to have forced a Colby punt on the next Mules possession, but a Polar Bear personal foul on the kick gave the Mules new life and Schwern took advantage, rushing for a 34- yard touchdown on the next play to cut the Bowdoin lead to 20-17 with 5:48 left in the third period.
Colby forced a Bowdoin punt and then faced a short third down at midfield on the first play of the fourth quarter. Schwern rushed 58 yards for his third score of the game to give the Mules their first lead, 24-20, with 14:50 on the clock.
After a Bowdoin three-and-out, Colby put the game on ice with a six-play, 47- yard drive that ended with a Schwern 1-yard TD plunge to make it 31-20.
Bowdoin had two final possessions, but turned the ball over on downs and threw an interception in an attempt to mount a late rally.
Bowdoin owned a 377-322 edge in total yards and held a 36:14-23:46 edge in time of possession for the game. The Mules rode Schwern to victory, as the tailback finished with 257 yards on 28 carries (9.2 yards/carry) and four touchdowns.
In a stellar effort, Vailas set a single game receiving record for the Polar Bears with 230 yards, and tied the single-game mark with 14 receptions, breaking and tying marks set by Pat Noone in 2009.
Nelson ended with 322 yards passing on 27-of-45 with two touchdowns and also had 33 yards rushing. Liam Dougherty led Bowdoin with 12 tackles, including a sack.
Colby was led by 10 tackles from Craig Stand, who had a pair of sacks in the win.
The win was the first by a road team in the Bowdoin- Colby rivalry since 2010 (Bowdoin) and was Colby’s first victory in Brunswick since 2005.
Bowdoin’s edge in the alltime series was cut to 70-50-9.
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