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First appeared Dec. 10, 2001
The University of Northern Iowa scored five touchdowns in the second half to turn a 21-21 halftime tie into a 56-28 rout before a crowd of slightly less than 10,000 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, ending the University of Maine football team’s season. The Black Bears finished with a 9-3 record, it’s best since 1989.
The Panthers (11-2) move into the semifinals, and will face top-seeded Montana (13-1), in Missoula, Mont., a 49-24-winner over Sam Houston State on Saturday.
The turning point came in the third quarter with the score still tied at 28. UMaine junior linebacker Rob Kierstead intercepted a hurried Griff Jurgens pass over the middle and returned it 11 yards to the Panthers’ 35.
On what could have been the Black Bears’ go ahead drive, junior quarterback Jake Eaton was sacked on the first play and then threw two straight incomplete passes.
On a critical fourth-and-12, Eaton threw a pass to Stefan Gomes but Northern Iowa denders double-teamed him and were able to keep him from catching the ball. Gomes finished the game with 14 catches for 174 yards, but 10 of those receptions were in the first half of the game.
On the Panthers next play from scrimmage, UNI scatback Adam Benge cut back through the middle, broke five tackles and raced 63 yards for a touchdown giving Northern Iowa a 35-28 lead that it would not relinquish.
“We couldn’t stop them,” UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove said following the game. “Then we turned the ball over a couple of times and things snowballed on us.”
The Benge touchdown would provide all the momentum UNI would need, scoring on their next two possessions while the Black Bears struggled playing from behind.
UNI finished the scoring when Ken Harris picked off an Eaton pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown making it 56-28. It was UMaine’s third turnover of the game.
“They made the plays and we didn’t,” Cosgrove said.
UMaine kept pace with the home squad early with the same balanced attack that had gotten them in to the playoffs, scoring their points by marching down the field with a mix of power running and play action passing.
Gomes had touchdown receptions of 18 and three yards to close out Black Bear drives and senior tight end Chad Hayes had one of his best games of the season with seven catches for 74 yards. Hayes also caught the touchdown pass that tied the game at 28 with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter.
Eaton finished with 29 completions in 44 passing attempts for 330 yards. He was intercepted once.
Freshman running back James Henry (15 carries for 76 yards and one touchdown) showed flashes of his potential, but as the game wore on, it became clear that the Black Bears missed the contribution of UMaine’s third leading rusher in history, Royston English. English, nursing a bruised foot was expected to play but “he just couldn’t go,” Cosgrove said.
“[English's absence] affected us a little bit,” Eaton said.
Starting free safety Dave Cusano also missed the game with a knee injury but his replacement, Jarrod Gomes, filled in with a team-leading nine tackles. Amid the injuries and setbacks, coach Cosgrove expected more from his team.
“But we had bigger plans, and this hurts quite a bit.”
Bangor Daily News