Sports

UMaine football ready for JMU

The team is prepared for Saturday's conference showdown

By Erinne Magee

Posted on Oct. 23, 2003, at 12:00 a.m.

The preparation for playing James Madison may be similar to the preparation for Northeastern, but the University of Maine football team hopes for a different outcome for this Saturday’s game.

“We really, again, at least in a carry-over effect, are playing a team that wants to run the ball,” said Head Coach Jack Cosgrove. “After just having experienced that with Northeastern there will be carry-over and similarity in our preparation for James Madison.”

The Dukes’ running game is led by freshman Alvin Banks, who was just named conference Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. Banks averages just more than 100 yards per game.

“Our number one goal on defense is to stop the score and then stop the run,” defensive back Brandon McGowan said. “If we’re disciplined and read our keys, we will stop the run and win the game.”

The Bears and Dukes are tied for fourth place in the Atlantic-10 conference, both with records of 4-3, and 3-2 in league play.

With two losses in the conference, Maine knows that this Saturday and the remainder of games on its schedule are key games if they want to make the postseason.

“Every conference game is always a big game. Every conference game is always a must-win,” said receiver Christian Pereira. “After losing two, we now have to win our remaining games to make up for what we lost.”

While statistically that may be true, Cosgrove said the team needs to work on a day-to-day basis.

“I told our guys we really can’t begin to speculate on postseason thoughts,” he said. “We are able to attain our goals and keep them in mind. We’re working and operating on a day-to-day, week-to-week method of advancement. We have to focus on this game up in front of us,” he continued.

The 2 p.m. game on Saturday brings in a very talented defensive squad to try and deter Maine’s offensive threats. Linebacker Dennard Melton is second in the conference in tackles this season, with a total of 67 and an average of more than 13 per game.

Cosgrove said in prior meetings with the Dukes, Maine has had a tough time moving the ball against its defense because of the great speed and technique the team possesses. He also said that the Bears had to throw in some trick plays last year to help advance the ball down the field against James Madison.

“They are a very fast defense,” said Pereira. “They don’t try to trick you, they line up and play football, so we have to stick to our game plan, run the ball effectively, and throw and catch the ball effectively.”

Maine will look to use versatility against the Dukes’ defense.

“The defense knows coming in they want to stop Marcus Williams,” said Cosgrove. “We hope, on the other hand, to present a multi-facetted attack where we can throw it as well, so we can have Marcus, Ronnie [Whitcomb] and our receivers do some damage.”

Cosgrove said the Black Bears must concentrate on three things in order to be successful on Saturday: control time of possession, reduce turnovers and dominate field position.

“It goes back to special teams,” he said. “[James Madison] has some explosive guys and we’ve got to do a great job in our coverages. We have to get back to running the football the way we have and not turn it over like we did in the Richmond game.”

The Bears know that in order to leave the field with a win they must play solid for all 60 minutes.

“We can’t have any let downs this week if we want to play four good quarters of football like we’re capable of playing,” said Pereira.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2003, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.