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Nobody’s perfect, but the University of Maine football team came as close as possible this past Saturday when they hosted James Madison University at Alfond Stadium in front of 6,167 spectators, and posted a 20-13 win over the Dukes.
James Madison head coach Mickey Matthews said Maine played close to perfect.
“They must be perfect,” he said. “They didn’t have any penalties. It’s hard to beat a perfect team at home.”
Except for one penalty and a turnover, Matthews was right.
Cutting back on turnovers is something Maine coach Jack Cosgrove has been preaching since game one.
“We like to play the game mistake-free,” said Cosgrove. “There’s definitely an impact when you don’t have penalties.”
The impact showed as Maine dominated the game from more than one standpoint.
Christian Pereira started the scoring for the Bears midway through the first quarter when quarterback Ron Whitcomb (19 of 31 for 189) found him wide open in the end zone on a 7-yard pass.
“Every play I think me and Ron are on the same page,” said Pereira. “I know what he’s thinking and I’m pretty sure he knows what I’m thinking.”
This was evident, as a similar play occurred at the end of the first half.
At the opposite end of the field, Whitcomb, again, found Pereira. This time he received the ball in the corner of the end zone.
“It looks like he’s taking the cornerback inside, but he is taking him to the corner,” said Whitcomb of the play. “It’s a double move.”
James Madison showed they had a passing game of their own. With three minutes left in the first quarter, Matt LeZotte located tailback Alvin Banks and hit him for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
The Dukes also added two field goals to their score in the second quarter from David Rabil.
At that point, Maine was down 13-7 halfway through the second quarter.
But the Bears answered with the Pereira touchdown and a Mike Mellow field goal to make the score 17-13 going in to the half.
“We were down and came back with a lot of toughness and grit,” said Cosgrove.
Except for a Mellow field goal with seven minutes left in the third, the second half was scoreless for both teams.
Both teams’ defenses were the reason for that.
“We knew we had to come out and have a big day defensively,” said Maine defensive end Dennis Dottin-Carter. “We had to keep hitting them hard and getting after them.”
Dottin-Carter caused LeZotte to throw an interception, which was picked off by linebacker Jermaine Walker on the Dukes’ 35, on JMU’s first possession of the game.
Dottin-Carter also got the chance to play against his brother, Isaiah, who is a defensive back for the Dukes.
The Dukes’ Rodney McCarter led both teams with 15 tackles in the game. Pat Pa�u led Maine with eight.
“The guys should be pleased,” Cosgrove said. “They played real hard, real tough and real determined.”
Bangor Daily News