Sports |

Football heads to undefeated Delaware

It's the first trip to the the 20,000-seat stadium for the young team

By Erinne Magee

Posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2003, 12:00 am

No member of the 2003 University of Maine football team has ever played at Delaware Stadium, but this Saturday, each player will get to play in the best football atmosphere of the conference.

The stadium, home of the undefeated Blue Hens holds 22,000 fans, and has averaged almost 21,000 in attendance for each of its five home games this season.

“We had 10,000 here for Montana and it’ll be double that and then some,” said coach Jack Cosgrove. “It’s a real football atmosphere, there’s no track around it. It’s very close, it’s a real football stadium.”

Delaware is 8-0 on the season (5-0 in the A-10) and ranked number two in the nation.

“We have a challenge in front of us in regards to not only a good football team but a hostile environment as well,” Cosgrove said.

The Blue Hens lead the conference in turnover ratio, they’re second in time of possession (behind Maine), they’ve given up the least amount of sacks, they’re the best in the league in third and fourth down conversions and the offense is nearly unstoppable when in the red zone.

“Those are the things that put a stamp on you as a good football team,” said Cosgrove.

Cosgrove said much of Delaware’s success is attributed to the team’s offensive line. He said they were the best Maine played against last season, and a lot of the same guys are back this season.

Behind that offensive line is senior quarterback Andy Hall. Hall has thrown for over 180 yards a game and 15 touchdowns.

“This game has everyone excited,” said linebacker Jermaine Walker. “Because it’s the number one defense [Maine], going against the number one offense [Delaware] in the conference.”

But don’t count out Maine’s offense just yet either.

After directing traffic for just his eighth collegiate game, quarterback Ron Whitcomb was named Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. His most recent recognition came after the win over James Madison this past Saturday where Whitcomb threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

“There’s no question that Ronnie has made tremendous strides this year in terms of his performance,” said Cosgrove. “He continues to get better on a weekly basis.”

What has Whitcomb improved most upon this season?

He believes it’s been cutting down his turnovers.

“To win at this level, you can’t turn the ball over,” he said. “With a defense as good as ours, being smart with the ball is key. That’s what made quarterbacks such as Jake Eaton successful.”

Whitcomb has endured plenty of success. With four games left in the season, he has completed 13 touchdown passes, surpassing the single season record for a Maine freshman.

“We couldn’t have put him in a tougher situation in opening his career up against a team like Montana,” said Cosgrove. “That was throwing him in to the fire and he responded very well. He is ahead of where I thought he would be [at this point in the season].”

Whitcomb will head to Delaware Nov. 1 for a 1 p.m. game, where he will celebrate his 20th birthday, and hopefully a victory.

“You dream of situations such as this, to play to keep yourself in the playoffs against the number two team, and prove that you are a better team on that day,” he said. “That’s why we live the lives that we live and work as hard as we do.”

After being on the road for two consecutive weeks, Maine will head home for its final home game Nov. 15 for a 3 p.m. match-up with Villanova.