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On paper, it looked good for the University of Maine football team, but Saturday’s matchup with James Madison University showed that statistics don’t matter when compared to the plays being made on the field. The Dukes of JMU proved just that en route to their 24-20 victory of the Black Bears.
“Our team didn’t make big plays in the game, but the interception by Akeem Jordan was a huge play in the ball game,” said JMU head coach Mickey Matthews.
It was that one play that gave the Dukes momentum and gave the team great field position going into the fourth quarter.
From the 7 yard line, quarterback Justin Rascati ran the ball down the middle untouched to lessen UMaine’s lead 20-17.
“I thought that interception in the third quarter, when we had the chance to go down and get a third straight score with the wind, was big,” said head coach Jack Cosgrove.
On the next drive, Marcus Williams rushed for 54 of his game high 166 yards in nine plays to help UMaine gain the field position it needed for a field goal. Mike Mellow attempted the kick at the 32, but it went wide right and the score remained.
JMU held UMaine at the 2 yard line after Nick Englehart booted a 51-yard punt to the corner of the Black Bears’ territory. UMaine was unable to dig itself out of the hole, with the offense moving just six yards on three plays.
“I thought we had a chance to finish them off at the end and they had two huge plays: a punt return and then the throw and catch for the touchdown,” said Cosgrove.
The touchdown came with just 48 seconds left in the game, when Rascati found D.D. Boxley on the far right side of the endzone, completing a drive that consisted of four plays for 55 yards and taking the final lead 24-20.
“When I saw the [ball] go out there, it was one of those things… perfect throw, perfect catch,” said Cosgrove of the touchdown pass that dropped Maine’s record to 3-3 overall, 1-2 in the Atlantic 10.
Despite the outcome, the Black Bears did rise to the occasion on several plays over the course of the game.
Up until this game, the story of UMaine’s offense lay primarily in the hands of the talented corps of receivers. UMaine established its running game against JMU, but the wideouts still saw success.
With a third down and the ball at the 19-yard line, just a minute into the second quarter, quarterback Ron Whitcomb lobbed a pass down the center of the field to Kevin McMahan. The JMU defense thought Tony LeZotte had picked the ball off until UMaine’s McMahan had emerged from the endzone with the ball and six points.
“I touched it,” said LeZotte. “I thought it was an interception pass and then I heard [UMaine's] crowd roar and I was like, are you kidding me.”
With six minutes left in the second quarter, cornerback Devon Goree recovered a JMU fumble to give UMaine another chance to score before the half, but two plays later Ron Whitcomb was intercepted by LeZotte.
That pick set up a touchdown pass completed from Rascati to his fullback Chris Iorio, leaving no time for UMaine to answer before the teams headed to the locker room.
The third quarter belonged to UMaine as the offense scored back-to-back touchdowns, and the defense held JMU scoreless. The first touchdown was a 2 yard run by Williams to give UMaine the go-ahead, 13-10. The second TD came just four minutes later when Whitcomb hit his main man Christian Pereira for another six and UMaine’s last score.
The Black Bears defense recovered three fumbles, tallied two sacks and broke up five of Rascati’s passes. Brandon McGowan led the way with 13 tackles, and Daren Stone had 10.
“This is the third close game that we’ve lost and that can really take a toll on the psyche of the team,” said Williams. “We really need to come together and dig deep. We’re not going to let a shaky start to this year mess up what we want to accomplish.”
The Black Bears will be hungry for their next opponent on Saturday, Oct. 23, when UMaine hosts Northeastern for homecoming weekend.
