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ORONO – There’s the schoolyard bully, and then there’s everyone else in the class. Saturday, the University of Maine football team played the former. The Black Bears did everything short of taking Shaw University’s lunch money in pounding their Division II opponents 62-12 before a rain-soaked opening-day crowd of 4,468 on Morse Field at Alfond Stadium.
The Black Hole defense stood strong against an overmatched Shaw team that gained just 24 net rushing yards and didn’t cross into UMaine territory until the closing seconds of the first half. Add six turnovers – four fumble recoveries and a pair of interceptions – to the mix and it’s easy to see how things got out of hand.
“Their depth took over,” said Shaw coach Darrell Asberry, who took over the Bears’ program in July. “The day I got the job I found out we were playing Maine and said ‘How’d that happen?’
“They have 63 scholarships and we have 28. That should tell you what happened. This will probably be my last trip to Maine, unless I’m on vacation.”
The Black Bears secured the win, which improved them to 2-1, without the services of All-American safety Darren Stone, who did not dress while serving a one-game suspension for breaking team rules. Shaw fell to 1-3 with the loss.
UMaine racked up 365 rushing yards and had a pair of runners pass the century mark. Senior Arel Gordon went for 111 yards and sophomore Jhamal Fluellen had a career-best 130 yards on just six touches. But it wasn’t easy for the Black Bears offense, which struggled mightily in the passing game and was hampered by 10 penalties.
“There was some good, some bad and definitely some ugly,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “It felt like we set a Guinness world record for penalties.”
Gordon recorded his third 100-yard effort in three starts at running back, with his lone touchdown coming on a 25-yard scamper early in the third that gave UMaine, which led 24-0 at halftime, a commanding 31-0 lead.
But the star of the day was Fluellen. The sophomore transfer from Syracuse missed the first two games with a severe thumb sprain and showed speed and tremendous field vision in his Black Bears’ debut. He took option pitches and turned them into touchdowns of 53 and 24 yards in the fourth quarter to help UMaine put the game well out of reach.
“Jhamal has a lot of talent,” Cosgrove said. “He was starting at corner for Syracuse, and things didn’t work out for him there. We took him and said we’d put the ball under his arm and he certainly made things happen today.”
Freshman speedster Ryan Callahan romped for 83 yards on just four touches, including a 35- yard score in the fourth and a pair of nifty reverses. With Gordon watching from the sidelines, Fluellen and Callahan controlled the game in the second half.
“They’re always very supportive of me, and it’s nice to return the favor,” Gordon said.
Sophomore defensive back Lamir Whetstone delivered one of the day’s most spectacular plays, an 83-yard kickoff return immediately following Shaw’s first score. Whetstone muffed the kick at the UM 20-yard line, gathered himself, went up the middle to about the 50, broke a tackle and cut back left to race down the sideline to pay dirt. Whetstone amassed 81 yards on six punt returns, as well.
For his efforts, Whetstone was named Atlantic 10 special teams player of the week.
Senior quarterback Ron Whitcomb had a dubious stat line: only 9-of-28 with a sparse 66 yards and an interception. But the captain also tossed three touchdown passes, leaving him just four shy of the school record for his career, and was pleased with his offense’s overall results.
“We did score 63 points,” Whitcomb said. “We were able to work through some things and hopefully we can take the next step next week.”
Freshman receiver Landis Williams continued to make his case to be Whitcomb’s favorite target, hauling in five balls for 38 yards and two touchdowns. The scores each came in the first half on short slant routes that saw Williams pick knee-high tosses off the turf for six.
“I just went inside the corner on both of those; it wasn’t the same play,” Williams said.
Whitcomb’s other touchdown strike was to sophomore Manzi Pierre, who ran a nicely-timed corner route to haul in a 21-yard over-the-shoulder score. All of Whitcomb’s five touchdowns this season have gone to either Williams or Pierre. But the emergence of the two playmakers, along with Fluellen and Callahan, adds much needed depth to the Black Bears’ spread attack.
“It’s been the Whitcomb-Gordon show these first two weeks, so we’re excited to see some other guys get some experience,” Cosgrove said.
“I think the more we progress, the more you’ll see different people making plays because that’s the point of this offense,” Whitcomb said.
The offense’s flubs, which included failing to convert a first-and-goal from the Shaw 5-yard line, weren’t exposed thanks in large part to a dominant performance by the Black Hole defense. Shaw didn’t break the shutout until midway through the third quarter, and added a meaningless hail mary touchdown with only 14 seconds remaining in the game. Damon Harrisson hauled in both Shaw touchdowns.
“They tried to run some power stuff because that’s probably what they saw on the Youngstown tape,” said senior defensive end Matt King, who had four tackles and a fumble recovery. “We stuffed that, and then when they started passing we had some great pressure going up front.”
Senior defensive tackle Mike DeVito, a preseason All-American, led the team with six tackles, including a pair of sacks. Manauris Arias and Sean Wasson each had interceptions, while Jovan Belcher delivered a blistering hit in kickoff coverage to force a fumble that led the Black Bears’ points.
In all, UMaine, which led 41-6 after three quarters, had 24 points from Shaw turnovers.
The Black Bears now turn their attention to I-A Boston College and face the perilous possibility that they could become the bullied in Chestnut Hill next weekend. Though the Eagles were upset by North Carolina State Saturday night, they are No. 25 in the USA Today poll and will be out for revenge against UMaine.
“I told them after the game that this is the biggest challenge a Maine football team has ever faced,” Cosgrove said.
Kickoff is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.
Bangor Daily News