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ORONO – Coming into Saturday night’s game against the Mass Fury, the University of Maine tackle football club had yet to win a game against a team that didn’t have a losing record or was in the west division. Things changed Saturday night amid blustery conditions as the Black Bears used stellar defense and timely offense to shut out the Fury 13-0 and clinch the east division championship.
After starting their inaugural season with two straight wins at home against division opponents, the Black Bears, now 4-3, hit a bump in the road. Finishing their home stand with a loss to the Northeast Knights, the first place team in the west division, UMaine proceeded to lose two more games on the road, to Central Maine and to the Knights once again. After picking up their first road win of the season last weekend at Exeter, they clinched a spot in the playoffs. Building off last week’s win, the Black Bears accomplished another first-time feat by defeating a west division opponent, and clinch ing their own division.
With offense at a minimum, the game became a battle of field position and defense. In the first half, there was only one real scoring threat from the Fury, which was halted by a UMaine interception by junior safety Kevin Williams. With defense in the first half led by Williams and Dan Sprogis, the Black Bears limited the Fury, now 3-4, to just four first downs in the first half. Not to be outdone, the Fury defense limited the UMaine offense to just three first downs, as both the rushing attack and passing attack were shut down completely. At the end of the first half, the game was scoreless.
“This was a very hard fought, smash mouth game by both teams,” said running back and coach Eric Whitman. “It was exactly what we expected, a defensive battle.”
The second half began just as the first half did: with a battle of field position. UMaine started gaining the upper hand as the running attack led by fullback Matt Littlefield, quarterback Brett Davison and Whitman started to wear down the opposition and control the clock. In the fourth quarter, the Black Bears finally broke through as Brett Davison ran one in from one yard out and Gil Cyr added the extra point to give UMaine the 7-0 lead. With the lead in hand, the Fury threatened again with about five minutes left while near UMaine’s 35-yard line, and the defense came up big once again. A sack and a fumble resulted in a 65-yard fumble return by Kevin Williams to seal the deal for the Black Bears who went ahead for good at 13-0.
“Our running game is really starting to get into a rhythm, and we are on a roll offensively,” said Whitman, whose Black Bears are now set to host a playoff game two weeks from now against either the Central Maine Warriors or the Exeter Gamblers.
Improving their record to above .500 with the win over the Fury, UMaine closes out the season on the road this coming weekend against the Southern Vermont Storm. The Storm, who have already clinched a playoff spot, own a 5-2 record, second place in the West division. UMaine holds the edge statistically, having scored 112 points compared to the Storm’s 108 on the season. On defense, the Black Bears have held opponents to 58 points, good for 2nd in the league. Southern Vermont, who also has a stingy defense, has given up a total of 69 points. While UMaine has a slight edge it is not overwhelming, and the Storm should be rested up and prepared after a bye this week as UMaine rolls into town next Saturday night. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
“As for the rest of the season, we need to use this win to propel us through the rest of the regular season,” said junior wide receiver, punter and kicker Gil Cyr, who was instrumental in the field position battle as he routinely punted the ball over 40 yards.
“If we can get some momentum going through the end of the season, we will be peaking just in time for playoffs. Going deep into the playoffs and hopefully winning it all is a great way to earn some respect and [fulfill our goals],” Cyr said.
