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Coming into Saturday’s showdown with the University of Massachusetts, the University of Maine Black Bears football team knew they were a heavy underdog and welcomed that role against the third-ranked Minutemen. To win the game, they had to play nearly flawless football, capitalize on UMass mistakes and stay within striking distance at the end of the game. One thing the Black Bears didn’t expect was to be out of striking distance within the first six minutes of play.
Led by a punishing running attack, featuring two 100-plus-yard rushers in tailbacks Matt Lawrence and Tony Nelson and a stifling defense, the Minutemen jumped out to a 21-0 lead less than six minutes into the game and never looked back, cruising to a 38-7 victory over UMaine in front of 6,167 fans at Alfond Stadium.
“Their personnel came in here as a defending champion and played like one,” Head Coach Jack Cosgrove said, whose squad falls to 1-3 overall on the season and 0-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. “They’ve got a chance to be better than last year, and I really believe that,” he said about the Minutemen, who fell to Appalachian State in last year’s 1-AA National Championship.
After kicking off to begin the game, UMass (4-0, 2-0 CAA) forced UMaine three-and-out on the first drive, and after a 16-yard pass from quarterback Liam Coen to wide receiver JJ Moore, tailback Matt Lawrence broke through the line and raced down the right sideline for a 62-yard score just 1:47 into the game.
“We had to play great and didn’t,” Cosgrove said, whose squad has now lost six straight to UMass dating back to 2001. “It couldn’t have gone any worse in the beginning.”
With a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game, the Minutemen didn’t take long to put more points on the board as their defense created an opportunity when strong safety Michael Meggett recovered a fumble and returned it to the UMaine two-yard line. One play later, Coen, who went 15-for-19 for 142 yards on the day, threw to fullback Chris Zardas on a play-action pass for a two-yard touchdown just 15 seconds after their first score.
“Their line-backing corps is top notch, [and] the secondary has a lot of depth,” Cosgrove said of a defense that allowed only 67 passing yards on the day.
After another three-and-out on the next UMaine possession, the Minutemen put to rest any doubt on the outcome of the game, driving 52 yards on just five plays, capping it off with a four-yard touchdown run by Lawrence, which made the score 21-0 just 5:08 into the game.
“We played an extremely clean game [with] no fumbles lost,” UMass Head Coach Don Brown said, whose squad racked up 431 yards of total offense and had only one turnover, which UMaine was unable to capitalize on. “[Today] was more about us playing 60 minutes and executing. [Being] the toughest road trip that we take, it was a really important game for us.”
With the score 21-0 late in the first half, place kicker Chris Koepplin kicked a 45-yard field goal at the end of the half making it 24-0 heading into the intermission.
“They came out fast, [and we] did not have a great performance at all,” senior defensive end Patrick McCrossan said. “They are a very good team [and] we just didn’t tackle well.”
To begin the second half, UMass wasted no time in adding to their lead. On the first drive of the half, Lawrence capped off a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run, his third of the day, making the score 31-0.
“Lawrence impressed the heck out of me,” Cosgrove said of the senior, whose 20-carry, 179-yard effort on the ground paced the Minutemen throughout the game.
With the score 31-0 heading into the fourth quarter, UMaine finally put some points on the board. Redshirt freshman quarterback Adam Farkes, making his first collegiate start, led a nine-play, 80-yard drive, capping it off with an 18-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Matthew Mulligan, the first touchdown through the air for the Black Bears this season.
“It just goes to show the character of our team,” said senior fullback Anthony Cotrone, who had 55 yards on the ground on just eight carries. “We played the first play like it was our last.”
UMass players echoed the same words and showed great respect for the Black Bears’ efforts.
“They played like the game [was] 0-0,” said Lawrence. “They never gave up.”
After UMaine’s score made it 31-7, UMass capped off the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run by fullback Breyone Evans. The score was set up by sophomore tailback Tony Nelson who had 18 carries for 104 yards on the day, including a 61-yard run on the first play of the drive which put UMass inside the UMaine 10 yard line.
While UMaine’s offense continued to struggle, especially through the air as they failed to go over 100 yards passing for the fourth-straight game, they did manage to rack up 176 yards on the ground. In addition to Cotrone’s 55 yards, Farkes added 60 yards on 16 carries and tailback Jhamal Fluellen ran for 54 yards on 12 carries.
Despite three straight losses in as many weeks, the Black Bears were quick to point out what they need to improve on and took some positives out of the game despite the lopsided defeat.
“We are not where we need to be,” Cosgrove said. “It’s coaching, it’s playing, it’s everything. It was good to finish the game with some positives [though].”
With an upcoming bye week, the Black Bears will have plenty of time to work out the problems that have caused the current three-game losing streak. After the bye week, UMaine resumes conference play on Saturday Oct. 6 with a road game against No. 15 Hofstra (3-0, 1-0), 37-24 winners over Rhode Island this past weekend.
