Sports

Club Football falters again

UM drops third straight

By Alex Leonard

Posted on Sept. 25, 2008, at 12:00 a.m.

In their final home game of the regular season, the University of Maine club football team lost to the Brockton Buccaneers, 25-21. Despite having the lead late in the final quarter, the Black Bears were unable to stop Brockton and suffered their third straight defeat.

UMaine dropped to 0-3 on the season.

Unlike their first two games, the Black Bears got their offense going early, driving on their first possession for a touchdown. The lead was short-lived, when the Buccaneers answered right back with a touchdown of their own, tying the score at seven.

Once again, it was the pass defense that was the undoing for the Black Bears, though they did show signs of improvement. A strong Buccaneer running attack was held in check in the first half. UMaine trailed just 13-7 at the break.

The Black Bears would yield another score early in the third quarter and trailed 19-7. On the next Buccaneer possession, graduate student and linebacker Dan Sprogis intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.

The Black Bears would get the ball back on a quick passing play from senior quarterback Brett Davison to junior wide receiver Mark Ensworth. They took back the lead.

“It was nice to have [Sprogis] back for a game. He really charged our defense up,” Davison said. “We’ve missed his presence out there.”

It was evident the defense played much better as a unit, with others feeding off Sprogis’ energy.

“The linebackers stepped up and did a much better job containing the run,” senior captain Ben Christy said.

Despite the positives for the Black Bears, a late fumble in Brockton territory gave the ball back to the Buccaneers.

Again, a suspect pass defense was exploited and UMaine relinquished the lead with less than three minutes to go.

The Black Bears had a few more opportunities to drive and take the lead, but Davison overthrew junior tight end Justin Mattos twice. UMaine eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Rejoining the team next week will be former varsity tight end senior Steve McGuire, who played one season for the club in 2006.

The Black Bears will play their final regular season game Saturday in Massachusetts against the Charlestown Townies. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.