One thing the Black Bears did not rely on was the passing attack, one that averaged just under 140 yards per game.

On Saturday afternoon, UMaine had both the run and pass clicking.

Derek Session ran for 114 yards and a touchdown, and backup quarterback Warren Smith threw a 47-yard touchdown pass as the Black Bears shut down Northeastern University 17-7 at Parsons Field.

The Black Bears move to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while the Huskies fell to 0-2 and 0-1 in conference play.

After holding out All-American fullback Jared Turcotte for the second straight week due to a groin injury, Session once again carried the load, rushing the ball 20 times and passing the 100-yard mark for the second straight week.

In the first quarter, UMaine took the early lead on a 37-yard field goal by Jordan Waxman. Greg Abelli responded with a 33-yard touchdown run at the end of the quarter to give Northeastern their only lead of the game at 7-3.

Sophomore safety Trevor Coston gave UMaine great field position in the second quarter when he picked off a pass in Northeastern territory, one of his two interceptions of the day. The interception led to a drive capped off by Session’s touchdown run from one yard out.

To end the first half, the Black Bears brought Smith in as quarterback to give the offense more of an aerial attack. Smith, the starting quarterback last season for the disbanded Iona College team, completed all eight of his throws on the drive, but Waxman’s 40-yard field goal attempt to end the half was blocked.

In the third quarter, Smith found senior wide receiver Landis Williams for a 47-yard score to open up the lead to 17-7. Williams returned for the first time since suffering a hand injury early in preseason camp.

Smith and Brusko rotated at the position for the remainder of the second half. Brusko, who brings more of rushing element behind center, will remain the starter of the Black Bears despite Smith’s success.

Smith finished 10 of 13 passes for 145 yards, while Brusko completed five of seven to go along with 39 yards rushing.

Coston led the Black Bears defense with his two interceptions. Jordan Stevens and Kris Enslen recorded two sacks each.

UMaine takes a break from CAA play the next two weekends, starting off with a road game next Saturday at the University of Albany. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. The Great Danes (0-2) are coming off a 44-7 loss to the University of Massachusetts.

After losing seven defensive starters off of last year’s defense, those two words are synonymous with the University of Maine’s football team at the start of the 2009 college football season, especially after a lackluster season opener 34-27 win in overtime over Division II St. Cloud State.

“You move on,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “You just have to go to the next season, and we’ve replaced them with seven new guys. You’re going to see this group of guys improve just like those guys did. There was a day when those guys were sophomores, too.”

Despite an underwhelming performance in last Thursday’s win, the young Black Bears have their sights set on the future as they prepare to open conference play at Northeastern University on Saturday at 1 p.m.

“I’ve been telling the young guys that this is where we take a big jump from week one to week two,” said senior linebacker Mark Masterson, the team’s leading returning tackler. “Everybody’s buying into that and I can already tell that we’re really focused.”

“You got to take it as you’re going to get better every game,” added sophomore tailback Derek Session. “Last year was our first game at Iowa and I felt like that was my worst game of the season. Every game I kept getting better and better after that.”

Northeastern (0-1) comes into the first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest of the year after being thumped 54-0 by Boston College, an FBS squad.

“We felt like they’re going to be a lot like we were,” Cosgrove said. “They’re going to be disappointed in their opening game, and I felt like they might’ve been tentative in a lot of ways like we were.”

In last Thursday’s home opener, St. Cloud State came out from the outset and took control of a tentative UMaine defense, establishing their running game early, which allowed them to have success through the air (222 yards, 1 touchdown).

“We had a lot of mental things going on in the first half,” Session said. “We had a lot of first-year players, and it was their first game. I felt like we did better in the second half because everyone got their jitters out and came out ready to play.”

In the second half, the Black Bears were able to rely on their vaunted rushing attack, which produced 253 yards, despite the absence of All-American fullback Jared Turcotte who was held out of the game due to a groin injury.

The biggest bright spot for UMaine, which dropped from No. 19 to 20 in the national rankings, was the play of the special teams.

Junior wide receiver Desmond Randall, who missed all last season due to an appendectomy, returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score in the first quarter after the Huskies jumped ahead 3-0. Sophomore kicker Jordan Waxman converted all of his kicks as well, including two field goals.

“Special teams are a huge thing in this conference too,” said senior quarterback Mike Brusko. “A lot of times they make the difference between who wins and who loses. We’ve experienced that firsthand.”

In 2006 the Black Bears suffered a crippling 10-9 loss to UMass after they failed to make an extra point in the waning moments of the game. Last year, however, the Minutemen missed a late extra point to allow UMaine to escape with a 21-20 victory.

While the struggles were evident in the season opener, the 1-0 Black Bears came back on three occasions to get a hard-fought win in overtime.

“They played hard and gave us something that we just weren’t ready for and weren’t expecting,” Brusko said. “But we’re better for it to have played in a tough game and respond and persevere.”

Notes: Turcotte (groin injury), Landis Williams (hand injury) and Derek Buttles (suspension) are all expected to be available for Saturday’s game.