The University of Maine football team came up short on Saturday night in conference action, falling 10-7 to the Towson Tigers at home. It was a very hard fight and low scoring battle throughout the entire game. Neither team was able to find any success on the offensive side of the ball until the second half of the contest.
“We made way too many mistakes,” Towson Head Coach Rob Ambrose said. “But, in the history of football, good teams find a way. We’re not pretty, but we found a way.”
Maine and Towson combined for a dismal three points in the first half as it was very slow paced with not a lot of excitement. Towson got off to a 3-0 lead when fourth-year kicker Sam Hurwitz cashed in on a 19-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Towson’s offense extended their lead to 10-0 late in the third quarter by taking advantage of great field possession they were given on the Black Bears’ 6-yard line by their defense. It took only two plays for the Tigers to find the end zone. Third-year running back Darius Victor went over the left tackle for the touchdown, followed by a Hurwitz extra point put the Tigers in a comfortable 10-0 spot.
Maine’s offense finally came through with its first score of the game coming in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Second-year quarterback Drew Belcher and the Black Bears stormed down the field, totaling 71 yards on 13 plays. The drive was topped off by a 3-yard touchdown reception by third-year wide receiver Jordan Dunn on a nice out route near the sideline of the end zone.
Towson then received the ball with 10:28 to play in the game and ran out the clock the best they could, burning off 7:20. The Black Bears defense came up big again by stuffing Towson on a crucial 4th and two on their own 20, giving Maine a chance with the ball and 2:50 left to play.
Belcher started off the drive the right way connecting on a 26-yard strike to fourth-year receiver John Hardy, inching Maine up to their 45-yard line. Unfortunately for Maine, that is all they would be able to muster on the final drive. The offense would fail to convert another first down and turn the ball over on downs to Towson. The Tigers then ran out the clock with ease to secure the victory.
“Obviously, a tough loss for us,” Cosgrove said. “We’re probably gonna look back at a few opportunities in the first half and the big turnover in the second half. Towson came in here and they were opportunistic on defense. The turnover battle is what ended up costing us here.”
Maine returns to America East action on Saturday, Nov. 14, when they host Elon at 12:30 p.m. for Senior Day at the Alfond Stadium. Maine drops to 3-6 after the loss and Towson improved to 6-3.
