Terriers take bite out of Black Bears> UMaine offense killed by five turnovers

loading...

BOSTON – The Terriers were drooling at the “Dog Pound” here Saturday afternoon. They were hungry, and the Black Bears threw them a lot of bones.

The University of Maine committed five turnovers and had a punt blocked, allowing Boston University to eat out of the Black Bears’ hands on their way to a 40-21 Yankee Conference football victory at Nickerson Field.

The 18th-ranked Terriers, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in league play, converted four Maine turnovers into 27 points as the Bears fumbled and stumbled on the artificial turf. BU has beaten Maine 11 straight times at Nickerson since 1972.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s Bears, who slip to 1-2 overall, 0-2 in the YanCon, are idle this week.

“We asked for what we got, a 20-0 deficit,” Cosgrove said. “You look up and you see 40 points on the board, but I don’t know how far they had to go for those 40 points. We just gave them too much on the front end of things.”

BU sprang to a 21-0 lead, scoring twice after Maine miscues, then held the Bears at bay. Terriers halfback Don Benaglio carried for 96 yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Kevin Foley completed 24 of 34 passes for 214 yards and three scores.

Maine made it much too easy for the hosts, whose average scoring drive lasted only five plays and covered less than 34 yards.

Maine sophomore quarterback John Tennett had a tough and busy day. He threw a school-record 53 passes, completing 26 of them for 259 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs.

While he was not intercepted for the third consecutive game, Tennett fumbled three times.

“That’s what kills you,” Tennett said. “At any level of football, the team with the most turnovers is usually on the short end. I’ve just got to secure the ball better.”

The hosts scored on their first drive, their only legitimate one. BU moved 74 yards in eight plays, capped by Benaglio’s 2-yard run with 2:45 gone.

Maine survived a fumble on its first series when Brad Costello missed a field goal, but the Terriers converted the next time, after Lex Thornton blocked a Jerrod Thebarge punt and BU recovered at the Maine 28.

BU scored three plays later on a 25-yard pass from Foley to Stephenson to go ahead 13-0.

A one-hop snap on Maine’s next punt forced Thebarge to run. He fumbled and the Terriers recovered on the M-14.

Three plays later, Stephenson raced 13 yards with a Foley quick toss and it was 20-0 with 1:15 left in the first quarter.

“We can’t have a first quarter like we did,” Tennett said. They put a couple quick [touchdowns] up and we were just trying to come back the whole game.”

The Bears settled down as Tennett engineered a 10-play, 82-yard touchdown march late in the second quarter. Tennett lofted a 7-yard TD pass to Drew O’Connor, putting Maine on the board.

Midway through the third quarter, with BU leading 20-7, Rameek Wright fumbled after catching a short pass from Tennett. BU took over on the M-15 and scored 49 seconds later on Foley’s 14-yard TD toss to Jim Lippie.

“We stopped them, basically, all day,” said Maine defensive end Todd Williamson. “Take away a few bad plays and we win the game.”

Maine stayed within reach, going 49 yards on six plays. Tennett hit O’Connor three times, the last an 8-yard alley-oop scoring pass in the end zone with 14:56 to play.

The Bears stopped the Terriers on their ensuing possession, but lost any hint of momentum when Chris McIntyre sacked Tennett, who fumbled. BU made it hurt, marching 41 yards on seven plays.

Benaglio scored four yards out to push the lead back to 20 points.

Maine scored with 5:42 left, but BU answered on its ensuing possession to seal the victory.

Stephenson made six catches for 98 yards and Chris Walker caught seven for 34 yards, each going over 1,000 yards for their careers.

Free safety Derek Carter, Williamson and linebacker Ross Ficthorn made five tackles apiece for the Bears, who afforded BU 315 total yards.

Maine rolled up 403 yards, with Bob Jameson netting 82 yards on the ground, but the scoreboard didn’t reflect the Bears’ efforts. Randy Smith made eight tackles to pace the Terrier defense.

Terriers 40, Black Bears 21

Maine 0 7 0 14 – 21

Boston Univ. 20 0 7 13 – 40

BU – Benaglio 2 run (Costello kick)

BU – Stephenson 25 pass from Foley (rush failed)

BU – Stephenson 13 pass from Foley (Costello kick)

UM – D. O’Connor 6 pass from Tennett (Binder kick)

BU – Lippie 14 pass from Foley (Costello kick)

UM – D. O’Connor 8 pass from Tennett (Binder kick)

BU – Benaglio 4 run (Costello kick)

UM – Rice 16 pass from Tennett (Binder kick)

BU – Benaglio 1 run (kick failed)

Maine Boston U.

First downs 25 18 Rushing att. – yds 36-169 36-124 Passing att. – cmp. 53-26 34-21 Yards passing 259 214 Total yards 403 315 Intercepted by 0 0 Punts – avg. 3-26.0 5-45.8 Fumbles – lost 6-5 1-0 Penalties – yds 4-31 8-61

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Maine: Jameson 13-82, Baur 9-49, Tennett 7-14, Pam 6-2, Thebarge 1-(-3); BU: Benaglio 25-96, Dale 6-21, Foley 5-(-16)

PASSING – Maine: Tennett 26-53-0-259; BU: Foley 24-34-0-214

RECEIVING – Maine: D. O’Connor 9-101, Rice 7-71, Wright 5-54, Gaine 2-33, James 2-(-3), Maury 1-3