Maine gives the game away

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ORONO – It seemed as if the sun would break through the gray sky Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. Andre Pam became the third University of Maine running back to surpass 1,000 yards in a season, and the Black Bears stole an early lead against Northeastern.

Despite Pam showing his speed and skill to a crowd of 1,967 during the Bears’ final home game, the wind whipped up and the Huskies decided halfway through the game they had an advantage.

“When we got down, we just shrugged our shoulders,” Huskies quarterback Jim Murphy said of his team’s attitude after the Bears dominated the first half. “I think it brought us together. We knew it wouldn’t be a 7-0 or 9-0 game. We have so many injured. Our top two kickoff returners were not here.”

The Huskies hung tough and came away with a 31-28 Yankee Conference victory over the Bears.

The Bears fell to 3-7 overall and 1-7 in the conference, while the Huskies improved to 4-6 and 2-6.

“I’m very pleased,” said Huskies coach Barry Gallup. “We faced adversity early with the wind. We fumbled on the opening kickoff. We got down 9-0. But the players really hung in there and played good defense.”

Maine scored on the opening play of the game. Northeastern senior cornerback Mark Hopkins, serving kickoff return duty for the first time in three years, returned the ball to the 18-yard line and fumbled it. Maine freshman Cody Tatro recovered the ball in midair and ran for an 18-yard touchdown only seven seconds into the game.

But the Huskies charged into the second half and made up for their first-half mistakes.

Pam gained most of his yards in the second half, rushing for 151 of his 198 yards on eight carries with two TDs. He carried the ball 21 times and walked away with a season-high three TDs.

Only against Buffalo on Oct. 10 did Pam cover more ground in a game this season, rushing for 201 yards on 29 carries and scoring two TDs.

Despite Pam’s best effort, the Bears’ late-game turnovers gave a more balanced Huskies’ offense scoring opportunities.

When the second half opened, the Huskies moved swiftly and deci When the second half opened, the Huskies moved swiftly and decisively as they tripped up the stumbling Bears and capitalized on their possessions.

“They got away from us,” said Maine coach Jack Cosgrove said. “Four times in the fourth quarter we had turnovers. There were two fumbles and two interceptions in the fourth. It started a chain reaction.”

Northeastern sophomore Jeff Reale and Maine’s Pam provided some suspense in the third quarter. Reale converted a Murphy shovel pass into a TD off a 35-yard run at 13 minutes, 30 seconds. Pam responded at 13:10 on the first play of a drive by rushing up the sideline for a 57-yard TD.

More drama came from Huskie Brandon Hanes’ 32-yard field goal and another Pam explosion when the 5-foot-11 junior ran 49 yards for his second TD.

Then the Bears lost their second wind.

Three minutes into the fourth quarter, UMaine was leading 28-24 when Pam fumbled the ball on fourth-and-1 and Huskies’ senior linebacker Reggie Thornton recovered and returned for five yards. That was all the edge the Huskies needed.

The Huskies sealed their fate with 9:26 to play when Murphy scrambled, spotted wide-open wide receiver Desmond Bellot and connected for a 43-yard TD to put the Huskies ahead for good.

The Bears turned the ball over three times during the final eight minutes to help secure the Huskies’ lead.

After the heart-wrenching loss, Pam found no joy in the achievement of joining the 1,000-yard club with former Bears’ Lorenzo Bouier and Carl Smith. “If we had won it would be different,” he said with a heavy tone of disappoinment.

Northeastern 31, Maine 28

Northeastern 0 14 10 7 – 31

Maine 9 7 12 0 – 28

M – Tatro 18 fumble return (kick failed)

M – Binder 37 field goal

N – Edmundson 6 rush (Hanes kick)

M – Pam 4 rush (Binder kick)

N – Vaughan 1 rush (Hanes kick)

N – Reale 35 Pass Murphy (Hanes kick)

M – Pam 57 rush (pass failed)

N – Hanes 32 field goal

M – Pam 49 rush (rush failed)

N – Bellott 43 pass Murphy (Hanes kick)

Northeastern Maine

First downs 19 11 Rushing att. – yds 51-175 38-267 Passing cmp. – att. 14-25 2-15 Yards passing 201 16 Total yards 360 276 Intercepted by 0 3 Punts – avg. 7-35.5 3-38.3 Fumbles – lost 4-2 2-2 Penalties – yds 6-44 5-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Northeastern: Vaughan 33-117, Edmundson 9-48, Murphy 6-2, Reale 3-8; Maine: Pam 21-198, Jameson 12-46, Fein 3-12, Smith 2-11.

PASSING – Northeastern: Murphy 25-14-0-201; Maine: Fein 15-2-3-16.

RECEIVING – Northeastern: Bellot 4-84, Yeadon 2-21, Monios 4-40, Crews 2-18, Vaughan 1-3, Reale 1-35; Maine: Maury 1-13, Rice 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS BY – Northeastern: Monios, Brady

FUMBLES RECOVERED BY – Northeastern: Tatro, Thornton; Maine: Tatro.