KINGSTON, R.I. – The excitement surrounding the University of Maine football team usually has begun to wane come November.

This year, as the season winds down, the fun is only beginning.

The Black Bears kept themselves in contention for a Division I-AA playoff spot Saturday with a solid 26-14 Atlantic 10 victory over ninth-ranked Rhode Island at Meade Stadium.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s 24th-ranked Bears improved to 6-2 (5-2 in the A-10), in front of a stand-room-only crowd of 5,803. Cosgrove and his players were excited, but the UMaine coach tempered his enthusiasm and didn’t say the words he was tempted to utter.

“A heck of a win for us,” Cosgrove began. “It’s very exciting to be playing for something as important as a… [playoff spot] … as this game was this late in the season… [and] to see us both playing a game of this magnitude that affects the upper echelon of the standings and has a lot of implications.”

Rhode Island, 7-2, suffered its second straight loss, dropping into a third-place tie with UMaine in the Atlantic 10 standings at 5-2.

Maine senior offensive tackle Zack Magliaro was a bit more forthcoming about the magnitude of Saturday’s win.

“This is unbelievable. This is great,” Magliaro said. “This is what we’ve been working toward since I got here four years ago. We’re finally starting to get it going because of the experience in big games like this and we got the job done.”

The Bears effectively put the elements of their game together. The defense shut down the league’s No. 3 rusher, fullback David Jamison (127 yards per game), limiting him to 76 yards on 24 carries. Linebacker Stephen Cooper led the way with 10 tackles and ‘backer Lofa Tatupu posted nine, including 2.5 sacks.

UMaine sacked Rhode Island quarterback Vince Nedimyer seven times, with tackle Dennis Dottin-Carter posting two among his eight tackles.

“We had a great effort from all 11 guys on the field, but most of the credit goes to the D-line,” Cooper said, lauding the efforts of ends Brendan Curry, Damon Boinske and Marcus Walton, and tackles Dan Joslyn, Amos Hall and Dottin-Carter.

“They made the plays. They stopped Jamison,” Cooper said.

The offense demonstrated its balance, striking for two first-quarter touchdowns through the air, then pounding the ball at the Rams behind a cohesive offensive line and the punishing running of senior tailback Royston English.

English bulled his way to a career-high 213 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. His 73-yard scoring romp with 11:26 left in the third quarter provided UMaine with some needed breathing room.

“We’ve got this guy [English] in the backfield running people over. We just want to keep him going,” Magliaro said.

Rhode Island generated some momentum when Unitas Todd returned Andrew Elsing’s blocked punt 19 yards for a touchdown, then threatened to make a game of it early in the second half.

Rhode Island’s Victor Crenshaw intercepted a Jake Eaton pass on the Bears’ first play of the second half, but Hall recovered Nedimyer’s poor pitch three plays later at the 27-yard line. On the next snap, English took the handoff, broke two tackles near the line of scrimmage, and outraced the URI secondary on his way to a career-long 73-yard touchdown jaunt.

“We breathed some life into them,” Cosgrove said. “That was a huge turnover, because the very next play [English] goes [for a TD] and kind of puts it away a little bit.”

The run gave the Bears a 26-7 bulge and sent English past Andre Pam into fifth place on UMaine’s all-time rushing list with 2,513 yards.

“He’s a strong back,” said URI linebacker Paul Picciotti. “He’s probably the best back I’ve faced. He keeps his motor going.”

The Bears took the upper hand by driving 59 yards on four plays on their third possession of the game. Stefan Gomes turned a short throw into a 23-yard play on first down, then caught Eaton’s beautifully thrown pass down the left sideline for a 41-yard score only three plays later.

UMaine scored again after Ernie Svolto pounced on an errant Nedimyer option pitch on the Rams’ ensuing possession. On third-and-seven, Eaton (11-for-23, 142 yards) hit a wide-open Paris Minor behind the secondary on a 28-yard post route as the Bears made it 13-0 with 3:06 left in the first quarter.

“They got whacked last week; we got whacked last week,” Cosgrove said, “but we came in and we got the edge. “We didn’t allow them to get going today.”

UMaine made it 20-0 midway through the second quarter. English ran for 11 and 29 yards on the first two plays and a personal foul took the ball to the URI 18. Two plays later, English went 10 yards for a TD on a counter play.

The Rams finally scored early in the fourth on Jamison’s 8-yard run, but UMaine chewed up more than seven minutes with a long drive that ended at the URI 8 on a fumbled center exchange by Eaton.

BLACK BEARS 26, RAMS 14

Maine (6-2) 13 7 6 0?26

Rhode Island (7-2) 0 7 0 7?14

M ? S. Gomes 41 pass from Eaton (kick failed)

M ? Minor 29 pass from Eaton (DeVinney kick)

M ?English 10 run (DeVinney kick)

RI ? Todd 27 blocked punt return (Laisle kick)

M ? English 73 run (DeVinney kick)

RI ? Jamison 8 run (Laisle kick)

Maine Rhode Island

First downs 15 18

Rushing att.-yards 42-250 52-89

Passing comp.-att. 11-23 10-30

Passing yards 142 156

Total yards 392 245

Punts-avg. 9-31.4 5-37.9

Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2

Intercepted by 1 1

Penalties-yards 6-70 5-37

Rushing

Maine: English 29-213, Eaton 8-31, Gelsomino 3-9, Team 1-(-1), Williams 1-(-2); URI: Jamison 24-76, Tajong 5-21, Green 1-12, Williams 1-(-1), Nedimyer 21-(-19)

Passing

Maine: Eaton 11-23-1-142; URI: Nedimyer 10-27-1-156

Receiving

Maine: S. Gomes 6-85, Minor 4-42, Hayes 1-15; URI: Horne 4-77, Williams 3-52, Tajong 2-14, Wellington 1-13

A?5,803