LAKE CHARLES, La. – One of the more visible faces – and audible voices – during the University of Maine football team’s stay in Louisiana was Jack Cosgrove, the father of Black Bears coach Jack Cosgrove.

The elder Cosgrove can’t get enough of UMaine football, a program with which he has been associated since his eldest son played quarterback for the Bears from 1974-77. Younger son Michael also played at UMaine in the ’70s.

Cosgrove is a fixture on the sidelines at most UMaine football games, where he is never at a loss for words of encouragement or some fatherly advice for his beloved Black Bear players.

“What I do is love them, and they know it,” father Cosgrove said after giving Bears tailback Royston English a heart-felt hug and several pats on the back as he made his way into Cowboy Stadium prior to Saturday night’s game.

“God I love that kid,” aid Cosgrove, who has spent more than 40 years coaching high school, American Legion and Little League baseball, middle school and high school basketball, high school and youth football, track and field and other sports.

Father Cosgrove, a former minor league baseball player, enjoys being around young people involved in athletics, but he is especially partial to those on the UMaine team.

He isn’t surprised at the success of this year’s young UMaine team.

“These kids are character-laden,” said Cosgrove, who didn’t restrict his evaluation only to the football team and coaching staff.

“There is more character coming out of the University of Maine through their football program, their cheerleaders, their band and the people who surround them, then anywhere in the continental United States,” Cosgrove said.

More postseason honors for Bears

Chad Hayes, Lennard Byrd and Stephen Cooper of the UMaine football team are among 27 players named to the New England Football Writers Division I-AA All-Star Team released Sunday.

The members of the team will be honored at the annual NEFW Captains and Awards Banquet, which is scheduled for Thursday at the Lantana Restaurant in Randolph, Mass.

Hayes, a tight end from Old Town, was honored for the second straight year. The 6-foot-6, 252-pounder caught 28 passes for 382 yards and seven touchdowns and also was a tremendous blocker for the Black Bears.

Hayes also was an All-Atlantic 10 first-team selection at tight end.

Byrd was a big-play threat on kick returns for UMaine. The 5-7, 174-pound senior from Kingston, N.Y., averaged 10.9 yards on punt returns and 27.4 yards running back kickoffs.

He also was an A-10 first-team pick as a return specialist.

Cooper adds the NEFW honor to his distinction as the Atlantic 10 co-Defensive Player of the Year.

The bruising 6-1, 220-pound inside linebacker led UMaine this season with 95 tackles, including 18 for a loss, along with five sacks and two interceptions.

A quick look ahead

The UMaine football team begins preparations today for Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. NCAA quarterfinal game against Northern Iowa.

The 10-2 Panthers earned an automatic postseason bid by winning the championship in the Gateway Conference. Northern Iowa advanced with a 49-43 win Saturday at Eastern Illinois.

This week’s game will be played in the 10,000-seat UNI-Dome, where the Panthers are 5-0 this season, 128-31-1 since the building opened in 1976, and 8-2 in postseason games.

UMaine and Northern Iowa were the only two teams to win Division I-AA playoff games on the road last weekend. The Panthers are making their 10th NCAA appearance, but their first since 1996.

UMaine boosters lend support

Several UMaine football supporters with long-time ties to the program made the trip to Lake Charles, including philanthropist and former Dexter Shoe executive Harold Alfond, who flew down for the game Saturday on his private jet.

Alfond Arena and Harold Alfond Sports Stadium on UMaine’s Orono campus both bear his name and were built thanks in great part to his financial support.

Phillip Morse, who along with his wife donated the money to install the AstroTurf on UMaine’s Morse Field, also was in attendance.

Joining the UMaine football travel party were athletics benefactor Larry Mahaney and longtime supporter Will Farnham, along with former Bears coach Walter Abbott and former UMaine players Manch Wheeler, Roger Ellis and Harrison Richardson.

Vice president for student affairs Richard Chapman, athletics director Sue Tyler, senior associate AD Paul Bubb, assistant AD for athletic media relations Joe Roberts and assistant AD for development Eric Soncrant represented the UMaine athletic department.

Time to reflect

About an hour prior to the team’s scheduled departure for Cowboy Stadium Saturday afternoon, several team members took a few minutes to relax beside the pool and absorb a few remaining rays of sun at the Holiday Inn in Sulphur, La.

Some of the guys reclined in chaise lounges listening to their personal stereos, while others chatted. Occasionally, a teammate would emerge from an upstairs room and shout out the scores of football games being watched on TV, eliciting responses from the people outside.

The players seemed somewhat surprised to hear that fellow Atlantic 10 member and co-champion Hofstra, which earned the league’s automatic NCAA bid, had lost its first-round game at Lehigh.

The mood at poolside was relaxed.

“Same ol’, same ol’,” said senior offensive tackle Zack Magliaro when asked how things were going. “It’s just another game.”

Bird’s eye view

The three-tiered McNeese State press/luxury box facility provided media and fans alike with an impressive bird’s eye view of the playing field at 17,410-seat Cowboy Stadium. The entire front of the building was glass, but there were no windows to open.

The setup severely restricted the amount of outside crowd and game noise audible upstairs. McNeese officials did pipe the stadium sounds into the press box over the public address system, but it apparently was a much more livelier atmosphere than one could ascertain from inside the booth.

“It was real loud out there,” said UMaine senior cornerback Lennard Byrd. “Chad Hayes said when they were out on the field he couldn’t even the cadence, he had to watch the ball.

“There were a lot of hecklers behind us. We didn’t pay it any mind, just stayed focused and got the win,” Byrd added.

Black Bear road spill

UMaine’s John Baumgartner gets the Oops Award for Saturday night’s game.

The freshman wide receiver wound up wearing No. 45 for the contest rather than his regular No. 88 after spilling Gatorade on his white Black Bears road jersey.