Williams sharp in UMaine backfield Speed, toughness show in scrimmage

ORONO – One of the main objectives for the University of Maine football team this spring was to re-establish an authoritative presence in the backfield after the departure of senior Royston English.

While the defense tends to get the better of the action during practices, tailback Marcus Williams and the offensive line made their presence felt during Saturday night’s Blue-White scrimmage on Morse Field at Alfond Stadium.

Williams, who carried 17 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns, was among the bright spots as the Black Bears closed out their spring workouts with the scrimmage.

The 5-foot-10, 216-pounder from Amherst, Mass., exhibited speed and toughness running behind a reworked offensive line that was without starting guards Ben Watson and John Kmety, both of whom are nursing injuries.

Center Ben Lazarski and tackle Mark Lehner each played every down up front.

“We want to be able to have not just a good defense, but have a good offense, too,” said Williams, who rushed 36 times for 184 yards in 10 games last fall, mostly as a backup. “Our motto is ‘pound the rock’ and we have to be able to run the ball.”

Coach Jack Cosgrove was pleased with how Williams, who will be a sophomore in the fall, ran the football.

“The thing that impressed me the most was he did give us a lot of Royston-like yards, physical, tough yards up inside, which is something we didn’t know that we’d get from him,” Cosgrove said.

Williams, who broke a 25-yard scoring run and had a 1-yard TD, is expected to battle soph James Henry, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and didn’t play, and classmate Onyi Momah (9 carries, 30 yards) for playing time next season.

“We all want to be the starter, but we’re all still friends and we all still push each other,” Williams said. “There’s no bitterness or jealousy. We’re all working hard out there and we get a lot of support from our teammates.”

The offense ran approximately 60 plays during the scrimmage, during which the Bears’ defense came up with three fumbles and registered four sacks, two by end Marcus Walton.

Senior free safety Dave Cusano, Jarrod Gomes, Brandon McGowan, and Lofa Tatupu each posted five tackles, while senior co-captain Stephen Cooper was in on four.

Cusano said the Bears’ goal is to continue improving in the hope of surpassing last year’s success, which included a 9-3 record, a share of the Atlantic 10 title, and an NCAA postseason victory.

“Last year it was almost like a dream kind of scenario,” Cusano said. “That makes us want to do things even better, be more disciplined, and really strive for better results than we had last year. What we did last year’s the standard now, so if it’s not greater than that, we’re not going to be satisfied.”

Senior quarterback Jake Eaton had an efficient night, completing eight of 11 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wideout Stefan Gomes made six catches for 71 yards and a score, while Paris Minor had a 37-yard reception and Christian Pereira a 21-yard TD grab.

Perhaps the best outcome of the scrimmage was the team’s health.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Cosgrove said. “I always worry when we scrimmage that we’ll get people on our own team hurt.”

UMaine was without several players because of injuries, including defensive tackle Dennis Dottin-Carter (shoulder), tight ends Kurt Bulwith, Erik Iverson, and Dzigbodi Ababio, and cornerback Derek Martinez.

Martinez will miss the entire 2002 season after undergoing surgery to repair a ligament tear in his right knee. He sat out the 2000 season after a left knee injury.