UMaine rallies for key victory over Villanova

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VILLANOVA, Pa. – Not long ago, falling behind by two touchdowns, on the road, against a ranked opponent, would have undone the University of Maine football team.

Not anymore.

Sixth-ranked UMaine spotted No. 11 Villanova 14 points Saturday night but overcame a mistake-prone first half with a resilient second-half performance to earn a 21-14 Atlantic 10 victory at Villanova Stadium.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s 3-0 Black Bears, 2-0 in league play, won their first Atlantic 10 game outside New England since a 1998 victory at Delaware.

“It’s a testament to our players – their fortitude, their courage – to come in here and get behind early and then hang in there and get a great win,” Cosgrove said.

UMaine turned up the defensive pressure while taking Villanova out of its rhythm and holding the 2-1 Wildcats scoreless during the final 40 minutes. But the Bears didn’t ice it until Dave Cusano intercepted ‘Nova quarterback Brett Gordon at the VU-22 with 32 seconds left.

“I went to [assistant] coach [Rich] Nagy before the half and I said, ‘We’ve got to start going after these guys,’ because Gordon had a lot of time to pass,” said Bears linebacker Stephen Cooper, who made nine tackles. “We started coming after him. Once we got in his face, he was playing on his heels.”

Gordon completed 25 of 41 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown, but the Wildcats managed only 124 yards of offense in the second half.

“I think we had some success early and they started heating us up a little bit, which did give us some problems,” Gordon conceded.

Cusano paced UMaine with 10 tackles, while Jarrod Gomes and South Portland’s Matt DiBiase made seven each.

Meanwhile, Jake Eaton and the UMaine offense kept ‘Nova guessing with a balanced attack. Eaton made good on 19 of 33 throws, with sophomore wideout Stefan Gomes gobbling up 14 passes for 137 yards

“Me and [Gomes] have had a good rhythm ever since we’ve been here,” Eaton said. “He’s making plays.”

Their success helped open the door for tailback Jim Henry, who netted 89 yards on 17 carries and scored the game-winning TD. Henry picked up the slack after starter Marcus Williams sustained a bruised thigh in the first half.

The Bears mounted the go-ahead drive early in the fourth quarter, storming 80 yards in nine plays. On third-and-eight from the VU 31, Henry took a quick toss to the left and raced untouched into the end zone.

“We had a great call in that situation, coach [Bobby] Wilder, with the toss, and caught them in a little bit of a front-side blitz and the thing sprung wide-open,” Cosgrove said.

Mike Mellow’s PAT made it 21-14 with 12:12 to play.

Villanova struggled in the second half, incurring six penalties for 62 yards and committing two turnovers.

The Bears later tried to run out the clock, but wound up punting from their own 37 with 2:37 left. John Dieser called a fair catch, let the ball bounce, then reached down and was ruled to have touched the ball.

UMaine’s DiAndre Arrington quickly covered the ball. The Bears threw to the end zone once, then held onto the ball for a field-goal try. Mellow’s 25-yard attempt was blocked, giving the Wildcats one more shot.

But Gordon’s final pass was picked off by Cusano, who led UMaine with 10 tackles.

Villanova’s Adam James missed four field-goal attempts, one of which was blocked.

The Bears trailed 14-7 after a lackluster first half. VU took a 7-0 lead with 34 seconds left in the first quarter after a 28-yard punt by Mellow gave the hosts the ball at their own 41.

Sparked by a 48-yard completion from Gordon to Shaz Brown, the Wildcats scored on Terry Butler’s 1-yard run.

UMaine had two penalties on its next series, which ended with Mellow’s 20-yard punt. ‘Nova cashed in, marching 68 yards on six plays, including Gordon’s 11-yard TD strike to Matt Chila at the 10:14 mark.

The Bears finally generated some momentum with a 14-play, 72-yard scoring drive. UMaine mixed the run and pass and made four third-down conversions. A 21-yard completion from Eaton to Gomes set up Eaton’s 2-yard TD option run as the Bears got within 14-7 with 4:21 left in the first half.

“We never really lost our confidence,” Eaton said. “We had a little sense of urgency. We knew we had to get a touchdown or we’d be in trouble.”

UMaine tied it at 6:31 of the third after James’ fourth missed field goal. Aided by three penalties for 32 yards, the Bears moved 80 yards on five plays, capped by a 19-yard TD pass from Eaton to Paris Minor.

BLACK BEARS 21, WILDCATS 14

Maine (3-0) 0 7 7 7 ? 21

Villanova (2-1) 7 7 0 0 ? 14

V ? Butler 1 run (James kick)

V ? Chila 11 pass from Gordon (James kick)

M ?Eaton 2 run (Mellow kick)

M ? Minor 19 pass from Eaton (Mellow kick)

M ? Henry 31 run (Mellow kick)

Maine Villanova

First downs 22 17

Rushing att.-yards 42-176 23-67

Passing comp.-att. 19-33 25-41

Passing yards 187 261

Total yards 363 328

Punts-avg. 5-36.2 6-35.2

Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-1

Intercepted by 1 1

Penalties-yards 6-59 8-82

Rushing

Maine: Henry 17-86, Eaton 11-48, Williams 10-27, Gelsomino 2-7, S. Gomes 1-6, Zyskowski 1-2; VU: Butler 13-43, Cross 7-32, DiGiacomo 1-12, Gordon 2-(-20)

Passing

Maine: Eaton 19-33-1-187; VU: Gordon 25-41-1-261

Receiving

Maine: S. Gomes 14-137, Minor 3-48, Radulski 1-2, Gelsomino 1-0; VU: Dieser 6-41, Brown 5-115, Chila 4-32, Cross 4-27, Champen 3-51, DiGiacomo 2-(-3), Butler 1-(-2)

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