UMaine looks to right ship Win over Spiders critical

RICHMOND, Va. – There’s little margin for error this weekend for the University of Maine football team.

The 11th-ranked Black Bears resume their quest for the Atlantic 10 championship and an NCAA postseason berth today with a pivotal 1 p.m. league game at Richmond’s UR Stadium.

UMaine, which slipped to 8-2 overall, 5-2 in conference play, with last week’s loss to Delaware, realizes it must win to assure playing in December again this season.

“Our players have had that [sense of urgency]. They know what’s at stake and know that this football game is very critical to us reaching the goals we’ve set for the program,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove.

The Bears look to erase the memory of the Delaware loss by turning in a complete, two-way performance against Richmond (3-6, 3-4 A-10). UMaine hopes to set the tone with a defense that leads the league in scoring defense (14.4 ppg) and ranks second in the A-10 and eighth in Division I-AA while giving up only 254 yards per game.

The defense has been hampered by injuries in recent weeks and may be dealing with them again. Senior linebacker Stephen Cooper (80 tackles) is “probable” against the Spiders after missing the last two games with a serious left ankle sprain.

Cooper’s return would significantly enhance UMaine’s ability to deal with Richmond’s three-back option attack.

“He’s a guy that was able to make big plays for us at times in games that they turned into impact-type plays on the outcome of the game,” Cosgrove said. “You feel [his presence] not only in performance but in the leadership component he brings.”

The Bears have another question mark in senior safety Dave Cusano (59 tackles), who suffered a slight concussion against Delaware. UMaine encounters a UR squad that ranks third in the league in rushing (204 ypg), but has mustered only 16.7 ppg.

Halfback Kenny Dantzler (55 ypg) and fullback Lee Williams (43 ypg), along with senior quarterback D’Arcy Willis head up the option. However, Willis also has thrown for 155 yards per outing.

Strong safety Brendan McGowan (71 tackles) has been among the Bears’ most effective defenders in recent weeks.

The UMaine offense is out to re-establish itself with an effective run-pass mix. Sophomore tailback Marcus Williams (92 ypg, 5.6 yards per carry) heads up the run game. Williams needs 84 yards to become only the seventh Black Bear to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.

Senior QB Jake Eaton (1,709 yards, 15 TDs, 8 interceptions) looks for Christian Pereira (33 catches, 322 yds.) and Ron Waller (31 rec., 493 yds.) as his primary targets.

“We’ve turned the ball over, we’ve dropped passes,” Cosgrove said. “We haven’t executed at the right time, we haven’t finished blocks, so there’s a lot of things that each guy individually can work on so we can improve collectively.”

The Bears rank fifth in A-10 total offense with 353 yards per game, but have struggled of late putting their run and pass games together effectively.

The Spider defense is paced by linebacker Mark Thompson (94 tackles), strong safety Ramon Richeson (86) and linebacker Adrian Archie (79).

Rain and poor field conditions could hamper both teams’ offensive efforts as the browned grass surface at UR Stadium was already soft Friday evening. That could turn the game into a clash of offensive and defensive lines.

UMaine has won eight of its last 10 regular-season road games, but is playing on grass for only the second time this season. The Bears lost the other, 20-10 at UMass, on Oct. 12.