RICHMOND, Va. – Stephen Cooper is among the toughest football players in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Saturday afternoon, as close friend and University of Maine teammate Jake Eaton lay writhing in pain with a knee injury, Cooper cried.

“Emotionally, I pretty much broke down,” said Cooper, one of Eaton’s roommates. “After that happened, everything I had in me was for that guy.”

While the loss of Eaton was devastating, it didn’t stop the Black Bears from earning their most important win of the season. Eleventh-ranked UMaine moved a step closer to an NCAA playoff berth and a shot at the Atlantic 10 title Saturday while grinding out a soggy 21-14 victory over Richmond.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s 9-2 Bears, 6-2 in A-10 play, moved into a tie with Northeastern for the league lead after Massachusetts and William & Mary lost, both slipping to 5-3.

“We got enough [yards] when we needed to and we made some plays and got a great win for our program,” said Cosgrove, whose team tied a school record with its ninth win.

“It’s a team that’s figured out a way to win. That’s exciting,” Cosgrove added.

The Bears weren’t able to enjoy the victory to its fullest, knowing Eaton’s career might be over because of what is believed to be a ligament tear in his left knee.

“It’s hard to take it in right now, to be happy about the win, because one of my best friends got hurt,” said Cooper, who had missed the previous two games with a sprained left ankle.

UMaine was in charge early in the second quarter after Eaton’s 18-yard scramble gave it a 14-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Mike Mellow recovered his onside kick at the UM-49.

On the next play, Eaton dropped back to pass. He held his ground against the oncoming rush, but sustained a low hit from a falling defender.

“I had Ryan Waller running by someone in man-to-man coverage and I was just trying to wait, wait, wait, and throw it deep to him,” the cordial Eaton recalled while leaning on aluminum crutches. “I just got hit on the outside of my leg right as I threw it.”

Eaton felt a sharp pain and a “pop” in his left knee. The pass was intercepted by UR’s Deashawn Goddard.

“I knew it [was bad] right away, but who knows? You always think the best,” Eaton said with a glint of optimism. “You’ve got to keep the faith.”

The knee will be evaluated this week to determine the extent of the injury. In the meantime, redshirt freshman Chris Legree is the Bears’ QB.

The Bears rallied around Cooper and Legree.

Trailing 14-0, the Spiders (3-7, 3-5) scored with 4:17 left in the half when Stacey Tutt hit Brad Ouden on a 68-yard TD pass.

The Bears didn’t try to sit on the lead. Strong blocking, and the running of tailback Marcus Williams (28 carries, 124 yards), set up a 38-yard scoring throw from Legree to wideout Kevin McMahan (5 catches, 125 yards, 2 TDs) that put UMaine up 21-7.

“It felt good to hit that because then I knew our defense was tough enough to hold a 14-point lead,” Legree said.

“When Jake went down, I wasn’t really that nervous … I’m lying man, a little nervous,” Legree chuckled. “You’ve just got to keep your cool and do your job.”

With his effort, Williams became the seventh Bear to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

A fired-up Richmond team scored on its first possession of the second half. The Spiders went 73 yards on nine plays, capped by Kenny Dantzler’s 3-yard run at the 10:51 mark.

The Bears struggled offensively after halftime, but the defense made the lead stand up.

Richmond threatened to tie the game in the final minute of the third quarter. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Tutt was stacked up at the goal line by the UMaine defense.

“Our defensive end Dennis Dottin[-Carter] led us out there on defense,” Cooper said. “He just kept saying ‘Guys, you’ve got to play with your heart, leave it all on the line.'”

The Spiders threatened again late, but Brandon McGowan picked off Tutt at the UM-31 with 1:47 to play. McGowan, playing free safety in place of David Cusano (concussion), led UMaine with 11 tackles.

Legree completed two of eight passes for 40 yards.

“You just ask him to go and play,” Cosgrove said. “You certainly don’t anticipate this happening, but you try to keep him poised.”

The Bears opened the game with a 72-play scoring drive as Eaton hit McMahan on a 7-yard post route at the 9:39 mark.

UMaine made it 14-zip early in the second, going 78 yards in seven plays. Eaton’s 18-yard scramble was the capper.

Eaton, who completed 10 of 13 passes for 140 yards, has started 34 consecutive games for the Bears dating back to the first game of the 2000 season.

BLACK BEARS 21, SPIDERS 14

Maine (9-2) 7 14 0 0 ? 21

Richmond (3-7) 0 7 7 0 ? 14

M ? McMahan 7 pass from Eaton (Mellow kick)

M ? Eaton 18 run (Mellow kick)

R ? Ouden 68 pass from Tutt (Kirchner kick)

M ? McMahan 38 pass from Legree (Mellow kick)

R ? Dantzler 3 run (Kirchner kick)

Maine Richmond

First downs 17 17

Rushing att.-yards 45-144 42-144

Passing comp.-att. 12-21 13-29

Passing yards 180 178

Total yards 324 322

Punts-avg. 8-39.1 7-31.6

Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1

Intercepted by 2 1

Penalties-yards 6-51 4-38

Rushing

Maine: Williams 28-124, Legree 6-17, Gelsomino 2-5, Eaton 5-4, Henry 2-(minus 3), Team 2-(minus 3); Richmond: Tuff 18-77, Dantzler 12-37, Wills 4-15, Diggs 3-7, Williams 3-7, Freeman 1-1, Ouden 1-0

Passing

Maine: Eaton 10-13-1-140, Legree 2-8-0-40; Richmond: Tutt 12-25-2-171, Wills 1-4-0-7

Receiving

Maine: McMahan 5-125, Pereira 2-22, Waller 2-15, Gelsomino 1-11, Zyskowski 1-10, Williams 1-(minus 3); Richmond: Ouden 7-145, Dantzler 2-16, Wilson 1-7, Schools 1-7, Williams 1-3, Diggs 1-0

A?3,554