ORONO – All eyes at Alfond Stadium were focused on Jon Meczywor Saturday afternoon.

With a conference title and an NCAA postseason spot riding on the outcome, the University of Maine’s third-string quarterback was making his first collegiate start.

Backed by a swarming defense and a potent run game, the 6-foot-5 sophomore directed the ninth-ranked Black Bears to a record-setting 31-14 Atlantic 10 victory over New Hampshire on Morse Field in front of a disappointing crowd of 3,064.

UMaine improved to 10-2, setting a school record for wins. More importantly, the Bears earned a share of the A-10 title for the second straight season and earned an at-large bid to the 16-team NCAA tournament.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s Black Bears will travel to No. 7 Appalachian State (8-3) for Saturday’s 1 p.m. first-round game at Boone, N.C.

“We knew the last two weeks was a must-win situation for us,” said senior safety Dave Cusano. “It’s really a fantastic feeling.”

By virtue of its win over James Madison, Northeastern shared the A-10 crown and earned the league’s automatic bid, beating out the Bears using the league tiebreaker.

“It feels good to win those kind of games when you’re challenged with having a great quarterback [Jake Eaton] out of the game and you see different parts step up,” Cosgrove said.

UMaine retained the Brice-Cowell Musket, the spoils of the Maine-UNH rivalry, which is named for former UMaine coach Fred Brice and former Wildcats coach Bill Cowell.

“It’s a great feeling,” said senior linebacker Rob Kierstead of South Portland. “We still had a chance if we lost, but we wanted to make sure we were in. We didn’t want to need any help from anybody else.”

Meczywor got the nod after backup Chris Legree was unable to recover from a bruised throwing shoulder suffered at Richmond. Eaton sustained a torn knee ligament in that game and is out indefinitely.

Meczywor completed only seven of 20 passes for 72 yards, but hooked up with tight end Danny Fusco on scoring throws of 9 and 6 yards.

“A fun day. I got to play,” Meczywor said of his afternoon. “I was nervous, but if you’re not nervous, there’s something wrong, especially for a game of this caliber.”

Meczywor, who rushed nine times for 32 yards, was intercepted once late in the game, but it didn’t affect the outcome.

“I didn’t turn it over in bad situations,” Meczywor said of the key to his effort. He pointed to the importance of “letting the strength of our team, our defense,” control the game.

Spearheaded by the play of tackles Dan Joslyn (seven tackles, four for losses), Pat Pa’u and Mark Stetson, UMaine held the Wildcats (3-8, 2-7 A-10) to 179 total yards. The Bears sacked UNH quarterback Mike Granieri five times, while Cusano, Joan Quezada and Fred Lazo made interceptions.

Brandon McGowan and Cooper made six tackles each as UMaine limited Stephan Lewis, the league’s leading rusher, to 33 yards on 20 carries.

“It came down to us feeling like we were better man-to-man up front and that we could beat them on a pass rush with just our four guys involved,” Cosgrove said.

The UMaine front five of Matt Hammond, Pete Richardson of Millinocket, Ben Lazarski, Mike Leconte of South Portland and Mark Lehner paved the way for 223 rushing yards. Tailback Marcus Williams netted 96 yards on 20 carries while Onyi Momah gained 48 yards on six attempts.

“We wanted [Meczywor] to be able to relax, play his game and not have to worry about too much,” Williams said.

Meczywor had the support and confidence of his mates.

“I got the feeling that nobody really worried about having an unproven quarterback,” Richardson said. “He did well. We had all faith in him.”

UMaine trailed 7-3 in the closing seconds of the first quarter, but manufactured an 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive. Williams carried seven times for 58 yards, including a 36-yard run, to set up Meczywor’s first completion, a nifty 9-yard toss to Fusco in the end zone.

“That was a big confidence booster,” Meczywor said. “That made things a little easier, a little more clear.”

The Bears scored again when Momah, sprung by wideout Ryan Waller’s block, rambled 33 yards for his first career TD with 4:26 left in the half.

UMaine extended the 17-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. Freshman Jermaine Walker’s blocked punt at the UNH 17 led to a 6-yard scoring throw from Meczywor to Fusco.

“I’m real proud of him,” Eaton said of Meczywor. “He played within himself, he didn’t make any mistakes.”

The Wildcats got within 24-14 after Lewis’ 55-yard kickoff return set up a 5-yard TD pass from Granieri to Jon Hart, but Quezada returned an interception 14 yards for a score to ice the contest with 4:47 left.

UNH took a 7-0 lead on its second series of the day, moving 91 yards on 13 plays. Granieri hit Michael Taylor on consecutive passes of 26 and 32 yards for the score.

UMaine answered with Mike Mellow’s 33-yard field goal at the 3:17 mark.

BLACK BEARS 31, WILDCATS 14

New Hampshire (3-8) 7 0 0 7 ? 14

Maine (10-2) 3 14 0 14 ? 31

UNH ?Taylor 32 pass from Granieri (McCormick kick)

UM ? Mellow 33 field goal

UM ? Fusco 9 pass from Meczywor (Mellow kick)

UM ? Momah 33 run (Mellow kick)

UM ? Fusco 6 pass from Meczywor (Mellow kick)

UNH ? Hart 5 pass from Granieri (McCormick)

UM ? Quezada 3 interception return (Mellow kick)

UNH Maine

First downs 11 10

Rushing att.-yards 41-36 44-223

Passing comp.-att. 13-38 7-21

Passing yards 143 72

Total yards 179 295

Punts-avg. 7-36.9 8-38.6

Fumbles-lost 4-2 2-1

Intercepted by 1 3

Penalties-yards 8-45 4-35

Rushing

UNH: Lewis 20-33, Wiley 1-15, Harvey 1-2, Polgar 1-(minus 2), Granieri 18-(minus12); Maine: Williams 20-96, Momah 6-48, Meczywor 9-43, Owens 7-37, Gelsomino 1-2, Team 1-(minus 3)

Passing

UNH: Granieri 13-38-3-143; Maine: Meczywor 7-20-1-72

Receiving

UNH: Diner 5-30, Taylor 4-88, Harvey 2-3, Lewis 1-17, Hart 1-5; Maine: Fusco 3-26, Waller 2-37, Pereira 2-9

A?3,064

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KEVIN BENNETT

Members of the University of Maine football team watch intently Sunday afternoon at Dexter Lounge in Orono as the NCAA Division I-AA football pairings are announced on TV. The Bears play Saturday at Appalachian State (N.C.)