Montana spoils Maine’s opener Grizzlies capitalize on mistakes

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ORONO – The University of Maine football team was reminded Saturday night that when you’re playing the No. 3 team in the country, there is little margin for error.

The 14th-ranked Black Bears turned the ball over four times and suffered three special teams breakdowns as No. 3 Montana posted a season-opening 30-20 victory on Morse Field.

A record Alfond Stadium crowd of 9,345 turned out to watch the Bears battle one of the country’s premier Division I-AA programs.

“We just didn’t play the kind of football you need to play against an opponent of that stature and that ability,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “We turned it over, we had some penalties that hurt us, some poor execution on special teams, and those are things that’ll get you beat.”

Montana’s Levander Segars answered Mike Mellow’s first-quarter field goal by romping 91 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff. A blocked punt in the third quarter left UMaine pinned deep in its own end and set the stage for Dave DeCoite’s 4-yard TD return of a Ron Whitcomb fumble.

Later, a muffed punt return by Joan Quezada led to a field goal that gave Montana a 10-point lead. The Grizz also blocked a UMaine field-goal try that would have tied the game late in the first half.

“The blocked field goal and the blocked punt, we had none of that last year, not one,” Cosgrove said. “Those things can’t happen.”

An injury-riddled UMaine defense dealt admirably with its lack of depth and experience at some positions. Paced by linebackers Fred Lazo (interception) and Jermaine Walker (fumble recovery), who made 10 tackles each, the Bears limited Montana to 218 yards, including only 49 on the ground.

“For the most part, we shut down the run,” Cosgrove said. “We pressured the quarterback well enough that we got him on the move. He completed some balls, but I thought for the most part our defense did a great job.”

Montana led 13-10 early in the third quarter when Whitcomb (15-for-31, 188 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was stripped of the ball and DeCoite ran four yards for a touchdown. Whitcomb also had fumbled at the Montana 15-yard line on the Bears’ opening drive.

“I need to protect the ball when I’m running the ball. That was a fault of mine,” Whitcomb said. “I don’t think that was an opponent that was too much for the Maine Black Bears.”

UMaine hung tough after Lazo intercepted a Jeff Disney pass at the Montana 29, setting up a 27-yard Mellow field goal with 4:30 left in the third quarter. The Grizz led 20-13.

The Bears’ emotional surge began to wane after Quezada failed to field a punt at the UMaine 39. Montana cashed in with a Chris Snyder 27-yard field goal that pushed the lead to 10 with 9:02 left.

The visitors put the game out of reach on a 25-yard TD throw from Disney (17-for-30, 152 yds.) to Jon Talmage with 5:31 to play. The Bears added a late score when Whitcomb found Ryan Waller on a 9-yard scoring toss.

Whitcomb, making his first collegiate appearance, performed well with the exception of the fumbles. Most of his passes were on the mark, while he exhibited poise in the face of an unfamiliar defense.

“I’m very excited with the way he played tonight,” said UMaine offensive coordinator Bobby Wilder. “I felt like he was up against as good a defense as we’re going to see all year.”

Wilder explained that while the defensive staff prepared for numerous possibilities, Montana’s new coaching staff implemented a defensive scheme UMaine wasn’t expecting.

“They came out and played the Arizona Flex defense, which is an incredibly difficult defense to try to adjust to when you’re just seeing it,” Wilder said. “They took away a lot of things, like Marcus (Williams running) to our tight end side.”

Junior tailback Williams carried 23 times for 70 yards, 53 of which came in the first half, while moving into 10th place on UMaine’s all-time rushing list. Christian Pereira caught five passes for 76 yards.

Maine took a 3-0 lead on Mellow’s 36-yard field goal with 3:45 left in the first quarter. Segars’ kickoff return quickly changed the momentum.

The Bears responded by driving 81 yards on six plays. Whitcomb hooked up with wideout Kevin McMahan on a 40-yard TD pass down the right side as UMaine made it 10-7.

Montana went back ahead with a 75-yard march in the second quarter, it’s only lengthy offensive possession. Disney’s 7-yard run gave the Grizzlies a 13-10 lead.

Bear tracks: Prior to Saturday’s game, UMaine honored former Little All-America linebacker John Huard as the first inductee into its “Ring of Honor.” The program is a tribute to UMaine’s gridiron greats, whose names and jersey numbers will be displayed above the visitors’ stands at Alfond Stadium. Huard, a 1967 UMaine graduate who played four seasons in the NFL and later coached pro and college ball, was presented with a framed No. 32 jersey, although “Ring of Honor” inductees will not have their numbers retired by UMaine.

GRIZZLIES 30, BLACK BEARS 20

Montana (1-0) 7 6 7 10 ? 30

Maine (0-1) 10 0 3 7 ? 20

Me ? Mellow 36 field goal

Mo ? Segars 91 kickoff return (Snyder kick)

Me ? McMahan 40 pass from Whitcomb (Mellow kick)

Mo ? Disney 8 run (pass failed)

Mo ? DeCoite 4 fumble return (Snyder kick)

Me ? Mellow 37 field goal

Mo ? Snyder 27 field goal

Mo ? Talmage 25 pass from Disney (Snyder kick)

Me ? Ry. Waller 9 pass from Whitcomb (Mellow kick)

Montana Maine

First downs 12 15

Rushing att.-yards 33-41 42-95

Passing comp.-att. 18-31 15-31

Passing yards 169 188

Total yards 218 283

Punts-avg. 7-37.6 7-31.6

Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-3

Intercepted by 1 1

Penalties-yards 12-104 6-80

Rushing

Montana: Green 12-26, Waller 11-25, Heidelberger 1-9, Segars 2-5, Team 1-(-1), Disney 6-(-15); Maine: Williams 23-70, Momah 3-12, Whitcomb 15-11, Zyskowski 1-2

Passing

Montana: Disney 17-30-1-152, Waller 1-1-0-17; Maine: Whitcomb 15-31-1-188

Receiving

Montana: Oliver 5-35, Heidelberger 4-8, Talmage 3-53, Hancock 3-23, Weston 2-33, Disney 1-17; Maine: Pereira 5-76, Ry. Waller 5-23, Nwosu 3-32, McMahan 1-40, M. Williams 1-17

A?9,345 (Alfond Stadium record)