HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Inexperience, injuries and a lack of depth in the defensive secondary were key concerns for the University of Maine going into its Atlantic 10 opener at Hofstra.

The 14th-ranked Black Bears were so dominating Saturday night, any worries about the secondary were quickly alleviated.

UMaine’s powerful offensive line paved the way for a combined 301-yard rushing effort and the defensive front manhandled the Pride offense as the Bears routed Hofstra 44-21 at Shuart Stadium.

“I love the way we came to play this game,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “We were focused, came and took it to them.

“This is going to be huge for us in terms of our confidence and our belief in each other,” he added.

The 1-1 Bears put on an offensive clinic in the first half. Freshman quarterback Ron Whitcomb passed for 183 yards and three touchdowns while junior tailback Marcus Williams netted 89 of his team’s 124 rushing yards.

The halftime lead was 28-7 and could have been greater had it not been for a fumble by Onyi Momah at the Hofstra 1-yard line and a blocked field goal.

“Everything just fit right into place and allowed us to execute and throw the ball, run the ball, be physical and just take it to Hofstra,” said Whitcomb, who completed 11 of 20 passes and was intercepted twice in the game.

UMaine’s front line was superb. Tackles Pete Richardson of Millinocket and Matt Hammond, center Mike Leconte of South Portland, guards Evign Dodge of Berwick and Ryan Bird, and tight end Dante Fusco enabled Williams and fellow tailback Momah to pile up big yardage.

Williams netted 197 yards on 22 carries, while Momah gained a career-best 106 yards on 22 attempts.

“When you profess to run the football, you really have to stick to it and make that work,” Cosgrove said. “When we make it work, it makes us a better football team. It opens up everything in the pass game. It lets our defense stay off the field.”

When the Bears’ defense was on the field, it controlled play. Quarterback Anton Clarkson took a vicious pounding and often was unable to pull the trigger in Hofstra’s run-and-shoot.

UMaine’s defensive front was instrumental in disarming the Pride offense. Tackle Dan Joslyn registered three sacks while tackle Pat Pa’u and ends Dennis Dottin-Carter, Marcus Walton and Brian Mann achieved frequent penetration.

Dottin-Carter said the line knew it had to take some of the pressure off freshman cornerback Manauris Arias and the thin secondary.

“We knew that we had to take it upon ourselves to get after them a lot more,” said the Bears captain. “It basically starts up front at the line of scrimmage with the offensive and defensive lines. We know that when we’re out there, we’ve got to set the tone every single play.”

Junior corner John Baumgartner, a first-year starter, appreciates the help.

“Sometimes I get mad at them, because they’re just making my job so easy,” Baumgartner said. “I’m sitting back there and I’m like, ‘guys, can I make a play at all?’ They’re just doing a phenomenal job up front.”

Sophomore linebacker Jermaine Walker led UMaine with 10 tackles and a forced fumble, while LB Fred Lazo added six tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. Lazo was named the A-10 Defensive Player of Week for the second straight time for his efforts.

The Bears snapped a 7-7 tie when Whitcomb found Ryan Waller (3 catches, 80 yds.) on a 35-yard TD post pass to cap a 63-yard march with 1:58 left in the first quarter. UMaine twice failed to extend the lead, getting a field goal blocked and fumbling inside the H-1.

However, the Bears scored twice during a span of 2 minutes, 28 seconds late in the half. Whitcomb completed a 29-yard throw to Kevin McMahan to set up a 31-yard scoring strike to Waller at the 3:26 mark.

Then after a Pa’u pass deflection led to a Walton interception, Whitcomb hit Christian Pereira on a 4-yard TD pass, pushing the lead to 28-7.

UMaine scored early in the second half on a 36-yard romp by Williams that was set up by Quezada’s interception. Later, Lazo’s INT led to a 16-yard touchdown run by Momah.

Williams had put UMaine ahead with a 19-yard TD run on the Bears’ second possession, but the Pride equalized on an 87-yard scoring pass from Clarkson to Ricky Bryant.

“We gave up one big play on defense, blew a coverage a little bit, and that’s it,” Cosgrove said.

Hofstra scored twice in the last 61/2 minutes against the Bears’ reserves.

BLACK BEARS 44, PRIDE 21

Maine (1-1) 14 14 14 2 ? 44

Hofstra (0-2) 7 0 0 14 ? 21

M ? Williams 19 run (Mellow kick)

H ? Bryant 87 pass from Clarkson (Onorato kick)

M ? Ry. Waller 35 pass from Whitcomb (Mellow kick)

M ? Ry. Waller 31 pass from Whitcomb (Mellow kick)

M ? Pereira 4 pass from Whitcomb (Mellow kick)

M ? Williams 36 run (Mellow kick)

M ? Momah 16 run (Mellow kick)

H ? Dimmie 13 run (Onorato kick)

H ? Dimmie 20 run (Onorato kick)

M ? Safety, Clarkson fell in end zone

Maine Hofstra

First downs 23 14

Rushing att.-yards 50-301 38-192

Passing comp.-att. 11-21 11-20

Passing yards 183 209

Total yards 484 344

Punts-avg. 5-46.8 5-44.0

Fumbles-lost 4-2 6-4

Intercepted by 3 2

Penalties-yards 4-35 4-36

Rushing

Maine: Williams 22-197, Momah 22-106, Zyskowski 1-2, Whitcomb 5-(-4); Hofstra: Crenshaw 11-82, Dimmie 13-69, English 1-(-2), Clarkson 12-(-5), DePasquale 1-(-9)

Passing

Maine: Whitcomb 11-20-2-183, Meczywor 1-0-0-0; Hofstra: Clarkson 6-14-3-137, English 5-6-0-72

Receiving

Maine: Ry. Waller 3-80, Pereira 3-42, Nwosu 2-24, Fusco 2-18, McMahan 1-19; Hofstra: Colston 4-52, Bryant 3-107, Ellis 1-28, Irby 1-13, Perry 1-8, Crenshaw 1-1

A?4,913