Huskies tame Bears; Husson seeking 1st win Northeastern runs past UMaine

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BROOKLINE, Mass. – Maine and Northeastern are virtual mirror images of each other on the football field. Their success is predicated on their ability to run the football and stop the run.

The Huskies were a little bit better executing that philosophy Saturday at Parsons Field.

Powerhouse tailback Tim Gale rambled for 129 of his game-high 153 yards in the second half and Northeastern stuffed the Black Bears’ ground attack on its way to a 20-14 Atlantic 10 victory in front of 6,200-plus fans.

“They ran the ball better than anybody has all year long on us,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “They’ve got a talented tailback, a physical kid who broke some tackles.”

UMaine (4-3 overall, 3-2 A-10) battled, but was limited to 275 total yards by a hard-charging Northeastern defense. The Bears, playing only their second game in a month, managed only 120 second-half yards, including only 55 via the run.

“They put us behind, down and distance, by taking away the balance that we like to have on offense with the run and pass,” Cosgrove said. “They really did a good job in the fourth period of shutting down the run lanes.”

The Huskies (5-3 overall, 3-2 Atlantic 10) snapped a three-game losing streak with stingy defense, solid offense and strong special teams.

The Bears only got inside the NU 30-yard line once in the entire second half.

“Defensively, it may be one of the best games we’ve played here since I’ve been here,” said Northeastern coach Don Brown. “That was a monumental effort.”

Trailing 17-14 early in the fourth quarter, UMaine had a chance to turn the tide when Jermaine Walker stripped the ball from Gale and Joan Quezada recovered at the UM 26-yard line.

Instead, the NU defense held. The Huskies got the ball back and moved into position for Miro Kesic’s 46-yard field goal with 8:10 remaining.

The Bears got the ball three more times, including the final chance at their own 23 after a 52-yard punt by Tyler Grogan (son of former New England Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan) with 1:55 left. But quarterback Ron Whitcomb threw four incomplete passes as UMaine came up short.

“I’m just disappointed that we didn’t get it done at the end,” Cosgrove said of the final possession.

While the Bears struggled running the ball consistently, Whitcomb (12-for-23, 153 yards, 1 TD) also faced tremendous pressure from the Huskies’ blitzing defense.

“It’s the most pressure I’ve received in the passing game so far this year,” Whitcomb conceded. “I think a lot of that is due to how we were losing at the line of scrimmage in the run game, though. When you’re not winning that battle, obviously the passing downs are going to become rougher.”

Despite playing with a deep laceration and a plastic sheath on his left (non-throwing) hand, QB Shawn Brady (11-for-19, 169 yds., TD) was able to keep UMaine off balance with some clutch pass completions.

Talented wideout Cory Parks (7 catches, 120 yds., TD) made a superb diving catch for a 23-yard gain to set up an 11-yard scoring run by Gale in the third quarter that gave the hosts a 17-7 lead.

UMaine responded with a 77-yard scoring march that included two long completions by Whitcomb and a 4-yard TD run by Marcus Williams, who finished with 82 yards on 19 carries.

Parks also made a 34-yard grab on a long play to spark the Huskies’ first scoring march, and capped it on a 13-yard hookup with Brady with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

The Bears tied it 7-7 with 4:10 left in the first half when Whitcomb capped a six-play, 65-yard drive with a 20-yard TD toss to wide-open tight end Dante Fusco.

However, Northeastern’s exceptional special teams answered when Quentin Mitchell raced 70 yards with the ensuing kickoff. The Bears stiffened, but Kesic’s 20-yard field goal with 1:02 left in the half gave the Huskies the lead for good.

Wide receiver Christian Pereira led UMaine with five catches for 68 yards. Fred Lazo paced the defense with eight tackles, while Brandon McGowan logged seven.

Liam Ezekiel posted a game-high 11 tackles for Northeastern.

HUSKIES 20, BLACK BEARS 14

Maine (4-3) 0 7 7 0 ? 14

Northeastern (5-3) 7 3 7 3 ? 20

NU ? Parks 13 pass from Brady (Kesic kick)

UM ? Fusco 20 pass from Whitcomb (Mellow kick)

NU ? Kesic 20 field goal

NU ? Gale 11 run (Kesic kick)

UM ? Williams 4 run (Mellow kick)

NU ? Kesic 46 field goal

Maine NU

First downs 15 16

Rushing att.-yards 39-122 44-133

Passing comp.-att. 12-23 11-19

Passing yards 153 169

Total yards 275 302

Punts-avg. 7-38.4 6-37.0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2

Intercepted by 0 0

Penalties-yards 6-58 9-93

Rushing

Maine: Williams 19-82; Whitcomb 11-42, Zyskowski 2-6, Momah 1-0, Team 3-(-4), Owens 3-(-4); Northeastern: Gale 32-153, Harris 2-5, Gay1-3, Hopkins 2-3, Gyles 2-0, Team 2-(-4), Brady 3-(-27)

Passing

Maine: Whitcomb 12-23-0-153; Northeastern: Brady 11-19-0-169

Receiving

Maine: Pereira 5-68, Fusco 2-35, Ballantyne 2-35, Ry. Waller 2-11, Owens 1-4; Northeastern: Parks 7-120, Gale 2-14, Graham 1-27, Mitchell 1-8