ORONO – Its opener may be four months away, but the University of Maine football team already is excited about the 2004 season.

That was evident Saturday afternoon as the Black Bears capped off spring workouts with the annual Blue-White scrimmage on Morse Field.

An estimated 500 fans turned out at sun-splashed Alfond Stadium as coach Jack Cosgrove’s team went through a vigorous 73-play scrimmage.

“It’s the going against each other thing that makes it hard to get a handle on exactly how good you are, although I think based on what I saw out there we’ve got the makings of a good football team,” Cosgrove said.

UMaine showed off overall depth and defensive speed. The projected starters and their backups were tested, with the first-team offense mostly going up against the second-string defense and the No. 1 defense facing the No. 2 offense.

Judging from the tremendous competitiveness of the matchups, the Bears expect to get back in position to challenge for the Atlantic 10 championship and an NCAA playoff spot after going 7-5 in 2003, including 5-4 in league play.

There weren’t a lot of big statistics in the game, which included only two touchdowns among 15 different offensive possessions.

Quarterback Ron Whitcomb, who’ll be a sophomore in the fall, completed 12 of 19 passes for 119 yards. Junior wide receiver Kevin McMahan made five catches for 52 yards.

“I think with us being much improved next year, in combination with the perennial defense, that’s going to make us the team we need to be,” said Whitcomb, who indicated UMaine hopes to be less predictable on offense.

Starting tailback Marcus Williams carried nine times for 40 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown run. Fullback Ken Henry made two receptions for 26 yards and was among eight players to catch a pass.

Among the areas the Bears were trying to shore up this spring was the defensive line. With defensive end Marcus Walton sidelined this spring by a shoulder injury, Kurt Bulwith, converted inside linebacker Matthew King, Patrick McCrossan and Dzigbodi Ababio are vying for playing time. Kyle Lockett, Bruno Dorismond and Rob Brooks are working to get into the rotation at defensive tackle.

“They had a lot of chances to get better and we’re hoping that what they got this spring is going to be a springboard to success in the fall,” Cosgrove said.