MISSOULA, Mont. – For the members of the University of Maine football team, it’s impossible not to be excited about today’s season-opening game against the University of Montana.

Montana’s Washington-Grizzly Stadium is one of the premier football venues in I-AA. The Grizzlies averaged 22,469 fans in eight home games last season to rank second behind only Yale (23,578).

The Griz have parlayed that support into a phenomenal home-field advantage, having won 91 percent of their home games (73-7) since 1992. They lost twice at home last season and once in 2002.

It’s precisely the kind of game the Bears want to kick off their grueling 2004 schedule.

“We’ve been to some pretty impressive places like McNeese and Northern Iowa and Georgia Southern, but word is that Montana takes the cake when it comes to hosting a I-AA college football event,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “We’re excited to go into it.”

Surrounded by majestic mountains, the Bears went through a light practice session Friday morning at Sentinel High School. UMaine worked on executing its offensive play script and defending against Montana plays.

Today’s game is special to Maine junior center Ben Lazarski, a third-year starter who returns after missing last season with a shoulder injury.

“This is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Lazarski said of Missoula. “The crowd’s going to be crazy, so I get excited about that, too.”

Lazarski is happy to be back on the field, working with his teammates and coaches. He said he is looking forward to “hitting people legally, I definitely have missed that.

“And being with the boys again. I missed being in a working unit with Michael (Leconte) and Evign (Dodge), I missed that terribly last year.”

Lazarski said his time behind the scenes allowed him to learn more about football, which should help him be more effective this season.

“I was able to work with the coaches a lot and they taught me a lot more about defenses and how to run an offense,” he said.

UMaine sophomore quarterback Ron Whitcomb is another player ready to get the season started. He made his collegiate debut last season against Montana in Orono, where the Grizzlies took a 30-20 victory.

“Ronnie played a good football game, but he did make some mistakes – he’d be the first to admit it himself – and some of those mistakes contributed to us not winning that night,” Cosgrove said.

“His growth as a player after that game probably was as impressive as I’ve ever seen, because he never let that game bother him,” Cosgrove continued. “He put it behind him and he got better in all aspects of his game. Mentally and physically, his performance level grew each and every week.”

Whitcomb, the 2003 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, is excited about demonstrating the improvements he and his teammates have made.

“Not in a way of getting back at Montana, but proving to ourselves how much we’ve progressed as an offense and as a team in the past year,” he said. “This is a great atmosphere, Montana’s a great place to play, and I think guys are just ready to play football.”

Other players making their return to the UMaine lineup today include senior cornerbacks Devon Goree and Jarrod Gomes. Among the first-time starters are junior tight end Josh Radulski, sophomore fullback Ken Henry, sophomore defensive end Matthew King, soph nose tackle Mike DeVito, and soph free safety Daren Stone.

Like father, like son

One of the people accompanying UMaine on its charter trip to Montana is Bangor High School athletic director Steve Vanidestine.

Vanidestine, who played for the Bears more than 30 years ago, is here to follow the career of his younger son, Joe, who is a sophomore on this year’s squad.

Joe Vanidestine, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound former Bangor High School star, is listed as UMaine’s backup free safety behind Stone.