Hofstra embarrasses Bears; Williams misses mark

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ORONO – Saturday was supposed to be a day of celebration for the University of Maine football team. The Black Bears had hoped to see senior tailback Marcus Williams break the school’s all-time rushing record and beat Hofstra.

Instead, it was the Pride who did all the celebrating.

Hofstra allowed only 84 yards while shutting out the Bears in the second half on its way to a 31-20 Atlantic 10 victory at chilly, gray Alfond Stadium.

UMaine, which slipped to 4-5 overall, 2-4 in conference play, suddenly went stagnant after halftime. With Williams playing sparingly because of an elbow injury, the Bears managed only six first downs.

“I think that was the worst half of football we’ve had all season,” said Williams, who had only four carries in the second half and finished with 73 yards on 19 attempts. He is 33 yards shy of eclipsing Lorenzo Bouier’s UMaine all-time rushing mark of 3,828 yards.

“That’s frustrating and that’s embarrassing, disappointing,” Williams said of the second-half offensive effort.

The Bears also had their hands full trying to slow down the A-10’s most productive passing offense. Anton Clarkson threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, with Charles Sullivan (204 yards) and Devale Ellis (92 yds.) each making eight catches.

Hofstra burned UMaine’s secondary for eight pass plays that covered at least 19 yards, including a 75-yard completion that set up its first touchdown. The Pride finished with 484 total yards.

“If you look at this thing, there’s going to be four or five pass plays from them that really won the game for them,” said Cosgrove, who was befuddled by UMaine’s second-half performance.

“We got beat. We got pushed around. We didn’t execute,” he said. “It was just very uncharacteristic.”

Bears quarterback Ron Whitcomb completed 26 of 50 passes for 208 yards but was under constant pressure from the Hofstra pass rush. He failed to throw a TD pass for the first time in 20 career starts.

Ryan Waller led the receiving corps with eight catches good for 82 yards.

UMaine led 20-17 late in the third quarter when Hofstra mounted a six-play, 65-yard TD drive that included a 37-yard pass from Clarkson to Sullivan. Clarkson’s 2-yard run with 10.6 seconds left in the third gave the Pride the lead for good.

The Bears went three-and-out on their first five possessions of the second half, but finally threatened early in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-five from the HU 18, tight end Josh Radulski was dropped by Chris Sebald after making a 4-yard catch – one yard short.

UMaine didn’t cross midfield again.

“Defensively, we played well in the second half, I thought, and we pressured the quarterback when we needed it,” said Hofstra coach Joe Gardi.

Hofstra put the game away, scoring after Tom Daddino’s diving interception at the UM 40. After eight straight run plays, Isaac Irby took a 1-yard shuffle pass from Clarkson and fought his way across the goal line with 3:34 remaining.

The Bears had battled back from a 10-0 deficit to take a 20-17 halftime lead with 20 second-quarter points. Jermaine Walker set up the go-ahead score with a 22-yard interception return to the Hofstra 34.

Williams scored six plays later on a gritty, 1-yard run around left end with 4.7 seconds remaining in the half.

UMaine marched 64 yards on 14 plays to open the game, but Mike Mellow pulled his 29-yard field-goal attempt just outside the left upright.

Sparked by a 75-yard bomb from Clarkson to Sullivan, Hofstra scored five plays later on an 8-yard toss from Clarkson to Irby.

“I think there were some passes that [Clarkson] threw up and our guys were going up at the point of attack and winning the battle,” Gardi said.

Hofstra made it 10-0 four minutes into the second quarter on Chris Onorato’s 46-yard field goal. UMaine responded with a 75-yard drive highlighted by a 49-yard pass from Whitcomb to Waller.

Williams capped it with a nifty 14-yard TD run against the grain to the right side. Mellow’s PAT was blocked, leaving the Pride on top 10-6.

The Bears’ special teams responded when Hofstra punter Joe Nolan fielded a one-hop snap nicely, only to have Alex Goyins block the kick. Arel Gordon fielded the bouncing ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 6:05 to play.

The Pride retaliated with a 12-play, 80-yard drive. Clarkson completed eight passes, including a 10-yard scoring toss to Sullivan, as Hofstra went on top 17-13 with 2:13 left in the half.

PRIDE 31, BLACK BEARS 20

Hofstra (5-4) 7 10 7 7 – 31

Maine (4-5) 0 20 0 0 – 20

H – Irby 8 pass from Clarkson (Onorato kick)

H – Onorato 46 field goal

M – M. Williams 14 run (kick blocked)

M – Gordon 2 blocked punt return (Mellow kick)

H – Sullivan 10 pass from Clarkson (Onorato kick)

M – M. Williams 1 run (Mellow kick)

H – Clarkson 2 run (Onorato kick)

H – Irby 1 pass from Clarkson (Onorato kick)

Hofstra Maine

First downs 23 17

Rushing att.-yards 36-76 31-92

Passing comp.-att. 30-50 26-51

Passing yards 408 208

Total yards 484 300

Punts-avg. 8-34.3 8-45.5

Fumbles-lost 4-1 3-0

Intercepted by 1 1

Penalties-yards 9-66 5-40

Rushing

Hofstra: Crenshaw 25-93, Huggins 2-9, Irby 1-4, Clarkson 8-(minus 30); Maine: M. Williams 19-73, Owens 6-26, Whitcomb 5-(minus 2), Gordon 1-(minus 5)

Passing

Hofstra: Clarkson 30-50-1-408; Maine: Whitcomb 26-50-1-208, Team 0-1-0-0

Receiving

Hofstra: Sullivan 8-204, Ellis 8-92, Irby 7-54, Wolman 3-32, Crenshaw 3-20, Huggins 1-6; Maine: Ry. Waller 8-82, Radulski 5-39, Pereira 4-34, Ababio 4-16, Gordon 2-20, M. Williams 2-9, Owens 1-8

A-4,239