Changes give UMaine a spark Black Bears hoping to build on offensive improvements

ORONO – Making adjustments, whether in strategy or personnel, is a key component of college football.

The University of Maine enjoyed a bit more offensive success during Saturday’s 35-14 Homecoming loss to Massachusetts after making some changes to its attack.

Coming off back-to-back Atlantic 10 losses during which they were shut out, the Black Bears tried a different approach against the Minutemen.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s squad diverted considerably from its normal run-based scheme to a more wide-open attack. The Bears frequently lined up with four wide receivers and a single running back, more reminiscent of pass-oriented squads such as Hofstra and New Hampshire.

“We just game-planned to spread them out and attack the blitz that way instead of coming in and just taking it,” said UMaine junior quarterback Ron Whitcomb, who passed for 275 yards, including scoring throws of 57 and 35 yards to senior wide receiver Kevin McMahan.

” I think we did a decent job,” Whitcomb added. “We definitely have a lot of room to work and I think that improvement will come throughout the weeks. This was a very new package for a lot of us.”

One of the focal points of the switch was junior wideout Arel Gordon. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound speedster was utilized as a running back and as a receiver.

Gordon provided versatility in the new scheme.

“He gives us a little bit of an edge player,” Cosgrove explained. “You saw how we slipped him out of the backfield and we also ran the inside zone with him.”

Gordon finished the contest by rushing for 46 yards on nine carries and making eight receptions for 31 yards. He also netted 62 yards on four kickoff returns and 14 yards on a punt return, finishing with 153 all-purpose yards.

The game took its toll on Gordon, who sustained a blow to the head when UMass tacklers and his own teammates fell on top of him after he made a catch midway through the fourth quarter. He was forced to leave the game and did not return.

“We think he’ll be OK,” Cosgrove said after the game.

The overall results were mixed Saturday for UMaine.

The Bears scored two touchdowns and gained 413 yards against the top-ranked defense in Division I-AA, which went into the contest allowing only 6.0 points and 161 yards per game.

UMass hadn’t allowed an offensive touchdown in its previous four-plus games, a streak of 352 minutes, 31 seconds.

“I would absolutely say they challenged us,” UMass coach Don Brown said of the Bears’ offense. “That was the most productive any offense has been against us.”

UMaine was intercepted three times, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and Whitcomb was sacked four times, bringing opponents’ season total to 35.

The Bears converted only four of 15 third-down plays and were 1-for-5 on fourth zone.

“The thing that probably stymied us the most was their ability,” Cosgrove said of UMass.

“They’re just a very talented defense and their playmakers stepped up and made some plays for them and prevented us from getting in the [end] zone,” he added.

McMahan is hoping UMaine can build on some of the success it enjoyed against the Minutemen as it heads into Saturday’s noon A-10 game against Delaware at Alfond Stadium.

“Our offense has been struggling a little bit for the last couple weeks but we got something going [Saturday] and that’s something that we want to continue to build on and get better and better at every week,” said McMahan, who is UMaine’s leading receiver with 39 receptions for 627 yards and six touchdowns.

All of those numbers are single-season bests for McMahan, who has moved into ninth place on UMaine’s career pass receiving yardage list with 1,729.