When you’re a third-year independent program, sometimes you have to make some concessions in scheduling.

Such is the case this season for the Husson College football team, which is gearing up for an in-season home-and-home series against Becker College of Leicester, Mass.

While it isn’t unheard of for teams to play each other twice in the same season, the Eagles and the Hawks will be doing so in back-to-back games – six days apart.

Husson (1-3) is scheduled to take on Becker this Sunday at Worcester, Mass., then will entertain the Hawks the following Saturday at Winkin Complex in Bangor.

“We didn’t want to do it that way. We wanted to play one of them earlier in the year,” said Husson coach and athletic director Gabby Price, who explained the teams didn’t have much flexibility in their respective schedules.

Becker, which along with Husson is a member of the North Atlantic Conference in most sports, is fielding a football team for the first time this fall. The winless Hawks (0-6) have an eight-game schedule.

“They’re a first-year program, but they jumped right into it and went right to bat,” Price said, referring to the fact Becker did not spend a season as a club team before embarking on a varsity schedule.

“We know what it’s like to be starting out and they’ve done a great job,” he said.

Husson and Becker are joined by Mount Ida and Plymouth State as the only Division III football independents in New England and the latter two are headed for the New England Football Conference next year.

As the Eagles strive to prove their worthiness as a potential member of a football conference, they have to make concessions to get enough games.

“We looked all over,” Price said. “I think we’ve shown we’re willing to travel. We’ve been to New Jersey three times and we’ve been to New York and Ohio.

“We want to play football games,” he said. “As you get more credibility, it becomes easier to schedule.”

Husson’s Scott leads nation

Adam Scott, a senior on the Husson College football team, is the top-ranked kickoff returner in all of Division III.

Scott, a safety from Haverhill, Mass., has returned six kickoffs for 228 yards this season, a 38-yard average.

He holds a three-yard lead over second-place returner Marcus Washington of Bridgewater College (Va.), who checks in at 35.0 yards per return.

“Adam has just been tremendous for us,” Price said. “He’s probably our fastest player. Any time he has the ball, we say touchdown. He’s quick, he sees the field very well and he has great instincts.”

Scott has returned one kickoff for a touchdown this season, racing 75 yards for a score in Husson’s 53-28 loss at Hartwick.

The 5-foot-10, 205-pounder began his Husson career as a running back, but was moved to safety two games into the 2004 season. Scott responded, making a school-record nine receptions in seven games. He ranked fourth on the team with 32.5 tackles.

This fall, Scott has been in on 13.5 tackles.