The performance by the University of Maine offense in Saturday night’s 20-17 football victory at William & Mary proved a couple of key points.

First, senior quarterback Ron Whitcomb, while not a speedster, is a threat to run the football in the Black Bears’ spread scheme.

Secondly, it demonstrated the spread is designed to exploit possible mismatches in the run game rather feature 40 pass attempts per contest.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s UMaine squad netted 166 rushing yards and only 98 through the air in earning an important early season victory. Senior tailback Arel Gordon hit the 100-yard mark for the second week in a row, while Whitcomb picked up a career-best 64 yards on 21 carries.

“I think that’s something in college football now that is so essential, a quarterback who can create off a breakdown,” Cosgrove said.

On many of the run plays, Whitcomb’s ability to read what the defense is doing leads him to decide whether to hand off to Gordon or keep the ball himself. He went into spring camp having dropped 20 pounds to 208 and reshaped his body a bit to help make him a more efficient ballcarrier.

“Ronnie has worked hard at becoming a better runner,” Cosgrove said. “We’re doing a lot more things with him involved in the run game and you can see he created a little bit off the scramble [Saturday], which really helped us.”

UMaine also is running some option out of the spread, but two pitches went on the ground at William & Mary. That facet should improve with more repetition.

UMaine women to play BC Eagles

The UMaine women’s basketball team, which is in its third week of preseason workouts, is expected to have numerous challenges on its 2006-07 schedule.

That includes a nonleague game against Atlantic Coast Conference and national power Boston College. Coach Ann McInerney’s Bears are scheduled to take on the Eagles Dec. 17 in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

It is only one piece of what is expected to be a testy nonconference schedule for UMaine, which opens its season with a Nov. 11 home game against William & Mary at Alfond Arena.

UMaine officials are withholding comment on the schedule because the America East office is waiting to see regional television game dates before it releases its schedules.

“We do have a very competitive nonconference schedule,” McInerney confirmed. “We want to play the best teams we can get.”

The Bears also have a talented field for the annual Dead River Co. Classic. UMaine opens against Brown University, where former Bears All-American Cindy Blodgett of Clinton is an assistant coach, along with Clemson of the ACC and St. John’s of the Big East.

Bears defense makes strides

Saturday’s win also included a strong effort by the UMaine defense, which afforded The Tribe 279 total yards.

For the second straight week, the focus was on shutting down the run. William & Mary managed only 95 rushing yards.

As a result, The Tribe resorted to running reverses and other misdirection plays to make up for their inability to run between the tackles.

“I don’t know if you want to say we bagged the running game, but we said we’ve got to open it up and move it around, do some things,” said W&M coach Jimmye Laycock.

Sophomore linebacker Andrew Downey led the charge with eight tackles, while cornerback Manauris Arias (6 tackles), LB Jovan Belcher (5), strong safety Daren Stone (5), free safety Jonathan Calderon (5) and end Matt King (5, 2.5 for negative yardage) also performed well.

“We were way more disciplined than last week,” Arias said. “Last week there was too many mental mistakes, not everybody was on the same page.”

Shaw up next for UMaine

UMaine is preparing for Saturday’s home opener against a team about which it doesn’t know a great deal.

Shaw University is a school of 2,600 students in Raleigh, N.C. It bills itself as “the oldest historically black institution of higher learning in the South.”

The Division II Bears compete in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which includes the likes of Elizabeth City (N.C.), Virginia Union and North Carolina Central. Shaw, which first sponsored football in 1897, dropped the program after the 1978 season but reinstated football as a club sport in 2002.

In 2004, the Bears won the Pioneer Bowl, which pits the champions from the CIAA and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Shaw (1-2), coming off a 26-20 victory over Edward Waters (Fla.)., is guided by first-year head coach Darrell Asberry.