ORONO – With Ron Whitcomb and Arel Gordon having graduated, the University of Maine football team needed to replace a large chunk of its offensive production.

Mike Brusko and Jhamal Fluellen demonstrated Saturday night they’re ready to fill much of that void.

Fluellen and Brusko each rushed for more than 100 yards and the offense produced just enough for UMaine to eke out a season-opening 21-14 football victory over Monmouth University in front of 7,312 fans at Alfond Stadium.

Fluellen and Brusko led the charge during a game-winning 95-yard scoring drive in the third quarter as coach Jack Cosgrove’s team opened the season with a victory for the first time since 2002.

“It’s a good win for us,” said Cosgrove, who complimented a Monmouth program that plays in the limited-scholarship Northeast Conference.

“They gave us a heck of a time,” he added. “We feel real good we were fortunate to get the initial win of our season here tonight.”

Fluellen and Brusko demonstrated their running ability while making their first career starts for the Bears.

Fluellen, a junior transfer from Syracuse, netted 125 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries and caught five passes for 13 yards.

Brusko, a sophomore, rushed for 109 yards and a TD on 16 carries. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 64 yards and was intercepted once.

“We had some guys break some big runs, our offensive line did a great job up front the whole game and that allowed for a lot of success in the run game and took some pressure off me,” Brusko said.

Led by end Jovan Belcher’s team-leading 13 tackles, UMaine was solid against a veteran Hawks offense. Monmouth broke two long scoring plays in the first half, but the Bears responded with a more cohesive second-half effort.

With the game tied 14-14 and after being pinned by a well-placed punt at its 5-yard line, the UMaine offense found a successful rhythm in the third quarter.

Fluellen sparked the drive with a 21-yard run on the opening play and added an 18-yard gain four plays later. Brusko completed three passes, including a key 13-yarder to wide receiver Manzi Pierre.

Though tightly defended, Pierre tipped a high Brusko throw into the air, then grabbed it as he fell out of bounds at the Monmouth 12-yard line.

“That was not a pretty pass,” Cosgrove said. “It was ugly and Manzi made a hell of a play.”

On the next play, Fluellen ran through the right side, bouncing off two defenders on his way to the game-winner.

“We calmed down a little bit and just had that mentality that they couldn’t stop us and that’s what we did in the second half,” Fluellen said.

Bruno Dorismond (seven tackles) and the defense held their ground after that, affording the Hawks only 12 plays while the Maine offense controlled the football with the run game.

“It’s a sign of a team that responded to a tough situation, because they [the Hawks] had certainly seized the momentum coming out in the second half,” Cosgrove said.

The Bears scored quickly after Lamir Whetstone returned the opening kickoff 69 yards to the Monmouth 22. Brusko’s 8-yard TD run and Devin McNeill’s kick made it 7-0.

The Hawks answered 1:03 later. An 18-yard pass from Brett Burke (14-for-25, 123 yards, 1 TD) to Chris Kiley and a roughing-the-passer penalty on the same play moved the visitors to the UM 28.

On the next play, Sinisi burst through a gaping hole up the middle and raced untouched for a score at the 11:59 mark.

“We lost our safety [Jonathan Calderon with a finger injury] and our [new] safety got lined up wrong. That thing was over like that,” Cosgrove said.

UMaine took the lead late in the first quarter when a bad snap resulted in a low, line-drive punt by Jack Daniels. The ball went to Mark Masterson, who raced 50 yards for a score.

“I was pretty surprised, actually,” said Masterson, a backup linebacker. “It bounced right into my hands. [I saw] a lot of daylight and I saw Jerron Pearson make a block for me and then Jovan [Belcher] picked up the punter and that was it.”

McNeill’s PAT made it 14-7 with 3:25 left in the quarter.

The Hawks had a drive end with a missed 42-yard field goal late in the first quarter, then UMaine had a 46-yard screen pass from Brusko to Fluellen for an apparent TD called back by a clipping penalty.

Monmouth made it 14-14 on the third play of the second half when Adam San Miguel got behind Whetstone to catch a 58-yard scoring pass from Burke.

“Great call,” Cosgrove said.