BANGOR – The future looks bright for the Husson College football program, particularly given the recent news that the Eagles finally will have a conference title to pursue beginning in 2009.

But if Husson continues to perform the way it did Saturday, it may scare off its fellow charter members of the North Atlantic Conference football ranks.

The Eagles put together one of their best all-around performances in the five-year history of the program in routing soon-to-be NAC rival Norwich University 44-0 at the Winkin Complex.

“The kick game was great, the defense threw a shutout and the offense played well, it just seemed like everybody that played did so many good things,” said Husson coach Jonathan “Gabby” Price, whose team improved to 3-0 this year and extended its overall win streak to five games.

Husson’s defense, which began the day as one of the stingiest in NCAA Div. III in scoring (8.0 ppg) and yards allowed (148 per game), improved on those numbers as the Eagles yielded just 117 total yards while forcing eight Norwich turnovers – including two interceptions by sophomore Doug Blades.

The Cadets, which lost just 14-13 to Husson at Northfield, Vt., last year, never got inside the Eagles’ 25 with its no-huddle, spread offense.

“We’re a fast defense and we pursue to the ball well, but we had to slow down this week because of the zone,” said senior linebacker Ross Salovitch. “If you get too far ahead of it, that’s when they get the big plays, but we did well.”

While Norwich never reached the red zone, Husson scored five touchdowns on plays from inside the 20, an efficiency greatly improved from a week earlier when the Eagles’ offense went without a TD in a 10-3 win at Utica.

“Today it just finally started clicking,” said senior quarterback Jonah Chappell, who completed 19 of 31 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns and guided the Eagles to 491 yards of total offense. “We knew all year we had the weapons, and today it showed. When we got in the red zone we finished it off.”

The Eagles pounded out 208 rushing yards behind linemen Louis Avent, Jason Cross, Matt Benson, David Brown, Jon Benson and tight end P.J. Dowe. Julius Williams was the chief beneficiary, rushing for 120 yards on 18 carries, including TD runs of 16 and 31 yards.

“This week in practice we worked hard, talking about togetherness, one sound, one beat,” said Williams. “We win together as a team, we lose together as a team and we play hard together. It was just a team effort.”

Husson’s special teams added to the dominance. Darren Gauthier kicked a 27-yard field goal and went 5-for-5 on extra points, while the kickoff and punt teams each recovered a fumble and Keith Runne blocked a punt to set up a 1-yard TD run by Bryan Ferguson late in the third quarter.

“We felt like we had a good football team, but each week you’ve got to show it,” said Price. “Good college football teams show up every week, and that’s the thing we’ve really worked on. If you show up to play every week, even if you’re not the best every week, good things will happen.”

Husson marched 75 yards with its first possession, with Chappell finding Dowe open in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard TD pass.

Williams ran 16 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, and Gauthier capitalized on Blades’ first interception with his field goal to give the Eagles a 17-0 lead with 11:28 left in the half.

Husson broke the game open with two touchdowns within a 2:08 span late in the third quarter. First Chappell hit Jeremy Shorey on a stop-and-go pattern down the right sideline for a 15-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-0.

The Eagles then regained possession when Runne blocked Ryan Kelly’s punt and recovered it at the Norwich 4. Ferguson scored one play later to give Husson a 31-0 lead with 2:29 left in the period.

Blades’ second interception gave Husson the ball again, and Williams capped off a six-play drive by scoring on a 31-yard jaunt with 13:58 left in the game.

Another interception, this time by Runne, gave Husson the ball near midfield, and freshman Justin Lindie of Winslow did the rest, running six times for 55 yards – the final time for 3 yards to the end zone for the game’s final score with 9:21 left.

EAGLES 44, CADETS 0

Norwich (1-2) 0 0 0 0 – 0

Husson (3-0) 7 10 14 13 – 44

H – Dowe 6 pass from Chappell (Gauthier kick)

H – Williams 16 run (Gauthier kick) H – Gauthier 27 field goal

H – Shorey 15 pass from Chappell (Gauthier kick)

H – Ferguson 1 run (Gauthier kick)

H – Williams 31 run (kick failed)

H – Lindie 3 run (Ody kick)

Norwich Husson

First downs 8 27

Rushing att.-yards 26-81 60-283

Passing comp.-att. 9-23 20-33

Passing yards 36 208

Total yards 117 491

Punts-avg. 5-19 3-33.3

Fumbles-lost 5-5 0-0

Intercepted by 0 3

Penalties-yards 3-20 9-57

Rushing

Norwich: Jackson 17-86, Marzeoti 4-9, Jean-Gilles 1-(minus-5), Gilding 4-(minus-9); Husson: Williams 18-120, Lindie 6-55, Ferguson 17-52, Chappell 2-24, Mondesir 4-13, Burrell 3-13, Roberts 1-8, Barnett 1-7, McCurdy 1-5, Toothaker 2-2, Mellows 1-(minus-2), McCarthy 2-(minus-3), Williams 2-(minus-6)

Passing

Norwich: Gilding 8-17-2-29, Jean-Gilles 1-3-0-7, Holz 0-3-1-0; Husson: Chappell 19-31-0-195, Williams 1-2-0-13

Receiving

Norwich: Earl 4-17, Valenzi 3-28, Hines 1-(minus-2), Jackson 1-(minus-7); Husson: Wildman 8-76, McKenzie 3-15, Poissionner 2-35, Shorey 2-24, Dowe 2-11, Williams 1-18, Ferguson 1-14, Barnett 1-13

A-850