Black Bears improved, but unable to stop Pride

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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The University of Maine football team demonstrated subtle signs of improvement Saturday afternoon.

The gains weren’t nearly enough to outweigh a well-balanced Hofstra squad and a mounting list of injuries.

The 12th-ranked Pride hit a handful of big plays, including a 92-yard kickoff return by Kareem Huggins, while posting a convincing 38-13 Colonial Athletic Association victory at steamy Shuart Stadium.

Hofstra (5-0, 2-0 CAA) racked up 432 yards of total offense and held the Black Bears pretty well in check to stay unbeaten.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s UMaine squad (1-4, 0-3 CAA) has matched the program’s worst start since 1994.

UMaine spotted Hofstra 14 first-quarter points before settling down and playing better. But the Bears couldn’t make up the difference.

“When you play a team like Hofstra on homecoming, you’ve got to do a better job coming out of the gate, which we did not do,” Cosgrove said. “We got behind and I think we got a little bit shaken, especially on the offensive side. We didn’t execute real well.”

The Bears did a better job containing the run Saturday, with the exception of Huggins’ game-clinching 71-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter. He finished with 137 rushing yards.

“He was a great running back, a real nice kid out there on the field,” said UMaine senior linebacker John Wormuth, who was in on a career-high 16 tackles. “When he broke one on us, that really was a game-breaker for me right there.”

The Bears had trouble dealing with quarterback Bryan Savage and Hofstra’s talented receiver corps. Savage efficiently completed 16 of 20 passes for 185 yards and two TDs.

Wideout Charles Sullivan, an NFL prospect, caught nine passes for 84 yards and a score.

Injuries took a toll on UMaine’s defense, which went into the contest without starting linebacker and top tackler Andrew Downey (ankle) and starting cornerback and kick returner Lamir Whetstone (knee).

The Bears wound up losing both of their other regular corners, Lionel Nixon Jr. and Steven Barker, with injuries in Saturday’s game.

“If they come out [injured] in football, the next guy’s in and that’s it and that’s the way it has to be,” Cosgrove said. “We’ve been incredibly challenged, especially on the defensive side of the ball, with our skill players.”

UMaine quarterback Adam Farkes and the offense had to shake off the rust from a two-week layoff before showing signs of improvement. Farkes failed to connect on his first eight pass attempts, missing badly on a handful of throws.

“We just weren’t making the plays early, but I think we showed flashes of making some plays later,” said Farkes, who had a career-best effort completing 21 of 40 passes for 194 yards and a TD.

It was the Bears’ first 100-yard passing performance of the season.

Farkes found a rhythm in the second half, completing 21 of his last 32 passes for 194 yards.

“We got some throws and catches, but we weren’t doing it when we were challenging someone to win a game. There’s a big difference,” Cosgrove said.

A two-minute drill to end the first half helped jumpstart the UMaine offense. The running of Farkes and Jhamal Fluellen (18 carries, 55 yards) sparked a 41/2-minute drive that set up Bobby Donnelly’s second field goal, a 27-yarder, and cut the deficit to 21-6.

Hofstra didn’t afford the Bears the chance to make it any more interesting.

The Pride opened the second half with an 88-yard drive. Savage hit wide-open wideout Ottis Lewis on a hitch-and-go route for a 33-yard touchdown pass that pushed the lead to 28-6.

The Bears hung around on Farkes’ 10-yard scoring toss to Manzi Pierre later in the quarter, but the hosts scored the last 10 points of the game.

UMaine had cut the deficit to 14-3 on Donnelly’s 35-yard field goal with 2:10 left in the second quarter. However, Huggins returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a score.

“That was a tough follow-up to our score,” Cosgrove said.

PRIDE 38, BLACK BEARS 13

Maine (1-4) 0 6 7 0 – 13

Hofstra (5-0) 14 7 10 7 – 38

H-Savage 10 run (Zarrilli kick)

H-Sullivan 28 pass from Savage (Zarrilli kick)

M-Donnelly 35 field goal

H-Huggins 92 kickoff return (Zarrilli kick)

M-Donnelly 27 field goal

H-Lewis 33 pass from Savage (Zarrilli kick)

M-Pierre 10 pass from Farkes (Donnelly kick)

H-Zarrilli 33 field goal

H-Huggins 71 run (Zarrilli kick)

Maine Hofstra

First downs 16 19

Rushing att.-yards 29-96 43-247

Passing comp.-att. 21-40 16-20

Passing yards 194 185

Total yards 290 432

Punts-avg. 8-33.6 6-39.7

Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0

Intercepted by 0 1

Penalties-yards 3-23 7-45

Rushing

Maine: Fluellen 18-55, Farkes 10-23, Randall 1-18; Hofstra: Huggins 18-137, Savage 13-59, Benjamin 10-32, Villante 1-17, Aime 1-2

Passing

Maine: Farkes 21-40-1-194; Hofstra: Savage 16-20-0-185

Receiving

Maine: Williams 6-64, Fersner 6-48, Mulligan 2-33, Pierre 2-20, Jones 2-12, Randall 2-5, Fluellen 1-12; Hofstra: Sullivan 9-84, Benjamin 2-10, Lewis 1-33, Ant. Nelson 1-30, Watts 1-11, Riley 1-9, Manno 1-8

A-7,424