Brusko guides Bears by Towson Former starter relishes chance

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ORONO – Mike Brusko lost his job as the University of Maine’s starting quarterback back on Sept. 15. That didn’t stop the redshirt sophomore from doing whatever he could to contribute for the Black Bears.

When starter Adam Farkes was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury Saturday afternoon, Brusko and a handful of other unexpected heroes made an impact.

Sophomore safety Troy Harris intercepted the potential game-winning conversion pass and returned it 100 yards with 2:02 left, giving UMaine two points to secure the Bears’ 16-13 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Towson at Alfond Stadium.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s Bears (3-6, 2-4 CAA) won their second straight game, overcoming key injuries, penalties and cold, wind-whipped rain in a determined effort witnessed by an announced crowd of 2,562.

“We’re finding ways to win,” Cosgrove said. “We were challenged in a lot of ways with our personnel … others had to step up. We were also challenged by the conditions and challenged by parts of a football game.”

Brusko’s poise and leadership helped a penalty-prone UMaine offense score twice in the second half despite the absence of Farkes and starting tailback Jhamal Fluellen, both of whom aggravated shoulder injuries.

“It’s tough,” Brusko said of his backup role, “and Adam’s been doing a great job when he’s been in there. I’ve just continued to do my best to prepare because I knew the time would come when my team would need me again.

“I’ve continued to just work hard and I was blessed with the opportunity to go out and help my team win a game and I was very excited to do so,” he added.

Brusko rushed for 56 yards on 13 carries and completed seven of 10 passes for 66 yards.

“When you’re a quarterback and you get benched, it’s not like other positions,” Cosgrove said, choking up a bit. “I played the position. That’s a hard thing for a kid to go through. He probably handles it as well as anybody ever could.”

Redshirt freshman Jermaine Henderson (14 carries, 51 yards) also played a pivotal role. The backup tailback carried eight times for 29 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on the winning drive.

“It’s definitely hard being on the sideline, waiting to get your chance,” Henderson said, “and once Fluellen went down, the next guy has to go in so I tried to come in and step up and go to work.”

While the UMaine defense had its hands full containing talented Towson quarterback Sean Schaefer (25-for-45, 250 yards, 1 TD), the Bears were their own worst enemy.

UMaine was whistled for a season-high 19 penalties totaling 122 yards. Among those were 11 false-start penalties on offense.

They resulted, Brusko explained, from Towson players barking out a call similar to the quarterback’s cadence and the Tigers’ cleverly shifting their defensive front at the last instant.

“We have to do a better job, definitely, just keeping our composure,” Brusko said.

Perhaps no play was more crucial than the one turned in by punter Kash Kiefer with eight minutes left and the game tied 7-7.

On fourth-and-13 from the UMaine 23, the snap skipped on the ground back to Kiefer. The junior snatched up the ball and had time to kick it, but instead took off toward open field.

He scampered out of bounds at the UM 42, giving the Bears a big first down.

“After I caught it, I took a little glance up and I saw all the guys on their [Towson’s] line just turning around, so I took another step like I was going to punt and took off with it. I ran as fast as I could to the first-down marker and got out of bounds.”

A clutch, 10-yard completion on third down from Brusko to Landis Williams, two personal foul penalties against the Tigers and hard-nosed running by Henderson helped UMaine complete the 12-play, 72-yard drive.

Henderson alertly cut back inside on a run play designed for the right side and sliced into the end zone to put the hosts ahead for good with 3:38 to play.

Towson (3-6, 1-5 CAA) rallied behind Schaefer, whose 34-yard pass to Casey Cegles set up a 1-yard scoring run by Rasheed McClaude with 2:02 left. When the Tigers lined up for a two-point conversion, the Bears called a timeout.

As play resumed, Schaefer rolled to his right and had a receiver open briefly, but Harris stepped in front, tipped the ball in the air, then caught it and raced all the way down the home sideline.

“We checked out of a call we were in when the guy went in motion and I was under my way to backpedal and I kind of just went to the place the ball was thrown,” Harris said. “I was just hoping there was no one behind me.”

Towson coach Gordy Combs had no regrets about going for the win.

“Hindsight’s 20-20. Why wait for an overtime period?” Combs said. “We felt like if we didn’t help them, they weren’t going to drive the ball 60-70 yards to win the game.”

Fluellen, who was hurt midway through the third quarter, ran for 82 yards on 19 carries and caught two passes for 17 yards.

Derrick Harris, Troy’s younger brother, led UMaine with 10 tackles. Andrew Downey posted eight and forced a fumble. Brian Bradford made 18 tackles to pace Towson.

Fluellen’s 4-yard TD run gave the Bears the lead at 12:27 of the third quarter after Downey recovered a Schaefer fumble at the TU 13.

Towson finally tied it at 10:17 of the fourth when, on fourth-and-one from the UM 21, Schaefer hit John Godlasky in the end zone on a play-action pass.

BLACK BEARS 16, TIGERS 13

Towson (3-6) 0 0 0 13 – 13

Maine (3-6) 0 0 7 9 – 16

M – Fluellen 4 run (Donnelly kick)

T – Godlasky 21 pass from Schaefer (Bencivengo kick)

M – Henderson 5 run (Donnelly kick)

T – McClaude 1 run (pass failed), 2:02.

M – T. Harris 100-yard defensive conversion

Towson Maine

First downs 18 16

Rushes-yards 20-46 56-207

Passing 250 91

Comp-Att-Int 25-45-2 10-15-0

Return Yards 11 34

Punts-Avg. 4-29.8 7-32.4

Fumbles-Lost 3-2 2-1

Penalties-Yards 5-61 19-122

Time of Possession 23:26 36:34

Rushing

Towson: N. Williams 9-20, McClaude 5-15, Schaefer 6-11. Maine: Fluellen 19-82, Brusko 13-56, Henderson 14-51, Kiefer 1-17, Farkes 3-3, Cotrone 2-2, Randall 1-1, Team 3-(minus 5).

Passing

Towson: Schaefer 25-45-2-250. Maine: Brusko 7-10-0-66, Farkes 3-5-0-25.

Receiving

Towson: M.Lee 9-79, Harrison 6-51, Arnold 4-31, Cegles 2-42, Perry 2-17, Godlasky 1-21, N.Williams 1-9. Maine: Williams 2-23, Fluellen 2-17, Jones 2-13, Fersner 1-23, Mulligan 1-13, Kelley 1-2, Henderson 1-0.

Att.-2,562