BANGOR – This was the kind of game the Husson College Eagles would have lost two or three years ago.

If the Eagles end up posting their first winning season since the program was reborn in 2003, Saturday’s game with Utica College will be the one credited with representing the Eagles’ coming of age.

The Eagles kept their poise when faced with adversity, waited for an opportunity, and capitalized on it en route to a 21-7 victory over the Pioneers on a warm and sunny afternoon at the Winkin Complex.

“I think they’ve now found that maturity that helps you win close games,” said Utica coach Michael Kemp, whose Pioneers are now 1-1. “They hung in there, didn’t make mistakes, were patient, and made plays.”

Husson, also 1-1, held a 7-0 halftime lead but faced a resurgent Utica team in the second half as the Pioneers stuffed the Eagles on four downs to start and followed with a 10-play, 58-yard scoring drive that tied the score three minutes into the third quarter. The drive’s key play was Marcus Maroney’s 12-yard run on a fake punt.

Momentum was clearly with Utica, but rather than watch it and the game get away from them, the Eagles elected to fight back.

Freshman tailback and kick returner Bryan Ferguson restarted things by returning the ensuing kickoff 19 yards to Husson’s 30-yard line. Then he ripped off runs of 7 and 5 yards.

After quarterback David Chase found Andre Wildman for a 10-yard pass reception, Ferguson was leveled by Utica’s Michael Sanchez for a 1-yard loss. It looked like he’d be stopped for another loss on the next play when he was caught behind a wall of defenders while trying to run off right tackle. Seemingly stopped, Ferguson spun around and slid along the wall to the opposite side, where he found daylight and sprinted 40 yards to the Utica 11.

“It was actually a dive up in the middle, but I saw the hole was clogged, so I hit it to the outside and ran,” said Ferguson, who finished with a game-high 103 yards rushing.

“We thought we had him stopped in the backfield, but he kept his feet moving, spun off, and broke the run,” said Kemp. “That was a big play for them.”

Four plays later, Chase bided his time in the pocket and found Jeremy Shorey of Lisbon crossing over the middle for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Darren Gauthier’s PAT kick made it 14-7 with 4:39 left in the third.

Another big play came just more than four minutes later, when Husson cornerback John Tefft had his second pass deflection against Utica wide receiver James Proniewych (who had scored the Pioneers’ TD) in the drive, this time on third-and-2 from the Husson 7. Husson’s Brandon Harris then turned in another big play by churning up the middle and blocking Utica’s 24-yard field goal attempt to close out the third quarter.

The teams resumed their defensive stalemates in the fourth quarter, but it was Husson’s defense that shined brightest.

Utica had second down at the Husson 13, but Tyler Libbey of Mattawamkeag staggered Utica back Anthony Marzano for no gain, quarterback Nick Martin then threw an incomplete pass, and Martin was sandwiched by Shane Rogers and Joe Melcher for a sack on fourth down.

Tefft intercepted a Martin pass to end Utica’s next drive with 2:33 left, and Martin was dealt another blow by Rogers with 1:15 to play as Rogers picked off his screen pass to the right and sprinted 30 yards the other way for a back-breaking TD.

Tefft, who broke up four passes, led a secondary that limited Martin to 17-for-43 passing with three interceptions.

“Go ahead and pick on John,” said Chase, who was 9-for-22 with 116 yards passing and two TDs. “If they want to throw at No. 16, they’re more than welcome to.”

“I noticed they were throwing my way a lot, but I enjoyed it,” Tefft said with a smile.

Linebacker Ross Salovitch led Husson with 12 solo tackles and three assists.

“Tefft was in position to make the play every time and [Salovitch] was making tackles everywhere,” Kemp said. “He was all over the field.”

EAGLES 21, PIONEERS 7

Utica (1-1) 0 0 7 0 – 7

Husson (1-1) 0 7 7 7 – 21

H – Wildman 37 pass from Chase (Gauthier kick)

U – Proniewych 11 pass from Martin (Blanchfield kick)

H – Shorey 5 pass from Chase (Gauthier kick)

H – Rogers 30 interception return (Gauthier kick)

Utica Husson

First downs 15 12

Rushing att.-yards 31-81 41-143

Passing comp.-att. 17-43 9-22

Passing yards 127 116

Total yards 208 259

Punts-avg. 7-36.4 10-37.3

Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0

Intercepted by 0 3

Penalties-yards 3-57 5-65

Rushing

Utica: Mabry 22-51, Morgan 1-14, Marzano 3-10, Martin 3-6, Okosi 2-0; Husson: Ferguson 22-103, Charlton 18-42, McCurdy 1-(minus 2)

Passing

Utica: Martin 17-43-3-127; Husson: Chase 9-22-0-116

Receiving

Utica: Proniewych 3-33, Conlon 2-27, Mastrella 2-19, Mabry 1-19, Elliot 3-15, Casullo 2-13, Neff 3-6, Marzano 1-(minus 5); Husson: Wildman 4-68, Dowe 2-24, Lasko 1-18, Shorey 1-5, Charlton 1-1

A-200 (est.)