ORONO – Every season, there is a game that brings out the most intense emotion and enthusiasm.

For the University of Maine, that is today’s Colonial Athletic Association regular-season finale at New Hampshire.

At stake are bragging rights in the border rivalry and the Brice-Cowell Musket, which goes to the winner.

“The Brice-Cowell Musket is something that nobody in this program has been part of winning,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove.

The musket is a flintlock rifle, made in the 1700s, that honors former coaches “Foxy” Fred Brice of UMaine and William Cowell of UNH.

Maine (4-6, 3-4 CAA) at New Hampshire (6-4, 3-4 CAA), Cowell Stadium, Durham, N.H., noon: The Black Bears seek their fourth consecutive victory and a surge of momentum heading into 2008. They’ll have to overcome a UNH squad that has won four straight in the series.

It will be the final contest for 12 UMaine seniors, including West Enfield’s Matt Mulligan.

Mulligan is closing out a football career that spans only four seasons. He played four years of basketball, two seasons of soccer and one year each of baseball and track at Penobscot Valley High in Howland.

He attended Husson College in Bangor, where he played basketball and gave football a try for the first time. Mulligan arrived at Division I UMaine in 2005.

“If you don’t play football up until you’re 18 years old, it’s not that easy to play,” Cosgrove said. “It’s a tough, demanding game. I don’t know if we’ve given him enough credit for taking that step.”

It was clear right away that Mulligan had some tools. At 6-foot-5, the tight end was big, strong and agile.

Mulligan started to make up for lost time through his work ethic in the weight room. He now tips the scales at a muscular 251 pounds.

“It gave him a bit of a swagger, helped him fit in better,” Cosgrove said of Mulligan’s training. “He has been able, through hard work, to develop himself physically to where he’s very strong, explosive.”

Mulligan owns the football program lifting record for the hang clean.

He also had to learn to handle some of the technical aspects of the game in addition to the strength and toughness components.

“I think the best thing that’s happened is that he’s started to develop some of those instinctive, reactionary qualities that are part of football,” Cosgrove said.

Mulligan cracked the lineup last season, starting seven games and appearing in 10.

This fall, he has started all 10 games and has made 13 catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns. His continued progress has been evident.

“He’s been asked to do a lot more and that, in our offense, is challenging,” Cosgrove said. “His contributions have grown.”

Mulligan has been used much more as a blocker than as a receiver, but he is effective in either capacity.

“He’s got all those athletic components that you look for in a football player,” Cosgrove said. “I think the thing that impresses me most about Matthew right now, he’s still trying to learn this game.”

Cosgrove said he wishes Mulligan had more eligibility, which would give him the chance to gain more experience and reach his full potential.

“If he had one more year, I think he could really be a dominating player,” Cosgrove said.

At UNH, UMaine will be challenged by a Wildcat offense that features former Walter Payton Award winner Ricky Santos, a senior quarterback who has passed for 263 yards per game and 18 TDs, completing 72 percent of his throws.

UNH is averaging 35.5 points and 406 yards per outing.

“He’s a difference-maker,” Cosgrove said of Santos. “He has done as much for his program at our level of football, our conference, as Doug Flutie did for Boston College. He’s really been a marquee guy.”

The Bears are without senior linebacker and tri-captain John Wormuth, who will miss his second straight game and final collegiate contest, attending to undisclosed personal issues at home in Pennsylvania.

Offensively, UMaine hopes to continue to exhibit the effective run-pass mix it has shown in recent weeks. Tailback Jhamal Fluellen, a 1,000-yard rusher, along with QB Mike Brusko and wideout Landis Williams are among the key weapons.

UNH ranks last in the CAA in total defense (446 ypg) and pass defense (253 ypg). The Wildcats, who have allowed 30 ppg, have lost two in a row.