ORONO – There was much Coach Jack Cosgrove wanted to find out about his University of Maine football team in to Saturday’s season opener against Division II Lock Haven.

What Cosgrove now knows, based on the Black Bears’ 41-15 victory over the Bald Eagles at Alumni Field, are three key things:

1. John Tennett is ready to be Maine’s starting quarterback. The poised sophomore from Bangor completed 11 of 16 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown and was not intercepted.

Tennett also carried seven times for 70 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter that ignited the Maine offense and a small crowd of 4,018.

“This kid can run and I think that’s something that he brings to the table that we haven’t had around here, an escape mechanism that can hurt people in terms of the quarterback running the football,” Cosgrove said.

2. The Bears’ defense must improve if Maine plans to win regularly in the Yankee Conference this fall. Lock Haven piled up 416 yards, 210 through the air.

The Bald Eagles’ run-and-shoot gave the Bears difficulty. Senior fullback Kevin Brown rambled for 173 yards and QB Bobby McLaughlin completed 31 of 52 passes.

” took the short throws, and the run-and-shoot is a pain in the butt anyway,” Cosgrove said. “It drives me crazy. You think you’ve got it defended and then they make a big play.”

3. Former Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Bert Rich has a future at cornerback. The South Portland product, who was recruited as a tailback, made a team-leading 12 tackles (9 unassisted) and provided in-the-face coverage.

Even in victory, the Bears were reflective in the locker room.

“I get into our locker room and our guys are awful subdued about a win,” Cosgrove said. “I guess not to be jumping around, beating themselves on the back like it was a major accomplishment, is kind of refreshing.”

Junior tailback Andre Pam had a career day Saturday. The speedster from Syracuse, N.Y., rushed 13 times for 125 yards and a TD.

Pam tied a UMaine record in the fourth quarter with a 94-yard kickoff return for a score that finally gave the Bears a comfortable lead. Maine’s 350 rushing yards was the most by the Bears since 1990.

The Bears punted only once, as its veteran offensive line made life easy for Tennett and Co.

Another defensive bright spot was Biddeford’s Peter Poirier. The Bears’ middle linebacker, who sat out most of 1994 with a broken ankle, made 11 tackles, 8 unassisted.

Maine took a 7-0 lead at 7:22 of the first quarter. Tennett, operating out of the shotgun, eluded a Lock Haven pass rush and ripped off a 43-yard scoring run.

“If the opportunity presents itself I’ll scramble and try to make a play, but those guys are good and pass-protect real well. I felt very comfortable.”

The Bears scored on their next two possessions. Sophomore Chris Binder of Bangor, who had missed a 40-yarder, kicked field goals of 41 and 25 yards to make it 13-0.

The Bald Eagles answered with a 37-yard FG by Charles Traber with 8:19 left in the half. Five minutes later, the hosts made it 20-3, going 83 yards on five plays.

James Rice made a diving catch of Tennett’s 43-yard bomb down the middle and Tennett went 17 yards on a bootleg to set up Pam’s 4-yard touchdown leap.

Joe Robinson’s interception with three seconds left in the first half thwarted a LH threat.

Lock Haven opened the second half with an impressive 77-yard drive. McLaughlin completed seven of nine throws and Brown danced in frMcLaughlin completed seven of nine throws and Brown danced in from seven yards out to make it 20-9 at 9:06 of the third.

“They spread you out so much. They’re gonna get yards, but you just have to contain them,” Robinson said. “We know we have to play better than that, though.”

The Bears bounced back with a 65-yard march. Drew O’Connor, younger brother of Lateef, snared Tennett’s arching, 7-yard timing toss to the end zone and alertly kept one foot inbounds.

Lock Haven retalited, moving 88 yards on 11 plays. McLaughlin, who had a 31-yard scramble on the drive, hit Brown for an 11-yard TD pass as the third quarter ended.

But Pam ended the suspense on the ensuing kickoff, side-stepping a would-be tackler at the M-35 and sprinting 94 yards for a score that finally gave Maine a 34-15 lead.

Bob Jameson added a 7-yard scoring run late for the Bears.

Linebacker Brad Payne made a game-high 15 tackles for LH. Black Bears 41, Eagles 15

Lock Haven 0 3 12 0 – 15

Maine 7 13 7 14 – 41

M – Tennett 43 run (Binder kick)

M – Binder 41 FG

M – Binder 25 FG

LH – Traber 37 FG

M – Pam 4 run (Binder kick)

LH – Brown 7 run (kick failed)

M – D. O’Connor 8 pass from Tennett (Binder kick)

LH – Brown 11 pass from McLaughlin (pass failed)

M – Pam 94 kickoff return (Binder kick)

M – Jameson 7 run (Binder kick)

Lock Haven Maine

First downs 21 20 Rushing att. – yds 29-228 48-358 Passing att. – cmp. 53-31 18-11 Yards passing 210 119 Total yards 416 469 Intercepted by 0 2 Punts – avg. 5-30.0 1-45.0 Fumbles – lost 2-0 4-3 Penalties – yds 6-57 8-51

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Lock Haven: Brown 21-173, McLaughlin 6-36, Kitt 1-4, Cleckley 1-(-7); Maine: Pam 13-125, Tennett 7-70, Baur 8-60, Jameson 12-60, Johnson 6-29, Smith 2-7, Devenish 1-(-1)

PASSING – Lock Haven: McLaughlin 31-52-2-210, Cleckley 0-1-0-0; Maine: Tennett 11-16-0-119, Devenish 0-2-0-0

RECEIVING – Lock Haven: Spinosa 11-61, McGinty 6-43, Brown 6-35, Zachman 4-32, C. Steinbacher 3-32; Maine: D. O’Connor 3-25, Maury 2-20, Jameson 2-14, Pam 2-1, Rice 1-43, Baur 1-16