ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine football team flirted with disaster on Saturday night.
With their own offense sputtering and Norfolk State threatening often, the Black Bears could not afford even the slightest slip-up.
Terrance Ervin’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete with 29 seconds remaining Saturday night as 20th-ranked UMaine hung on for a season-opening 10-6 victory on Morse Field at Alfond Stadium.
“It probably wasn’t artistic and it probably wasn’t pleasing to the crowd, but that’s OK. We won a football game, we’re 1-0 and we’re going to get better as a result of it,” said UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove.
A crowd of 6,951 fans including UMaine’s first-year students, who ran onto the field en masse prior to the kickoff, witnessed a defensive battle — or perhaps more of an offensive struggle.
Sophomore linebacker Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga piled up a game-leading 14 tackles as the Black Bears held the Spartans to 10 first downs and 100 total yards.
Norfolk State, which had 67 yards on the ground, received field goals of 46 and 38 yards from Cameron Marouf.
“We watched film, we were ready for them,” Mulumba said. We knew they were running the ball. The first thing we do in the ‘Black Hole’ is stop the run.”
A retooled UMaine offense, one that includes a new quarterback in sophomore Dan Collins (8-for-20 passing, 92 yards, 1 touchdown), three new starters on the offensive line and unproven players at tight end, was inconsistent.
The Black Bears netted 190 yards behind junior tailback Nigel Jones, who carried 25 times for 67 yards and caught two passes for 26 yards.
“It wasn’t what I expected or what I would have liked,” Jones said of the slim production. “We have to get better and help out the defense more because they (Norfolk) definitely held us down tonight.”
On defense, UMaine overcame the absence of junior linebacker Cabrinni Goncalves, who was serving a one-game suspension for violating UMaine’s student-athlete code of conduct earlier in the year.
Junior cornerback Sherrod Baltimore and junior defensive end Mike Kozlakowski were both lost to injuries in the second half.
Senior Randy Samuels posted seven tackles in his first start, while fellow linebacker Austin Brown, a redshirt freshman, made eight. The front four was spearheaded by end Trevor Bates of Westbrook (5 tackles, interception) and tackle Matthew Wilson (5 tackles).
Three Norfolk State possessions ended inside the UMaine 25-yard line in the second half. None produced any points.
“We weren’t great, believe me, but we didn’t come apart,” Cosgrove said of his team’s resilience in the face of poor field position.
Early in the fourth, the Spartans took over on the Bears’ 36. They came up empty when Marouf’s 38-yard field-goal attempt missed left.
Norfolk State had a final opportunity in the closing minutes and moved to the UMaine 11. However, Wilson and Davonte Burke snuffed out a screen pass, Patrick Ricard sacked Ervin on a third-down play and the last-gasp pass fell incomplete.
“Everybody just kept calm,” Mulumba said. “We knew what we were doing. Nobody was nervous.”
Trailing 6-0, the Bears found some offensive rhythm in the second quarter. Jones’ gritty running and efficient throws from Collins sparked an 81-yard scoring march.
It culminated in a 33-yard scoring strike from Collins to senior wideout Damarr Aultman, who slipped behind cornerback Donte Haynesworth, in the end zone.
“I threw the same pass in practice,” Collins said of the call by offensive coordinator Kevin Bourgoin.
“I saw the inside coverage, I rolled out and I knew I was throwing to him,” Collins said.
Decloux’s PAT put UMaine on top 7-6 with 6:29 to play in the half.
The hosts added to their halftime edge by cashing in on a third-quarter turnover. Bates batted a Malik Stokes pass in the air at the line and recovered in time to make a diving catch at the Norfolk State 21.
“Our coach (Jordan Stevens) hammers on us to get our hands up and try to find the ball, make a play on it,” Bates said. “I just looked up and found it at the last minute, dove for it.”
A subsequent roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Bears the ball at the 8, but they settled for Sean Decloux’s 27-yard field goal with 6:35 left in the quarter.
The defenses dominated the rest of the way.
Norfolk State grabbed a 3-0 lead on its first possession, moving 33 yards on 12 plays. Marouf put the Spartans on the board with a 46-yard field goal at the 6:25 mark.
Three plays later, Collins mishandled a shotgun snap and Norfolk’s Lynden Trail recovered at the UMaine 24. The Spartans managed only another Marouf field goal, this one 38 yards, to make it 6-0.
“It’s really kind of our mentality when they get in the red zone is, no touchdowns,” Bates said. “We expect to force them to kick field goals.”