The University of Maine football team’s 14th annual Jeff Cole Memorial Spring Scrimmage has usually been held on a Saturday morning. Last spring, it was held on a Saturday afternoon at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
But UMaine head football coach Joe Harasymiak is holding this spring’s Cole scrimmage under the lights at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 4, at Alfond Stadium in Orono.
The game is named after a UMaine assistant coach who died of cancer in 2004.
“We’ve done a couple of different things,” said Harasymiak. “Last year, we went to Portland which was good for the fan base down there.
“We traditionally play Saturday morning but we just felt like, for the fan engagement experience for our students, having it on a Friday night after the last day of classes might be a little better idea,” explained Harasymiak. “We’re going to have a nice little cookout for the parents and alumni before the game. We’re trying to get as much attendance as we can for the guys and I think it will be cool to play Friday night under the lights in Orono.
“We don’t play a lot of those games. It will kind of have a high school football feel to it,” he added.
The format will be the same as last year as it will pit the offense against the defense with each receiving points based on its performance.
The offense will receive six points for a touchdown, three for a run of over 15 yards, three for a pass reception over 25 yards and one for a first down. The defense will earn six points for a turnover, three for a tackle for a loss and one if they force the offense to punt or attempt a field goal.
The defense won last year’s game 50-49.
“It was great. It came down to the last play,” said Harasymiak. “It brings a (nice) element to the spring game. We don’t have the depth of a FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) school so we can’t have a true Blue-White game. So we do offense against defense. It’s fun.”
UMaine is a Football Championship Subdivision school and FCS schools are allowed a maximum of 63 athletic scholarship equivalencies for football. FBS programs are allowed to have 85 scholarships.
Spring practices begin on April 4 and will be held on five consecutive Wednesdays and four Fridays from 10 a.m. until noon and on four Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. starting on April 7.
There will be scrimmages on April 21 and April 28 and there will also be a Monday morning practice from 8-10 on April 30.
“Spring is all about development,” said Harasymiak. “We’re taking them from the weight room (to the field), especially the 20 or so redshirt guys who are taking the next step. They’re no longer redshirts. They’re on the depth chart trying to earn a spot to play.
“We’re excited about a lot of them. We have a lot of things to figure out and go through and piece together. And we also want to stay healthy so we can have an effective one. Hopefully, we can do that,” said Harasymiak.
UMaine went 4-6 last season, 3-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association, and lost its last three games including a season-ending 20-19 setback to Stony Brook on a last-play 35-yard “Hail Mary” touchdown pass.
The Black Bears open the 2018 season on Thursday, Aug. 30, when they host archrival New Hampshire.
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