One of the necessities for a successful football team is depth.
The injury factor is a prevalent one in football so second- and third-string players have to be ready to step in and contribute in case a starter gets hurt.
Two true freshmen were important contributors in the University of Maine football team’s 38-36 win over the University of Rhode Island on Saturday and could continue to give the first-place Black Bears a boost in their final five games.
Daejuan Sanders, who entered the URI game with 15 yards rushing on three carries, was UMaine’s leading rusher against the Rams with 10 carries for 57 yards.
And one of the offensive lineman creating holes for him and protecting quarterback Chris Ferguson was center Michael Gerace. Gerace replaced the injured Chris Mulvey during the game.
Sanders, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound native of Blackwood, New Jersey, was filling in for redshirt freshman Ramon Jefferson, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Hard-running junior Joe Fitzpatrick, the team’s leading rusher on the season, finished with 29 yards on nine carries.
“Daejuan did a real good job,” UMaine head coach Joe Harasymiak said during Monday’s Colonial Athletic Association conference call. “He did a nice job running the ball. A couple of times, he didn’t even go down [because he was stacked up while still upright and the referees stopped the play]. He’s a big back and he’s hard to bring down.”
Harasymiak said he and the coaching staff had confidence in Sanders and his ability to grasp anything they put in front of him.
Sanders has earned more playing time.
“We’ll see how Ramon is progressing,” Harasymiak said. “Certainly having three guys will enable us to spread things out, and that will be very helpful.”
Gerace had been able to get a lot of playing time earlier this season when Mulvey suffered a hand injury.
Gerace started in place of Mulvey in UMaine’s 31-28 victory over Football Bowl Subdivision team Western Kentucky on Sept. 8.
“We didn’t miss a beat with Mike at center,” Harasymiak said. “That’s a credit to him and his preparation. The same with the offensive line as a whole. Backups have to be ready to play. You have to have the next-man-in mentality, and you see that take place in Mike.”
The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Gerace is a native of Bel Air, Maryland.
Harasymiak was pleased with sophomore quarterback Chris Ferguson, who returned to the lineup after missing nearly three full games with a shoulder injury.
He finished with 30 completions in 48 attempts for 278 yards and two touchdowns.
“That’s why he’s our starting quarterback. He makes us go,” Harasymiak said. “He’s in command. He makes good decisions. We have a real good feeling when he’s back there.”
UMaine trailed 30-14 in the third quarter but came back to win and it wasn’t the first time they’ve overcome a double-digit deficit. The Black Bears trailed 21-0 at Western Kentucky.
“The kids don’t panic,” Harasymiak said. “You have to keep an even keel about you. You can’t try to get all the points back right away. You have to stay in the moment, stick with the game plan and execute better.”
Senior wide receiver Micah Wright was a crucial performer in the comeback as he caught eight of his game-high 10 passes in the second half for 111 of his 125 yards. The former All-CAA receiver had a six-yard TD reception and also caught a two-point conversion pass.
“No doubt, he was our offensive player of the game,” Harasymiak said. “He makes big-time plays. The look in his eyes, the way he approaches the game, especially during crunch time, rubs off on the other players.”
UMaine is one of just two teams in the CAA with an unbeaten conference record at 3-0. Towson is the other. Five other teams have just one loss.
UMaine, 4-2 overall, will travel to take on William and Mary (2-4, 1-2) in a 3:30 p.m. game Saturday in Williamsburg, Virginia.
William and Mary is coming off a 29-13 loss at Towson.
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