There is no shortage of local storylines on the college football front for Saturday.
The University of Maine’s disappointing football team will try to snap a six-game losing streak when it hosts Campbell University for its Homecoming game, Conference of New England rivals Husson University and the University of New England will square off in Bangor for the sixth annual Lobster Trap game, and Maine Maritime Academy could win its first game since 2017 when it entertains New England College.
The Maine Maritime Academy-New England College game will kick off at 11 a.m., while the Husson-UNE and UMaine-Campbell games start at 1 p.m.
In addition, 0-5 Colby will travel to take on 1-4 Hamilton at noon, 0-5 Bates will host 2-3 Middlebury at 1 p.m. and 0-5 Bowdoin will travel to play 5-0 Trinity at 1:30 p.m.
UMaine will bring an overall record of 1-6 and a Coastal Athletic Association mark of 1-3 into the game while 13th-ranked Campbell, picked eighth in the CAA preseason coaches poll, is 6-1 and 3-0 with its only loss coming to nationally ranked Football Bowl Subdivision team Florida.
It matches the 2019 team for the best seven-game start to a season.
The Black Bears have won their last nine Homecoming games since dropping a 21-10 contest to Yale in 2015.
But UMaine is 0-3 at home this season and is facing a Campbell team that boasts one of the nation’s most potent offenses.
The Fighting Camels are 11th in the country among 124 Football Championship Subdivision teams and first in the CAA in yards per game at 455 and 28th in the country and second in the CAA in scoring at 32.6 points per game.
UMaine is 120th in the country in points per game (14.4) and 111th in yards (281.9). And the Black Bears are last in the CAA in both.
Campbell coach Braxton Harris said he and his team are walking into a “hornet’s nest.”
“It’s a long trip for us, and most of our guys have been in the South, so it will probably be a little cooler than they’re used to,” Harris said. “We’re walking into a Homecoming crowd of a football team that has been really close to having some real big wins. They beat Towson in week one and were really close against Bryant in their last game.”
Campbell rallied for a 24-20 Homecoming win over Towson last weekend.
“Winning a road football game in the CAA is tough,” Harris said. “You can throw the records out the window. We just played a football team that hadn’t won this season, and I would argue they were better than a lot of teams we’ve played up until this point. This is going to be a huge challenge. We’ve got to be ready to play.”
UMaine has lost four of its six games by nine points or less.
UMaine head coach Jordan Stevens said the Fighting Camels are a very fundamentally sound football team that does a “tremendous job on offense starting at quarterback.”
Senior quarterback and McNeese State transfer Kamden Sixkiller has completed 67.1% of his passes for 1,899 yards and 15 touchdowns. The dual threat quarterback has also carried the ball 41 times for 196 yards and four TDs. Six different players have caught at least 15 passes led by Jyron Waiters’ 28 receptions for 342 yards and four TDs.
“He does an excellent job distributing the ball. They are one of the top offenses in scoring so we know we have to limit their points,” Stevens said. “I’m really impressed with how they finish their blocks and how hard their backs run. And, on defense, they swarm to the ball.”
J.J. Cowan has rushed for 471 yards and is averaging 6.3 yards per carry, and Jon Gullette is averaging 5.6 yards per carry on 43 carries and has also caught 19 passes for 133 yards.
UMaine’s defense is ranked 10th in the country on fourth down efficiency, holding opponents to a 30% conversion rate, and is 13th on third down, allowing a 30.4% conversion rate.
UMaine linebacker Sam Oppenheimer has continued to have a memorable season, ranking ninth in the nation in tackles with 73 and sixth in solo tackles with 42. He also has two interceptions. He was involved in a game-high 15 tackles in the loss to Bryant.
Linebacker Noah Carpenter and strong safety Jeremiah McGill have been involved in 53 and 50 tackles, respectively.
Charles Battaglia’s 48 tackles and A.J. Benton’s 37 pace Campbell.
Rashawn Marshall’s 410 yards on 96 carries leads UMaine. Nick Laughlin has caught 30 passes for 297 yards, and Evan Wallace has caught 21 for 213 yards.
Caden Drezek, who has completed 35 of 74 passes for 435 yards and two TDs, is likely to get the start for UMaine.
At the Winkin Sports Complex in Bangor, Husson has won two straight to improve to 2-4 overall and 2-1 in the CNE, while UNE of Biddeford is 1-5 and 1-2 after beating Maine Maritime Academy last week 62-14.
UNE has won the last two Lobster Trap games after Husson won the first three.
Husson’s Brody Gibson has completed 56.4% of his passes for 825 yards and five TDs, with Jacob Lenz (25 catches-318 yards) and Caden Crocker (19-for-131) being his primary targets. Anthony Santacroce has rushed for 349 yards on 87 carries, and Daniel Ruiz Cantu has carried the ball 75 times for 343 yards.
Brett Davis has averaged 16.2 yards on five punt returns and 26 yards on 12 kickoff returns.
J.T. Wright (48 tackles), Cooper McNamara (43 tackles, two interceptions) and Brayden Trombly (43 tackles, two interceptions) have spearheaded the defense along with reigning CNE Rookie of the Week Calvin Casavant (4.5 sacks, 23 tackles).
For UNE, Damien Jones has run for 651 yards on 100 carries and caught eight passes for 184 yards. Nathan Delgado has 400 yards on 72 carries, and Chris Lang Jr. has completed 45.2% of his passes for 716 yards and eight TDs.
Quinn Carlson and Will McLoughlin each have nine catches for 136 and 118 yards, respectively.
Jeremy Franzini’s 46 tackles and Aidan Blood’s 35 have led the defense.
At Castine, the Mariners haven’t won a game since a 34-16 victory over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Oct. 14, 2017.
They have lost 41 in a row, including the three losses in 2024 when they played a limited three-game schedule upon their return to varsity football after suspending the program in 2020.
They are 0-6 and 0-3 this season.
NEC brought its football program back for the first time since 1972 in 2024 with a pre-varsity schedule and went 1-9 and 1-6 a year ago with a varsity schedule. Its only win came over Maine Maritime Academy, 14-10, with the winning touchdown being scored with 3:22 left.
NEC is 1-5 and 0-3 with a 23-22 win over Fitchburg State.
MMA features Auston Harris, who has rushed for 401 yards on 86 carries and caught 28 passes for 268 yards. Harris Stone has completed 52.2% of his passes for 954 yards, and Evan Flowers (18 catches-181 yards) and Ty Regis (17-for-285) are the second and third leading receivers.
Lucas Houghton (63 tackles) and Matt Gagin (57) have anchored the defense along with Connor Cuba (43) and James Boyer-Russell (three sacks, 35 tackles).
NEC’s Brady Sobotka has completed 50.5% of his passes for 437 yards. Conrado Lago (19-for-186) and Isaiah Turner (13-for-133) have been the top receivers and Jackson Borkush is the rushing leader with 167 yards on 47 carries. Ethan Cenesca’s 80 tackles, including 11 1/2 for lost yards, two sacks and two interceptions headlines the defense.
Kaevryel Madison has 43 tackles and two interceptions. Hollis Jones has 37 tackles, two sacks and an interception.