Finally!
Two NCAA Division III schools in eastern Maine separated by just 36 miles will square off for the first time on Saturday when Maine Maritime Academy from Castine will visit the Dr. John Winkin Sports Complex in Bangor to take on Husson University.
Kickoff for the Conference of New England contest will be at 1 p.m.
Husson resurrected its football program in 2002 and began playing in 2003 after having been without one since 1938.
Maine Maritime had football from 1946 until suspending the program in Aug. 2020 due to pandemic-related financial issues. But the school has brought football back, and is in its first varsity season since the 2020 suspension.
Through all of that, the two schools had never been in the same conference until now. Both Husson and MMA now play in the Conference of New England.
And both teams have had difficult seasons.
Husson is 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the conference while MMA is 0-9 and 0-6.
The Mariners played three varsity games a year ago and a contest against Husson’s JV team. They played one game in 2023 against the University of New England’s JV team from Biddeford.
The Mariners’ average losing margin this season has been 46 points.
Husson University head coach Nat Clark said his team has had a “disappointing season in many ways” and he knows what MMA head coach Nick Sheehan is going through in trying to build a program.
“We were in that same position many years ago. It’s not easy to start a program. It’s a difficult task. And that’s where they’re at right now,” said Clark, who pointed out that the two teams scrimmaged during the preseason in Castine. “Nick has done a great job down there. You just have to keep showing up these first couple of years. That’s really what it comes down to.”
“It’s a process,” said Sheehan. “We’re focusing on ourselves right now and trying to get better every day. When you’re playing a bunch of 18 and 19 year olds against a bunch of 22 year olds every week, you’re going to take some lumps. It’s a learning process.”
Shehan began the season with 52 players on his roster, of which 46 were either freshmen or sophomores.
“But our guys are enthusiastic. We’re getting there,” said Sheehan, “We’re excited with the way it’s headed.”
He said recruiting is going well.
Clark said he and all the other coaches in the league want to see Maine Maritime Academy “make it” and become a prominent member of the conference.
“It will be good for football in our league, certainly for the state of Maine,” Clark said. “For the kids here in Maine, it will give them another opportunity to go to college and play football.”
MMA gives the conference three teams from Maine along with Husson and UNE.
Husson and MMA compete in several other sports as part of the North Atlantic Conference.
Despite their struggles this season, both teams have players who are having impressive campaigns.
Husson senior quarterback Max Clark has completed 59.3 of his passes for 1,875 yards and 20 touchdowns, nine of which have gone to Cam Holmes. Jacob Lenz has caught a team-high 42 passes for 515 yards and Jed Lober has carried the ball 128 times for 603 yards and seven TDs. Linebacker J.T. Wright has a team-high 82 tackles, which is second most in the conference.
MMA sophomore running back Auston Harris has carried the ball 153 times for 860 yards and is averaging 95.6 yards per game. He has scored six touchdowns. He is also their leading receiver with 16 catches for 91 yards and a TD. Will Keach has 15 catches for 88 yards.
“He is as good a running back as there is in our league,” Clark said about Harris. “He has played well against every team in the league.”
MMA sophomore safety Lucas Houghton has made a league-leading 95 tackles.
Clark expressed the desire to one day have a competition between the three schools similar to the CBB rivalry (Colby-Bates-Bowdoin) in NESCAC.
He called the new football rivalry with Maine Maritime Academy “special” as it launches on Saturday.
“It’s two schools that are separated by very few miles and finally, after all these years, we get a chance to play,” Clark said. “Hopefully, it will be a great thing for both schools.”
It will also be senior day at Husson, Clark noted.
“We’re at very different points in our programs right now,” said Sheehan, who noted that Clark has done a great job following former Husson head coach Gabby Price in building that program. “We’re in a new era of Mariner football and excited to join the conference with Husson and UNE and really help build Maine football back up.”