The No. 20 University of Maine was able to stave off a near loss with several late defensive stands against Norfolk State in their opening game but were unable to do the same Saturday as they fell to Bryant University 13-10.
The Black Bears fell to 1-1 with the loss while Bryant improved their record to 3-0 with the victory.
The Black Bears led for much of the game, taking a 3-0 lead with 3:36 left in the first quarter when junior kicker Sean Decloux connected on a 24-yard field goal. Bryant responded late in the first quarter with a 27-yard field goal from senior kicker Tom Alberti to knot things up at 3-3.
The UMaine “Black Hole” defense was successful at stopping the run Saturday, allowing just 29 yards on the ground to the Bulldogs. Second-year linebacker Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga led the way with 13 tackles.
Sophomore quarterback Dan Collins and freshman tailback Nigel Beckford showed some explosiveness in the beginning of the second quarter, driving 69 yards for a UMaine touchdown. Collins began the drive with an 11-yard pass to fourth-year wideout Damarr Aultman before Beckford ripped off back-to-back runs of 27 and 11 yards to keep the Bulldogs defense on their heels. Collins later finished the drive with a 5-yard pass to fourth-year fullback Carlton Charles, giving the Black Bears a 10-3 advantage.
Aultman caught four passes as the Black Bears’ go-to wide receiver, gaining 63 yards with a long of 41.
The Bulldogs responded with an eight-minute drive during which second-year quarterback, Dalton Easton converted on two fourth-down passes to set up another Alberti field goal, bringing the score to 10-6. Easton finished the game 26-43 with 301 yards passing and a touchdown.
Scoring resumed on the Bulldogs’ eventual game-winning drive. The drive began with just over three minutes left to play with an Easton pass 41 yards to third-year wide receiver Chad Ward, bringing them to the UMaine 33-yard line. Easton completed another pass to redshirt junior running back Ricardo McCray for 19 yards and another to Ward for the go-ahead touchdown. Ward led all receivers in the contest with 123 yards and a score while McCray also had a big game, hauling in seven passes for 77 yards.
The Black Bears looked for a last-ditch drive when Aultman returned the kickoff 61 yards to the Bryant 29 yard line, but it was called back due to a holding penalty and turned the ball over on downs before Bryant would run the clock out for a 13-10 win.
UMaine got some bad news for their defense this week when they found out third-year defensive end Michael Kozlakowski tore his right biceps in their victory over Norfolk. Kozlakowski suffered a similar injury last year when he tore his left biceps. The Black Bears will look to younger faces such as sophomore defensive back Davonte Burke to fill in.
Umaine does not have an easy schedule going forward as they will travel to take on Boston College Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs will travel to take on Liberty University Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.