The University of Maine football team built a 19 point third quarter lead and put up over 400 yards of offense Saturday afternoon and held on for a 34-25 Colonial Athletic Association conference win over the William & Mary Tribe in the Homecoming game at Alfond Stadium in Orono in front of 8,123 fans.
William and Mary (2-6, 0-4 CAA) took the early lead taking the opening kickoff and going 67 yards on 10 plays in 3:02 and getting a six yard touchdown run from quarterback Hollis Mathis. The extra point was blocked. Maine jumped into the lead when wide receiver Earnest Edwards took a handoff and then passed 19 yards to Jaquan Blair who made a leaping catch in the back of the endzone early in the second quarter to make it 7-6 Black Bears. The passing TD was the third this season for Edwards and fourth of his career. Just 2:36 later the Tribe took their final lead of the day when Bronson Yoder scored from three yards out. The two point conversion was no good. It took the hosts 35 seconds to retake the lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Quarterback Joe Fagnano hit Edwards for a 67 yard touchdown to make it 14-12. The Black Hole defense would then force just their third turnover of the season when Kayon Whitaker recovered a fumble. Joe Fitzpatrick scored on a short one yard run to up the Bears lead to 21-12 at halftime.
Maine wide receiver Jaquan Blair breaks away for a third quarter touchdown against William and Mary on Saturday, October 26, 2019 in a CAA football game in Orono. Blair scored twice on the day as Maine won 34-25. Photo by Anthony DelMonaco
Maine (3-5, 1-3) scored quickly out of the locker room. On the second offensive play of the third quarter Fagnano pumped fake down the left sideline and then found Blair on a stop and go route behind the W & M secondary for a 64 yard touchdown for a 28-12 lead. Just over the halfway point of the quarter the Tribe was putting together a good drive at the Maine 25 yard line. Albert Funderburke though would fumble and Adrian Otero would recover for Maine. The Bears would then go 56 yards on 11 plays that led to a 38 yard Kenny Doak field goal on the last play of the quarter for a 19 point lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
William & Mary wasn’t done however. On their second possession of the fourth quarter Mathis would walk in for a 16 yard score on a 3rd down and 7 on a defensive breakdown for Maine. The Tribe failed on the two point try. The visitors then converted a perfect onside kick that was recovered by the Tribes Kevin Jarrell. On a 2nd down and 6 at the Black Bears 7 yard line Mathis again found some room and found the endzone for the third time on the day. The point after try was good this time and the Maine lead was all of a sudden cut to 31-25 with still 6:59 left to play. The hosts then used their balanced offense to chew up the clock in driving deep into opponents territory. The Bears used 5:55 off the clock and Doak provided the final difference with a 24 yard field goal with just a minute left on the clock. W & M went four plays and out and Maine went into victory formation to claim their first conference win of 2019.
William and Mary quarterback Hollis Mathis tries to break away from the Maine defense early in the fourth quarter in a CAA football game on Saturday, October 26, 2019 in Orono. Mathis rushed for three touchdowns in the Tribe loss to the Black Bears. Photo by Anthony DelMonaco
Fagnano finished the day 15-22 passing for 249 yards and two touchdowns and also added 42 yards rushing on 13 carries in the Black Bears victory. Fitzpatrick had 57 yards rushing to lead the way on 13 attempts with one touchdown. Blair led the receiving core with four catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Edwards had four for 92 yards and a score, and also threw a touchdown pass. Otero had 12 tackles to lead the defense, while Whitaker had 11. Both players also had a fumble recovery, and Whitaker also added four tackles for loss and a sack. Mathis was only 4-22 passing for 68 yards in the loss for the Tribe. Owen Wright rushed 13 times for 73 yards, while Mathis added 19 attempts for 52 yards and all three William and Mary touchdowns. Zach Burdick caught all four of the passes from Mathis for 68 yards. Gage Herdman and Will Kiely both had eight total tackles, while Kiely had four tackles for loss.
Maine goes back on the road next Saturday when they head to Albany, New York to battle the Albany Great Danes at 3:30 p.m.
W M (2-6, 0-4) 6 6 0 13- 25
UME (3-5, 1-3) 7 14 10 3- 34
Total yards- W & M 294 Maine 439
First downs- W & M 19 Maine 17
Third downs- W & M 5-16 Maine 8-16
Turnovers- W & M 2 Maine 0
Time of possession- W & M 25:18 Maine 34:42
