ORONO- The #21 Rhode Island Rams racked 440 yards of offense, with a good mix of run and pass on Friday night and spoiled the Maine Black Bears home opener with a 34-17 victory at Alfond Stadium in Coastal Athletic Association football action. It was also the conference opener for Maine. The game was moved up to Friday night from the original planned Saturday afternoon contest, ahead of Hurricane Lee.
Maine (0-3, 0-1 CAA) got off to an encouraging start, taking the opening kickoff and marching 75 yards in 12 plays capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by Tristen Keenan. Rhode Island got a 47-yard field goal by Ty Groff with their first possession, and then early in the second quarter after a 41-yard punt return by Gabe Sloat they would take the lead for the first time. Setup at the Black Bears 35-yard line, the Rams struck on the third play after the punt return when quarterback Kasim Hill found one of his favorite targets Kahtero Summers for a 35-yard touchdown. Maine got a break later in the period, when Deon Silas after a six yard run from his own 20 would fumble, and the Black Bears got the recovery by Justyn Haynesworth at the URI 36. Keenan got into the endzone for a second time on a 15-yard scamper to regain a 14-10 advantage. Keenan though was called for an 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for spiking the ball after the score, that was enforced on the kickoff. The guests took advantage of some good field position, and Hill hit Summers on the third play from scrimmage for a 37-yard TD for a lead that they never relinquished. The Rams added a 17-yard touchdown run from Ja’Den McKenzie with 2:27 left in the quarter, before Maine got a 37-yard field goal from Cody Williams on the last play of the first half to make it 24-17 at the break.
URI (2-1, 2-0 CAA) held Maine to just 57 second half offensive yards, owning the third and fourth quarters with a total possession time of 20:11 to just 9:49 for the Black Bears. The story of the game was also third down conversions, as the Rams went 13 for 18 and Maine only converted 3 of 11. The guests got a 42-yard field goal from Groff in the third, and a 10-yard touchdown run by Sloat in the fourth to seal the victory. They chewed it up on the ground in the final 30 minutes as well with 126 rushing yards after halftime. The win was the first for Rhode Island in Orono since October 10, 1998 (10 straight losses).
Derek Robertson went 20-34 passing for 164 yards and an interception in the defeat. The senior quarterback doesn’t have a touchdown pass in the first three games of the season and has thrown four picks. Keenan had a solid evening with 18 rushes for 82 yards, with both of the Maine touchdowns. Joe Gillette had the most receptions with five for 19 yards, while Montigo Moss led in yards with 30 on a pair of catches. Darius McKenzie had 11 total tackles (seven solo), and two tackles for loss to lead the defense. Abdul Stewart also added nine total tackles and an interception. Hill finished 18-32 for 234 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the URI win. McKenzie had 155 all-purpose yards, rushing for 124 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown and also catching two passes for 31 yards. Summers reeled in six receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. It doesn’t get any easier for the Black Bears, as they hit the road again and head south to take on pre-season conference favorite William & Mary next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Tribe are 3-0 on the year thus far, and were ranked #4 in the country in the latest FCS national polls.
Recap and video interviews by Chris Lessner/Photos by Anthony DelMonaco
