The Maine Black Bears took a step up on Saturday afternoon to face an FBS opponent in Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina. It was a tough offensive showing for the visitors, as the Mountaineers put up the first 38 points of the contest and had 647 yards on their offensive side of things as they rolled to a 55-3 win in front of 33,664 fans at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
It was a closely contested first quarter, with Treyaun Webb breaking the stalemate with a 2-yard touchdown run which ended up being all Appalachian State would need on the day. The Mountaineers recorded the first 14 first downs, and broke things open in the second quarter with 24 points including capitalizing on the first interception of the season thrown by Eddie Buehler to make it 31-0 at the half. The Black Bears played a little better offensively in half number two, but still allowed the hosts to add another 24 points to the scoreboard. Samuel Tremblay hit a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter for the only points for Maine. The Mountaineers, who play out of the Sun Belt Conference, had 34 first downs compared to 12 for the Black Bears while putting up those 647 total net yards (299 rushing, 348 passing) in the season opening victory.
Quarterback Malachi Singleton was the standout on offense for Appalachian State. The senior, who previously played at Purdue, competed 22 of 24 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns and didn’t turn it over. With the score out of hand, he left the game with 9:18 to go in the third quarter. Buehler went 18 for 32 for 198 yards and two interceptions in the Maine loss. Rashawn Marshall rushed for 37 yards on 13 carries, while freshman Corey Rideout had a 46 yard reception. Nick Laughlin (Cape Elizabeth) led in catches with four of them for 26 yards. Sam Oppenheimer had 14 total tackles to lead the defense (10 solo). Noah Carpenter (Leavitt) and Jeremiah McGill added nine and seven total tackles respectively. Carpenter had one tackle for a loss, and McGill recovered a fumble. The Black Bears (1-1) now head back to Orono to prepare for their home opener next Saturday when they welcome in Merrimack College for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
Photo from UMaine Athletics
