Maine Football guts out tough five point win over Merrimack

ORONO- Despite a huge day by Merrimack College receiver Jacari Carter, the University of Maine football team was able to make just enough plays to fight out a tough 31-26 non-conference win on Morse Field at Alfond Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Black Bears took advantage of two fumbles on the Warriors first two possessions to take an early 10-0 lead. Shaka Moales fumbled near midfield and Maine recovered on the first possession, that lead to a two yard touchdown run by Elijah Barnwell. Tyvonn Edmonds Jr. would make it two fumbles in a row for Merrimack, losing the ball at his own 37. That one led to a 26 yard field by Jonny Messina to extend the lead through one quarter. The guests got on the scoreboard on a Victor Dawson short one yard run early in the second, but on the ensuing extra point the Black Bears Richard Carr blocked it and Kolubah Pewee Jr. recovered it and took it 75 yards the other way for a safety to make it 12-6. MC took their only lead of the day when quarterback Westin Elliott found Carter for a 13 yard TD and it was 13-12 Warriors. Messina put Maine back into the lead with a 34 yard field goal, and the Bears made it 22-13 when Freddie Brock scored on a four yard run. It was Carter from Elliott again on a 10 yard scoring play with 27 seconds left in the half, after Maine defensive back Carr fell down and left Carter wide open. The hosts had a chance to push it back to a five point lead at the break when Devin Young returned the kickoff 44 yards to the MC 39 yard line, but Messina missed a 42 yard field goal on the last play of the quarter.

Maine (1-2) pushed it back to a nine point lead on their second possession of the third quarter, when redshirt freshman quarterback Derek Robertson making his first collegiate start hit Brock on a beautiful playaction pass that went for 51 yards down the left sideline. Edmonds Jr. cut it to 29-26 for Merrimack with a two yard run with 29 seconds left in the quarter, but once again Carr made a huge play for a second time on the day. This time Carr not only blocked the extra point, but scooped it up himself and ran it 97 yards for another safety. The Warriors had a chance late in the game to take the lead, going 10 plays and 68 yards but couldn’t convert on a fourth and goal play at the Maine six yard line when a pass by Elliott to Carter fell incomplete with 3:15 left to play. The Black Bears then got two first downs keeping it on the ground, with 21 yards picked up by Barnwell to run out the clock and secure their first victory of 2021.

Robertson won his debut as the starter with first string QB Joe Fagnano out with a high ankle sprain. Robertson completed 11-23 passes for 141 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Barnwell had 17 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown, while Brock added 10 for 47 yards and one score. Andre Miller made three catches for 20 yards, while Brock had the most receiving yards with two for 64 yards including the big 51 yard touchdown. Young had 113 yards on kick returns to help the special teams. Fofie Bazzie had 13 total tackles to lead the defense, while Ray Miller and Abdul Stewart had an interception each. “It was sloppy”, said Maine head coach Nick Charlton, “but anytime you can get a stop when they have it at your five yard line and have a fresh set of downs, and then you end in victory formation and execute four minute drill that is certainly the positive. That certainly wasn’t our best performance, I know that and everyone in the room knows that, certainly is alot out there to correct”. Elliott was 29-48 passing for 282 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss for 2-1 Merrimack. Dawson led the ground game with 11 attempts for 40 yards and a touchdown. Carter was the offensive star of the game catching 18 of 23 targets for 131 yards and a pair of scores. Keegan Woods had nine total tackles for the Warriors. Merrimack College head coach Dan Curran said, “We gave ourselves a shot. We got to the redzone late in fourth quarter, but credit to them they found a way to get a stop when their backs were against the wall. If you look back we gave them some points early with the turnovers, and then the extra point plays were huge. At the end of the day you can’t make those kind of mistakes and win on the road against a quality program, and that is exactly what UMaine is”. Maine is back on the road next Saturday when they face FBS opponent Northern Illinois at 2:30 p.m.