A familiar face will be on the other side this coming Saturday afternoon when the Monmouth Hawks visit the Maine Black Bears in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) football opener at Alfond Stadium in Orono.
Former Black Bears quarterback and senior Derek Robertson is the now the signal caller for the Hawks. Robertson appeared in 21 career games for Maine, passing for 2,933 yards and 25 touchdowns in 11 games last fall. He is also off to a good start this year, tossing a total of seven touchdowns in the first two contests (51 for 78, three interceptions) for 0-2 Monmouth. The Hawks dropped a heartbreaking last second 40-35 decision to #19 Lafayette last Saturday, after an opening week defeat at the hands of Eastern Washington.
Maine (1-1), who is coming off a 41-24 loss to #3 Montana State in Bozeman last week, will attempt to win their conference opener for the first time since the beginning of the 2018 season (35-7 vs. UNH). That year was also the last time the team has been in the FCS playoffs. The Black Bears won a close one at home in Week 1 over Colgate 17-14, but the schedule gets even tougher after this matchup with Monmouth and a non-conference trip to Merrimack next Saturday. Two of the next four opponents after the game with the Warriors are nationally ranked CAA teams in Albany (away) and Villanova (homecoming). They also face Delaware and Rhode Island on the road in that stretch, and the Rams got votes in the Top 25 poll this week.
With the Coastal Athletic Association schedule getting underway this weekend, the games now get really big for all teams. The kickoff between Maine and Monmouth on Saturday is 3:30 p.m. The Black Bears are 4-0 all-time against the Hawks. Chris Lessner will have updates, a game recap, and postgame interviews from Orono.
University of Maine running back Jaharie Martin (#19) leaps into the endzone for a touchdown during a 17-14 Black Bears win over Colgate in their season opener back on August 30 in Orono. Maine welcomes their former QB Derek Robertson and the Monmouth Hawks for the conference opener this coming Saturday at Alfond Stadium. Photo by Anthony DelMonaco
