Football falls, 28-13, to Maine in opener

ORONO, Maine – The Bryant University football team gave up just 99 second-half yards and junior running back Jordan Brown (Glastonbury, Conn.) ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns but the University of Maine scored 21 first-half points on its way to a 28-13 victory Saturday night at Harold Alfond Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

Trailing, 21-0, at the half, the Bulldogs (0-1) came out rejuvenated in the third quarter.  They out-gained the Black Bears (1-0), 205-99, and Brown found the endzone on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs cut the deficit to 28-13.  That was as close as the Bulldogs would get, though.

Bryant's defense was a big factor in the second-half turnaround.  The Bulldogs held Maine to just 15 yards on its first six plays of the half, with both drives ending in punts after three-and-outs.  But the defense faltered a bit on the Black Bears' third drive, as quarterback Warren Smith made two great plays.  First, he slipped out of a sack at the 50-yard line and completed a 15-yard first-down pass and then ran for another 15 yards two plays later before an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved it to the Bryant six.  Pushaun Brown pounded it in two plays later for his second score of the game.

That's when the Bulldogs came to life offensively.  Their next drive started with a 34-yard return by Michael Perry (Dunmore, Pa.), and sophomore quarterback Mike Westerhaus (Farmingville, N.Y.) found classmate Jordan Harris (Lincoln University, Pa.) for 34 yards on the next play to get the Bulldogs to the Maine 21.  A three-yard run by Brown got Bryant inside the Maine 10, but Westerhaus's pass to the back of the endzone on the first play of the fourth quarter was intercepted.

A three-and-out gave the Bulldogs the ball right back, and they went 62 yards in seven plays to get on the board, 28-6.  Senior captain Matt Tracey (Littleton, Colo.) made a sparkling diving catch over the middle for 14 yards, and Brown followed with a 37-yard catch of his own to get the Bulldogs inside the 10.  Brown capped the drive three plays later from four yards out.

The defense stopped the Black Bears again on the next drive, and the Bulldogs got great field position thanks to Harris's partial block of the Maine punt.

Five plays later, Brown was in the endzone again.  He scampered 34 yards down the sideline to the Maine six-yard line, and then, after a delay of game penalty, he pounded it home with an 11-yard run.

In the first half, Maine ran its offense to perfection and the Black Bear defense held its ground.  The  home side didn't waste any time, either.  Pushaun Brown rushed for 12 yards on the first play of the game and then 39 more on the second before eventually taking it into the endzone from a yard out to give Maine a 7-0 advantage.

The next two scores were both set up by punt returner Trevor Coston.  He returned a punt 30 yards to the Bryant 26 to start Maine's drive that eventually ended in a Smith one-yard touchdown run.  Then, at the beginning of the second quarter, Coston caught the punt at his own 26-yard line and took it 74 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 Black Bear lead.

Bryant had several chances in the first half to get on the board, none better than its second possession of the second quarter.  Westerhaus hit Tracey for a 15-yard completion and then again for a 14-yard gain to the Maine nine.  Perry got it to the six, but, after two-consecutive incompletions, Bryant attempted a field goal that missed wide right.  The Bulldogs had one more chance late in the half, as Westerhaus found Harris deep down the sideline, but the ball fell incomplete.

In his first-career start, Westerhaus went 15-for-32 for 194 yards and two interceptions.  His second-half numbers were sterling, going 8-for-15 for 122 yards.  Brown's second half was equally impressive as he picked up 89 yards on 15 carries.  Harris and Tracey were Westerhaus's favorite targets with 75 and 70 yards receiving, respectively.  Mike Abany (Mansfield, Mass.) and Franck Tebou (Mattapoisett, Mass.) led the defense with 10 tackles each.

The Bulldogs will face American International in their home opener next Saturday, Sept. 10 at Bulldog Stadium.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.