ORONO, Maine — Things can’t get much worse for the University of Maine’s football team.
Stonehill University (Mass.), which has just completed its three-year transition to Division I from Division II and was picked to finish last in the Northeast Conference’s preseason poll, shocked the Black Bears 13-10 at Morse Field in Alfond Stadium on Saturday night.
It was UMaine’s fourth home-opening loss in the past five seasons.
Quarterback Jack O’Connell threw a 34-yard touchdown to Brigham Dunphy on a fourth and 21 play with 1:45 left that provided the Skyhawks with their first victory in three games.
UMaine is now 0-3.
O’Connell was chased out of the pocket and was just a yard or two from the Stonehill sidelines when he lofted the pass to Dunphy, who was inexplicably wide open in the back of the end zone.
“We weren’t really anticipating it being a Hail Mary situation. There was still a lot of time left on the clock,” said UMaine head coach Jordan Stevens. “He got behind us, they threw it up and he came down with it. You have to keep [O’Connell] in the pocket, get in his face and disrupt him.”
“[O’Connell] kept it alive and that was the big concern coming into the game, his ability to keep plays alive,” Stevens added.
The Black Bear offense was inept throughout the contest and turned the ball over on downs on its final drive before getting into range to kick a potential game-tying field goal or produce a game-winning touchdown.
UMaine finished with 266 total yards on the evening against a Stonehill defense that allowed an average of 378.5 yards per game in its first two games.
UMaine was only able to convert three of its 12 third-down plays and was 0-for-2 on fourth down. UMaine had just 10 first downs.
“We just couldn’t get moving offensively,” Stevens said.
Stonehill held the Black Bears to a dismal three first downs in the first half until Sincere Baines burst through the line and raced 54 yards down to the Stonehill 9-yard line with just under four minutes left to set up Mo Irefin for a 1-yard touchdown run and a 7-3 UMaine lead with 2:20 remaining.
But the Skyhawks answered with an impressive 10-play, 67-yard drive resulting in Domenic Scalese’s 25-yard field goal on the last play of the half.
A pass interference call on UMaine’s Brayden Isaiah on a third-and-one took the ball down to the UMaine 21-yard line.
Stonehill opened the scoring with 4:50 left in the first period as Scalese kicked a 34-yard field goal shortly after an Irefin fumble was recovered by junior cornerback Richard Mosley III at the UMaine 44-yard line.
His first field goal attempt was wide but he got a second chance on a running-into-the-kicker penalty and he converted.
In the third period, UMaine strung together an eight-play, 49-yard drive and found itself with first-and-goal at the 7-yard line.
But for the second consecutive game, the Black Bears were only able to gain 2 yards with first-and-goal at the seven and had to settle for Sean Tremblay’s 22-yard field goal to extend their lead to 10-6.
“When we have an opportunity to go finish a drive in the red zone, we have to do that,” Stevens said. “Three points don’t really do anything.”
The UMaine coached praised Stonehill.
“They were physical, they played hard the whole day and they had a great game plan. Their defense gave us problems,” Stevens said.
O’Connell completed 14 of 26 passes for 132 yards and Zavion Woodard was the Skyhawks’ leading rusher with 30 yards on eight carries. Cole Clark caught a team-high four passes for 26 yards.
Mosley’s eight tackles led the defense.
UMaine’s Baines rushed for 106 yards on 12 carries, his second 100-plus yard performance in three games. Cape Elizabeth’s Nick Laughlin, in his season debut after missing the first two games with a hand injury, had 42 yards on seven carries.
UMaine quarterback Carter Peevy completed 15 of 26 passes for only 95 yards.
Scott Woods had a game-high six catches for 27 yards and Chris Bacon’s seven tackles and Nicolas Kalume’s two sacks paced the defense, which limited Stonehill to 196 yards.
