UNH Football retained the illustrious Brice-Cowell musket on Saturday afternoon by defeating the Maine Black Bears 28-21 in Orono.
Heavy rainfall made things interesting during the 100th meeting between Maine and UNH. But the turf field at Alfond Stadium held up alright, and so did the Wildcats.
UNH head coach Sean McDonnell opted to go with early season starter Sean Goldrich at quarterback over the banged up Andy Vailas. The redshirt freshman made his reps count, passing for 283 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
Although, the Wildcats got off to a rough start. The offense kicked things off with two punts and a turnover. By early in the second quarter, UNH was trailing 14-0.
They rallied back.
First it was a 79-yard catch and run Goldrich to tight end Harold Spears, which got UNH on the board. Then it was a 22-yard snag by wideout R.J. Harris that tied things up at 14 a piece.
Nevertheless, linebacker Alan Buzbee provided the Wildcats with the biggest momentum swing of the game. The senior intercepted Black Bears’ quarterback Marcus Wasilewski to set up a Chris Setian touchdown catch, and UNH’s first lead right before the half.
The Wildcats added another touchdown with 2:44 to go in the third quarter Harold Spears’ second score of the game. But down 28-14, Maine was not yet finished.
At the beginning of the final quarter, Arthu Williams nabbed a 23-yard pass from Wasilewski to cut the UNH lead to seven.
However, the Wildcats were able to control possession and melt the clock late in the fourth as UNH went on to record a 28-21 CAA win over the rivaled Black Bears.
UNH improves to 6-2 on the season, as Maine falls to 2-5. Next Saturday, the Wildcats will head down to Kingston, R.I., to face the Rhode Island Rams at 12 p.m. EDT.
Wildcats First Down 