WEST
LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University football team dropped its second
straight contest to begin the 2010 season, falling 31-23 to Maine on Saturday afternoon at Kessler
Field.
The
Black Bears (1-1) struck for the contest's first points when running back Jared
Turcotte, who led the way for the visitors with 144 rushing yards on 29
carries, scored from three yards out with 3:31 left in the first quarter to
give UM a 7-0 lead.
Monmouth
(0-2) was able to get into the scoring column midway through the second quarter
when freshman kicker Eric Spillane (Howell, N.J. /Colts Neck) converted a
32-yard field goal with 8:47 showing to cut the Maine lead to 7-3. The Hawks
then took a 10-7 lead three and a half minutes later when quarterback Kyle
Frazier (Gaithersburg, Md. /Damascus), who ran for a career-high 64
yards on seven carries, scored on a 16-yard jaunt.
The
Black Bears then struck for 14 unanswered points, on scoring runs from Turcotte
and Derek Session, to take a 21-10 lead with 5:26 showing in the third quarter.
MU was able to cut the Maine lead to 21-17 less than two minutes later when L.J.
Caprio (North Caldwell, N.J. /West Essex) piled in on a two-yard run, capping a
three-play, 64-yard drive that took only 1:23 off the clock.
Maine's Brian Harvey started the
fourth quarter's scoring with a 23-yard field goal with 12:51 left to put the
Black Bears up 24-17. Spillane answered for Monmouth with a 25-yarder of his
own with 9:00 left, but UM's Steven Barker returned the ensuing kickoff 64
yards down to the Hawks' 17-yard line. Turcotte put the exclamation point on
the short Maine
drive, scoring from seven yards out to increase its lead to 31-20. Spillane
ended the afternoon's scoring with a 37-yard field goal, his third of the
afternoon, but the Hawks could draw no closer than the 31-23 final.
Maine outgained the Hawks, 433-334 in
total offense, including 239-87 on the ground. Monmouth outgained the Black
Bears through the air, 247-194 in the contest, but the visitor's held a slight
32:19-27:41 advantage in time of possession. Neither team was effective on
third down as the Hawks converted 1-of-15 chances and Maine converted 4-of-15.
Frazier,
who accounted for 304 yards of total offense, was 20-of-36 passing for 240
yards in the game to go along with team-high rushing total. All Monmouth
rushers other than the redshirt sophomore signal-caller combined for 23 yards
on 19 carries in the game. Matt Plautz (Harmony, Pa.
/Seneca) led the receiving corps with a career-high six grabs for 70 yards,
while fifth-year senior Ryan Folsom (Somerdale,
N.J. /Triton Regional) added six
catches for 44 yards.
Fifth-year
senior Jack Daniels (Franklin
Lakes, N.J. /Don Bosco Prep) had
a solid afternoon, punting eight times for an average of 46.4 yards per kick.
Junior Jose Gumbs (Queens. N.Y. /Hebron Academy)
led the defense with 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops, adding a pass
break-up.
Maine QB
Warren Smith went 17-of-26 passing for 194 yards for Maine. Session led the
Black Bears with four catches for 78 yards to go along with his 22-yard rushing
TD.
Monmouth
has its bye week this week before hosting Old Dominion at Kessler Field on
Saturday, September 25 at 1:00 pm.
