 "Photo: N/A")
For the UNH football team, this Saturday’s game against Maine means two things: win, and the playoffs are almost certain. Lose, and they have to wonder anxiously until Sunday whether or not they will be playing in the postseason.
With the last regular season game at Cowell Stadium, it could possibly be the final time any of the current seniors will step onto the home field. The administration had placed a bid for a home game in the first round of CAA playoff action, but depending on the outcome of Saturday’s game, that luxury could very well elude the Wildcats once again.
But the game this weekend is something that the Wildcats cannot overlook if they want a playoff spot. Maine has given teams trouble this year, including UMass, the team that handed UNH their first loss. Maine won that game in Orono, 19-9. The Black Bears have had to overcome a tough schedule this season, playing top CAA teams such as Delaware, Richmond and James Madison University, as well as the FBS Syracuse Orange.
UNH head coach Sean McDonnell said that he was impressed with Maine sophomore quarterback Chris Triester, who made his first collegiate start against Rhode Island this past weekend, passing for 465 yards and five touchdowns.
“He threw the ball about as efficiently as any guy could throw it, whether it be the first, middle or last start,” McDonnell said. “Their receivers worked their routes and precision, and it was pretty impressive what they did to Rhode Island. He threw every kind of ball, and he ran the draw pretty well. It was as good of a performance out of a kid starting his first college game that I’ve seen in this league.”
One thing that Maine doesn’t lack is depth at their quarterback position. They run a “quarterback by committee” offense, with senior Mike Brusklo and sophomore Warren Smith each seeing a lot of action this season, now joined by Triester.
The Maine rushing attack is led by sophomore Derek Session, who has carried the ball 119 times this season for 479 yards and three touchdowns. Senior linebacker and captain Sean Ware said that the defense is looking at this game with the same emphasis as every other contest they’ve had this year.
“We’re going to approach this game like every game and try to create turnovers like we do each week,” Ware said. “They ran a lot of screen passes [against Rhode Island] and they had success on all of them. Their quarterback was 39 for 45 passing with over 400 yards, so he’s doing something right.”
Ware said that the thought of possibly playing his last game at home is a scary thought, but it’s starting to sink in. He said that there will be a lot of added emotion in the contest on Saturday among all of the seniors on the team.
For the Wildcats, who are coming off a hard-fought loss to William & Mary, the key is to rebound and stop the success of whoever the Bears select as their starting quarterback. Offensively, UNH must establish a running game again after playing one of the best defenses in the CAA last weekend. Junior quarterback R.J. Toman said that it will be key for the offense to come out and execute their assignments on Saturday against a defense that is young, but has proven they can shut down opponents.
“They’re very physical and very tough,” Toman said. “It’s a pretty typical Maine defense where they rise to the occasion every Saturday, and they love to come out and play. It’s going to be another hard-fought game against a very good defense. It’s going to take out A-game to win this week.”
In order to get back to their dominant running game form, coach McDonnell said that the offense needs to stay on their blocks, but also mix a good amount of passes into the offensive scheme to throw the defense off.
“We’ve got to do a great job of mixing run, play action and pass to get them off balance,” McDonnell said. “We’re not going to go out and look to run the ball 45 or 50 times a game and rush for 250 yards; it’s just not going to happen. I think we’re most effective when we’re doing all three things pretty well.”
The final game of the regular season will determine where the Wildcats will end up in the postseason bracket, which will be announced on Sunday at 3 p.m. Game time for Saturday at Cowell stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m.
1 comments