ORONO — The defense has grown accustomed to carrying the fate of the Maine football team on its back. Any missed tackle can be devastating in games that are typically low-scoring and hard-fought.

“We talk about that. We know our identity is kind of a defensive football team right now,” defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak said. “I think our guys have done a good job of understanding that’s the type of game, the knockaround, back-and-forth type game, that we need to play. It’s going to go down to the end. They like that moment.”

Maine’s defense failed to keep an elusive quarterback in check last Saturday, making two key mistakes in a 13-3 loss at Villanova. It will get another chance Saturday night, when shifty senior quarterback Connor Frazier leads Towson (5-3, 3-2 Colonial Athletic Association) into Alfond Stadium. Frazier has passed for 1,463 yards and has rushed for 371.

The Tigers have won their last three games and maintain postseason aspirations. Maine (3-5, 3-2) can only try to be the spoiler. To do so, the tackling must be markedly better than a week ago, when Villanova redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Bednarczyk got loose for 123 rushing yards and was sacked only once. Harasymiak said 89 of those yards came off scrambles, when the Black Bears lost containment or watched Bednarczyk squeeze out of their grasp.

“That was the first time we really saw a slippery quarterback like that and it challenged us,” Harasymiak said. “We can tackle well; we just had an off game.”

Maine is allowing 329 yards per game and 4.9 per play. Last year, those numbers were 317 and 4.6. Big plays, like a 64-yard catch and run by Villanova’s Aaron Wells, have burned the Black Bears.

But Maine has 57 tackles for loss, led by junior defensive tackle Patrick Ricard’s 12, best in the league. The Black Bears are capable of making big plays of their own, and the defense has kept the team in most games.

Towson’s defense has been terrific of late as well. The Tigers totaled three defensive scores in victories over Stony Brook and Villanova, then stifled Delaware last Saturday in a 19-0 victory. The Blue Hens managed only 102 yards, 14 through the air.

“They’re pretty good at playing a variety of coverages. They don’t really give a lot of tips on film,” Maine quarterback Drew Belcher said. “They’re one of the better teams of disguising what they do pre-snap and then giving you a different look once you snap the ball.”

So, as usual, points figure to be at a premium. Maine is averaging only 16.1 per contest and has been held to 10 or fewer in four of its five losses.

“They’re developing a confidence and the swagger that you see from a team that’s getting better,” Maine Coach Jack Cosgrove said of Towson’s defense.

As for his unit?

“People haven’t really been able to drive the field against us,” he said. ” I like our chances of stopping people, or just maybe them settling for field goals. Because, to me, that’s a win.”

 

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