Now that he’s had a chance to review the film from the Colby College football team’s season-opening 35-0 loss to Trinity, head coach Jack Cosgrove knows his initial thoughts following Saturday’s game were correct.
“I know we played hard, and we played for 60 (minutes). I think that was the most encouraging thing. We learned a lot about the league in just one game. Trinity was an impressive football team. There was some obvious size differences, speed differences, that speak to a reigning champion a team that’s No. 1 in New England, all those things,” Cosgrove said after Thursday morning’s practice.
COLBY (0-1) at WILLIAMS (1-0)
When: 1 p.m., Saturday
Where: Farley-Lamb Field, Williamstown, Massachussets
Last season: Williams 24, Colby 7
Players to watch: RB Jake Schwern, QB Jack O’Brien, T Shane Normandeau, S Don Vivian, LB Marcus Bullard, DB Will Caffey. Williams — QB Bobby Maimaron, RB TJ Dozier, WR Frank Stola, LB TJ Rothmann, S Ben Anthony, DL Austin Thomas
Outlook: Last week, the Colby defense allowed 573 yards in a 35-0 loss to Trinity. Now, the Mules face a Williams offense that put up 476 yards in a 41-6 win over Bowdoin. Stola caught a pair of touchdowns for the Ephs, while Dozier ran for 128 yards and a touchdown. The Mules will continue to focus the offense around Schwern, who gained 108 yards last week. Colby needs to find more consistency in the passing game to take pressure off the run attack. The Mules threw for just 93 yards last week.
That said, Cosgrove stressed the Mules have to get better. Missed opportunities early in the game combined with Trinity’s big play capabilities put Colby in a hole it couldn’t get out of, physically and mentally. Cosgrove pointed to a third down and 1 run that resulted in a loss of 2 yards late in the first quarter. Forced to punt, Colby pinned the Bantams on their own 3. It took one play for Trinity to score, a 97-yard touchdown catch by Jonathan Girard from Jordan Vezzano.
“That changed the whole game. It really punched us in the gut. I could sense it,” Cosgrove said.
Vezzano is a transfer from Division I University of Rhode Island, and while Colby held him to 9 of 26 passing, Vezzano threw for 210 yards on those nine completions. Cosgrove noted the success Vezzano had quarterbacking URI against Maine two seasons ago, a game in which he threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns.
“The only difference was Maine picked him five times,” Cosgrove said. “The kid was 9 for 26, so we defended him decently.”
This week Colby plays at Williams, which won its season opener at Bowdoin, 41-6. For Cosgrove, who coached for more than 20 years at the University of Maine, another strong opponent is a chance to learn more about the New England Small College Athletic Conference.
“I spent the offseason watching a lot of tape. Until you get up live and in person and see them physically and see how physical they are, how fast they play the game. (Trinity) was impressive. I see the same in Williams… Williams may not be as physically stout as Trinity, but I like the way they play the game really hard.”
• • •
Two weeks ago, the University of Maine picked up the third win in program history over a Football Bowl Subdivision team with a 31-28 win at Western Kentucky. Saturday, the Black Bears have a chance to start a win streak against FBS opponents when they play at Central Michigan.
Central Michigan is 0-3, and is coming off a 24-16 loss to Northern Illinois. Maine is looking to become the first Football Championship Subdivision team to beat two FBS teams in a season since Portland State did it in 2015.
This game is another chance for Maine’s pass rush to shine. In two games, the Black Bears have 12 sacks.
• • •
Maine Maritime Academy opens New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference play this weekend with a game at the Merchant Marine Academy. For the 0-2 Mariners, the game is a chance to get its offense on track.
In losses to SUNY-Maritime and Massachusetts Maritime, MMA scored a combined 15 points and averaged a conference low 239 yards per game. The running attack, usually a strength for the Mariners, gained just 41 yards in two games combined, averaging less than a yard per carry.
Defensively, a bright spot has been the play of linebacker Derek Breunig. The senior was named to d3football.com’s Team of the Week after making 14 tackles, including three tackles for a loss, in the 22-7 loss at Mass Maritime.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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