FOXBOROUGH, Mass — Marcus Wasilewski retreated a few steps back as if to pass, then ran forward on a quarterback draw. A hole opened, he bounced off a pair of would-be tacklers, then scampered for the end zone at Gillette Stadium, high-stepping to avoid one final defender, to complete a 39-yard touchdown run.

ORONO — The two leading tacklers for the University of Maine football in last weekend’s season-opener were a pair of first-time starters with international roots stretching across the Atlantic Ocean.

ORONO — Virginia is for Black Bears.

ORONO — Tyler Patterson was dressed, taped and ready to go Wednesday afternoon, when a flash of lightning in a dark northern sky sent the University of Maine football team off Morse Field and into the Mahaney Dome for practice.

ORONO — University of Maine wide receiver John Ebeling sprinted off the line of scrimmage, threw a head fake at a safety, planted his outside foot and … tweeeeet!

Justin Perillo is the only player from Maine to receive preseason all-conference honors in the Colonial Athletic Association, but he remained on the sideline during Tuesday afternoon’s second and final intrasquad scrimmage. Joining him were half a dozen other players with minor injuries or ailments, a simple fact of football life.

Brett Brown, with 17 years of head coaching experience in Australia, has also earned four NBA championship rings as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, and came within 20 seconds of winning a fifth before Miami staged an improbable comeback in Game 6 of the finals last month to defeat the Spurs in a seven-game series.

Jay Leach will join the staff of Dennis “Red” Gendron as associate head coach of the University of Maine men’s ice hockey program.