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 2005 Season Review
Nov. 27, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
SEVEN BLACK BEARS NAMED TO ALL-ATLANTIC 10 TEAMS Seven University of Maine football players were named All-Atlantic 10 Conference selections on Tuesday, as announced by the league. The voting for the all-conference teams was done by league's head coaches. Highlighting the seven were senior co-captains Jermaine Walker (Teaneck, N.J.) and Ben Lazarski (New Windsor, N.Y.), who were named to the first-team at linebacker and offensive line, respectively. The two selections marks the 11th-consecutive season at least one Black Bear has been named to a conference first-team. Joining Walker and Lazarski were second-team selections defensive tackle Mike DeVito (Wellfleet, Mass.) and Jarrod Gomes (Bolton, Mass.), and third-team honorees wide receiver Kevin McMahan (Rochester, N.Y.), wide receiver Arel Gordon (Rochester, N.Y.) and defensive back Daren Stone (Lockport, N.Y.). Walker, who was a second-team selection in 2004, was named to the first-team after he totaled a career-high 114 tackles this season, which was the fourth-highest mark in the conference. He also registered 9.5 tackles for loss for minus-33 yards, 3.5 sacks for minus-18 yards, three pass breakups, one forced and recovered fumble, one blocked kick and one interception. Walker, who had at least 83 tackles in each of his last three seasons, made a career-high 17 tackles in a 25-15 win over Delaware (Oct. 29) and followed with 13 a week later in a victory at Northeastern (Nov. 5) to earn him A-10 Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors. He also turned in a 14-tackle performance in the season-opener at Nebraska. Lazarski was named to the first-team for the second-consecutive season. He started every game at center for Maine in 2005 and ended his career with 39-consecutive starts on the offensive line. He was part of an offensive line that helped pave the way for running back Montell Owens (Wilmington, Del.) to finish eighth in the Atlantic 10 with 779 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. DeVito was honored by the conference for the first time in his career by being named to the second-team. At the defensive tackle position, DeVito recorded 12 tackles for loss for minus-60 yards (minus-5 yards average per tackle), including 6.5 sacks for minus-55 yards. He finished fourth and tied for third in the conference in tackles for loss and sacks, respectively. DeVito recorded at least one tackle for loss in 9-of-11 games this season, including the final eight. For his career, DeVito is averaging a tackle for loss for 4.6 tackles he makes. Gomes rebounded from two-injury filled seasons to finish tied for 36th in the league with 6.2 tackles per game (68 total). He recorded 46 solo stops, recovered a pair of fumbles and made two interceptions on the season. In the 27-24 overtime win over Rhode Island (Nov. 12), Gomes turned in his finest performance of the season as he totaled 11 tackles, one interception and a fumble recovery. McMahan was selected to the third-team after posting career-highs in several receiving categories this season. He recorded career-highs in receptions (59), yards (893) and touchdowns (13). His 13 touchdowns were second most for a receiver in school history, and he ranked 19th nationally in receiving yards per game at 81.2. In the conference, McMahan ranked fourth in yards and second in touchdowns. Gordon was Maine's second wideout named to the third-team. Gordon led the team in receptions (70) and finished second in rushing yards (243). In a 31-7 victory over Albany (Oct. 1), Gordon caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt 57 yards for a score to give him sole possession of first place in school history for career punt returns for touchdowns with three. Stone was the other Black Bear to garner recognition as he was named to the third-team. He led the Atlantic 10 in interceptions with five this season and ranked 15th nationally. Stone finished sixth on the team with 41 tackles, including 30 solo stops. He also had 6.5 tackles for loss for minus-39 yards. BABY BEARS Nearly 63 percent of the 2005 roster was comprised of underclassmen. Of the 79 players on team, 28 were true freshmen, seven were redshirt freshmen and 15 were sophomores. ELEVEN (11) STRAIGHT SEASONS WITH AT LEAST ONE ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM SELECTION With Ben Lazarski and Jermaine Walker earning First-Team All-Atlantic 10 honors this season, it marked the 11th-consecutive campaign Maine has had at least one player earn first-team all-conference honors. OFFENSE'S TD DRIVES OF THE LONG VARIETY Thirteen (13) of Maine's 30 touchdown drives this season were a minimum of 71 yards in length. MAINE DEFENSE COMING UP BIG ON DRIVES TO BEGIN FIRST AND SECOND HALVES The "Black Hole" defense stood strong this season on drives to begin the first and second halves. In the first half, the Maine defense limited the opposing offense to three downs and out in 7-of-10 games. In the five first-half drives when the opponent went three and out, it managed a total of just 45 yards. In the second half, Maine held the opposing offense to three downs and out in 5-of-11 games. In the five second-half drives when the opposing offense went three and out, it managed only 17 total yards. OPPONENTS FOUND IT TOUGH SCORING TOUCHDOWNS IN THE REDZONE The Maine defense limited opponents to only 21 touchdowns in 40 total trips to the redzone this season for just a 53-percent clip. "BLACK HOLE" DEFENSE TURNS IN STRONG SEASON Maine's defense finished the 2005 season ranked 27th out of 120 teams nationally in total defense (325.6 yards per game). The "Black Hole" defense surrended an average of 80 less yards per game compared to the 2004 season. SEASON...AVG/GAME 2004...405.8 2005...325.6 BEARS HAVING A KNACK FOR BLOCKING KICKS Maine blocked six kicks this season, including three extra-point attempts versus Hofstra. The Black Bears also swatted away two punt attempts against Albany. WALKER RECORDS 100-TACKLE SEASON Jermaine Walker's 15 tackles against Rhode Island moved him over 100 tackles for the season. It marked the first time in his career he accomplished the feat. He had a combined 45 tackles in a three-game span against Delaware (17), Northeastern (13) and the 15-tackle performance versus the Huskies. Walker finished the season with 114 tackles. He finished with 296 for his career, just four shy of the 300 mark. DeVITO SPENDING A LOT OF TIME IN OPPONENT'S BACKFIELD THIS SEASON Junior defensive tackle Mike DeVito recorded at least one tackle for loss in the final seven games this season and 9-of-11 contests overall. KEVIN "BIG PLAY" McMAHAN Senior wideout Kevin McMahan had 11 receptions of over 20 yards this season. Six of those went for touchdowns. He finished the season 19th nationally in receiving yards per game with 81.2. McMAHAN FINISHES CAREER RANKED EIGHTH IN SCHOOL HISTORY FOR CAREER RECEIVING YARDS Kevin McMahan's career-high 893 yards this season vaulted him from 17th place (before the season) into eighth place in school history for career receiving yards with 1,995. McMAHAN BREAKS SCHOOL-RECORD FOR TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS IN A GAME Kevin McMahan's four-touchdown receptions versus New Hampshire was a school-record. It gave him 13 for the season, which is the second-highest total for a receiver in Maine history. WHITCOMB LEADS MAINE IN PASSING FOR THIRD-CONSECUTIVE SEASON Ron Whitcomb led Maine in passing in 2005 for the third-consecutive season. He became the sixth starting quarterback in the last nine in program history to lead the team in passing for three-straight seasons. The streak, which started with starting quarterback Bob Wilder (now Maine's Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator), dates back to the 1984 season. ALSO OF NOTE ON LEADING MAINE IN PASSING Ron Whitcomb also became the ninth quarterback in Maine history since 1950 to lead the team in passing three-consecutive seasons. WHITCOMB TOPS 6,000-CAREER PASSING YARDS VERSUS MASSACHUSETTS Junior quarterback Ron Whitcomb passed for 275 yards versus Massachusetts to put him over 6,000-career passing yards. He is just the fourth quarterback in school history to top 6,000-career passing yards. SPECIAL TEAM MAVENS Seven Black Bears recorded at least five tackles on special teams this season. Junior defensive back Alex Goyins led the team with 10 special teams tackles, while freshman linebacker Andrew Downey followed with nine. MAINE WINS 150th CONFERENCE GAME Maine's victory over Rhode Island on Nov. 12 was its 150th all-time conference win. Thirty-eight (38) of those have come as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. BLACK BEARS TOUGH IN OVERTIME Maine improved to 6-5 all-time in overtime contests with the extra-session win over Rhode Island, including winning four of the last six. LARGEST CROWD TO WATCH MAINE PLAY FOOTBALL The soldout crowd of 77,469 at Nebraska was the largest to ever watch Maine play a football game. The total bested the old mark of 43,486 fans who turned out to watch the Black Bears defeat Mississippi State in 2004. ALFOND STADIUM TOUGH FOR VISITORS Since 1998, the first season of renovated Morse Field at Alfond Stadium, Maine has posted an impressive 28-14 record (.667). Nine of those 25 wins have come against ranked teams. The Black Bears have also posted three shutout victories during that time. BLACK BEAR TELEVISION Six of Maine's 11 games this season were televised by either WABI in Bangor, CN8 along the eastern Atlantic coast throughout Boston and Philadelphia, Fox Sports Net Pay-Per-View to the entire nation and RNN-TV throughout the New York City and Long Island area. The list of televised games included: Nebraska (FSN-PPV)...Richmond (WABI-5)...Hofstra (RNN-TV)...Massachusetts (WABI-5)...Delaware (WABI-5 & CN8)...Rhode Island (WABI-5) MAINE FOOTBALL MENTIONED ON ESPN'S SPORTSCENTER
The University of Maine football team received national recognition on ESPN's Emmy-Award winning show Sportscenter on Aug. 20. The show, which traveled to all 50 states in the USA in 50 days, made a stop in Machias, Maine, and discussed significant sports moments in the state's history. The Black Bears' 9-7 victory over Mississippi State in 2004 was highlighted as one of the top moments in Maine history. Maine's victory over its Southeastern Conference-foe was the school's first over a Division I-A opponent.
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