BIDDEFORD, Maine – Jarrett Henault accounted for five touchdowns as the University of New England downed Bridgewater State University, 38-23, in the home opener at Blue Storm Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Nor'easters improve to 2-0 for the first time in program history.
Henault finished with 257 yards and three touchdowns in the air. He got started early by finding Jack Mahoney for 55-yards down to the opponent's two-yard line on the Nor'easters' first drive of the day. Henault took it in himself on the next play, and, after an extra point by Robert Inniss, Jr., UNE led 7-0.
On the ensuing possession, a deep pass by James Cahoon was ripped out of the hands of the intended receiver Kyle Torres by Ryan Turner for a UNE interception [Watch]. The Nor'easters used the ground game to put the ball in the end zone on their next drive, including Eugene Jordan breaking a few tackles on a 39-yard run to put UNE deep in Bears' territory [Watch]. Later in the possession, Henault ran in from 11-yards out to extend the lead to 14-0 with 9:42 left in the first quarter.
Bridgewater State got on the board at the 6:29 mark of the first as Shane Drake hit a 23-yard field goal. The Bears could not stop the Nor'easter offense, though. Jack Mahoney plowed through the line for a 16-yard run to start the next drive. Henault then hit Todd Cravedi for 23-yards, and, two plays later, he found a wide-open AJ DeFilio for another touchdown. [Watch]
Late in the first quarter, a muffed punt by Dilaver Ibrahimi gave UNE the ball on the Bridgewater 19-yard line, and Inniss extended the Nor'easter advantage to 24-3 with a 29-yard field goal at the 13:18 mark of the second quarter. Will Michaud forced a fumble that was recovered by Keegan Stanton-Meas midway through the second, but the Nor'easters were unable to score on the possession.
With just under three minutes to go until halftime, Shane LaPorte looked like he would go the distance on a sprint up the sideline, but inadvertently stepped out after a 26-yard run [Watch]. UNE still added a score before the break, as Mikey Brennan pulled down a tough 17-yard catch in the corner of the endzone [Watch]. The Nor'easters led 31-3 at halftime.
Bridgewater State started to claw back into the game in the third quarter. Brandon Medeiros blocked a UNE punt and recovered it in the endzone to close the gap to 31-9 early in the period. Following another Nor'easter punt, Cahoon found Jalen Kopecky for a 12-yard score to cap a long 13-play, 75-yard drive, trimming the deficit to 31-16 with 5:20 left in the third.
The Nor'easters put away any doubt in the outcome when Henault hit DeFilio for another long touchdown, this time 37-yards, on the first play of the fourth quarter [Watch]. Cahoon ran in from five yards out with 5:12 to play for the last Bears touchdown. Chris Winslow intercepted Cahoon with 1:44 left to put a stamp on the victory. [Watch]
Jordan led the Nor'easters with 62 rushing yards on 14 attempts. Henault added 44 yards on the ground. DeFilio pulled in a team-high 94 receiving yards.
For the Bears, Cahoon was 28-of-53 for 264 yards through the air. Adam Couch had 71 yards rushing. Michael Nocera pulled in eight catches for 73 yards. Torres added seven grabs for 56 yards. Brendan Albert led the defense with 13 tackles (six solo). Kodi Saotome had 10 tackles, including one for a loss.
Mike Lemay and Antonio Giano each had seven tackles for UNE. Giano also had three QB hurries. Michaud added six tackles (five solo) and the forced fumble.
UNE is back at home next Saturday against Gallaudet at 12 p.m.
Nor’easters surge past Bears, 38-23, in home opener
/seasons/2022/boxscores/20220910_aega.xml
2022
Bridgewater State
23
University of New England
38
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgewater State (0-2) | 3 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 23 |
| University of New England (2-0) | 21 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 38 |
Sep 10, 2022