ORONO — Najee Goode and Jaleel Reed are ready for their “Rocky” moment.

The Philly kids, now playing football at the University of Maine, have talked all season about making a triumphant return home Saturday when the Black Bears visit Villanova for a 7:30 p.m. game that will include plenty of friendly faces in the stands.

“When we step on the field, we’re going to look in the crowd, we’re going to see an abundance of people we know,” Reed said. “Reporters that you talked to in high school, coaches. But at the same time it’s like, ‘Let’s get this win, not just for the team, but this one’s for our city.’ We’ve got to do this.”

The sophomores were sitting out the season as redshirts two years ago when Maine visited Villanova Stadium. Saturday will be their first opportunity to play in front of the friends and family they left behind when they brought a little of cheese-steak zest to the land of lobsters.

Goode will start at cornerback, ready again to tangle one-on-one with the opposing team’s top receiver. Reed is an emerging playmaker at wide receiver. Both will play vital roles as Maine (3-4, 3-1 Colonial Athletic Association) faces another must-win game during a late-season playoff push. The Wildcats (3-4, 2-2) find themselves in the unlikely role of spoilers after struggling to replace injured star quarterback John Robertson.

Redshirt freshman Zach Bednarczyk is getting his feet wet at quarterback for Villanova, with mixed results. After completing all 12 of his passes in a 37-0 win two weeks ago at Albany, Bednarczyk threw two crippling interceptions, both returned for touchdowns, last week in a 28-21 loss at Towson.

“The game is going very fast for him,” Villanova Coach Andy Talley said. “He’s replacing a great player and you’ve got to play up to some of those standards. Obviously, he’s not going to be John Robertson this year. But I think he’s got a chance to be a really good quarterback in this league.”

Goode, who leads the Black Bears with seven passes broken up, will be trying to delay Bednarczyk’s development. He has had three interceptions in Maine’s last two games, although two were called back because of penalties.

“I got my feet wet with the one, so now when the ball’s in the air I feel like it’s mine right now. I’ve just got to keep that momentum,” said Goode, who plays the boundary corner position for the Black Bears that Kendall James and Axel Ofori Jr. have manned in recent years.

Reed, operating out of the slot, has caught 11 passes for 92 yards. He scored his first touchdown on an 11-yard pass Oct. 10 at Albany. He nearly got into the end zone again last Saturday in a 23-10 victory over Stony Brook, running a slick double-move before sliding to snare a Drew Belcher pass at the 1. That led to the go-ahead field goal.

The early season was marked by dropped passes for Reed, including two in a loss at Tulane. He said the emotions of the game got the better of him.

“I was amped up, ready to go,” Reed said. “But then I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘It can’t happen.’ You’ve got to be accountable.”

Goode and Reed played together at West Catholic High before Goode transferred to Imhotep Charter School closer to his home in the shadows of Temple University. Reed went on to play a year at St. Thomas More prep school, where he made the conversion from quarterback to wide receiver.

Both were recruited by Villanova. Goode said he didn’t have the grades to get into the private university. Reed said the Wildcats’ interest waned once he settled on attending Maine.

They are roommates now, which made for some spirited battles during training camp but has become a relationship marked by side-by-side watching of film. They thrive on the competition with each other, in practice, and even when it comes to who will have a bigger contingent of family at Saturday’s game.

“I told (Reed), he’s got to score in this game,” said Goode. “I’ve got to catch a pick.”

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