University of New England sophomore quarterback Brian Peters has completed 72.3 percent of his passes for 971 yards and five touchdowns through three games. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer
BIDDEFORD — It’s been a complete role reversal for the University of New England football team in 2019.
At this time a year ago, the Nor’easters sat at 0-2 while struggling to score points in blowout losses to Husson and Coast Guard.
Fast forward to this September, and UNE (2-1) has already matched its win total from its first varsity season, and the Nor’easters boast one of the top offenses in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
“The start of this year has been nothing but a dream,” said running back Devon Charles. “We’re going to keep building on it.”
UNE’s offense has been firing on all cylinders through three games. The Nor’easters are averaging 27.7 points a contest along with more than 436 yards of total offense. UNE ranks second in the conference in both categories behind Western New England, which comes to town Saturday (1 p.m. kickoff).
“We’re just trying to continue to progress with what we’re doing well,” said UNE head coach Mike Lichten. “(Western New England’s) the four-time (conference) champions, they deserve a lot of respect. We’re out here trying to poke some holes in their game, which isn’t easy to do. Just do what we do well, and fix what we don’t do well.”
UNE combined for 500 yards of offense in a 31-21 win over Castleton last Saturday and dropped 35 points on 485 yards in a win over Alvernia on Sept. 14. Sophomore quarterback Brian Peters made his presence felt in both wins, combining for more than 600 yards and three touchdowns. Peters has completed 72.3 percent of his passes for 971 yards and five touchdowns through three games. Lichten said the sophomore’s success on the young season has been more mental than anything.
“There’s been a lot of growth in maturity from when Brian arrived until now,” Lichten said. “Every day he gets a little bit better at being a leader, and a little bit better at quarterback.”
Preparation for Peters’ sophomore season started during UNE’s spring training earlier this year. Peters spent most of his time throwing the ball with his receivers and running backs. Racking up the repetitions with his teammates during that time strengthened the trust in the Nor’easters’ backfield.
“That month of practice really helped develop the relationships with the receivers,” Peters said. “Football is such a sport that you have to rely on the guy next to you, and that bond that you have with the guy next to you is so important and you want to make it as strong as possible.”
“The trust factor is so high with us right now,” Peters said. “I love those guys and I’d do anything for them.”
The trust between one another has been evident on the field thus far. Charles, who transferred from Manchester (New Hampshire) Community College last year, said his UNE teammates welcomed him with open arms. Charles leads the team in rushing yards (153) and touchdowns (3), and has developed a close bond with Peters.
“It’s almost like I don’t even need to look at (Peters) coming out of the backfield,” Charles said. “I know he’s going to put the ball in the right spot.”
Despite facing the top team in the conference, who gave UNE its worst loss of the 2018 season in a 70-13 defeat, the Nor’easters are confident heading into their game with Western New England. Charles pointed to similarities to what the Golden Bears do defensively to the Nor’easters season-opening opponent Coast Guard.
UNE lost that matchup 27-17, but Charles said the Nor’easters, who lost three turnovers, beat themselves. If they can clean up the mistakes, Charles believes UNE is more than capable of hanging with Western New England.
“I feel like if we can take what we did wrong in our one loss … I think there’s no reason why we can’t win this game,” Charles said. “We have better athletes and we’re going to show them on Saturday. We’re very confident.”
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