Maine quarterback Joe Fagnano rushed for a touchdown in each of the past two games and threw a total of eight TD passes in the victories over Albany and Stony Brook. Ronald Gillis photo
Joe Fagnano, the sophomore quarterback for the University of Maine, celebrated his 20th birthday Wednesday by doing some of the things he enjoys: “A little homework, study some film and practice,” he said.
There wasn’t much time for a big celebration. The Black Bears have a pivotal game this weekend at Alfond Stadium in Orono.
Maine, coming off its bye week with a 2-1 record, plays Villanova (1-1) at noon. The Wildcats are ranked 16th in all three national Football Championships Subdivision polls (Coaches poll, FCS Stats poll and Athlon FCS Power Poll) while Maine is unranked in the first two polls and ranked 22nd in the Athlon poll.
If Maine, which has won its last two games, is to entertain any playoff hopes, this is a game the Black Bears must have. And it isn’t going to be easy: Villanova has won five of the last six games between the schools.
Fagnano said the Black Bears can’t get caught up with the rankings or past history of the clubs.
“Every game is a must win, and in a shortened season even more,” he said during a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday. “Every game carries so much more weight this season. But we take it one week at a time and focus on what we can do to win, one week at a time.”
Head coach Nick Charlton said this is a message that the coaching staff has been preaching all year. Every game is important and you cannot put added emphasis on any of them.
“I think it’s easy to fall into that a little it,” Charlton said during the Zoom call. “We all know they’re all very very important. We’re playing six (games) and it definitely it magnifies that. But you’ve got to be careful, and I talked to the team about this the other day, looking at it in that way and in that lens because you start pressing and feeling like ‘I’m going to do something different than what I normally do.’ I think really, we just need to take it one game at a time and worry about this opponent.
“This is one of the best opponents we’re going to play all year and we’ve really got to focus on them. We really can’t press because somehow this game is more important than the last one or the next one. They’re all important.”
After a 37-0 loss at Delaware in the season opener, Maine’s offense rebounded in wins over Albany (38-34) and Stony Brook (35-19). Fagnano accounted for all 10 touchdowns over those games, passing for eight and rushing for two. The Black Bears have scored each time they’ve been in the red zone this season (9 for 9).
Both Charlton and Fagnano said the bye week came at a good time for the Black Bears and that they got in a lot of needed self-analysis.
“I thought we put together a number of strong practices with good energy and good execution,” said Charlton. “I thought we had a lot of focused energy.”
The Black Bears will need that focus against one of the CAA’s top offenses. The Wildcats lead the league in passing (210.5 yards per game) and rank third in rushing (210.0 yards).
Linebacker Deshawn Stevens, who leads Maine with 29 tackles, said the secondary will need to continue to play well. Maine has the third-best passing defense in the league, giving up 133.7 yards per game. Villanova’s offense uses a lot of motion and trick plays to get the defense, especially the secondary, off balance. Freshman Austin Ambush will make his first start at safety, replacing the injured Fofie Bazzie.
“Villanova has a very elite passing game,” said Stevens. “It’s critical for them to come out and meet that challenge. And they’re always looking to prove themselves.”
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