ORONO — Derek Robertson knows the University of Maine’s defense. He went up against it in practice every day for four seasons. Now the starting quarterback for Monmouth, Robertson put that knowledge to good use on Saturday afternoon at Alfond Stadium. Robertson and his receivers found every hole, every seam, every gap in the coverage while feeling almost no pass rush.

Robertson dominated his former team, throwing for 390 yards and four touchdowns while leading Monmouth to a 51-22 win in the Coastal Athletic Association opener for both teams. Both are now 1-2 overall.

“An embarrassing loss at home. For us to come in here, we’ve got to do a better job as coaches putting the players in position to win. We’ve got to do a better job of being more competitive throughout the game,” Maine Coach Jordan Stevens said. “That’s the bottom line. That falls on myself.”

It was Robertson’s third 300-yard passing effort this season. After throwing for 2,933 yards and 25 touchdowns for Maine last season, he entered Saturday’s game ranked third in the Football Championship Subdivision in passing yards.

While Robertson completed 22 of 36 passes, he was hardly a one-man band. The Hawks also ran for 242 yards and three touchdowns, racking up 632 yards of offense.

“I have a ton of respect for Maine football and the University of Maine. I enjoyed my time here for four years. The familiarity definitely helped. I practiced against them for almost four years. I know the players,” Robertson said. “But really, it comes down to these other guys. These other guys are the ones making the plays. These other guys are the ones blocking for me. It’s really not me.”

Monmouth’s offensive line gave Robertson all the time he needed to find open receivers. The Black Bears were unable to get a sack and hurried Robertson just once, when defensive end Jacob Tuiasosopo was able to hit Robertson just as he released the ball. That effort came down to communication, Monmouth center Ed Gatling said.

“We talk before, during, and after each play as much as we can. We keep the communication going. As long as we keep talking and communicate with each other, we can play our game,” Gatling said.

The Hawks were 11 for 15 on third-down conversions and 2 for 2 on fourth down.

“We call (third down) the terminal down. We’ve got to be successful in that situation. That’s how you win football games,” Robertson said.

By the time Maine was able to trade blows with the Hawks in the second half, the fight was over.

Robertson’s first pass was a completion to the left sideline to Josh Derry for 23 yards. He kept that drive moving with a fourth-and-7 completion to Gavin Nelson to the Maine 16. Four plays later, Sone Ntoh scored on a 4-yard run to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead.

Touchdown passes of 11 and 25 yards to Jack Neri and Marcus Middleton pushed Monmouth’s lead to 20-0 with just over a minute left in the first quarter. Maine, meanwhile, couldn’t generate a drive. The Black Bears went three-and-out on their first two possessions, and the only spark came from Trevin Ewing’s 98-yard kick return for a touchdown in the final minute of the first quarter, cutting Monmouth’s lead t0 20-8 when Declan McKevitt caught the 2-point conversion pass from Anthony Harris.

Derry had seven catches for 227 yards, 160 yards coming after the catch. He had touchdown receptions of 56 and 94 yards in the second half.

“We just weren’t as physical as we wanted to be. I think we could’ve handled that better. They were more disciplined out there,” said Maine nose tackle Jon Costanza, a team captain.

Maine starting quarterback Carter Peevy left the game with 13:05 remaining in the first half because of an apparent left leg injury, and Harris took over for one series. Peevy returned later in the quarter and drove Maine into scoring position, but Joey Bryson’s 24-yard field goal try with 39 seconds left in the half was wide. After the game, Peevy said he was OK. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 159 yards.

Jaharie Martin and Joe Gillette each had a touchdown run in the second half for Maine. Montigo Moss caught seven passes for 53 yards.