BY: JACK GREVEN
The Tribe are back at Zable for the first time this season to host CAA foe Maine to start off their conference slate in their final season before joining the Patriot League.
The Tribe are looking to bounce back after a tight 23-21 loss on the road against Furman last week. Maine is also coming off a loss, having been downed 28-7 against FBS opponent Liberty. The two teams faced off back in 2023 in a matchup also played at Zable Stadium, as the Tribe defeated the Black Bears 28-3 in a dominant showing.
W&M held Maine to just 138 yards of offense, a figure Bronson Yoder topped on his own as he rushed for 163 yards and a score on 25 carries. Malachi Imoh also broke the century mark with 103 yards on the ground. That Maine team was in the midst of consecutive 2-win seasons, but has noticeably improved since that matchup. Let’s take a look at the opposition:
Maine Black Bears
Coastal Athletic Association
2024 Record: 5-7
The Maine football program has been off to a rough start in the 2020s. After making a surprise run to the FCS Semifinals in 2018, the Black Bears have won just 23 games over the past six seasons. However, things are looking up in Orono, as the rebuild orchestrated by Head Coach Jordan Stevens showed promise last season.
After winning just 4 games over his first two seasons, none of which were against teams with a winning record, the Black Bears recorded 5 wins in 2024, including their first win against a team that would make the FCS Playoffs since 2019: a 35-7 romp over Villanova.
Maine finished slightly below average in the CAA in most team statistics, but one stat stands out- the Black Bears were quite efficient in the passing game, ranking 3rd in offensive efficiency (141.4), tied for the fewest interceptions thrown (5), and led the conference in completion percentage (65.6%). Despite running the fewest plays in the conference (719) and totaling the second-fewest yards per game (312), the efficiency helped the Black Bears to a respectable 10th in points per game (23.3) in the 16 team CAA.
They also excelled in turnovers, finishing 4th in the conference in turnover differential at +5. A significant weak point for Maine was their defense in big moments. They finished second to last in the CAA in third down defense and redzone defense, allowing 47.2% of third downs to be converted and 88.6% of redzone appearances to result in touchdowns.
The Black Bears were picked to finish 9th out of 14 in the CAA preseason poll and received one All-CAA preseason nod, Senior kick returner Trevin Ewing. They return 9 starters from their final game last season.
Maine got their season started this past Saturday against the FBS Liberty Flames, losing 28-7 in Lynchburg. The Black Bears held firm early, eventually taking a 7-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. They appeared poised to head to halftime with the lead before a strip sack and quick score in the final seconds of the half tied the score.
The Maine offense reached Liberty territory in each of the first three second half drives but couldn’t get near the redzone, and the defense finally cracked with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Liberty would tack on two more scores after that. A big issue once again was the third down defense, as Liberty converted 11 of 19 third down opportunities.
The Black Bears’ offense seems to be the stronger half of their team. Graduate quarterback Carter Peevy returns after a solid 2024 where he finished 13th in the FCS in completion percentage at 66.6%, and was one of just 6 QBs who attempted at least 300 passes to throw 5 interceptions or fewer.
Peevy was an honorable mention for the preseason All-CAA team and has a wealth of starting experience, and is a threat on the ground, having broken over a dozen rushes for 20+ yards throughout his career.
The ground game was not a huge factor for the Black Bears last season, but they got off to a strong start in their season opener. Junior Sincere Baines and Sophomore Rashawn Marshall combined for 194 yards on just 22 carries against Liberty, putting both in a solid position already to surpass last season’s rushing leader Brian Santana-Fis’ 418 yards.
Baines is a transfer from Division II UNC Pembroke, while Marshall is seeing his first snaps, having been named Maine’s Offensive Scout Player of the Year last season.
Maine will be looking for breakout seasons from their pass catchers, having lost top receivers Montigo Moss and Joe Gillette. Moss especially is a big loss, having caught 61 passes for 722 yards last season, more than double the receptions of any other Black Bears receiver. Filling the void will be two veteran returners in Graduate wide receiver Mo Irefin and the aforementioned Trevin Ewing, who were the third and fourth leading receivers last season.
They also looked to the portal for depth, where they landed Graduate transfer Scott Woods from Harvard, where he caught 52 passes for 547 yards in 2024. Maine’s tight ends are less utilized in the passing game and more so in blocking, as they brought in just 38 catches last season as a positional group and had just 1 reception against Liberty. They’ll be led by Seniors Eli Mahan and Declan McKevitt, who have just 11 catches combined.
The Black Bears defense is one with heavy roster turnover, losing three transfers to the FBS and returning just 2 of their 8 highest tacklers last season.
This is evident when looking at Maine’s transfer additions for this season; 14 of their 21 transfers are defensive players. Of those, 9 are coming from FBS programs, which should help to replenish the losses and strengthen the Black Bears on that side of the ball.
Standouts include Graduate linebacker Christian Thomas who is the leading returning tackler with 63 last season and is the only returning player who recorded more than 1 sack. Thomas exploded for 15 tackles in the opener against Liberty and looks set to be the Black Bear’s defensive leader. Redshirt Sophomore corner back Devin Vaught intercepted 3 passes, recorded 3 pass breakups, and blocked a kick in his first full season and might have the highest potential in their defense.
Redshirt Junior safety Jamaree Gibson led the Black Bears in 2024 with 9 pass breakups and 26 solo tackles. All three were honorable mentions in the preseason All-CAA team. Senior linebacker Latrell Couchman is another top returner, having forced 2 fumbles last season and recorded 35 tackles.
As mentioned last week, the Tribe have to prevent self-inflicted errors. The early underthrown short pass that was returned for a pick-six, he botched hold on a 21 yard field goal attempt, and a missed 28 yarder- all in the first half- severely limited W&M’s chances against Furman; A freebie in the first minutes and a 2 missed chances on what should’ve been a surefire 6 points set them back, yet they still remained in the game until the very end and even led a lot of the second half.
They need to turn those short field goal attempts into touchdowns against Maine, as the Tribe converted only 3 out of 5 redzone appearances into touchdowns. Against the Black Bears’ redzone defense, they have a good shot at getting into the endzone if they can sustain drives.
The Tribe need to send pressure and get to Peevy. The Black Bears allowed 31 sacks last year, and while that isn’t an awful total, they averaged a loss of 8.3 yards per sack- 2nd worst in the CAA and a far cry from their defense’s 5.8 yards lost per sack. That figure is almost certainly a drive killer.
While this is a much-changed Maine team compared to the one they fielded in their last visit to Williamsburg, if the Tribe play their best football, they should come away with the W.
Let’s Go Tribe!
Photos Courtesy of Tribe Athletics
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