ORONO – The Albany Great Danes played like a team seeking a Coastal Athletic Association title and a Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore quarterback Reese Poffenbarger, who entered the game second in the FCS in touchdown passes, threw his 21st and 22nd TD passes of the season and graduate student running back Faysal Aden ran for a pair of third-period touchdowns as Albany triumphed 37-21 at Morse Field in Alfond Stadium.
Albany is now 4-1 in the CAA and 6-3 overall while UMaine fell to 1-5 and 2-7, respectively.
UMaine senior quarterback Derek Robertson tossed three touchdown passes but was also intercepted twice and coughed up a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
He has now thrown 17 TD passes in his last five games.
Poffenbarger and Robertson each threw two touchdown passes in the first half but the Great Danes also received a 68-yard fumble return touchdown from graduate student defensive end Brian Abraham and a 22-yard field goal from junior John Opalko to take a 24-14 lead into the intermission.
Senior wide receiver Brevin Easton caught both first-half TD passes for Albany while Jamie Lamson and Mike Monios snared TD passes for UMaine.
The Great Danes all but sewed up the win by scoring on their first two drives of the second half, expanding their lead to 37-14.
Aden, who had carried the ball just once in the first half for no gain, rushed for 142 yards on 21 carries in the second half and scored on runs of 11 and seven yards.
Robertson threw an 11-yard TD pass to Tristen Kenan with 11:04 left but Aden and the Great Danes were able to move the chains and prevent the Black Bears from getting any closer.
Poffenbarger finished with 18 completions in 30 attempts for 324 yards and the two TDs. MarQeese Dietz caught seven passes for 150 yards and Easton had four for 129 and the two TDs.
Robertson completed 29 for 43 passes for 220 yards. Monios caught a career-high 10 passes for 96 yards with Lamson and Moss each catching six passes.
UMaine took the opening kickoff and marched 69 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 lead.
An eight-yard pass from Robertson to Lamson capped the drive.
Albany answered after being given a short field on a 31-yard punt by Aidan Cadogan.
Albany began the drive at the UMaine-40 and it took just four plays for them to get into the end zone as Poffenbarger lofted a perfect 22-yard pass into the corner of the end zone to Easton.
UMaine went three-and-out on its next possession and another 31-yard punt gave the Great Danes the ball at its own 41-yard line.
MarQesse Dietz made a terrific one-handed catch for a 54-yard gain down to the UMaine 5-yard line.
The UMaine defense stiffened and Albany had to settle for Opalko’s field goal.
Following a 38-yard kickoff return by Rohan Jones which gave UMaine the ball at the Albany 49-yard line. UMaine moved the ball to the Albany-25 but on a second-and-10 play, a designed run featuring Robertson, Abraham tackled the UMaine quarterback and forced a fumble that he picked up and raced 68 yards.
The Black Bears responded with a 14-play, 75-yard march that featured five passes from Robertson to Monios including a four-yard TD reception with 5:08 remaining in the half.
But it took the Great Danes only 2:37 to restore their 10-point lead as Poffenbarger found Easton again, this time for a 53-yard TD.
