ORONO, Maine — It was never close.
Former University of Maine quarterback Derek Robertson returned to Orono with his new team, the Monmouth University Hawks, on Saturday afternoon and he tossed four touchdown passes to lead the Hawks to a comfortable 51-22 victory in a mutual Coastal Athletic Association opener at sun-drenched Morse Field in Alfond Stadium.
The Hawks racked up an eye-opening 632 yards of total offense and went 11-for-15 on third down and converted both of its fourth down plays. UMaine was limited to 286 yards and a 3-for-10 showing on third down, and the game took both teams to 1-2.
Robertson, a senior, completed 22 of 36 passes for 390 yards. He has thrown for at least 355 yards in each of his first three games at Monmouth.
Sophomore wide receiver Josh Derry caught seven passes for 227 yards and two TDs for Monmouth. Tra Neal and Jack Neri had four catches each for 50 and 29 yards, respectively. Rodney Nelson carried the ball 14 times for 91 yards and Makhi Green had 8 for 73.
UMaine quarterback Carter Peevy completed 16 of 26 passes for 159 yards and Montigo Moss had seven receptions for 53 yards. Jaharie Martin had 46 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Robertson directed touchdown drives on Monmouth’s first three possessions as the Hawks built a well-deserved 27-8 halftime lead and never looked back. The UMaine defense had surrendered touchdowns on Montana State’s first five possessions in a 41-24 loss the previous weekend.
A 98-yard kickoff by Trevin Ewing accounted for UMaine’s only first-half touchdown on Saturday. The Hawks moved the ball at will throughout the afternoon at the expense of UMaine’s porous defense, and UMaine’s offense was ineffective until it finally came to life in the third period.
But the Hawks offense always had an answer.
Robertson’s 56-yard touchdown pass to Derry opened the second-half scoring to expand the lead to 34-8.
UMaine put together an eight-play, 65-yard drive capped by Martin’s one-yard TD run with 6:51 remaining in the third period but it took the Hawks just six plays to answer as they covered 84 yards. Gavin Nelson scampered 24 yards for the touchdown,
The Black Bears came back with a two-yard TD run by Joe Gillette to finish off an eight-play, 56-yard drive.
But Robertson promptly lofted a beautiful 94-yard TD pass on the next play from scrimmage to an open Derry to crush any slim comeback hopes.
“We got press coverage out there and Josh Derry made a great play,” said Robertson, referring to a situation where a cornerback bumps the wide receiver at the line of scrimmage and then has to cover the receiver one on one.
Ewing’s 98-yard kickoff return combined with a successful two-point conversion pass from back-up quarterback Anthony Harris to Declan McKevitt, gave UMaine some life in the first half after Monmouth’s unanswered 20 points to open the game.
But junior running back Sone Ntoh capped a 12-play, 62-yard drive with a two-yard run for his second TD of the afternoon to restore the three-touchdown lead.
Maine marched deep into Monmouth territory to close out the half but had to settle for a 24-yard field goal attempt and Joey Bryson hooked it wide.
The Hawks took the game’s opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on 16 plays, converting two of three third downs and getting a 10-yard pass from Robertson to Nelson on a fourth-and-seven to extend the drive.
Ntoh capped it with a four-yard run to give Monmouth a lead it would never relinquish.
UMaine could muster only five yards on its first possession and, after a UMaine punt, Robertson and the Hawks traveled 76 yards on 10 plays to make it 14-0.
Robertson extended the drive with a 21-yard pass to Derry across the middle and finished the drive with an 11-yard TD pass to tight end Neri at the corner flag.
After another three-and-out by UMaine, Robertson threw a 25-yard TD pass to Marcus Middleton. In a post-game interview, the quarterback said the familiarity he had with his old team helped him.
“But, really, it comes down to these other guys,” he said, referring to his teammates. “It’s the other guys who are making the plays. They’re the ones blocking for me.”
UMaine never sacked him and rarely pressured him. There was “no excuse” for his team’s inability to get pressure on Robertson, said said UMaine senior nose tackle and co-captain John Costanza.
“We have to do a better job being more competitive throughout the game to even have a chance to be in position to win,” UMaine head coach Jordan Stevens said. “That’s the bottom line.”
UMaine senior safety Shakur Smalls had a game-high 10 tackles and Black Bear cornerback Dorian Blackwell had eight. Safety Justin Bennin led Monmouth with seven tackles and linebacker Sam Korpoi had six.
Maine will travel to Merrimack for a non-conference game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
