ORONO – Montana capitalized on two fumbles by redshirt freshman Ron Whitcomb and poor special teams play by the Black Bears to offset a sub-par offensive effort and left Alfond Stadium with 30-20 win Saturday night.

This is the first opening-day loss for the Black Bears in the last four tries, and it is their first home-opening loss in their last five in front of a record-setting crowd of 9,345.

“That’s the kind of atmosphere we like to see,” said Maine coach Jack Cosgrove. “The loss is very disappointing for us. This was a great opportunity for the program, but we didn’t play the kind of football we needed to play to win the game.”

Contributing heavily to the Black Bears’ demise was a lack of personnel. Four injuries during the game, three to the defense, didn’t help Maine’s cause.

“I don’t think I’ve seen it this bad in ten years of coaching,” said Cosgrove of the injuries. “There were some people out there for their first games ever on defense. They’ll only get better with time, but it was tough for them tonight.”

Also contributing to the loss was inexperience behind center. Whitcomb’s second fumble of the game came with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter, and it cost Maine a touchdown when Dave DeCoite scooped up the loose ball and waltzed in from four yards out to give the Grizzlies, after the ensuing extra point, a 10-point cushion.

“I thought I was too antsy in a couple of situations,” said Whitcomb. “I wasn’t protecting the ball well and that hurt us in a couple of spots.”

The lack of defensive help also surfaced late in the third quarter and into the fourth. Unable to scrape together enough offense to get any more than another field goal, the Maine defense needed to stop Montana’s offense to give the Black Bears a chance.

It couldn’t.

Montana used two more scores, one a 25-yard field goal from Chris Snyder and another a 25-yard fade from Jeff Disney to Jon Talmage, to put the Black Bears away for good.

The Black Bears added a touchdown with 21 seconds left in the game – a nice pass and catch from Whitcomb to Ryan Waller in the corner of the end zone, to pull within 10 points. But by that point the game was well out of reach. An onside kick attempt on the following play failed, ending the game.

Maine’s offense looked impressive from the start of the game, moving seemingly at will against Montana’s defense. Whitcomb’s first fumble ended the Black Bears’ first drive down the field, but during the drive Maine moved the ball 50 yards with a good combination of passing from Whitcomb and running from preseason All-American Marcus Williams.

“Even though we fumbled, we moved the ball well that first series,” said Whitcomb. “As far as execution goes, we showed a lot of good things early on.”

Maine’s defense took center stage on the ensuing Montana series, knocking the Grizzlies back 10 yards on the next three plays.

Maine struck first on the scoreboard, converting good field position into a field goal with 3:45 to play in the first quarter. The euphoria was short-lived, however, as Grizzlies’ kick returner Levander Segars returned the kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and a 7-3 Montana lead.

“That kickoff return, we knew what he could do, and we challenged our defense to stop him,” said Cosgrove. “We lost the bet.”

Showing its mettle, Maine rallied for a touchdown of its own six plays later on a drive caped by Whitcomb’s 40-yard bomb down the right sideline to sophomore Kevin McMahan.

The second quarter was a battle of defensive attrition. Maine in the first half allowed Montana just 107 yards of total offense while the Bears gained nearly 250 of their own. On the scoreboard, however, Montana came out ahead thanks to a successful series that saw several short passes over the middle converted into 8- to 12-yard gains.

“They had that one drive,” said Cosgrove. “Their play selection was great on that drive.”

Maine’s second quarter was marred also by penalties. Three times in the second quarter and four overall in the first half the Bears were called for a 15-yard personal foul penalty, leading to Montana’s success on its scoring drive.