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When it was over, Jim Bower got the game ball. He felt the pats of respect on his helmet and shoulder pads from teammates. He heard the applause from the full grandstand.
He allowed his sweat-stained face to smile. Hey, you only get to pass the 5,000-yard rushing milestone once in your college career. You don't always get to work toward another conference championship and a return trip to the NCAA playoffs.
Bower is quick to let you know he has his priorities straight. Win the game one week, plan and practice to win the game that comes next. This game ball will probably mean something to his kids and grandkids someday. That he can catch Kirk Mathieu, the Lawrence High great, and move into second place on Maine Maritime's all-time rushing list behind Biddeford's Steve Tardif will be dealt with after another win.
Maine Maritime beat Westfield State 42-21 in a big New England Football Conference game Saturday. Big because the Mariners lost 46-44 to Fitchburg State two weeks earlier. Four conference games remain. They must win them all.
Sometimes it feels harder, said Bower. Defenses are more motivated to stop him. Opponents are more motivated to beat them. Which makes victories feel that much more satisfying for the unsung and mostly unnoticed football machine that plays its home games at the end of the earth. Or so it seems.
Bower is the 5-foot-9, 225-pound senior fullback from South Paris and Oxford Hills High. He's one of about 60 Maine kids on a roster of 73 players. That's a remarkable ratio.
For some, Coach Chris McKenney's pitch to come to Maine Maritime for the competition in the classroom and on the football field was their only offer. Play hard and have some fun, he tells them. Being the No. 1 Division III team in the country in scoring - averaging 48.5 points after the first four games - is fun. Being the No. 1 rushing team, averaging 525 yards per game, is fun.
So the averages took a little hit when Westfield held them to 42 points and 435 yards. So what? Bower rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. His longest run went for 58 yards as three Westfield defenders finally ran him down inside the 10.
''I was running hard but I felt them come up on me,'' said Bower. ''I just hugged the ball tighter.''
He is neither gazelle nor jackrabbit. He's not even a race car. ''Bulldozer,'' said Mike Secord, his senior teammate and offensive lineman. ''He runs over people or pushes them aside.''
The two stood side-by-side after the game and the respect was mutual.
Bower, Nic Bourassa (10 carries, 156 yards), Todd Murphy (5 for 70) and quarterback Matt Rende (11 carries, 52 yards) get the glory.
''We get the pride,'' said Secord, who played his high school football at Windham. ''It all starts with the offensive line.''
If Secord and his buddies are having a good day, the running backs will have a better day.
Bourassa is from Jay, Murphy from Middlesex, Vt., and Rende grew up in Augusta. Chris Brawn, who had two of the team's six interceptions (tying a school record) is from Winslow.
Linebacker Joel Chadbourne led the team in tackles (seven) and is from Westbrook. John Regis, a freshman defensive lineman from Old Orchard Beach, had five tackles in the first half before he went down with a knee injury early in the second half.
Mark Stambach, a defensive lineman who made key stops, breaking up Westfield's drives, is from Lisbon Falls. Punter Matt Hebert is from South Portland. More Maine kids played key roles, but you get the picture.
During the game, someone leaned over and asked if I thought Maine Maritime could beat Bates, Bowdoin or Colby. Can't go there. Different conferences, different schedules. Maine Maritime plays the state's Division III schools in other sports, so it's tempting to imagine.
Appreciate Maine Maritime for what it is: a winning, blue-collar football team.
Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at:
ssolloway@pressherald.com
