The No. 11 University of Maine football team improved to 7-1 Saturday afternoon when they beat the No. 18 Villanova University Wildcats 37-35 to remain unbeaten in Colonial Athletic Association play with a record of 4-0 in conference.
Villanova falls to 4-4 on the year and 3-2 against CAA opponents.
UMaine led for most of the game, but a late surge by the Wildcats put them down just 30-28 with with under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. With 8:45 left, senior quarterback Marcus Wasilewski ran for a 6-yard touchdown to increase the Black Bear lead to 37-28.
Villanova put a late touchdown in to cut the lead to just two, but an interception by UMaine senior defensive back Kendall James with just seconds left eventually sealed the win for the Black Bears.
Wasilewski was 28-34 with 337 yards and two touchdowns in the air while rushing for 80 yards and another score.
Villanova quarterback John Robertson kept the Wildcats in the game, rushing for 214 yards with four touchdowns and another through the air.
The first quarter started with a 5-yard touchdown for Robertson to put Villanova up 7-0, but a field goal and two touchdowns had UMaine up 17-7 at the end of the opening quarter.
Wasilewski hit junior wide receiver Damarr Aultman to put the Black Bears up 10-7 and sophomore running back Nigel Jones increased it to 17-7 with a 15-yard touchdown run.
UMaine put in two field goals in the second quarter and the Wildcats put up a touchdown when Robertson ran 41 yards to the house to cut the Black Bear lead to 23-14 heading into halftime.
UMaine came out and put another one in the end zone in the beginning of the third when Wasilewski hit junior wide receiver Arthur Williams from five yards out to give the Black Bears a comfortable 30-14 lead.
The Wildcats were not done, however. Robertson threw for a touchdown and added his third rushing score of the day with just 16 seconds remaining in the third to bring Villanova within two entering the final period.
The fourth quarter would prove to be just as close when Wasilewski took in an 8-yard rush to put the Black Bears up 37-28.
Robertson kept Villanova in it when he ran for his final touchdown after marching the Wildcats 65 yards down the field on a 12-play drive to bring them within two once again at 37-35.
Villanova would have a shot at a game-winning drive after forcing the Black Bears to punt the ball away with 27 seconds left in regulation.
James intercepted the ball on Robertson’s first pass of the drive to cap off the barn-burner.
The Black Bear offense was running on all cylinders Saturday, out-gaining the Wildcats by a 536-386 margin.
UMaine will look to push their win streak to five games when they host Stony Brook University Nov. 2 at 12:30 p.m. Villanova visits James Madison University the same day, with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m.