New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Feeling Right at Home
Bulldogs apply lessons from first two games, roll past Maine
NEW HAVEN — The season began with a fourth-quarter collapse, as a 14-point lead evaporated and the certain victory morphed into an overtime loss.
It was lesson for the Yale football team, a squad required to reinvent itself after an Ivy League title in 2017. The Bulldogs put the loss to Holy Cross in their rear view mirror and turned the focus to completing games, playing with purpose for four quarters.
So when the trailing Maine Black Bears displayed signs of life Saturday afternoon at the Yale Bowl, the young Bulldogs translated what they took from the Week 1 loss. There was a defensive stop deep in its own territory and a fourth-quarter offense that seized control of the game.
The result was an emphatic 35-14 victory over Maine, ranked 16th in the Football Championship Subdivision. Yale (2-1) led by two touchdowns at halftime and extended the lead to 21-0 in the third quarter, dominating in all facets.
And when Maine (2-1) finally scored, the Bulldogs responded.
“Very proud of this team, the culture we have that these guys have created,” coach Tony Reno said. “We’ve got a team that focuses on playing standards and playing together. … When you see a group of guys that have improved so much over the last 14 days because of their care and their relationship with each other and how much they want to be great for each other, it really makes a coach proud.”
Yale, with injured running backs Alan Lamar and Zane Dudek sidelined, used a productive passing game to avert Maine’s large and quick defensive front. Junior quarterback Kurt Rawlings was 22 of 34 for 306 yards and threw three touchdown passes, all to junior Reed Klubnik (six catches, 85 yards).
Junior receiver JP Shohfi had the most productive game of his career with 10 receptions for 124 years.
“We just felt that we had some matchups that we could take advantage of,” Reno said. “Our offensive line did a great job of keep giving Kurt time and our receivers did a great job of getting open.”
Said Rawlings, “[Maine is] a great team. All week we knew we were going to have a tough challenge. … It was fun to see [the receivers] just streaking down the field. My job is pretty
easy with guys like that.”
Rawlings engineered a 75-yard drive on the opening possession, using 10 plays over 4 minutes, 3 seconds and scoring on a 1-yard run. There was a nine-play drive the culminated in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Rawlings to Klubnik early in the second quarter.
The Yale offense watched for nearly nine minutes as Maine held possession thanks to a fumbled punt by the Bulldogs that enable the Black Bears to keep the ball. Yet the drive ended with a missed field goal.
“We got outplayed, outcoached, out-everytthing today,” Maine coach Joe Harasymiak said. “We were slow, we were tired, we were gassed. … We couldn’t do anything. Credit to
them. They’re wellcoached.”
The lead grew to 21-0 in the third quarter, as Yale drove 71 yards on nine plays and Trenton Charles scored on a 15-yard run. Maine, playing without injured starting quarterback Chris Ferguson, struck with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Isaiah Robinson to Earnest Edwards with 3:52 left in the third quarter.
But Yale had an answer on the ensuing possession, which ended with a 24-yard scoring pass from Rawlings to Klubnik. Robinson threw a 63-yard touchdown pass in the fourth and it was 28-14 and things got uncomfortable when Rawlings was intercepted at the Bulldogs’ 17.
The defense turned the ball over on downs and the momentum was firmly with Yale. Maine, one of the best teams Yale will face all
season, was unable to mount a charge.
“We focus on ourselves,” Reno said. “We focus on our play and our standards and the opponent is just someone else that comes out of the other tunnel. We worry about our players.”