Following a preseason scrimmage, a reporter asked Massachusetts football coach Mark Whipple if an unknown fullback who had carried the ball late in the game would factor into his team’s rushing attack during the season.
“He was only carrying the ball for his friends and family in the stands,” Whipple said, laughing.
That unknown fullback was UMass Lowell transfer Rich Demers.
And Whipple isn’t laughing anymore.
With Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Steve Baylark limited by a high ankle sprain that kept the team’s leading rusher out of practice all week, Demers amassed 171 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, and also caught three passes for 26 yards as the Minutemen (5-1 4-0 A-10) downed William ‘ Mary, 24 to 14, before a rain-soaked crowd of 4,868 at Walter J. Zable Stadium. It was the team’s first meeting since 2001.
“Steve [Baylark] did not practice all week and we weren’t sure he was going to be able to go. He didn’t do anything [Friday] and didn’t even take the boot off,” Whipple said. “We were planning on going with Rich every other series, but we threw him out there out of necessity and he really came up big for us.”
“[Demers] did not catch us by surprise,” Tribe coach Jimmy Laycock said. “It did surprise us that they used him a lot, but we knew he was a very, very good back. He’s a very versatile back, he can do a lot of things.”
It was not all positive for the Minutemen, however, as they continued two alarming trends that have plagued them over the last two weeks, including being unable to avoid flags, as Whipple saw his team penalized 11 times for 95 yards.
Another problem that again reared its ugly head on Saturday after becoming evident in wins over Maine, James Madison and New Hampshire, was complacency, as UMass again allowed its opponent to battle back from an early deficit.
The reigning A-10 co-Offensive Player of the Week, W’M junior quarterback Lang Campbell, got the Tribe on the board early in the fourth quarter, as he capitalized on a Baylark fumble with a 51 yard touchdown pass to tailback Steven Hargrove which pulled the Tribe to within 17 to 7 with 14:38 remaining.
UMass quarterback Jeff Krohn was picked off on the following drive by the Tribe’s Travis McLaurin on a bizarre play in which the linebacker fumble on the return, only to see it recovered by teammate Adam O’Connor. Campbell sparked a five-play drive, which culminated with a 14 yard touchdown dash by fullback Nick Rogers that shrunk the Maroon and White’s lead down to just 17 to 14.
However, it would be too little too late, as Krohn drove the Minutemen 80 yards in nine plays, hooking up with Dominique Stewart in the corner of the end zone with a 23 yard strike to make the score 24 to14.
Cornerback Steve Costello then recorded his team-leading fourth interception of the year, snagging a Campbell pass in the corner of the end zone on the preceding drive, preserving Massachusetts’ fourth consecutive victory.
“We just wanted to come down here and find a way to get one more point, and credit our kids they did a good job,” Whipple said. “It was good to get on top early on the road, but I think we fell asleep a little bit again. It’s just the complacency factor. You feel like ‘hey, the game’s over,’ and it’s never over. But our guys, when they concentrate, are pretty good.”
UMass struck first on its opening possession when Demers scored the first of his two one yard touchdown runs to cap off a 12 play, 79 yard drive just 4:43 into the opening frame.
Freshman placekicker Michael Torres then gave the Minutemen a 10 to 0 edge just before halftime, when he connected on a 29 yard field goal after another lengthy, 12 play drive.
After the Minutemen again put together another lengthy drive which covered 61 yards in 14 plays, Demers’ second touchdown of the afternoon pushed the lead to 17 to 0 at the eight-minute mark of the third quarter before Campbell’s pass to Hargrove finally got William ‘ Mary on the board early in the fourth quarter.
The Tribe signal caller was 23 of 29 for 265 yards with a touchdown and an interception, despite being victimized by an anemic ground game that netted only 48 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Krohn was 23 of 32 for 242 yards and a touchdown despite throwing two interceptions.
Starting wideout Jason Peebler caught three passes for 72 yards before leaving with a hamstring injury in the second quarter. He is out indefinitely. Dominque Stewart led all UMass receivers with five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.
All-American wide receiver Rich Musinski was a non-factor for the Tribe, catching only three passes for 30 yards. He now sits just three catches short of tying a school record for career receptions, and its threatening Brian Forster’s conference record of 3,944 career receiving yards.