After the dust settled from another weekend of football in the Colonial Athletic Association, the conference is feeling top-heavy with a three-way tie for first place.

Currently, Maine, New Hampshire and Towson each have 5-1 conference records and stand at 7-2 overall.

Towson came out on top of an offensive showcase against No. 7 Maine that ended in a 40-30 Tigers victory. Towson ran the ball for 334 yards to mark a season high for the Tigers. Tremayne Dameron rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries while Terrance West racked up 183 yards on 21 carries. West rushed for three more touchdowns to add to his total of 21, which leads the FCS.

While Towson was successful running the ball, Maine was enjoying the passing game. Black Bears quarterback Warren Smith completed 26 out of 41 attempts for 256 yards and two touchdowns.

New Hampshire won for the seventh time in eight weeks by defeating James Madison, 28-10. James Madison scored 10 points in the first quarter, but UNH held them scoreless for the rest of the game. Leading the Wildcat defense was Matt Evans who made 17 tackles and one sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery.

New Hampshire plays both Towson and Maine in the final two weeks of the schedule.

CAA Players of the Week

West was awarded CAA Offensive Player of the Week honors after his impressive outing against the Black Bears. He has rushed for at least 100 yards in five consecutive games and is a big reason why Maine is sitting atop the CAA at this point in the season.

Defensive Player of the Week honors went to James Pitts of Villanova. The senior defensive back had three interceptions, seven tackles, and a pass deflection to help Villanova force six turnovers on their way to a win over Massachusetts. Pitts leads the CAA in interceptions with five, including one returned for a touchdown.

Louis Feinstein of Rhode Island was named the Special Teams Player of the Week. Although he only had one field goal in the contest, it was all Rhode Island needed to get a 24-21 win over William & Mary. The senior kicker notched the 27-yard field goal with 1:39 left in the game to lift URI to the victory.

The CAA Football Rookie of the Week was Taylor Heinicke from Old Dominion. The three-time award-winner went 34-of-47 for three touchdowns and 373 yards through the air. Heinicke is averaging about 250 yards passing through six games and has tossed 15 touchdowns while only throwing one interception.

Jerry Rice Award to Heinicke?

After replacing an injured Thomas DeMarco on Oct. 1, Heinicke has made the most of his opportunity.

Fifteen touchdowns and just one interception later, the true freshmen has found himself on the 2011 Inaugural Jerry Rice Award Watch. In the six games he has played, Heinicke has completed just shy of 70 percent of his passes while throwing for 1497 yards.

Four other CAA freshmen are on the watch list including R.J. Harris of UNH, Eriq Lewis from ODU, Dillion Lucas of Villanova and Towson’s West. There are 20 total players on the watch list, all of whom are freshmen.

The Jerry Rice Award will be given out for the first time this year to the most outstanding freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision.  Presented by The Sports Network and sponsored by Fathead.com, a national panel will select the winner after the regular season. Jerry Rice, who played for Mississippi Valley State, himself will present the award at the national awards banquet on Jan. 6 in Frisco, Tex.

Rice now joins the ranks of three other football legends to have FCS awards named after them. The Walter Payton (outstanding player) and Eddie Robinson (coach of the year) awards are celebrating their 25th anniversaries this season.

Clinton Angus can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Angus.