SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 21, 2013
No. 16 Northwestern 35, Maine 21: Mike Trumpy rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown and the defense returned a pair of interceptions for scores as the host Wildcats fought off the pesky Black Bears.
Kain Colter passed a touchdown and rushed for another for Northwestern (4-0), which extended its school-record streak of 30-point games to six straight. Damien Proby and Dean Lowry highlighted the defensive effort with an interception apiece for a score.
Marcus Wasilewski went 25-for-40 for 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns but was doomed by the two interceptions as Maine (3-1) failed to knock off its second FBS opponent of the season.
Colter got the Wildcats started with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Tony Jones early in the first quarter but it was just 14-0 at the half after Proby picked off Wasilewski and ran it back 49 yards with 42 seconds left before the break. Lowry’s 19-yard return early in the third made it a 21-0 gap.
The Black Bears got on the board when Wasilewski found Justin Perillo with an 11-yard touchdown pass later in the third but Trumpy rushed in from 7 yards out five seconds into the fourth to push it back to a three-touchdown edge. Colter’s 5-yard touchdown run with 7:49 left put the game away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Northwestern RB Venric Mark (lower-body injury) missed his third straight game but the Wildcats still managed 251 yards on the ground. … The Black Bears dropped to 2-11 all-time against FBS schools. … Northwestern gets next week off before taking a big step up in competition when it opens its Big Ten slate by hosting Ohio State on Oct. 5. Maine begins Colonial Athletic Association play at Richmond next weekend.