Black Bears Win 27-26, Claim CAA Title

The UMaine Black Bears are CAA champions for the first time since 2013. The Bears hung on to beat the Elon Phoenix 27-26 Saturday afternoon at Alfond Stadium in Orono.

The victory means the Bears finish 7-1 in the Colonial Athletic Assocication (CAA) and 8-3 overall.

It also means Maine gets the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs and maybe a home game.

Beating Elon on this day was anything but easy.

First of all, quarterback Chris Ferguson left the game again with an injury and he did not return. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Robinson took his spot.

Perhaps the biggest plays of the game happened with special teams. Earnest Edwards ran back two kickoffs for touchdowns. One a 93-yard score, another a 95-yarder.

The Bears were leading 27-13 in the third quarter when the Phoenix scored the next 10 points to close within one point.

But with less than a minute to play, the Black Bear defense tipped a fourth down pass attempt by Elon to secure the win.

Ramon Jefferson carried the ball 25 times for 130 yards to lead Maine.

In total yardage gained, Elon had Maine 432 to 234. But, the Bears defense held the Phoenix to field goals tries on several occasions.