Fifth-year wide receiver Marquis Buchanan rewrote the record book with a 25-yard touchdown catch in overtime, surpassing Brian Forster ’87 for the program lead in career receiving yards.
Buchanan’s touchdown and the defense’s bounce-back led the University of Rhode Island’s 14-13 overtime victory against the University of Maine on Saturday.
“Defensively, we played the entire second half except for one drive close to the 50-yard line,” head coach Jim Fleming said. “It was really amazing to see those guys continue to step up.”
All but one of the first-quarter drives for both the Rams and Black Bears ended in a punt, as Maine ended its first offensive possession in a turnover on downs at the URI 28-yard line.
After a Rhody three-and-out ended the first quarter, Maine drove down the field to the URI 7-yard line to open the second. The Rams’ defense made a stand, as Maine’s third-year kicker Samuel Tremblay curved his 34-yard field goal wide right of the uprights.
The Rams didn’t capitalize, as third-year quarterback Alex McClelland’s fourth-down rush was ruled short, turning the ball over on downs. The two programs then traded punts on each of their next possessions.
With under two minutes left in the first half, Maine had one last chance to put points on the board. Fourth-year quarterback Caden Drezek did put points on the board on the drive, but not for the Black Bears.
On first-and-10, Drezek’s pass was intercepted by fifth-year defensive back Tyson Grimm. Grimm took the interception, with help from some crucial blocks, 84 yards downfield into the end zone for a pick-six to put the Rams up 7-0 going into halftime.
“That’s what we pride ourselves on on defense,” Grimm said. “It started in practice when we had a couple of energetic practices, and we were really honing in on being the energy and just wait for the offense because we know they’re eventually going to explode.”
Rhody’s offensive woes weren’t shaken off in the locker room, as first-year running back Brayden Richardson fumbled, giving Maine the ball in URI territory. The Black Bears didn’t do anything following the Rams’ mistake, turning it over on downs.
Rhody gave the Black Bears a second chance when fifth-year tight end Will Dixon had the ball knocked out and recovered by Maine. The Black Bears went three-and-out after Grimm added a sack on third down to his already impressive day.
After the teams traded punts until the end of the third quarter, Maine finally ended the punt-off in its first drive of the fourth quarter.
Third-year running back Rashawn Marshall found a hole in the Rhody defense and hit it perfectly. Marshall sprinted 25 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 7-7.
Seven of the game’s next eight drives ended in punts, with a fumble by Marshall being the only outlier. The lack of offensive production sent the game into overtime, where scoring was a requirement rather than a waiting game.
Maine opened overtime on offense, and fourth-year running back Nick Laughlin pounded the ball across the goal line for the lead. Rhody’s defensive domination continued as fourth-year defensive lineman Patrick Conserve blocked the extra point, keeping the score at 13-7.
Buchanan entered overtime just one yard short of immortality in URI history; he got 25.
“I had to make that play when my team needed it,” Buchanan said. “Alex put it in a great spot, and it was on me to finish it.”
Buchanan set the record with a 50-50 ball in the corner of the end zone, bringing it down and staying in bounds. Fourth-year kicker Ty Groff drilled the extra point for the walk-off win, snapping URI’s three-game conference losing streak.
“It means a whole lot; part of the reason why I decided to come back,” Buchanan said.
