BIDDEFORD — The University of New England football program is preparing for its first season at the Division III varsity level, but the Nor’easters are not looking too far ahead.
“We’ve tried to get them to understand that this is a high level of football and the way to be successful is to focus on the process of preparing,” said UNE coach Mike Lichten. “That includes the summer time, the session we just finished in the spring. It’s about the process of preparing the right way and then the results will take care of themselves if you do that well enough together.”
Much like the Philadelphia 76ers, Lichten has his team focused on “the process” and he has been impressed with how his current players have embraced the grind of college football.
“We have a group that throughout the winter and the spring made a decision to be invested and they’ve kind of set up things the right way for the group coming in behind them. They know it’s their job to instill the culture and the expectations of focusing on the process of day-to-day improvement,” Lichten said.
The Nor’easters have a large and diverse recruiting class coming to campus this summer — with players from as close as Kennebunk to as far as California and Texas.
Kennebunk’s Brady Lamontagne is one of the Maine players who has picked UNE.
“I looked at a lot of schools. A lot of schools looked great, but I thought UNE was just a great fit. I love Maine. I’ve never wanted to go far (away) and I thought UNE would be a perfect fit for me,” said Lamontagne, who will play linebacker for the Nor’easters.
Lichten believes Lamontagne is the right kind of student-athlete to help his program.
“Brady just got an award from the National Football Foundation in Maine as a scholar athlete, so academics were important to him. He’s a hard-working kid from a great program in the state,” said Lichten.
Lichten also knows that Lamontagne has been mentored by one of Maine’s best high school coaches.
“Coach (Joe) Rafferty is excellent. He’s cut from a great cloth for football so I know Brady is going to come in and work hard in the classroom and on the field,” said Lichten. “I’m glad we have established a strong connection with Kennebunk with Pat Saunders last year and now Brady this year.”
Lamontagne will have a lot of work ahead of him as he is planning on going into pre-med as well as competing with the football team.
“I’ve been looking at UNE for a while since I started looking at colleges because it’s a great medical school, and once I heard that UNE was adding a football program, it just increased my interest in the school,” said Lamontagne, who knows he will have to stay focused in order to balance school and football. “I’ve thought about that a lot. I’ve talked to a lot of people about it, but I think if I keep my head straight and I’m determined and don’t get distracted, I should be able to manage both football and my education.”
Lichten has been impressed with Saunders, who was part of UNE’s first recruiting class.
“Pat’s been a strong leader for us. He had a great academic year and he’s really progressed on the football field,” said Lichten of the sophomore linebacker. “He’s looked at by his teammates as kind of the do everything guy, an iron man. He loves the weight room, works really hard and has a sense of maturity about him.”
UNE will also welcome in Cheverus’ Connor Galardo, Freeport’s Josh Burke, Hermon’s Garrett Mullen, Bonny Eagle’s Connor Sirois, Deering’s Keegan Stanton and Boothbay’s Cam Crocker.
“We’re excited about a lot of these guys. We’re thrilled with the group from Maine as well as from (across the country). They are going to be hard working, ambitious kids, I know that. Football is important to them,” said Lichten.
Lichten is thrilled to get local players like Lamontagne and Saunders to choose UNE, especially with the more established Division III programs in the state often battling him for the same players.
“There’s good football in Maine … it is very competitive in the recruiting battle, not just with the schools in Maine but a lot of schools are coming across the border and looking to take kids out of Maine,” said Lichten. “It’s a highly competitive area for recruiting and that speaks to the level of football here.”
With a strong recruiting class coming to Biddeford and all of the returning players from a young team, Lichten is expecting a lot of competition this summer.
“Everything is going to be a competition — from kicker to quarterback and everything in between. That’s what is going to breed an expectation of excellence is competition,” said Lichten. “As long as I’m the head coach, the best player who is doing the right thing is going to get to play. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, how old you are, any of that stuff. The best players who do the things right, that do the things that put the team first, those are the guys that you are going to see a lot.”
The Nor’easters will open their first Division III season on the road as they travel to New London, Connecticut to face the Coast Guard Academy. The UNE squad will then return to Biddeford for its first-ever home game at a brand-new stadium, which is currently being constructed on campus.
“Playing on campus is special, no matter where you are,” said Lichten, whose team played all eight games last year on the road. “Being able to host a game, or five games now, with the campus and the southern Maine community behind us is something we are thrilled about. We’re expecting this campus to have a different type of life on those five Saturdays.”
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.