Maine quarterback Joe Fagnano rushes for a first-half touchdown during Maine’s 38-34 win over Albany on Saturday in Orono. Photo courtesy of Ronald Gillis

ORONO — It’s too bad the stands at Alfond Stadium were empty of fans Saturday afternoon.

They would have seen a heck of an entertaining game.

The University of Maine bounced back from a woeful showing in its season opener a week ago to rally past Albany 38-34 in the second game of the Colonial Athletic Association’s six-game spring season. The game featured seven lead changes – four in a mind-boggling fourth quarter – with the final one coming when Joe Fagnano hit Andre Miller on a slant from the right for a 10-yard score with 3:58 remaining.

The teams combined for 704 yards of total offense, with the Black Bears gaining 412, almost quadrupling their output (112 yards) from Week 1.

Maine receiver Andre Miller goes up for one of his eight catches during Maine’s win over Albany on Saturday in Orono. Photo courtesy of Ronald Gillis

Fagnano, the sophomore quarterback, threw for 249 yards and four touchdowns, three to Miller, the other to junior Jacob Hennie, who made a leaping, toe-tapping catch in the back of the end zone. Fagnano also led the Black Bears in rushing with 51 yards.

This is surely the offense that everyone was expecting to see this spring, not the one that stumbled against Delaware. Right?

“I hope so,” said Fagnano.

Asked what the difference was from the opener, Maine Coach Nick Charlton had a simple answer: “Execution. I know it sounds like coachspeak,  but it’s fundamentals and execution. We executed better and did the fundamental things better.”

It didn’t start that way. Maine’s first three drives ended with a fumble and two punts. It wasn’t until the Black Bears were trailing, 10-0, that things started to click.

“I mean, it only takes one little thing,” said Fagnano, who also threw for four touchdowns in a 47-31 win over Albany in 2019. “Once you get momentum, things start going, one touchdown leads to another, one little spark. … I can’t remember exactly what happened in the first quarter but just that the offense started clicking and everybody got on the same page.”

Miller, in particular, knows when things turned: it was when Fagnano scored Maine’s first touchdown of the season on a 7-yard run in the second. “It was a barrier,” he said. “And we did it (scored), we’re kind of getting it going in the right direction and the momentum carried over.”

And Miller started making plays. A senior captain from Old Town, he takes great pride in playing for the Black Bears. He made some mistakes early, including a dropped pass, but didn’t let it stop him.

“I hate letting my teammates down,” said Miller. “When they look at me to make plays, I’ve got to make plays. I’m hard on myself, as we all are. I hold myself to a high standard. And when you mess up, you’ve got to move on to the next play.”

Charlton made a point to tell Miller to stay positive. He knew he needed him. And Albany Coach Gregg Gattuso knew what Miller meant to the Black Bears. “We knew he was the one guy we couldn’t let beat us,” he said.

But he did.

Maine led 17-14 at the half, then fell behind quickly in the third quarter. Albany’s Mazon Walker blocked a 45-yard field goal attempt by Maine’s Jonny Messina which was recovered by teammate Danny Damico and returned to the Maine 21. Jeff Undercuffler threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Mike Gray to give the Great Danes a 24-20 lead with 11:02 left in the third – and set up a wild finish.

That’s when Fagnano and Miller went to work. They combined for touchdown passes on Maine’s next three series, of 5 (a quick throw to the left, with Miller overpowering a defensive back and diving in), 37 (on a beautifully thrown ball to Miller, running a post pattern from the right) and 10 yards.

Albany kept responding, taking its final lead at 34-31 with 7:37 remaining on a 2-yard run by Karl Mofor (155 rushing yards). But after Fagnano and Miller hooked up for the final time, with 3:58 left, Maine’s defense stepped up and forced a punt. Then it was up to the offense to run out the final 2:55, which it did, with Elijah Barnwell and Fagnano picking up two first downs.

The Black Bears are now 1-1, as is Albany. A loss would have been critical. But now?

Time to go back to work.

“We had a totally different feeling last week,” said Miller. “So we can’t get too high, we can’t get too low. We’ve got to watch the film, take care of the errors and on to Stony Brook.”

Charlton said there are a lot of good things to take from the game and, as any coach would say, corrections to be made. He likes the perseverance and resiliency the Black Bears showed. Most of all, he liked the energy, despite the empty stadium.

“That was something we talked a lot about throughout the week the crowd not being a factor and how we had to create our own energy,” said Charlton. “The great teams, especially right now where there aren’t really any fans, you have to create your own energy.

“As the game went on, guys were getting into each other, bringing each other up. Guys on the field were egging the sideline on to get them going. That usually is a very good sign. And considering the craziness of this spring, that’s one thing we’re going to need.”