UNH notebook: Treister's the Maine man
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
University of New Hampshire coach Sean McDonnell knew about Chris Treister years ago, when UNH recruited Treister out of Portland (Maine) High School. McDonnell's UNH players may not have heard of Treister at this time last week, but they've certainly heard of him now.
Treister, a sophomore, was named the Colonial Athletic Association's Offensive Player of the Week after he completed 40 of 46 passes for 468 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-17 victory over Rhode Island on Saturday.
Treister, playing in place of injured starter Warren Smith, also rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He set school records for completions and completion percentage (87 percent) in his first career start.
"I was extremely impressed with Chris Treister," McDonnell said. "He's a kid that we recruited. He was on target with all his passes."
Treister will take aim at the UNH defense Saturday, when Maine (5-5 overall, 4-3 CAA) and UNH (8-2, 5-2) wrap up the regular season with a game at Cowell Stadium (noon). The contest can be seen live on Comcast Sportsnet New England.
The Maine-UNH winner will claim the CAA's North Division title. A UNH victory would strengthen the team's grip on an NCAA postseason berth.
"I really feel like our guys are going to be tremendously excited to go down to New Hampshire and play for the opportunity of at least having something that we can claim as a great accomplishment for this program this year with a win Saturday," Maine coach Jack Cosgrove said. "Our respect for New Hampshire is as high as we could ask. It's been a long time since we've had any sucess against the University of New Hampshire on the football field. Very much looking forward to the opportunity."
UNH will also have to keep a close eye on wide receiver Landis Williams, who set a school record by catching 17 passes (220 yards) against Rhode Island.
UNH leads the series with Maine 45-43-8.
"I feel it's important to carry that feeling into the offseason or into the postseason, whatever it may be, with a big win," McDonnell said.
Coachspeak
Cosgrove on Treister: We brought him in as a scholarship player after a great high school career. He's gotten better and better every year, this being his third year. It was good to see the guys rally around him. I was amazed at how accurate he was. I've never seen it. It started with a 20-for-24 first half and it kept going
"We couldn't run the football and had to lean on that part of our game. I just real pleased for Chris because I've been saying for a long time I think he's got the talent to play in this conference at this level. To the folks in Maine it's very important that state of Maine players are involved up here. I just can't tell you how pleased I am for him. How pleased his teammates are for him."
Footnotes
UNH is 5-0 at home this season and has won eight in a row in Durham, dating back to Oct. 11, 2008, when William & Mary posted a 38-34 victory at Cowell Stadium. ... UNH has outscored it opponents 331-191 this season (240-147 in the CAA). Maine has been outscored 222-219 overall, but has outscored CAA competition 145-134. ... The Black Bears have a 2-3 road record. ... UNH running back Chad Kackert has rushed for 2,257 yards in his collegiate career, which places him seventh on UNH's all-time rushing list. ... UNH was also 8-2 through 10 games last season, and completed the season with a victory at Maine. ... Tight end Scott Sicko is 10th on UNH's all-time receptions list with 147. He has a team-high 44 catches for 589 yards this season. ... UNH has drawn an average of 7,724 fans for its five home games. ... The 16-team field for the NCAA tournament will be announced Sunday at 3 p.m.
