The Husson Eagles football program, 2003–2009 represented Husson University during the 2000s in college football as an independent until 2008 and as a member of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) in 2009. The team was led by two different head coaches: Gabby Price from 2003 to 2008 and Niles Nelson, who held the position from 2009 to 2010. This was the second iteration of football at Husson, as the team disbanded after the 1936 season due to low participation and returned briefly in 1938 as a six-man football team, but did not field a full team again until 2003. The six-man team's stats are not reflected in the overall records or stats.
The team was first referred to as the Braves in 2003 before becoming the Eagles ahead of the 2004 season.
Decade overview YearHead coachOverall recordConf. recordConf. rankPoints scoredPoints allowedDeltaDelta = the difference between points scored and points allowed2003Gabby Price0–7 60271 -2112004Gabby Price2–7 174278 -1042005Gabby Price4–4 254146 +1082006Gabby Price6–4 176175 +12007Gabby Price6–3 303186 +1172008 Gabby Price7–3 281190 +912009Niles Nelson4–53–3T–4th275201 +74Total29–333–31,5231,447 +76
2003
The 2003 Husson Braves football team represented Husson College—now known as Husson University—as an independent during the 2003 NCAA Division III football season. In their first year under head coach Gabby Price, the team compiled a 0–7 record and was outscored by opponents by a total of 60 to 271.
Husson's board of trustees voted unanimously to bring back football as an intercollegiate sport with a budget of $250,000. Former Bangor High School head coach Gabby Price was tabbed as the team's inaugural head coach. The team began with 35 players but bloomed to 72 before the beginning of the season.
The team had three captains: quarterback Lee St. Hilaire, linebacker Jim Tribou, and defensive lineman Nate Roberts. St. Hilaire was the Maine high school football's all-time passing leader and had enrolled to play Division I football for Maine before quitting the team midway through the season. He returned to the gridiron for Husson's first season after a year out of playing. In February 2004, St. Hilaire died of an apparent suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his stomach.
St. Hilaire completed 79 of 172 passes for 960 yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions. The team's leading rushers were running backs Justin Spencer and Josh Nowlin who finished with 352 and 250 yards, respectively. Wide receiver Ryan Lockard was the team's leading receiver with 312 receiving yards on 19 catches.
Schedule
Roster
2004
The 2004 Husson Eagles football team represented Husson College—now known as Husson University—as an independent during the 2004 NCAA Division III football season. In their second year under head coach Gabby Price, the team compiled a 2–7 record and was outscored by opponents by a total of 174 to 278.
Husson transitioned its mascot from the Braves to the Eagles prior to the season. Eagles won the popular student vote over the Hawks and Timberwolves.
After losing the first 12 games of the program's restart, Husson earned its first win since October 13, 1934, with a 28–14 victory over winless in Bangor. Alongside the team's first win, Husson gained traction into joining the New England Football Conference (NEFC), but ultimately remained as an independent.
Quarterback Chase David completed 72 of 188 passes for 1,090 yards, nine touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. The team's leading rusher was running back Mike Prentiss who finished with 1,158 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Wide receiver James Dobson and tight end Matt Mulligan were the team's leading receivers with 290 and 282 yards, respectively.
Schedule
Roster
2005
The 2005 Husson Eagles football team represented Husson College—now known as Husson University—as an independent during the 2005 NCAA Division III football season. In their third year under head coach Gabby Price, the team compiled a 4–4 record and outscored opponents by a total of 254 to 146.
Second-year starting quarterback Chase David completed 71 of 142 passes for 1,119 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. The team's leading rushers were running backs Julius Williams and Ryan Leon who finished with 576 yards and 10 touchdowns and 456 yards and four touchdowns, respectively. Wide receivers Kyle Poissonnier and Jeremy Shorey were the team's leading receivers with 310 and 233 yards, respectively.
Husson again applied to become a member of the New England Football Conference (NEFC), but Plymouth State and Coast Guard were picked in favor of the Bangor team.
Schedule
Roster
2006
The 2006 Husson Eagles football team represented Husson College—now known as Husson University—as an independent during the 2006 NCAA Division III football season. In their fourth year under head coach Gabby Price, the team compiled a 6–4 record and outscored opponents by a total of 176 to 175.
Third-year starting quarterback and two-time team captain Chase David completed 111 of 232 passes for 1,228 yards, ten touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. The team's leading rusher was running back Bryan Ferguson, who finished with 978 yards and seven touchdowns. Wide receivers Jeremy Shorey and Andre Wildman were the team's leading receivers with 423 and 332 yards, respectively.
The team had its first-ever televised game by the New England School of Communications (NESCOM) against Alfred on homecoming.
In four years since the program's restart, the team went from winless to a winning record, including a 17–7 win over NCAA Division I-AA La Salle.
Schedule
Roster
2007
The 2007 Husson Eagles football team represented Husson College—now known as Husson University—as an independent during the 2007 NCAA Division III football season. In their fifth year under head coach Gabby Price, the team compiled a 6–3 record and outscored opponents by a total of 303 to 186.
Quarterback Jonah Chappell completed 93 of 203 passes for 1,298 yards, eight touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. The team's leading rushers were running backs Bryan Ferguson and Julius Wiliams, who finished with 735 yards and seven touchdowns and 713 yards and ten touchdowns, respectively. Wide receivers Victor McKenzie and Andre Wildman were the team's leading receivers with 447 and 376 yards, respectively.
Husson once again competed as an independent, but traction grew for the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) to begin sponsoring football with members such as Gallaudet, Norwich, Maritime, Becker, and Mount Ida. On September 13, 2007, it was announced by the conference's commissioner, Julie Muller, that the conference would add football as a sponsored sport and would begin play in 2009. Despite the announcement, the conference never saw football played.
Schedule
Roster
2008
The 2008 Husson Eagles football team represented Husson University as an independent during the 2008 NCAA Division III football season. In their sixth year under head coach Gabby Price, the team compiled a 7–3 record, outscored opponents by a total of 281 to 190, and made an appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference's (ECAC) Northeast Championship Bowl.
Quarterback James McCandless completed 70 of 144 passes for 1,080 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions. The team's leading rushers were running backs Julius Williams and Justin Lindie, who finished with 1,260 yards and 15 touchdowns and 830 yards and ten touchdowns, respectively. Wide receivers James Dobson and Roderic Johnson were the team's leading receivers with 493 and 309 yards, respectively.
In the team's sixth season under Price and since the restart, they grew from a winless team to a seven-win season and made their first-ever postseason bid in the Eastern College Athletic Conference's (ECAC) Northeast Championship Bowl against .
Schedule
Roster
2009
The 2009 Husson Eagles football team represented Husson University as a member of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) during the 2009 NCAA Division III football season. In their first year under head coach Niles Nelson, the team compiled a 4–5 record (3–3 in ECFC play) and outscored opponents by a total of 275 to 201.
In June 2009, the team's only head coach since its restart, Gabby Price, shockingly announced his resignation. His resignation was seen as "completely unexpected," as the players and coaching staff did not find out until he handed in his resignation letter. He resigned, stating, "It just felt right at this time; a good time to step aside to that [Husson football] could grow in the right ways." He ended his tenure going 25–28, including 19–10 in his last three seasons. The team's defensive coordinator for the past five seasons, Niles Nelson, was chosen as Price's successor out of three potential candidates. Nat Clark, the teams assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, and offensive line coach, and Greg Marter, the team's defensive line coach were the two other candidates. Like Price, Nelson served as the head coach for Bangor High School. Alongside becoming the head coach, Nelson took on the roles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
In 2007, it was announced that Husson's main conference, the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), would start sponsoring football in 2009 alongside Gallaudet, Norwich, Maritime, Becker, and Mount Ida. Due to NCAA Division III playoff rules, the NAC was not able to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament because at least seven members of the conference needed to be full-time members of the NAC. In 2009, only Husson and recently Castleton's newly created football team met the criteria. Instead, Husson, the previous six mentioned teams, and Anna Maria's start-up team created the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC), a single-sport football conference that would become eligible for postseason play in 2011.
Quarterback Jack Hersom completed 58 of 103 passes for 656 yards, five touchdowns, and eight interceptions. The team's leading rusher was running back Julius Williams, who finished with 1,042 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wide receiver James Dobson was the team's leading receiver with 228 yards on 15 catches alongside two touchdowns.
After the season, running back Julius Williams and offensive lineman Jon Benson earned First-team All-ECFC honors, while linebackers Bobby Gilbert and Keenon Blindlow were named to the Second-team All-ECFC.
Schedule
Roster
References