(BOX SCORE)
DANBURY, CT—Keith Rosedom's seven catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns helped Western Connecticut State (1-2/1-1) rally from a 14-0 deficit to post a 22-20 victory over visiting Buffalo State (0-3/0-2) in an NJAC battle today at the Westside Athletic Complex.
West Conn quarterback James Williams was 19 of 34 for 243 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Ryan Delage led the Colonials defense with eight tackles, including one for loss.
Mark Boswell (Buffalo/Kenmore East) paced Buffalo State's offense, hitting on 7 of 16 passes for 75 yards, and rushing 14 times for 57 yards and a score.
Sammy Smith (Buffalo/Hutch Tech) added 13 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown. Joe Perez (Corning/Corning West) had seven tackles, including three for loss, and
Jermaine Rose (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls) had five tackles, including a pair of sacks.
Buffalo State jumped out to a 7-0 first-quarter lead, following an interception by
Scott Forster (E. Otto/Catt.-Little Valley) gave the Bengals the ball at the Colonials' 35. Boswell scored on a 25-yard quarterback keeper five plays later.
The Bengals were knocking on the door again in the second period, with a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, but
Kevin Dukes (Buffalo/Medina) fumbled and West Conn recovered and eliminated the scoring threat. The fumble was one of three by the Bengals on the day, but the only one that resulted in loss of possession.
Buffalo State did push the advantage to 14-0 on the first possession of the second half with an 11-play, 58-yard scoring drive that ended with a 3-yard run by Smith.
West Conn cut the lead in half late in the third quarter with a 12-yard hook up from Williams to Rosedom. After
Jeremy Mountain (Cheektowaga/Maryvale) was intercepted by Mike Negast on the next Bengals' possession, the Colonials needed just one play to go 34 yards and even the score with another strike from Williams to Rosedom.
After playing the field position game for the next two possessions and taking over on the West Conn 35, Buffalo State went back in front with a 32-yard trick play touchdown pass from wide receiver
Greg Meyer (Lancaster/Lancaster) to
Rob Smith (Rochester/Aquinas) in the corner of the end zone. After a blocked extra point attempt, the Bengals led 20-14 with 8:34 remaining.
West Conn finally took its first lead of the game with 2:22 remaining, however. After tying the score at 20-20 on a John Zervos 9-yard touchdown grab that capped a 14-play, 70-yard drive, the Colonials converted a two-point conversion on a botched extra point attempt.
Buffalo State started at its own 30 after the ensuing kick, but eventually turned the ball over on downs near midfield, allowing West Conn to run out the remainder of the clock.
Buffalo State will travel to Cortland next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
