(BOX SCORE)

WAYNE, N.J.—Buffalo State (2-6/2-5) forced four William Paterson (4-4/3-4) turnovers and converted them into a 34-20 victory in a Halloween weekend battle of orange and black NJAC teams today at Wightman Stadium.

Buffalo State quarterback Ryan Lehotsky (N. Royalton, OH/N. Royalton) finished the day just 6 of 19 for 162 yards, but threw for three touchdowns with one interception. Greg Spears (Syracuse, NY/Henninger) led the Bengals' ground attack with 16 carries for 70 yards, and found the end zone twice. Kevin Healy (E. Meadow/E. Meadow) was the leading tackler for Buffalo State with nine stops and had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Jordan Boser (Geneva, IL/Geneva) added five tackles, a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Ryan Gresik was 21 of 40 for 231 yards and had a touchdown in the air and on the ground, but also threw an interception. Chris Manfredo was his favorite target with six catches for 102 yards.

The Bengals opened the scoring with the only points of the first quarter on a 24-yard touchdown scamper by Spears, capitalizing on a Pioneers' fumble. William Paterson fumbled again on its next possession, and the Bengals turned it into six more points on a Ben Mauer (Corning/Corning West) 41-yard catch and run.

After a punt pinned the Bengals deep following the Pioneers' next possession, William Paterson picked up its first points of the day when Ansumana Kaba tackled Greg Spears in the end zone for a 3-yard loss and a safety. The Pioneers cut the deficit to 13-5 following a 28-yard field goal by Cory Mundt on the ensuing possession to complete the first-half scoring.

Buffalo State pulled away with a pair of third-quarter touchdown just 1:25 apart. After a 62-yard scoring pass from Lehotsky to Rob Smith (Rochester, NY/McQuaid), Boser got the ball back for the Bengals two plays later, forcing and recovering a fumble in William Paterson territory. Spears found the end zone from five yards out just two plays later to push the lead to 20-5.

William Paterson made it a two possession game early in the fourth quarter with an 11-yard scoring strike from Gresik to Joe Muraglia. The Bengals answered quickly after a failed on-side kick attempt, however, and Mauer's second touchdown reception of the day, this time covering six yards, made the score 34-13.

Gresik scored on an 18-yard quarterback keeper on the next Pioneers' possession, but neither team would score again.

The Bengals drove 62 yards on the next possession, but failed to convert on a fourth-and-goal from the 1, keeping William Paterson's hopes alive, but Buffalo State's defense shut the door.

“It was really a great all-around team effort today,” said Buffalo State coach Jerry Boyes. “Our defense really held strong, especially in the second quarter, before the offense broke through with some big plays in the second half.”

Buffalo State will host Morrisville State next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.