Box Score (BOX SCORE)

MONTCLAIR, N.J—Buffalo State (1-3/1-2) fell behind early and could not overcome several costly turnovers in a 53-24 loss at No. 10 Montclair State (3-0/2-0) in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) showdown this afternoon at Sprague Field.

The Bengals committed three turnovers in the first half and also failed to convert on a fake punt attempt from their own 10-yard line and trailed 37-10 by the intermission. Buffalo State actually outgained Montclair for the game, piling up 414 total yards of offense, compared to 393 by the Red Hawks.

Montclair quarterback Tom Fischer finished 13 of 23 for 223 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals limited the NJAC's leading rusher Chris D'Andrea to 85 yards on 14 carries, but he found the end zone twice. Dan Keegan led the receiving corps with six catches for 115 yards and a score. Chad Faulcon led Montclair's defense with nine tackles and had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Buffalo State starting quarterback Ryan Lehotsky (N. Royalton, OH/N. Royalton) was 5 of 9 for 33 yards with an interception, before being relieved by Casey Kacz (Amherst/Sweet Home) who finished 16 of 28 for 213 yards and a touchdown. Kacz also had eight rushes for 27 yards. Rich Pete (Utica/TR Proctor) had 15 carries for 87 yards and a score. Justin Medley (Henrietta/Rush-Henrietta) was the Bengals' leading receiver with seven grabs for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Montclair opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game when Kevin Cloghessy stepped in front of a Lehotsky pass and returned it 52 yards for the touchdown.

Later in the first quarter, Buffalo State elected to try a fake punt on a fourth-and-9 from its own 10, but punter Joe Going's (Kings Park/Kings Park) pass to Mike Doherty (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) only went for five yards, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Bengals defense limited the Red Hawks to a field goal, but Pete fumbled on the next play from scrimmage, giving Montclair another short field. The Red Hawks needed just five plays, culminating with a 29-yard touchdown strike from Fischer to Keegan to push the lead to 17-0.

Buffalo State got on the board on the first play of the second quarter with a 6-yard TD run by Ismail Brooks (Auburn/Auburn), but Montclair answered again, just four plays later. D'Andrea scored on a 19-yard run, and following a failed extra point, the score was 23-7. After a Lehotsky fumble, deep in Bengal territory, D'Andrea scored again on the very next play from 4 yards out to push the lead to 30-7.

The Bengals added a 20-yard field goal by Nick Debbins (Lancaster/Lancaster) with 57 seconds remaining in the half, before Montclair used its hurry-up offense to march right down the field and cap a 6-play, 64-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown reception by Vin Fischer with just eight ticks left on the clock.

Montclair scored the only points of the third quarter, with a 42-yard field goal by Jake DelVento and a 6-yard touchdown run by A.J. Scoppa, pushing the advantage to 46-10.

Pete scored on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter, but the Red Hawks answered with a 36-yard scoring run by Bill Roman. Medley reeled in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Kacz to complete the scoring with just 33 seconds remaining.

Buffalo State will look to get back on track when it hosts William Paterson for homecoming next Saturday at noon.