BUFFALO, N.Y.—Buffalo State outgained Cortland by 77 total yards, but could not overcome four turnovers in a 38-12 loss in an Empire 8 contest today at Coyer Field.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Cortland – 38, Buffalo State - 12
LOCATION: Coyer Field - Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cortland (3-2/2-1), Buffalo State (3-2/1-2)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Junior quarterback Kevin Torrillo (Amherst/Sweet Home) made his first collegiate start replacing and injured Kyle Hoppy (Orchard Park/Orchard Park), finishing 21 of 44 for 304 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
- Stephen Johnson (Buffalo/McKinley) caught five passes for 138 yards and a score, and Ricky Bailey (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls) had five grabs for 95 yards.
- Dametrius Brown (Syracuse/Christian Bros.) and Bart Mazzara (Lockport/Starpoint) led the defense with 10 stops apiece. Khalil Sommerville (Buffalo/Bennett) added eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Buffalo State finished with 400 yards of total offense compared to 323 by Cortland, including just 61 in the second half. The Bengals lost the turnover battle, 4-0 which led to 21 Cortland points, and were 2 of 12 on third downs and 1 of 6 on fourth downs.
- Cortland jumped out to a 24-6 lead by halftime, including scoring the game's first 17 points.
- Johnnie Akins opened the scoring with the only points of the first quarter on a 1-yard scoring run.
- The Red Dragons pushed the lead to 10-0 with a 32-yard field goal by William Holscher.
- An errant pitch on an option run on the next play from scrimmage that was recovered by Dan Appley set Cortland up with a short field, and it converted one play later with a 16-yard scoring pass from Steven Ferreira to Josh Ramirez.
- The Bengals finally answered with a six-play, 70-yard drive that included a 39-yard pass from Torrillo to Bailey. Torrillo later connected with Anthony Covington (Liberty/Liberty) on a 5-yard screen pass and Covington flipped into the end zone for the touchdown. The extra point was blocked, leaving the deficit at 17-6.
- Cortland responded quickly, going 75 yards on just five plays, including a 39-yard pass from Ferreira to Angelo Foster to complete the first-half scoring.
- Buffalo State struck first in the second half when Torrillo threw up a jump ball that Johnson wrestled away from the defender in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown grab.
- The Bengals were unable to convert on the ensuing two-point try and would not score again.
- Cortland would add a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, converting on back-to-back interceptions.
- Mark DeLuise picked Torrillo off deep in Bengals' territory, and Akins found the end zone for the second time for 2 yards out. Brandon Lewis's interception and 42-yard return gave Cortland another short field, and Akins complete the hat trick with a 3-yard rushing touchdown.
FOR THE FOES
- Akins scored three touchdowns and ran for 87 yards on 22 carries.
- Ferreira finished 10 of 23 for 222 yards with two touchdowns.
- Max Jean led the Red Dragons on defense with 13 tackles.
NORTWORTHY
- The loss snapped Buffalo State's five-game winning streak against Cortland.
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will visit St. Lawrence for a non-conference contest next Saturday at 1 p.m.
