Game #5:  Buffalo State Bengals (0-4) at #10 Ithaca Bombers (4-0)
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019 - 1 p.m.
Butterfield Stadium (Ithaca, N.Y.)

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The Matchup…Buffalo State is coming off its bye week and enters its first-ever Liberty League contest in search of its first win of the season, standing at 0-4.  Ithaca is ranked 10th in this week's D3Football.com national poll and is 4-0 overall and 1-0 in Liberty League play.  The Bombers defeated St. Lawrence 59-20 last Saturday.

Pick-6's...Darren Wesley registered a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown during the Week 2 loss at Utica. Gino Bonagura added a second Pick-6 of the season, with a 37-yard return for a score against Cortland.

Tackle attack...Gino Bonagura is second in the Liberty League with 48 tackles through four games.  He had 20 stops against Cortland. Bonagura led the Bengals with 104 stops last season.  

Century mark...Senior wide receiver Jordan Evert topped the 100-yard mark in two of the first four games this season with 101 receiving yards on eight catches in the Bengals' opener against St. John Fisher, and then 11 grabs for 157 yards against Brockport.  He leads the Liberty League with 33 catches and is fourth with 370 receiving yards.

Mighty Mouse...Sophomore return man Praise Prawl stands just 5-feet, 4-inches, but ranks third in the Liberty League in kick returns, averaging 23.1 yards on 16 attempts.

Signal call from the hardwood...Buffalo State's starting quarterback Zak Ciezki was originally recruited as a football player, but elected to play basketball instead for the past three seasons.  In 63 games with the Bengals' hoops team from 2016-2019, Ciezki averaged 3.1 points and had 34 steals as a guard.  As a senior in high school, Ciezki led Cheektowaga's football team to a Section VI Class B championship in 2014.

Oh captain, my captains...Four players will lead Buffalo State in 2019 as team captains.  Senior offensive lineman Dave Lauer will represent the offensive side of the ball.  The defense will be led by senior safety Gino Bonagura and senior defensive end Anthony Wasiyo, while senior kicker Tommy Carr will be the special teams captain.

With honors...Buffalo State returns a pair of players that earned All-Empire 8 honors last season.  Senior offensive tackle Dave Lauer was named second team, while senior wide receiver Jordan Evert earned honorable mention recognition in 2018.

New Home...Buffalo State is officially an affiliate member of the Liberty League starting this season.  The move stabilizes both The Liberty and Empire 8, creating a pair of seven-team conferences that will collaborate for both non-conference scheduling and a postseason bowl game.  Buffalo State will compete with Hobart, Ithaca, RPI, Rochester, St. Lawrence and Union in the Liberty League. The Bengals played as an independent from 1981 through 2003, then joined the Atlantic Central Football Conference for 2004 and 2005, played in the New Jersey Athletic Conference from 2006-2011, and then in the Empire 8 from 2012-2018.