Game #5 - Buffalo State Bengals at #RV/25 RPI Engineers
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021 - 12:00 PM
East Campus Athletic Village Field (Troy, N.Y.)
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The Matchup…The Buffalo State football team heads towards the state capital this week, traveling to face RPI in a Liberty League matchup Saturday. The Bengals and Engineers have met just four times prior, with RPI holding a 3-1 advantage.

The "Ruby" Season...Buffalo State Football embarks on its 40th season of varsity competition in 2021. Sept. 12, 1981 was the first varsity football game for the Bengals, falling to Alfred. The Bengals finished 3-3 in their opening season, defeating Niagara twice, sandwiched around a victory over St. John Fisher by a 16-7 score. The Bengals originally started as a club program in 1980, before earning varsity status the next year.

Buffalo State 150...This year marks the 150th year of Buffalo State College. Founded in 1871, Buffalo State has grown tremendously, and is now the largest comprehensive four-year college in the State University of New York system, educating over 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students each year.

The Bengals' Last Game…The Bengals rallied down 23-3, but were unable to complete the upset as 12th-ranked Union earned a 30-17 victory in front of a packed Homecoming crowd at Coyer Field last Saturday. It was the Liberty League opener for both teams.

The Bengal offense was slow out the gate, with just three first-half points courtesy of a Nick Sciandra (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) 29-yard field goal in the second quarter. Union took a 16-3 lead into halftime thanks to a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and a safety.

Union increased its lead to 20 in the third with its second rushing touchdown of the day, a four-yard run by Jonathan Anderson. In the final quarter, the Bengals struck. Cam Sionko (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) found Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys and Girls) for a 22-yard touchdown pass to start the fourth. The Bengal 'D' then stepped up, as Ethan Biscaro (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) picked off a William Bellamy pass, giving the Bengals the ball at the Bengal 17-yard line.

On the very next play from scrimmage, Sionko threw a backwards pass to Nas Jackson (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joesph's), who threw a deep ball to fellow receiver Che'Kore Moore (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls), who raced down the Bengal sideline for the 83-yard touchdown. The Bengal 'D' struck once again, as Justin Jones (Amherst, N.Y./Canisius) picked off Bellamy's pass at the line of scrimmage, falling down at the Union 10-yard line.

The Bengals had a chance to take the lead late in the fourth, down 23-17, but the Dutchmen defense stood tall, as the Bengal offense was stymied at the four-yard line. Union then went down the field, finishing the scoring with a 12-play, 81-yard touchdown drive, capped by a touchdown run by Ike Irabor.

Offensively, Sionko finished with 69 yards passing on 8 of 20 attempts. Omar Robinson (Arverne, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln) finished with 88 yards on 22 carries, while Cam Crosier (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West) led the team with four receptions. Defensively, Mike Glinski (Buffalo, N.Y./West Seneca West) had a monster day, with a career-best 20 tackles (six solo). Jones had 14 tackles of his own (five solo, 1.5 for loss), adding the aforementioned interception.

Strong Schedule...The Bengals have embarked on one of the toughest schedules in the Northeast in 2021. So far, the Bengals have competed against three teams (St. John Fisher, Cortland, and No. 12 Union) that have received votes in both the D3Football.com and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national polls.

Looking ahead, Buffalo State will face four nationally ranked teams poll in the final six games. The Bengals travel to RPI Saturday, ranked 25th in the latest AFCA poll and receiving votes in the D3Football.com poll.  On Oct. 23, Buffalo State travels to #15/17 Ithaca, before hosting Brockport (#RV/RV) for the I-90 Bowl on Oct. 30. The Bengals finish the run of ranked teams with a Nov. 6 visit to #RV/25 Hobart.

Tackling Monsters...It was a career effort for both Glinski and Jones in Saturday's contest. Glinski finished with a career-best 20 tackles, just five shy of the all-time mark set by Omar Rimlawi in 2000. The Bengals have had a 20-tackle effort by an individual player for the third time in the last four seasons, as Gino Bonagura replicated the effort in 2019 at Cortland and Bart Mazzara made 20 stops versus Merchant Marine Academy in 2017.

Jones finished with a career-best 14 tackles, 1.5 for loss, adding an interception midway through the fourth quarter. For their efforts, both Jones and Glinski earned spots on the Liberty League Honor Roll this past Monday.

National Leaders...Both Brandon Barksdale (Buffalo, N.Y./Bennett) and Darren Thompson (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joe's) are tied for 35th nationally with 1.5 passes defensed per game. That mark currently leads the Liberty League...Glinski leads the league and is 46th nationally with 9.7 tackles per game... Jackson is 31st nationally and is the league leader, averaging 26.0 yards per kick return.

Scouting RPI...The Engineers, ranked 25th in the AFCA national poll and receiving votes in the latest D3Football.com rankings, come into this matchup with a 5-0 record. Last week, RPI defeated Rochester by a 38-22 score from Troy. The Engineers are riding a 10-game winning streak on home turf, dating back to 2018.

The Engineers have been solid defensively, ranking 13th nationally in passing defense efficiency (89.85), 16th in total defense (242.6 yards allowed/game) and passing yards allowed (138.8/game), and 28th in interceptions (seven). George Marinopoulos, a four-year starter at quarterback, has completed 106 of 168 attempts (64.3%) with 1,261 yards and 16 touchdowns. Peter Lombardi is the team's leading receiver with 336 yards on 32 receptions, scoring four touchdowns. Delano Munoz-Whatts leads the team on the ground with 188 yards on 36 carries. Dylan Burnett has the lone rushing touchdown with 145 yards on 40 carries. Defensively, Joe Deptula leads the way with 39 tackles (6.0 for loss) and a sack, while Conor Ahern is right behind with 25 tackles (1.0 for loss) and a sack. Francis Perry leads with three interceptions.

Last Time We Met...RPI took a late lead and held on in a 28-26 victory at ECAV Stadium on Nov. 2, 2019. Buffalo State out gained RPI by a 453-384 margin in the loss, including 359 passing yards.

RPI struck first with a 48-yard touchdown run by Lombardi. The Bengals struck back with a trick play, as running back Martin Bailey found Joe Stewart for a 57-yard touchdown pass, tying the game at seven. Bailey then ran one in from five-yards out in the second quarter, as the Bengals took a brief seven-point lead. RPI tied things up a couple drives later, as both teams entered halftime tied at 14.

A 10-play, 60 yard drive gave Buffalo State a third-quarter lead, as Tommy Carr made the 32-yard attempt for the 17-14 lead. RPI responded quickly, as they needed two plays to take a 21-17 lead. The Bengals retook the lead (24-21) once again, as Zak Ciezki found Jordan Evert a few times, including a 43-yard pass and catch, before the pair connected on a three-yard touchdown pass.

Midway through the fourth, the Buffalo State 'D' nearly made a big play, as Mike Drywa (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) forced an RPI fumble, but the ball was recovered by the hosts. Later in that drive, Marinopoulos completed a 28-yard pass to Lombardi for the go-ahead score. An RPI safety reduced the deficit to two, 28-26, with 5:27 to go. The Engineer defense then stymied the Bengals, then bled the clock to hold on to the home victory.

The Wizard of 'Oz'...Christian Ozolins was promoted to interim head football coach on Nov. 16, 2019 and will serve in that capacity through the 2021 season.

Ozolins joined the Bengals' coaching staff in 2003 and was promoted to assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2013. He also served as the offensive backs coach and the recruiting and academic coordinator.

His previous college coaching experience includes stints at Maryville, Methodist, Alfred University and Hamilton. As a player, he played in the NAIA National Championship Game for Cumberland University in Tennessee.

He earned his bachelor's in education from Cumberland and completed a master's degree from Alfred University. Christian also serves as the recreation and intramurals manager on campus. He and his wife Sharon reside in South Buffalo with their son CJ who played football at Canisius High School.

Looking Ahead…Buffalo State returns to Coyer Field next Saturday, hosting the University of Rochester at 4 p.m.