Game #3 - Buffalo State Bengals vs. No. 12 Union Dutchmen (Homecoming Weekend)
Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021 - 12:00 PM
Coyer Field (Buffalo, N.Y.)
LIVE STATS VIDEO AUDIO (Tanner Saunders on the call)
The Matchup…The Buffalo State football team returns to Coyer Field for the first time in nearly a month, opening Liberty League action with a matchup versus Union College on Homecoming Weekend. Union comes into the contest ranked 12th nationally by D3Football.com. The teams will meet for just the second time in program history as Union won the first matchup by a 28-14 score in 2019.
The "Ruby" Season...Buffalo State Football embarks on it's 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.
Homecoming Memories…Homecoming Weekend has been an integral part of the Buffalo State football experience since the very beginning. The team's first homecoming game came as a club squad on Nov. 8, 1980, where the Bengals fell to local foe Canisius by a 24-6 score.
40 years ago this week, on Sept. 26, 1981, the Bengals won its first varsity contest, defeating Niagara by a 25-6 score...on Homecoming weekend.
The Bengals' Last Game…The Bengals fell to host Morrisville State by a 41-10 score on Drake Field last Saturday, Sept. 25.
After both teams punted on the first possession, Morrisville stuck first with a six-play, 86-yard drive, capped off by a five-yard Alex McBurnie touchdown run. The Bengals responded with a 12-play, 49-yard drive of their own, as Nick Sciandra (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) kicked a 22-yard field goal to bring the Bengal deficit to 7-3.
After Morrisville State forced a second-quarter interception, the Mustangs struck paydirt on the next play from scrimmage, a 21-yard touchdown pass from Alek Britten to Kade Gabler to give Morrisville a 14-3 lead. McBurnie's second touchdown of the game, a nine-yard run, gave Morrisville State a 21-3 lead into halftime.
Morrisville extended the lead to 31 with two more touchdowns, both on the ground as Justin Donnelly scored from 28 and 26 yards. Buffalo State broke the run with a touchdown-scoring drive to begin the fourth, as Javon Ford (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) and Cam Crosier (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West) hooked up with a 54-yard touchdown pass and catch on 2nd-and-20. Morrisville's fourth rushing touchdown of the game finished the scoring, as Steven Frerichs scored on a two-yard run.
Crosier finished with five receptions for 73 yards, leading the receiving corps. Ford came off the bench under center, completing three of five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 44 yards on eight carries. Starter Cam Sionko (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) went 12 of 20 for 73 yards through the air, with an interception. On defense, Darren Thompson (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joe's) led the Bengal defense with eight tackles, while Justin Jones (Amherst, N.Y./Canisius) added six tackles.
Last Time vs. Union... Buffalo State was unable to overcome an early deficit as Union spoiled the Bengals' homecoming with a 28-14 defeat at Coyer Field on Oct. 26, 2019.
Union jumped out to and early 14-0 lead finding the end zone on each of its first two possessions just over seven minutes into the game.
After its first defensive stop, Buffalo State cut the deficit in half early in the second quarter, capping a 14-play, 66-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown catch by Jordan Evert in the front corner of the end zone.
The Dutchmen reclaimed the two-score lead with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Will Sirmon with just under six minutes remaining in the first half.
Buffalo State used a pair of red zone turnovers in the third quarter to stay in the game. A forced fumble by Peyton Hill (Lagrangeville/Arlington) that was recovered by Tre Pitts thwarted an early threat by the Dutchmen, and then a Darren Wesley interception on the 1-yard-line canceled another potential Union score.
The Bengals capitalized on the second turnover, assembling a six-play, 99-yard scoring drive that featured a 49-yard catch and run by Joe Stewart. The Bengals capped off the drive with a wild play that started with a near sack of Zak Ciezki who flipped the ball to running back Martin Bailey who picked up 31 yards before fumbling, and the ball was scooped up by offensive lineman Kyle Schreader (Lockport/Starpoint) who rumbled the final eight yards for the score.
Union responded on the very next possession, however, driving 80 yards on 11 plays, ending Crystal's second score of the day from nine yards out with 6:13 remaining to complete the game's scoring.
Strong Schedule...The Bengals have embarked on one of the toughest schedules in the Northeast in 2021. So far, the Bengals have competed against a pair of teams (St. John Fisher and Cortland) that have received votes in the D3Football.com Top-25 polls.
Looking ahead, Buffalo State will face four teams featured in the organization's top-25 poll in the final six games, all conference opponents. The Bengals will face 12th-ranked Union this Saturday, then travels to RPI next Saturday, who are currently receiving votes. On Oct. 23, Buffalo State travels to No. 17 Ithaca, before finishing the run of ranked teams with a Nov. 6 visit to No. 21 Hobart, who are also receiving votes in the latest poll.
National Leaders...Both Brandon Barksdale (Buffalo, N.Y./Bennett) and Darren Thompson (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joe's) are tied for 27th nationally with 2.5 passes defensed per game. That mark currently leads the league...Crosier is third in the league and 97th nationally witth 5.3 receptions per game...The Bengals are one of 17 teams in the nation that have not allowed a fourth-down conversion so far... The Bengals are also 28th nationally with four recovered fumbles.
Scouting Union...Union is a perfect 4-0, having won 17 regular season games in a row stretching back to the 2018 season. The Dutchmen threw four touchdown passes, defeating Utica on the road by a 30-9 score last Saturday despite just totaling 261 yards of offense. The Dutchmen are fifth nationally with two defensive touchdowns and 10th with five fumbles recovered. Offensively, Union is 23rd in scoring, averaging 42.5 points per game and are one of 11 teams that are perfect in the red zone, scoring on all 15 chances.
Individually, William Bellamy leads the Dutchmen under center, completing 50 of 84 passes for 756 yards and 13 touchdowns, throwing just three interceptions. He's seventh nationally in passing touchdowns and 14th nationally in passing efficiency (179.1 rating). His favorite target is Robbie Tolbert, who has 20 receptions for 330 yards and six touchdowns. Andre Ross, Jr. is not far behind, catching 15 passes for 267 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, Michael Fiore has 263 yards on 39 carries and three touchdowns. Ike Irabor also has three touchdowns on the ground.
Defensively, Colin Lama has 37 tackles (two for loss) to lead the team. Seth Bartkoski leads the team with two sacks. Seven different Dutchmen, including Lama, has recorded an interception.
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 takes a trip across the state to the Capital Region, visiting RPI on Oct. 9 at noon.
