GAME #5 – BUFFALO STATE BENGALS VS RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC (RPI) ENGINEERS
Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022 – 12:00 PM
Coyer Field – Buffalo, NY
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THE MATCHUP… Buffalo State heads into its first home Liberty League contest of the season looking for its first victory of the year and facing off against one of the premier defenses in the country in the RPI Engineers. This will be the sixth meeting of the two sides, and the teams have squared off in each of the past four seasons. RPI holds the 4-1 edge in the all-time series, including victories in the past three matchups. However, Buffalo State was victorious in the only contest that has taken place at Coyer Field, a 33-21 win in 2017.
THE BENGALS' LAST GAME… Host Union College jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter on the way to a 45-0 victory over the Buffalo State football team on Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field in the Bengals' Liberty League opener.
Union drove down the field on its opening possession of the game, capping a 15-play, 75-yard drive with a four-yard rushing score by Ike Irabor.
Buffalo State picked up one first down on its opening drive before being forced to punt. The Dutchmen drove right back down the field for another score, this time a 15-yard pass from Patch Flanagan to Nicholas Dunneman.
Union recovered the ensuing onside kick, and cashed in with another touchdown one play later, a 28-yard pass from Flanagan to Andre Ross down the left sideline for a 21-0 lead after one quarter.
Irabor scored his second touchdown of the game midway through the second quarter for a 28-0 score. After Union forced another Buffalo State punt,
Michael Drywa (West Babylon, NY/East Islip) forced his first fumble of the season, and recovered the fumble to give the Bengals the ball back. However, neither team was able to score the rest of the half as Union maintained its 28-0 lead at halftime.
Union added a field goal, and a pair of touchdowns on a 7-yard pass from Flanagan to Jonathan Anderson and a punt return touchdown by Dunneman for a 45-0 lead after three quarters.
Buffalo State moved the ball into the red zone on its final two possessions of the game, but was thwarted by the Union defense by an interception and a turnover on downs.
Drywa led the Bengals' defense with 18.0 total tackles, including one tackle for loss, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Nicholas Moore (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Academy of Science) had two tackles for loss, while
William Kitching (Flushing, NY/Bayside) had six receptions for 63 yards.
LAST TIME WE MET... The Buffalo State football team scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a Hail Mary pass as time expired, but it wasn't enough as RPI, ranked 25
th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll and receiving votes in the D3Football.com poll, defeated the Bengals by a 24-16 score Saturday, October 9, 2021.
After Buffalo State stalled on its first possession, RPI struck first with a 19-yard touchdown pass from George Marinopoulos to Peter Lombardi.
Buffalo State then got into RPI territory on the next drive, but a 12-yard completion to
Ale Wilson (Bronx, NY/KIPP College Prep) was fumbled and recovered by the Engineers on their own 18-yard line.
After forcing an RPI punt, the Bengals went right back to work with a 12-play, 37-yard drive resulting in a Sciandra 30-yard field goal.
Near the end of the half, Marinopoulos threw for a couple of first downs, including a 48-yard pass to Burnett, setting up a second passing touchdown to Lombardi from 17-yards out, taking a 14-3 lead into halftime.
Just after halftime, Conor MacDougall kicked a 27-yard field goal to complete a 13-play, 70-yard drive, as RPI led 17-3. Following a
Javon Ford (Lockport, NY/Lockport) fumble The Engineers took a 24-3 lead at the end of third quarter as Jake Kazanowsky found Vinnie McDonald for a 31-yard touchdown pass as time expired.
The Bengals struck paydirt midway through the fourth, as
Cam Sionko (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) rushed it in from five yards out as the Bengals trailed 24-10.
With 1:01 left in regulation, the Bengal offense marched right down the field, as Sionko threw completions to JuJu Cunningham and
Darion Jones (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech), setting up a 36-yard Hail Mary pass to a leaping Nas Jackson, as he went over two RPI defenders in the endzone as time expired.
LEAGUE LEADER… Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) leads the conference with 26 receptions for 321 yards this season. The junior wide receiver is averaging a league-best 6.5 receptions per game and 80.3 receiving yards per game.
COOKING UP TURNOVERS… Michael Drywa and
Joseph DiNapoli (Rochester, NY) have each forced one fumble for the Bengals this season, while Drywa and
Dominic Ferguson (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) have both recovered a fumble.
STOP FOR LOSS… The Bengals have three defenders in the top 10 in tackles for loss this season.
Kenneth Mosley (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) is fifth with 5.0 tackles for loss,
Nicholas Moore (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Academy of Science) is sixth with 4.5 tackles for loss, and Drywa is ninth with 4.0 tackles for loss.
A.O.G., SECRETARY OF PASSES DEFENSED… Anderson Osei-Gyimah (Bronx, NY/New Visions) is tied for ninth in the conference with three pass break-ups this year.
AIR IT OUT… The Buffalo State passing attack has averaged the most yards per game through the air in the conference this season. The Bengals have passed for an average of 209.3 yards per game.
FLAGS ON THE FIELD… There has been an average of 16.3 penalties and an average of over 140 penalty yards in the games that Buffalo State has played in this season, most in the conference. The Bengals' opponents have committed 259 penalty yards against Buffalo State this season.
FROM THE BRONX TO BUFFALO… Lazarus Morgan was appointed as the sixth head coach in the history of the Buffalo State football program In January 2022.
A native of the Bronx, Morgan was a defensive back at Utica from 2006-08, then began his coaching career at his alma mater from 2009-13. He then moved to Alfred University from 2014-19, serving as the Saxon's defensive coordinator in the final four seasons.
He arrives to Buffalo after serving as the defensive coordinator at SUNY Cortland during the 2021 season, where he oversaw the fifth-ranked overall defense in NCAA Division III, helping guide the Red Dragons to an 11-1 record, an Empire 8 title and a trip to the NCAA playoffs.
CAPTAINS OF MORGAN... Four players will lead Buffalo State in 2022 as team captains.
Seth Penn (Angola, NY/Lake Shore) and
Anderson Osei-Gyimah (Bronx, NY/New Visions) will lead the Buffalo State defense, with
Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) and
Alex Westcott (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) serving as offensive captains.
STOPPING YOUR ENGINES, TRYING TO START THEIRS… RPI heads into the weekend with a 3-2 overall record (1-0 Liberty League). The Engineers defeated Rochester in their conference opener on Saturday, 31-3.
RPI has been statistically the strongest defense in the Liberty League and one of the strongest in all of Division III to this point. Allowing just 23 points in five games, the Engineers' scoring defense average of 4.6 points allowed per game is fourth-best in the country. RPI has given up just two touchdowns on the entire season.
Not only has the scoring defense been strong, RPI has been excellent at limiting opposing offenses altogether. The Engineers allow just 172.4 yards of total offense per game, third-fewest in the country. The RPI defense is led by Conner Noyes and his 46.0 tackles and 8.5 tackles tackles for loss, Nate Sicard's 3.0 sacks, and Spencer Brockdorff's and Joe Deptula's six passes defensed each. All of those individual statistics lead the Liberty League.
On offense, RPI averages 17.8 points per game and 286.0 yards of total offense. The balanced offensive attack features 144.4 yards through the air and 141.6 yards on the ground on average. The Engineers have scored six passing and six rushing touchdowns this season. Dylan Burnett is the leading ball carrier for RPI, rushing for 479 yards and four touchdowns, while averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
BUFFALO STATE (0-4)
Sept. 3 at St. John Fisher............................... L 62-21
Sept. 17 SUNY CORTLAND…………………............. L 66-7
Sept. 24 MORRISVILLE STATE (Homecoming)..L 31-10
Oct. 1 * at Union……………………........................... L 45-0
Oct. 8 * RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC..............12:00
Oct. 15 * at Rochester.........................................12:00
Oct. 21 * ITHACA.................................................. 7:00
Oct. 29 at Brockport........................................... 12:00
Nov. 5 * HOBART……………….................................. 1:00
Nov. 12 * at St. Lawrence……………......................... 1:00
* Liberty League 8 game HOME GAMES IN CAPS
RPI (3-2)
Sept. 3 DICKINSON (PA)................................ W 14-7
Sept. 10 CARNEGIE MELLON……………….......... L 10-7
Sept. 17 WPI………............................................ W 17-15
Sept. 24 at St. John Fisher............................. L 3-0
Oct. 1 * at Rochester ..................................... W 31-3
Oct. 8 * at Buffalo State…............................... 12:00
Oct. 15 * HOBART…….…………….......................... 12:00
Oct. 29 * at Ithaca..............................................1:00
Nov. 5 * ST. LAWRENCE.................................. 12:00
Nov. 12 * UNION……………………………….................. 12:00
* Liberty League game HOME GAMES IN CAPS
