GAME #3 – MORRISVILLE MUSTANGS AT BUFFALO STATE BENGALS (HOMECOMING)
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 – 5:00 PM
Coyer Field – Buffalo, NY


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THE MATCHUP… Buffalo State heads into the Homecoming game looking for its first victory of the season. The Bengals will take on Morrisville in non-conference action for the second consecutive season. Buffalo State holds a 8-3 edge in the all-time series, but the Mustangs have come away with the victory in each of the past two meetings.

THE BENGALS' LAST GAME… The visiting Red Dragons raced out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter, and scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions to pull away with a 66-7 victory over the Buffalo State football team on Saturday afternoon.

The Red Dragons scored on each of their three offensive possessions in the first quarter, adding an interception return for a touchdown by Joshua Cordero to build a 28-0 lead after one quarter of play.

The Bengals reached the Cortland 32-yard line on their fifth drive of the game, but gave the ball back on downs. Cortland tacked on three more rushing touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 49-0 lead into halftime.

Buffalo State made it to the Cortland 13-yard line on its opening possession of the second half, but turned the ball over on downs, leading to a 55-yard touchdown reception for Cortland's Rashad Tucker. The Red Dragons added a field goal and a touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it 66-0.

The Bengals were able to get on the scoreboard in the waning moments of the game with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Javon Ford (Lockport, NY/Lockport) to Julian Maloney (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca West) to complete an 11-play, 72-yard drive to make it a 66-7 final score.

Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) led the Bengals with 107 yards on seven receptions. Anderson Osei-Gyimah (Bronx, NY/New Visions) led the Buffalo State defense with 12 tackles.

LAST TIME WE MET... Morrisville scored 28 unanswered points to pull away as the Buffalo State football team dropped a 41-10 decision to the Mustangs in non-conference action from Drake Field on Saturday, September 25, 2021. 

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, NY/North Tonawanda) kicked a 22-yard field goal to bring the Bengal deficit to 7-3.

After Morrisville State forced an 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 Ford and Cam Crosier hooked up on a 54-yard touchdown catch and run on 2nd-and-20.

Morrisville's fourth rushing touchdown of the game finished the scoring, as Steven Frerichs scored on a two-yard run.

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.

BACK-TO-BACK… Tight end Julian Maloney has caught a touchdown pass in each of the first two games. The sophomore from Buffalo has four receptions for 69 yards and two scores this season. He could become the first Buffalo State player to score touchdowns in three straight games since Martin Bailey did it in the final three games of the 2019 season.

A.O.G. FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE… Junior defensive back Anderson Osei-Gyimah (Bronx, NY/New Visions) is the leading tackler for Buffalo State through two games. He has recorded 16.0 tackles to go along with two passes defensed.

100-YARD RECEIVER… Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) is the first Bengal receiver to record 100 yards or more in a game since he recorded 138 yards receiving on six catches against Brockport in 2021.  
 
RACK UP A SACK… Michael Drywa (West Babylon, NY/East Islip) and Joseph DiNapoli (Rochester, NY) each registered a sack for the Bengals in the last game against Cortland. DiNapoli's sack was a strip sack, which Dominic Ferguson (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) recovered for Buffalo State's first forced turnover of the year.

B.B. COME BACK... Defensive back Brandon Barksdale (Buffalo, NY/Bennett) returns to the Buffalo State defense for the 2022 season as the lone returning All-Liberty League selection. Barksdale led the Bengals with nine passes broken up, and also snagged one interception on his way to All-Liberty League honorable mention.

THE MUSTANG MINUTE… Morrisville is 3-0 on the season, including an upset victory over nationally ranked Hobart in its second game of the year. The Mustangs are led offensively by dual-threat quarterback Steven Frerichs, who has rushed for a team-high 185 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 316 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Impressively, Morrisville has yet to commit a turnover through three games.

The Morrisville defense has been the backbone of the team in the early going, holding opponents to under 10 points per game, while forcing four turnovers on a pair of fumbles and interceptions each. The Mustang defense is led by Ernesto Mitchell's 34.0 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, along with Joe Miller-LaBar's 27.0 tackles.  

SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
BUFFALO STATE (0-2)
Sept. 3            at St. John Fisher........................................ L 62-21
Sept. 17          SUNY CORTLAND…………………............. L 66-7
Sept. 24          MORRISVILLE STATE (Homecoming)........... 5:00
Oct. 1              * at Union…………………….......................... 1:00
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
 
MORRISVILLE (3-0)
Sept. 3              KEANE (NJ)............................................. W 10-0
Sept. 10            HOBART………………………………....... W 23-14
Sept. 16            at St. Lawrence……..................................W 17-15
Sept. 24            at Buffalo State............................................. 5:00
Oct. 1             * at Cortland.................................................... 1:00
Oct. 8             * at St. John Fisher.......................................... 1:00
Oct. 22           * ALFRED UNIVERSITY................................. 12:00
Oct. 29           * UTICA…........................................................12:00
Nov. 5            * at Brockport………......................................... 2:00
Nov. 12          * HARTWICK……………………........................1:00
 
* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS