GAME #7 - BUFFALO STATE BENGALS VS. HILBERT HAWKS
Saturday, Oct 21, 2023 - 5:00 PM
Coyer Field - Buffalo, NY

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THE MATCHUP... Buffalo State hosts Hilbert in the final non-conference contest of the season. This is the first meeting of the squads all-time, as Hilbert is in its second season of competition in 2023. 

THE BENGALS' LAST GAME... Buffalo State racked up 450 yards of total offense, but fell on the road to RPI by a final score of 51-28 on Saturday afternoon.
     Nicholas Bruce (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) caught four passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns, while Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) also caught three passes, totaling 98 yards and one touchdown. Franele Johnson (Buffalo, NY/St. Mary's) blocked a punt for the Bengals, and Mikai Johnson (Far Rockaway, NY/James Madison) returned the blocked punt for a touchdown. Noah Kimble (Depew, NY/Lancaster) threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in relief. Kenneth Mosley (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) and Michael Lastique (Far Rockaway, NY/Midwood) each recorded an interception for the Buffalo State defense, and Mosley also made 11 tackles.
     Buffalo State got the ball first, but Amir Cameron (Brooklyn, NY/James Madison) was intercepted on a tipped ball on the first play from scrimmage. RPI took advantage of the short field, scoring a touchdown with 12:49 remaining in the opening quarter. The Bengals advanced near midfield on the next drive, but turned the ball over on downs at their own 49-yard line.
     Each team punted on its next possession, before the Engineers drove into the Buffalo State red zone. After an RPI touchdown was nullified due to a penalty, Lastique intercepted his second pass of the season, also returning the ball out to the 31-yard line.
     A big play on a 54-yard pass from Kimble to Darion Jones (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech) set the Bengals up inside the red zone, but Buffalo State was unable to capitalize, turning the ball over on downs from the six-yard line.  
     Midway through the second quarter, the Engineers scored on a 89-yard punt return by Sterling Walker-Sutton to go up 14-0. The Bengals responded with a touchdown drive, capped off by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Kimble to Bruce with 59 seconds left in the half.
     RPI needed only 30 seconds to respond on a 55-yard touchdown from Jake Kazanowsky to Gil Goldsmith down the right sideline. The extra point was unsuccessful as RPI led 20-7.
     Buffalo State moved into RPI territory, but Nick Sciandra's (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda) 49-yard field goal attempt was short as time expired in the half.
     Walker-Sutton returned the second half kickoff 70 yards, and RPI capitalized on the great starting field position with a touchdown to make it 27-7 with 13:34 remaining in the third quarter.
     After the Bengals were forced to punt and the Buffalo State defense got a stop against the Engineers, F. Johnson broke through the right side of the line to block the punt, and M. Johnson picked up the ball and raced untouched for a 20-yard return touchdown. RPI added a field goal to lead 30-14 after three quarters of play.
     The fourth quarter featured touchdowns on five consecutive possessions, with the Engineers scoring three of those touchdowns. After Christian Buckley rushed for an 11-yard score for RPI, Kimble connected with Bruce down the left sideline for a 74-yard strike just two plays later.
     The Engineers scored another touchdown on a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Kazanowsky, before Nelson caught two passes from Kimble on the next Bengals' drive, one for 26 yards and another for a 65-yard touchdown deep down the right sideline.
     RPI closed out the scoring on a 34-yard touchdown rush by Dameon Ming, and the Engineers intercepted Kimble on the final Buffalo State drive.

BLAST FROM THE PAST... Casey Kacz threw for five touchdowns, and rushed for two more in a spectacular offensive performance to lead Buffalo State to a 60-28 victory over Frostburg State in game #7 of the 2013 season. 
     Caesarae Lewis caught three of Kacz's touchdown passes, and tallied eight grabs for 86 yards to lead the Bengals. 
     On defense, Marquis Artis recorded an interception and also blocked a punt for Buffalo State in the lopsided win. 

BLOCK TO THE HOUSE... After Franele Johnson blocked a punt against RPI last week, Mikai Johnson returned the blocked punt 20 yards for a touchdown, the first time that the Bengals have recorded a blocked punt returned for a TD since 2018, when Jordan Evert did it against Morrisville. 

20 by 5... The Bengals have now scored 20 or more points in five consecutive games for the first time since a five-game stretch in 2017 and 2018.

THROW FOR 300... Noah Kimble threw for 309 yards against RPI last week, the first time that a Buffalo State quarterback has gone over the 300-yard mark in a single game since Zak Ciezki had 327 yards passing against St. Lawrence in 2019. 

DEEP SHOT... Nicholas Bruce's 74-yard touchdown reception against RPI was the longest play of the season for the Bengals, and the longest play since Che'Kore Moore's 83-yard touchdown reception from Nas Jackson on a trick play against Union in 2021.

LOCKING DOWN THE BACK END... Buffalo State's secondary has gone 14 consecutive games without allowing an opposing wide receiver to surpass the 100-yard mark in a game. The last time an opposing receiver surpassed the century mark was Rashad Tucker for Cortland in the second game of 2022.

SCORING ON DEFENSE... Basiaka Butcher (White Plains, NY/Valhalla) is the first Bengal to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the same season since 2015, when Rey Jordan recorded two pick-sixes in the same game against Finlandia. Those two touchdowns for the Bengals' defense rank them first in the Liberty League, and 19th in the country.

BIG BOYS DOIN' WELL... The Bengals' offensive line has gotten a strong push off the ball this season, allowing the second-fewest tackles for loss in the Liberty League. 
     Meanwhile, the Buffalo State defensive line has also accounted for the second-most tackles for loss in the conference this year, with an average of 6.0 tackles for loss per game.  

BIG GAINS IN THE AIR... Buffalo State leads the conference with 13.7 yards per completion on offense 

THREE IN THE TOP FIVE... Buffalo State has three of the top five tacklers in the conference this season. Kenneth Mosley is second with 9.0 tackles per game, while Evan Cervantes (Cicero, NY/Bishop Ludden) is third at 8.3 tackles per game, and Sincere Green (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown) is fifth with 8.2 tackles per game.
 
TOUGH COMPETITION... Buffalo State has the 22nd-toughest schedule out of 238 teams, with the Bengals' past opponents holding a .654 record. It gets slightly easier, as the Buffalo State opponents the rest of the way have posted a combined .520 winning percentage. 

21, CAN YOU DO SUM' FOR ME... Tariq Nelson has recorded at least one reception in 21 consecutive games dating back to the middle of the 2021 season. That is the longest such streak for a Bengal since Jordan Evert caught a pass in 23 straight games from 2016 to 2019. Nelson is also closing in on 2,000 career receiving yards, currently sitting just 293 away from reaching the milestone. 

HILBERT-BUFFALO STATE CONNECTION... Hilbert assistant coach Terry Bitka was a member of the Buffalo State coaching staff for 36 years prior to his retirement in 2022. 

COMMON OPPONENT... Buffalo State and Hilbert both faced off against Hobart already this season, with the Bengals falling to the Statesmen by a score of 45-21, and the Hawks losing 49-3 to Hobart.  

ABOUT THE BENGALS' COACH... Lazarus Morgan is in his second season at the helm of the Buffalo State football program in 2023 after being appointed as the sixth football coach in Buffalo State history in January 2022. 
     In his first season as head coach, Morgan guided six student-athletes to Liberty League All-Conference selections, as well as seven All-Academic team winners. 
     He arrived in Buffalo after serving as the defensive coordinator at SUNY Cortland during the 2021 season, coordinating 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.
      A native of the Bronx, Morgan played defensive back at Utica College 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.

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE HAWKS... Hilbert enters the matchup with a 0-6 overall record after falling to Hobart by a score of 49-3 last weekend. The Hawks are still searching for their first varsity victory, having lost the first 13 contests of the program's history. 
     The Hilbert offense averages just 6.2 points per game, and 184.3 yards of offense per game. The Hawks have been led offensively by freshman running back Raymone Gillie, who has accounted for 215 rushing yards on the season. Hilbert has also committed 16 turnovers this season, 11 via interception, and five on fumbles lost. 
     Taivaughn Roach has been a machine for the Hawks' defense this year, totaling 80 tackles. His 13.0 total tackles per game are third in the country. Imari Jenkins is also tied for seventh in the nation with two fumble recoveries. The Hilbert defense is allowing 54.0 points per game, which ranks them 236th out of 238 teams in Division III. 
      The Hilbert special teams has struggled, already having seven kicks blocked, including five punts and two field goal attempts. One positive for the Hawks is that kicker Lincoln Eagan has been perfect on extra point attempts for the year. 

SCHEDULES/RESULTS... 

BUFFALO STATE (1-5, 0-3 LIBERTY LEAGUE)

Aug. 31	BROCKPORT	L 42-6
Sept. 9	APPRENTICE SCHOOL	L 37-23
Sept. 16	at Dean	W 41-7
Sept. 30	ROCHESTER ***	L 29-22
Oct. 7	at Hobart ***	L 45-21
Oct. 14	at RPI ***	L 51-28
Oct. 21	HILBERT	5 pm
Oct. 28	at Ithaca ***	1 pm
Nov. 4	UNION ***	1 pm
Nov. 11	ST. LAWRENCE ***	1 pm

*** LIBERTY LEAGUE CONTEST ***

HILBERT (0-6)

Sept. 2	UNION	L 65-0
Sept. 9	at St. John Fisher	L 62-7
Sept. 23	at Alfred State	L 48-7
Sept. 30	ENDICOTTDEAN	L 66-0
Oct. 7	at Gallaudet	L 34-20
Oct. 14	at Hobart	L 49-3
Oct. 21	at Buffalo State	5 pm
Oct. 28	LYON COLLEGE	11 am