GAME #8 - BUFFALO STATE BENGALS AT #15 ITHACA BOMBERS
Saturday, Oct 28, 2023 - 1:00 PM
Butterfield Stadium - Ithaca, NY

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THE MATCHUP... Buffalo State heads to Central New York for the final road contest of the 2023 season. The Bengals face off against nationally-fifteenth ranked Ithaca Bombers, the defending-conference champions. This will be the 30th meeting of the sides all-time, with Ithaca holding a 19-10 edge in the previous meetings.   

THE BENGALS' LAST GAME... Ale Wilson (Bronx, NY/KIPP College Prep) rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Buffalo State football team to a 44-12 victory over Hilbert in non-conference action on Saturday evening on Coyer Field. 
     Wilson averaged 9.2 yards per carry, including a long gain of 39 yards in the victory. Noah Kimble (Depew, NY/Lancaster) was 12-for-21 for 188 yards through the air, and a pair of touchdowns. Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) caught seven passes for 79 yards, while Nicholas Bruce (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) had three catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Cody Phillips (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) and Chris Boadi (Bronx, NY/New Visions, JFK) each had a rushing touchdown, with Boadi's score being the first of his collegiate career.
     Ethan Biscaro (Batavia, NY/Batavia) had a forced fumble, an interception, a blocked extra point, and ten tackles to lead the Bengals' defense. Kenneth Mosley (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) had 12 tackles, while Sincere Green (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown) had nine tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble. Nick Sciandra (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda) nailed a 51-yard field goal for a career long.
     Hilbert drove down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, going ahead 6-0 after Biscaro blocked the extra point.
     After a personal foul penalty forced the Hawks to kickoff from their own 20-yard line, Darion Jones (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech) returned the kickoff to the Hilbert 25-yard line. The Buffalo State offense was unable to move the ball, and had to settle for Sciandra's 51-yard field goal attempt, which sailed through the uprights with plenty of leg to cut the lead in half.
     After the Bengals' defense got a stop, Buffalo State went 54 yards in seven plays, capped by Phillips' nine-yard rushing score to the left to make it 10-6.
     Early in the second quarter, Kimble improvised for a touchdown after a poor snap, connecting with Bruce over the middle on a 12-yard strike. Neither team was able to score again for the remainder of the half, as Buffalo State held a 17-6 edge into halftime.
     Buffalo State needed just four plays out of half to add another touchdown to the lead, as Wilson ripped off three runs for a total of 60 yards, finishing with a 15-yard score. Hilbert responded with a touchdown drive to make the score 24-12 just before the midway point of the period.
     On the Bengals' next drive, Kimble connected with Anthony Bowman (Lockport, NY/Lockport) for 27 yards, helping set up a 14-yard rushing score by Wilson immediately following a negated touchdown run by Kimble due to a holding penalty.
     With 14:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, Julian Maloney (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca West) caught an 11-yard touchdown pass to make the score 37-12.
     Biscaro picked off Hilbert quarterback Brody Hopkins on the next drive, returning the ball to the six-yard line. Boadi scampered in on the next play for the Bengals' final points of the contest.


LAST TIME WE MET... The visiting Bombers scored 37 consecutive points from the middle of the first quarter to the middle of the fourth quarter, turning a 7-3 lead into a decisive advantage in a 51-10 victory over Buffalo State on Friday, October 21st, 2022 at Coyer Field.
     Tariq Nelson had his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game, finishing with six catches for 104 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Darren Thompson finished with eight tackles, including three tackles for loss.
     Ithaca drove the ball down the field on its opening drive, punching it into the endzone on a five-yard rushing touchdown by Jake Williams to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive.
     Buffalo State responded with a 13-play drive of its own, but stalled in the red zone and had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Nick Sciandra to make the score 7-3.
     Williams added his second and third rushing touchdowns on the next two Ithaca drives, scoring from one yard and four yards out.
     A 22-yard field goal by Nicholas Bahamonde and a 10-yard touchdown strike from A.J. Wingfield to Michael Anderson finished off the scoring in the first half as Ithaca led 31-3 at halftime.
     The Bombers extended the lead to 44-3 with a pair of short field goals by Bahamonde, sandwiched around a 22-yard touchdown pass from Max Perry to Anthony D'Addetta.
     Tom Delgado (Bayside, NY/Bayside) connected with Nelson on a 37-yard strike over the middle for a touchdown, as Nelson beat the corner on a slant route off the line of scrimmage, and sprinted untouched to the endzone.
     Ithaca added another touchdown in the final two minutes of the game, a 16-yard rush by Conner Hayes for the 51-10 final score.

BLAST FROM THE PAST... Had Bryant had a career day for Buffalo State, catching 10 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns in a 51-33 victory over Hartwick in game #8 of the 2016 season.  
     Kyle Hoppy tossed three touchdown passes, and Tre Jones rushed for 161 yards on 18 carries and two scores, as Buffalo State tallied 523 yards of total offense.  
     On defense, Ish Height recorded five pass breakups to go along with an interception.  

20 OR MORE... The Bengals have now scored 20 or more points in six consecutive games. The last time that Buffalo State has gone seven straight games with over 20 points was in 2015. That stretch lasted the entire 2014 season and the first eight games of 2015, spanning 19 consecutive games. 

LOCKING DOWN THE BACK END... Buffalo State's secondary has gone 15 consecutive games without allowing an opposing wide receiver to surpass the 100-yard mark in a game. The last receiver to go over the century mark was Rashad Tucker of Cortland in 2022.

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.  

BACK ON PACE...  After his 156 yard performance against Hilbert last weekend, Ale Wilson is back on pace for a 1,000-yard season. He would be the first Bengal since Rich Pete in 2014 to accomplish that feat, and is currently averaging 103.0 yards per game.

BIG KICK NICK... Nick Sciandra's 51-yard field goal against Hilbert was a career long, and just one yard short of tying the Buffalo State record of 52 yards, held by Marc Montana. 

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.

CAREER RECORD IN SIGHT... With his 60-yard interception return against Hilbert, Ethan Biscaro now has 130 return yards on picks for his career. The Buffalo State career record is 215, held by Rey Jordan. 

BIG GAINS IN THE AIR... Buffalo State leads the conference with 14.0 yards per completion on offense.  

SACK LEADERS... Nicholas Moore (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Academy of Science) and Sincere Green are tied atop the Liberty League with 3.0 sacks this season. 

TOUGH COMPETITION... Buffalo State has the 24th-toughest remaining schedule out of 238 teams, as the Buffalo State opponents the rest of the way have posted a combined .576 winning percentage.

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.

AT THE PINNACLE... Ithaca enters the weekend with a 6-1 overall record (4-0 Liberty League). The Bombers are ranked 15th in the country, and riding a six game winning streak after a 24-10 victory over Rochester last week. Ithaca has won 11 straight games in Liberty League play dating back to the 2021 season. 
      The Ithaca offense has been led by the rushing attack of Jalen Leonard-Osbourne in recent weeks, who has recorded 575 yards over the last four weeks, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. He'll be relied on by Ithaca heavily, as first-year quarterback Colin Schumm is likely to make just his second career start.  
     The Bombers' defense is carried by Ben Stola, who leads the conference, and is 14th-nationally with 10.9 tackles per game. The defense has forced just 10 turnovers on the season, second-last in the conference, but has been solid in the red zone, allowing just 12 scores to opponents on 20 attempts inside the 20-yard line. 
     Kicker Derek Baldin sits atop the conference with an average of 1.0 field goals made per game, and also leads the Liberty League with 10 touchbacks.  

SCHEDULES/RESULTS... 

BUFFALO STATE (2-5, 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	W 44-12
Oct. 28	at Ithaca ***	1 pm
Nov. 4	UNION ***	1 pm
Nov. 11	ST. LAWRENCE ***	1 pm

*** LIBERTY LEAGUE CONTEST ***

ITHACA (6-1, 4-0 LIBERTY LEAGUE)

Sept. 2	at Johns Hopkins	L 27-17
Sept. 9	at Endicott	W 20-17
Sept. 16	at Alfred	W 22-0
Sept. 30	HOBART ***	W 24-14
Oct. 7	at RPI ***	W 20-17 (OT)
Oct. 14	UNION ***	W 17-9
Oct. 21	at Rochester ***	W 24-10
Oct. 28	BUFFALO STATE ***	1 pm
Nov. 4	at St. Lawrence ***	1 pm
Nov. 11	CORTLAND	12 pm

*** LIBERTY LEAGUE CONTEST ***