GAME #5 - BUFFALO STATE BENGALS (1-3) VS. HOBART STATESMEN (3-1)
Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023 - 1:00 PM
Boswell Field at David J. Urick Stadium - Geneva, NY

FOLLOW ALONG... Buffalo State is on the road for the second time this season, heading to Central New York for a Liberty League matchup with the Hobart Statesmen. This will be the 10th meeting of the sides all-time, with Hobart holding a 6-3 edge in the previous matchups.

THE BENGALS' LAST GAME... Daniel Papantonis's 19-yard touchdown with 1:04 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Yellowjackets a lead, and visiting Rochester held off Buffalo State in the final minute to earn a 29-22 victory on Saturday evening on Coyer Field in the Homecoming game. Ale Wilson (Bronx, NY/KIPP College Prep) rushed for 105 yards on 17 carries, an average of over six yards per attempt. He also hauled in two receptions for 29 yards and a receiving touchdown, while Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) had five catches for 77 yards. Basiaka Butcher (White Plains, NY/Valhalla) had his second pick-six and made seven tackles, Anderson Osei-Gyimah (Bronx, NY/New Visions) led the Buffalo State defense with 13 tackles, including one tackle for loss, and Nicholas Bauer (Suffern, NY/Suffern) also had a sack and two tackles for loss.
     Rochester moved into Buffalo State territory on its first drive, before a sack by Bauer for an eight-yard loss pushed the Yellowjackets out of field goal range and forced a punt. The Bengals moved down the field on their first drive, before Noah Kimble (Depew, NY/Lancaster) was intercepted at the goal line by Jordy Tawa.
     A 44-yard screen pass from Ryan Rose to Aidan Papantonis on a run-pass option helped set up the first score of the game, a 10-yard touchdown pass form Rose to Daniel Papantonis on the first play of the second quarter. The extra point failed after a poor snap as Rochester led 6-0.
     After Buffalo State was stopped on its next drive, the snap on the punt went over Nick Sciandra's (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda) head for a safety. The Bengals' defense forced a punt after the safety kickoff, but the Buffalo State offense was also forced to punt after a short drive. Caleb Kruzicki (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) forced a fumble on the punt return, and Sebastian Sierra (Farmingdale, NY/HHH East) recovered at the Rochester 34-yard line. Kimble found Darion Jones (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech) for a 26-yard strike two plays later to make it 8-6. Rochester responded with a six play, 52 yard drive, capped by a 12-yard rushing touchdown by D. Papantonis for a 15-6 advantage. The Yellowjackets then blocked a 51-yard field goal by Sciandra at the end of the half to maintain their advantage.
     The Bengals embarked on an 11-play, 76-yard drive out of halftime to pull within two points after a screen pass to Wilson that turned into a 22-yard touchdown after multiple broken tackles. Michael Lastique (Far Rockaway, NY/Midwood) intercepted Rose three plays into the next Rochester drive, but the Bengals were unable to capitalize on the solid field position after Kimble was sacked on third down. Sciandra's punt was downed at the two-yard line to pin Rochester deep.
     Four plays later, Butcher jumped in front of a pass to the outside at the four-yard line, and returned the interception for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, as the Bengals led 19-15.
     After the Bengals forced another Rochester punt, Buffalo State extended the lead to 22-15 on a 29-yard field goal by Sciandra with 9:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. Rochester responded with a touchdown drive to tie the game with 5:07 remaining in regulation.
     After the teams traded punts on their next possessions, Buffalo State got the ball back with 1:22 remaining, but Kimble was intercepted for the third time on the first play, leading to D. Papantonis's 19-yard touchdown one play later. The Bengals advanced to near midfield on their final drive, but turned the ball over on downs, and Rochester was able to run out the clock for the victory.

LAST TIME WE MET... Buffalo State wrapped up its home schedule for last season with a 63-7 loss to Hobart in Liberty League action at Coyer Field on Saturday, November 5, 2022.
     Ale Wilson tallied his first 100-yard rushing game of the season, finishing with 113 yards. Seth Penn led the Buffalo State defense with three tackles for loss. Darion Jones nabbed his second touchdown of the season, making four grabs for 48 yards.
     The Bengals picked up one first down on their opening drive, but were then forced to punt. Nick Sciandra's punt was blocked and recovered by Hobart at the Buffalo State 25-yard line. Hobart capitalized on the great field position on a two-yard quarterback keeper by David Krewson. Another Buffalo State punt and a questionable kick catch interference call gave Hobart the ball near midfield, and two plays later, the Statesmen struck paydirt on a 28-yard run by Rayshawn Boswell.
     Buffalo State advanced into Hobart territory on its next drive but turned it over on downs on fourth-and-two. Hobart advanced to the Buffalo State 11-yard line, but Tobias Wefering's 30-yard field goal went wide left. After a three-and-out, the Statesmen extended the lead to 21-0 on a two-yard touchdown rush by Tim Denham Jr.
     Tom Delgado's (Bayside, NY/Bayside) pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown on the next Bengals' drive, and a dropped snap on a punt by Sciandra on the next drive led to another Hobart score. Another pick-six and a excellent grab by Peyton Cayea down the right sideline for a 23-yard touchdown grab extended the lead to 49-0 at halftime.
     On Hobart's opening drive of the second half, Brandon Barksdale blocked Wefering's 34-yard field goal attempt. Buffalo State advanced into the red zone, but the Bengals were stopped on fourth down from the nine-yard line.
     Midway through the quarter, Orlando Cabrera (Brooklyn, NY/Plainedge) had a strip sack to give the Bengals the ball at the eight-yard line, but Zac Ambielli scooped up a fumble on a failed handoff exchange shortly after, and raced 93 yards untouched to the end zone for a Hobart score.
     Delgado found Jones for an eight-yard score on the opening play of the fourth quarter, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive. The Statesmen responded with a touchdown of their own, and Buffalo State was unable to find the endzone on its last drive, despite reaching the Hobart seven-yard line.

BLAST FROM THE PAST... In Game #5 of the 2016 season, Buffalo State defeated Cortland 32-22, extending the winning streak over the Red Dragons to five games.
     Kyle Hoppy  threw for 434 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 36 yards and two more scores to lead the Bengals. It is also the last time a Buffalo State quarterback threw for more than 400 yards in a game. 
     Madison Wesolowski (11 catches, 175 receiving yards) and Stephen Johnson (six catches, 114 receiving yards, one touchdown) each went over the century mark through the air. Buffalo State's defense held Cortland to just 252 yards of total offense in the contest.

GET 'EM ROOK... After recording seven tackles and his second pick-six of the season against Rochester last week, freshman defensive back Basiaka Butcher was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Week. 

KNOCK IT DOWN... Defensive back Michael Lastique leads the Liberty League, and is ranked 26th nationally, with 1.7 passes defended per game. 

WHAT'S YOUR (ALL-) PURPOSE... Ale Wilson and Darion Jones are both ranked in the top five in the conference in all-purpose yardage this season. Wilson is averaging 118.0 yards per game, good for second in the Liberty League. Jones is over 100 yards per game at 108.0, fourth in the conference.

QUICK STRIKE POTENTIAL... The Bengals have 13 plays of over 20 yards on the season, with seven of those plays going for touchdowns. The longest play of the season was a 55-yard touchdown run by Ale Wilson against Dean.

STREAKING TOWARDS 20... Tariq Nelson has recorded at least one reception in 19 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.

QUEST FOR 1,000... Through four games, Ale Wilson sits at 424 rushing yards. His 106.0 rushing yards per game average tops the conference, and keeps him on pace to become the first Bengal 1,000-yard rusher since Rich Pete in 2014.

SCORING ON DEFENSE... Basiaka Butcher 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. 

MR. TFL... Nicholas Moore's (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Academy of Science) 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks lead the Liberty League this season. He has recorded at least one tackle for loss in every game this season. 

FOUR DOWN TERRITORY... Buffalo State is converting on fourth downs at a .545 percentage for the season, the second-best mark in the conference. 

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.

SCOUTING THE STATESMEN... Hobart enters the weekend with a 3-1 overall record (0-1 Liberty League) after falling to #17 Ithaca over the weekend by a score of 24-14. Tim Denham Jr. found the endzone twice, once on the ground and once through the air, in a losing effort.  
     The Hobart offense is scoring 28.8 points per game, and boasts a 3-0 record in games scoring over 25 points. Rayshawn Boswell has accounted for 330 rushing yards to lead the 14th-ranked rushing offense in the country (231.2 rushing yards per game). The offensive line has done a solid job of protecting quarterback Johnny Columbi and limiting negative plays, allowing just three sacks and their 3.25 tackles for loss average is the 12th-best mark in the nation. The Statesmen have fumbled nine times, losing four of them, a potential weakness the Bengals could look to exploit.
     Hobart's defense has allowed the highest third down conversion rate in the conference at 44.8 %, but has tightened up in the red zone. The Statesmen have allowed just four touchdowns on 10 red zone attempts, while also coming away with two red zone interceptions.
     The special teams unit for Hobart has been one of the best in the country. Tobias Wefering's 43.4 yard net punting average leads the nation, thanks to the tenth-best punt return defense in the country that has not allowed a single return yard on the year. Wefering also is tied for the conference lead with a field goal average of 1.0 per game. 

SCHEDULES/RESULTS...

BUFFALO STATE (1-3, 0-1 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 ***	1 pm
Oct. 14	at RPI ***	1 pm
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 ***

HOBART (3-1, 0-1 LIBERTY LEAGUE)

Sept.1	at Alfred	W 31-9
Sept. 9	MORRISVILLE	W 27-10
Sept. 23	KEYSTONE	W 43-10
Sept. 30	at Ithaca ***	L 24-14
Oct. 7	BUFFALO STATE ***	1 pm
Oct. 14	HILBERT	1 pm
Oct. 21	at Union ***	1 pm
Oct. 28	ST. LAWRENCE ***	1 pm
Nov. 4	RPI ***	1 pm
Nov. 11	at Rochester ***	12 pm

*** LIBERTY LEAGUE CONTEST ***