darion jones
Dylan Devine
43
Winner Union (NY) UNI 8-1 , 4-1
17
Buffalo St. BUF 2-7 , 0-5
Winner
Union (NY) UNI
8-1 , 4-1
43
Final
17
Buffalo St. BUF
2-7 , 0-5
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UNI Union (NY) 14 16 7 6 43
BUF Buffalo St. 3 7 7 0 17

Game Recap: Football |

Football Falls to Union, 43-17

BUFFALO, NY – Darion Jones (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech) took a kickoff 95 yards back to the house for the first Buffalo State kickoff return touchdown since 2017, but the Buffalo State football team couldn't rally from a slow start, falling at home to Union by a final score of 43-17 in Liberty League action Saturday afternoon.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Union – 43, Buffalo State – 17
LOCATION: Coyer Field – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Union (8-1, 4-1 Liberty League), Buffalo State (2-7, 0-5 Liberty League)
 
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
  • Jones' 95-yard kick return is the Bengals' first kick return for a touchdown since September 17, 2017, when Jamar Rutledge went 96 yards in a 53-48 win over Morrisville.
  • Jones also added five receptions for 36 yards.
  • Noah Kimble (Depew, NY/Lancaster) completed 22-of-40 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. He also threw three interceptions.
  • Chris Boadi (Bronx, NY/New Visions) led the Bengals on the ground, rushing for 57 yards on 22 attempts.
  • Nicholas Bruce (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) scored the lone offensive touchdown for the Bengals, with five receptions for 84 yards.
  • Tariq Nelson (Brooklyn, NY / Boys and Girls) led the receiving corps with eight receptions and 94 yards.
  • Kenneth Mosley (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) led the Bengals with 14 tackles, one for loss.
  • Anderson Osei-Gyimah (Bronx, NY/New Visions) and Aaron Espinet (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) added 12 tackles a piece for the defensive unit.
  • Noah Estriplet (Nyack, NY/Nyack) tallied two tackles and his first interception of his career.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Union struck quickly, opening the scoring four minutes into the game with a Michael Fiore two-yard run
  • After the Bengals punted on their opening possession, Union scored two plays later, as Donovan Pacatte tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Robbie Tolbert.
  • Nick Sciandra (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda) later opened the scoring for the Bengals after a long, 14-play drive, kicking a 27-yard field goal to make the score 14-3.
  • Union scored another 36 seconds into the second quarter, with Fiore scoring his second touchdown of the afternoon from four yards out.
  • Max Gluck added a 34-yard field goal to take a 24-3 lead, before Jones' return put the Bengals within striking distance at 24-10.
  • Union converted its second field goal of the half, this time from 38-yards out as the Garnet Chargers led 30-10 at halftime.
  • After a Buffalo State interception, Fiore answered with his third touchdown of the game, scoring from nine yards out to take a 37-10 lead.
  • Buffalo State struck back with a four-play, 69-yard drive, capped by a 55-yard catch and run by Bruce as the hosts trailed 37-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
  • Union capped its scoring midway through the final period, as Pacatte tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Dan Quinn to lead 43-17.
  • Buffalo State had a chance late to close the gap, but Union's Charles Johnson recovered a Kimble fumble at the 1-yard line in the final minute of regulation.
 
FOR THE FOES
  • Pacatte completed 18-of-28 passes for 270 yards, scoring two touchdowns and throwing an interception.
  • Fiore gained 110 yards on 22 carries, scoring thrice.
  • Spencer Goldstein led the Union defense with 10 tackles, while James Gillespie caught a pair of interceptions.
 
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will honor its 2023 senior class next Saturday, as the Bengals host St. Lawrence in the final game of the season from Coyer Field at 12 p.m.
 
 
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