ALFRED, NY ‑‑ The Alfred University football team scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to erase a 12-point deficit and defeat visiting Buffalo State, 29-26, Saturday afternoon at Yunevich Stadium.
In the Empire 8 Conference opener for both teams, AU improved to 3-0 overall, while the visiting Bengals fell to 1-1.
The host Saxons overcame a big day by the Buff State offense, as the Bengals piled up 452 yards, including 245 on the ground. But AU forced three Buff State turnovers, with two of them coming in Alfred territory. AU produced 417 yards of offense (184 rushing, 233 passing) of its own and turned the ball over just once.
Alfred took a 7-0 first-quarter lead when junior wide receiver Maleke Fuentes scored on a one-yard run to cap a 10-play, 68-yard drive with 7:22 left in the opening quarter. Buff State went up 13-7 with two straight touchdowns in the second before the Saxons took a 14-13 into halftime on a nine-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Tyler Johnson to junior wideout Brendan Buisch with 1:06 left before intermission.
Alfred came up empty on its first three possessions after intermission. AU got the second-half kickoff but went three and out. Buff State took possession at its own 37 on the ensuing punt and drove 63 yards in nine plays to score a TD and take a 20-14 lead midway through the third. The Saxons punted on their next possession and the Bengals drove 65 yards for a score with 3:39 left the third. The two-point conversion attempt failed and Buff State led 26-14.
On its next possession, Alfred drove 63 yards to to the Buff State 16-yard line before Johnson was intercepted in the Bengal endzone on fourth down eight second into the fourth.
The big turning point came on Buff State's ensuing drive. Bengal quarterback Kyle Hoppy, who had thrown for 197 yards and two TDs and rushed for 54, was knocked out of the game after being tackled on a one-yard rush on second-and-5 from his own 44. On third down, backup quarterback Dan Serignese was sacked for a 16-yard loss by AU sophomore linebacker A.J. Licata and Buff State was forced to punt. A bad snap forced Bengal punter Ryan Mutterer to run and he was stopped short of the first down, giving AU the ball at the Buff State 44 with just over 11 minutes left in regulation.
Alfred drove 24 yards in six plays before Johnson connected with Buisch on a 20-yard scoring play to draw the Saxons to within five (26-21) with 9:04 left.
Buff State went three-and-out on its next possession and AU took over on its own 23 after a punt. After a 16-yard catch by Fuentes, junior tailback Casey Bright had rushes of eight and 30 yards to take the Saxons to the Bengal 23. A 20-yard pass from Johnson to Buisch made it first-and-goal from the three and Johnson plowed in for the go-ahead touchdown on the next play. Johnson ran for the two-point conversion and Alfred led 29-25 with 5:22 left.
Serignese fumbled at the Alfred 46 on the Bengals' next possession and AU sophomore defensive end Toby Hale recovered at the Buff State 48. Alfred faced fourth-and-1 from the Bengal 39 and went for it, hoping to put the game away, but Buff State tackled Johnson for a three-yard loss, giving the visitors one last chance. The Bengals made it to the AU 49 but came up short on fourth-and-13. Johnson took on knee on the final two plays and the Saxons came away with the win, their fourth straight over Buff State since the Bengals joined the Empire 8 Conference in 2012.
Johnson was 17-for-28 for 233 yards and a pair of scores. Fuentes finished with eight catches for 115 yards and Buisch had five for 66 and two touchdowns. Bright had 96 yards rushing on just eight attempts and sophomore tailback Sammy Davis had 52 yards on five carries.
Buff State tailback Tre Jones had a game-high 119 rushing yards and two TDs, while tailback Dale Stewart had 88 yards on nine attempts. Wideout Madison Wesolowski had four catches for 77 yards for Buff State; Edwin Young and Nick Jones each caught TD passes.
Licata had a monster day for the Saxons, finished with a game-high 13 tackles (eight solo, two for loss, one sack) and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Corry Wallace and junior strong safety Liam Hobbins each had 10. Junior free safety Wes Sanders had nine tackles and a fumble recovery and junior cornerback Shyheim Wingate had seven tackles and a forced fumble.
Junior defensive end Charles Branwell had a sack among his four tackles and Hale had two fumble recoveries.
Linebacker Marquis Artis had a team-best nine tackles and an interception and linebacker Shaq Frederick and end Andrew Cleveland each had seven tackles.
Alfred is in action next on Saturday, Sept. 26, when the Saxons travel to take on Empire 8 rival Ithaca College at 1 p.m.