Buffalo State holds on to defeat WestConn, 37-26
from the desk of Jeff Ventura - Buffalo State SID
BUFFALO, NY - (Sep. 26) — Willie Hordge (Buffalo/Forrestbrook (TX)) had 26 carries for 107 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Buffalo State (1-2/1-1) to a 37-26 homecoming victory over visiting Western Connecticut State (0-3/0-2) in an NJAC contest today at Coyer Field.
Buffalo State outgained the Colonials 390-215. Kenny Murphy (Lancaster/Lancaster) was 13 of 29 for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Eddie Weiser (Grand Island/Grand Island) led the Bengals’ defense with 12 tackles, including 3.5 for loss. Jermaine Rose (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls) had four tackles including three sacks for a loss of 27 yards.
James Williams (Wolcott/Wolcott) led West Conn’s offensive attack, going 14 of 25 for 122 yards and a touchdown, and also had nine rushes for 51 yards. Javaris Brown (Cromwell, CT/Cromwell) was the Colonials leading tackler with nine stops.
Lionel Assie (Bridgeport, CT/Bassick) returned the opening kickoff 86 yards to put the Colonials ahead 6-0 after a missed extra point. Buffalo State responded scoring the game’s next 27 points.
Sherman Nelson (Buffalo/O’Hara) reeled in a 45-yard pass from Murphy on the Bengals third offensive play to give Buffalo State a lead it would never relinquish. After a Matt Pacana (N. Tonawanda/N. Tonawanda) interception on the next series gave the Bengals a short field, Ben Mauer (Corning/Corning West) found the end zone with a 19-yard catch and run, pushing the lead to 13-6.
Hordge scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns on consecutive possessions from 2 and 5 yards to extend the advantage to 27-6. The latter score was set up when the Colonials had their signals crossed on a kickoff and allowed Greg Chadwick (Lancaster/Lancaster) to retrieve the bouncing ball for the Bengals deep in West Conn territory.
West Conn cut the deficit to 14 points midway through the second quarter after a 51-yard run by Williams set up a 6-yard scoring run by Wayne Neal (Poughkeepsie/Poughkeepsie).
The Colonials scored the first points of the second half on Neal’s second score, this time running it in from 8 yards out, cutting the lead to just 27-20. The touchdown was set up by a Nelson fumble on a punt return, recovered by Mike Lacaria (Watertown, CT/Bridgton) on the Bengals’ 21 yard line. A personal foul penalty started the drive on the 11, and West Conn needed just two plays to punch it in.
Buffalo State went back up by two scores on the ensuing possession when Nick Debbins (Lancaster/Lancaster) booted a 21-yard field goal. The Bengals found the end zone again on their next possession, driving 71 yards on 13 plays, capped by Hordge’s 4-yard run for his third score of the day. The drive was kept alive by a roughing the kicker penalty on a fourth-and-14 play.
West Conn completed the scoring with a late touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Williams to Mike Keating (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) in the back of the end zone. Buffalo State blocked the extra point attempt.
WestConn host Morrisville State next Saturday at noon. The Colonials will be celebrating the 40th year of football when members from the 1969 and 1970 team returns to Danbury. Buffalo State will host nationally-ranked No. 7 Cortland next Saturday at noon.
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