BUFFALO STATE ATHLETICS
PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Buffalo State led 28-7 midway through the third quarter, but host St. John Fisher rallied to score 24 unanswered points, including hitting a 34-yard field goal as time expired to steal a 31-28 victory in today’s season finale.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: St. John Fisher – 31, Buffalo State – 28
LOCATION: Growney Stadium – Pittsford, N.Y.
RECORDS: St. John Fisher (3-6/3-4), Buffalo State (1-9/1-6)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Omar Robinson (Arverne/Abraham Lincoln) and Martin Bailey (Buffalo/Kenmore West) shared the duties in the backfield. Robinson had 87 yards on just 15 carries, while Bailey had 68 yards on 25 carries and also caught a 14-yard touchdown pass.
- Senior Kevin Torrillo (Amherst/Sweet Home) finished just 11 of 27 for 93 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in his final game aa a Bengal.
- Gino Bonagura (Lindenhurst/Lindenhurst) led the Bengals’ defense with 15 tackles, giving him 104 for the season, and added a forced fumble.
- Jay-Quan Wilson (Laurelton/Erasmus Hall) added 12 stops.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Buffalo State produced offensive, defensive and special teams touchdowns to jump out to a 21-7 lead before halftime.
- Brandon Barksdale (Buffalo/Bennett) opened the scoring with a late in the first quarter after forcing a fumble and taking the recovery 38 yards for his first collegiate touchdown.
- The Bengals capped a 10-play, 56-yard drive with a 7-yard scoring strike from Torrillo to Jordan Evert(Amherst/Sweet Home) with 3:15 remaining in the second quarter.
- The Cardinal answered on the next drive, cutting the deficit in half with a 3-yard pass from Joshua Michels to Cam Cleveland with just 12 seconds remaining before the break.
- That was enough time for the Bengals to reclaim the 14-point advantage as Jamar Rutledge(Buffalo/McKinley) returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards, crossing the goal line as time expired in the first half.
- Buffalo State took the opening drive of the second half 75 yards in 15 plays, culminating with a 14-yard scoring pass from Torrillo to Bailey.
- The Bengals would only manage 79 yards on their final seven drives while committing three turnovers to allow the Cardinals to roar back.
- St. John Fisher scored on a 23-yard run by Malachi Duvall to cut the margin to 28-14 before the start of the fourth quarter.
- The Cardinals added an 85-yard score on a pass from Michels to Cleveland on their first possession of the fourth quarter to come within seven.
- The Bengals fumbled on the next play from scrimmage and Justin Wheeler scooped it up and returned it 21 yards to even the score at 28-28 with 10:03 remaining in regulation.
- Buffalo State fumbled away its next possession, but Nakai Payne (Brooklyn/Progress) snagged his first career interception three plays later to give the Bengals the ball back.
- After a Torrillo interception, the Bengals force a turnover on downs and got one more chance with the ball with 4:04 remaining, starting at their own 29. Buffalo State got just over midfield, but was forced to punt, pinning the Cardinals at their own 4 with 1:17 left.
- St. John Fisher used a 43-reception by Will Blake and a 22-yard catch by Ryan Ingerson and eventually put itself in position for Joe Dotterweich’s 34-yard field goal as time expired.
FOR THE FOES
- Michels ended up 22 of 45 for 317 yards with two touchdowns and one interceptions.
- Cleveland had five carried for 97 yards to go with 12 catches for 192 yards with two touchdowns.
- The Cardinals outgained the Bengals 490-257 for the game.
