ALFRED, NY – The 25th-ranked Alfred University football team rolled up 464 yards of offense in a 49-24 victory over visiting Frostburg (MD) State University Saturday afternoon at Merrill Field.
Junior quarterback Tom Secky threw for 262 yards and sophomore tailback Chris Lopez ran for three touchdowns for the Saxons, who improved to 4-0 with the non-conference win.
AU scored touchdowns on all five of its possessions of the first half and led 35-17 at intermission. The Saxons took the opening kickoff and drove 72 yards in just five plays, with Secky hitting sophomore tight end Adam Schutz with a 49-yard scoring pass 2:02 into the contest.
After a Frostburg field goal made it 7-3, Alfred scored two straight touchdowns to go up 21-3. Junior Nick Clark bulled in from a yard out to cap a four-play 58-yard drive midway through the first. Alfred got the ball back when junior cornerback Roland O'Brien intercepted a Geoff Suddath pass near midfield. Five plays and 58 yards later, Lopez scored from a yard out to make it 21-3, Alfred.
Frostburg closed to within 11, at 21-10, when Suddath connected with tight end Zach Zile on a 15-yard scoring pass with 10:49 left in the second to cap an 11-play 71-yard drive. AU answered on its next possession, driving 49 yards in six plays, with Lopez scoring on a one-yard run with 8:06 left in the quarter. Frostburg wideout Fred Ramsey caught a 17-yard scoring pass from Suddath with 2:02 left before intermission, but AU came right back, marching 64 yards in four plays over 1:03, with senior wide receiver Ryan Thon grabbing a 19-yard scoring toss from Secky.
Alfred made it 35-17 with 3:38 left in the third. Lopez capped a six-play 46-yard drive with his third one-yard TD run of the afternoon. Freshman tailback Austin Dwyer pushed the Saxons' lead to 49-17 on Alfred's next possession, scoring on a three-yard run 1:07 into the fourth to end an eight-play 39-yard drive. Frostburg closed out the scoring with 6:40 left in regulation on a three-yard TD run by Anthony King.
Dwyer finished with 97 yards on just 11 carries (9.7 yards per attempt) and Lopez ran for 70 yards on 14 carries. Secky completed 12 of 16 passes for 262 yards, two TDs and an interception and Thon finished with four catches for 88 yards. Schutz had two catches for 66 yards and freshman wideout Josh Phillips had two catches for 46 yards.
The Saxons held Frostburg (1-4) to 296 yards of offense. Suddath completed 18 of 29 passes for 188 yards, two TDs and an interception. Wideout Anthony Young had six catchers for 66 yards and Ramsey caught five for 42 yards. King ran for 87 yards on 25 carries to lead the Bobcats' rushing attack.
Sophomore tackle Mike Raplee had nine tackles (2 ½ for loss, one sack) to lead the Saxon defense. Senior linebacker Chad Pieri and junior linebacker Brady Bonaquisti each had eight tackles, with Pieri registering two stops for loss. Clark, sophomore end Chris Steeves and freshman tackle Stephon Brown each had one sack for AU.
Safety Marcus Wilson had a game-high 12 tackles for Frostburg. Linebacker Josh Phillips had nine tackles and cornerback Terryl Monroe had seven stops and an interception.
Alfred is in action next on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. at Hartwick.