The College at Brockport defensive unit held Montclair State - ranked 12th in the country according to the latest D3Football.com poll – to just three points in the second half but the Brockport offense was unable to score in the final two quarters and the Golden Eagles dropped a 20-13 decision Saturday in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game on Bob Boozer Field at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium in Brockport.
Brockport (0-4 overall, 0-3 NJAC) took a 10-7 lead near the end of the first quarter when junior Joseph Innes (Unadilla, NY/Unatego) hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Scibilia (North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint).
Montclair (4-0, 3-0) tied the score early in the second quarter with a 26-yard field goal before Brockport regained the lead as EJ Genzano (Albany, NY/Guilderland) converted a 22-yard field goal for a 13-10 advantage.
Late in the second quarter, the Brockport offense was marching down the field in an attempt to extend the lead until Montclair intercepted a pass and put together a 65-yard drive in the final minutes of the half capped by an 8-yard scoring pass giving the Red Hawks a 17-13 lead as the teams headed into the locker room for the halftime intermission.
Montclair opened the second half with an 11-play drive that was stopped by the Brockport defense at the eight yard line as the Red Hawks settled for a field goal to extend their lead to 20-13.
After a Brockport drive stalled and freshman punter Nick Costanza (Penfield, NY/Penfield) pinned Montclair inside the 20-yard line, the Red Hawks started another drive. The Brockport defense stepped up again, this time with an interception by sophomore Ross Ragonesi (East Northport, NY/Northport). The interception was his fourth of the season and extended his streak of four straight games with an interception.
At the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter Brockport mounted another long drive as Scibilia completed six passes and marched the Golden Eagles all the way to the Montclair 21-yard line. The drive ended as Scibilia was intercepted for the second time on the day – this time inside the 10-yard line of the Red Hawks.
Brockport had one final chance to score in the fourth quarter with a drive that started at its own 12-yard line with 3:07 left on the clock. Scibilia completed three passes to move the Golden Eagles to midfield. A pass interference penalty against Montclair nullified an intercepted pass and gave Brockport an automatic first down but after an incomplete pass and a quarterback sack, Scibilia was intercepted for the third time and Montclair was able to run out the clock to end the game.
On the day Scibilia was 39-for-63 passing with the 63 attempts breaking the school record of 58 pass attempts in a game set by Jake Graci in 2009 and the 39 completions tied the school record set by Zack Luke in 2008. Scibilia racked up a career-high 353 yards through the air which is the fifth most in school history. The 353 yards moved Scibilia past the 2,400 mark for his career and puts him in eighth place on the al-time career passing list at Brockport.
Jordan Hogan (Lockport, NY/Newfane) had nine catches for a team-leading 112 yards while Jake Spalik (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) and Innes each pulled down eight passes for Brockport. Defensively, Jim Carlson (Port Henry, NY/Moriah) and Ragonesi shared the team lead with eight tackles each and Prince Jacobs (Bronx, NY/Thomas Jefferson) added seven stops. Jacobs and Carlson each had a pair of pass deflections.