SALISBURY, MD – Hartwick and Salisbury combined for 108 points and almost 1,200 yards of offense on Saturday in an Empire 8 Conference football game in Salisbury, MD. The Sea Gulls grabbed the lead late in the first half and never surrendered it in a 59-49 win.
Quarterback Billy Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Fall) threw for 333 yards, three touchdowns, and ran for another two scores in the game. John Garcia (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) threw for 239 with a touchdown and receivers Tanner Williams (Eagle Bridge, NY/Hoosick Falls), John Horner (Queens Village, NY/Fox Lane), and Brad Garcia (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) each went over the 100-yard mark for the game.
The Hawks would score touchdowns on four of their first five possessions in the first half of play. Salisbury scored on five of their first seven drives as the two teams combined for 68 points in the first 30 minutes.
'Wick would open up a 14-0 lead as it scored on its first two drives on touchdown passes from Pine to Horner (11 yards) and Williams (25 yards).
Salisbury came back with a touchdown 1:10 after Williams scored and the Gulls tied it 25 ticks into the second quarter. Hartwick got the ball back and scored again on its first play from scrimmage, a Garcia (John) to Garcia (Brad) 62-yard touchdown pass, and the Hawks were in front 21-14.
The lead was gone 16 seconds later however, as James White ran the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards for the Salisbury touchdown and the score was tied at 21-21 with 14:01 left in the half.
Pine then capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a two-yard run into the end zone. The PAT was blocked leaving the score at 27-21 Hawk's favor.
Hartwick held off the Gulls until under two minutes remained until halftime. Emmanuel Smith scored on a 16-yard run, and the Gulls got the ball back after an interception with less than a minute left. John Dunbar then ran it in from 45 yards out to increase Salisbury's advantage to eight, 35-27.
The Hawks weren't done as Pine hooked up with Brad Garcia for a 57-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to two. They went for two to attempt the tie but couldn't convert.
Salisbury extended its advantage early in the third quarter with another Smith rushing touchdown. Later in the quarter, a fumbled punt return inside the Hartwick five yard-line was recovered in the end zone for another Gull score making it a 49-33 game.
Hartwick cut it to eight on a Pine rushing touchdown with 11:17 left in the game. The Hawks tried an on-side kick but Salisbury recovered and later tacked on another score to make it 56-41.
An 81-yard Hartwick drive which took 6:21 off the clock was finished off by Greg Bell (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) to trim the Gull lead to just seven, 56-49, with 2:01 showing on the clock. After recovering another on-side kick, Salisbury picked up a few first downs and then killed the clock deep in the 'Wick end until they faced a 4th and goal on the 8 with 25 ticks left. Zak Osbourne put the game out of reach with a 25-yard field goal to push the final margin to 10.
The Sea Gulls gained 514 yards on the ground in the game. The Hawks racked up 572 yards through the air.
Pine ran the ball 22 times for 78 yards for the Hawks. He completed 19 passes for his 333 yards. Williams made nine catches for 193 yards, Horner caught six balls for 100 yards, and Brad Garcia made five catches for 140 to go along with his two scores.
Matthew Ali (Sayville, NY/Sayville) led Hartwick with eight tackles defensively, which included a forced fumble. Midnet Cantave (Spring Valley, NY/Spring Valley) and Michael Servider (Carmel, NY/Carmel) each had seven hits. Cantave also forced a fumble and Servider recovered one. A.J. Sakac (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) had six tackles with one sack.
Hartwick (2-4, 1-3 E8) returns home after two straight Empire 8 road contests. The Hawks host the College at Brockport Golden Eagles at Wright Stadium on Saturday, October 25 at 2 p.m.
Salisbury Outlasts Hartwick in Shootout, 59-49
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141018_xhke.xml
2014
Hartwick
49
Salisbury
59
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartwick (2-4) | 14 | 19 | 0 | 16 | 49 |
| Salisbury (4-2) | 7 | 28 | 14 | 10 | 59 |
Oct 18, 2014