CANTON, N.Y. – The College at Brockport football team completed their undefeated regular season on Saturday afternoon, defeating the St. Lawrence Saints 28-7 to move to 10-0 on the season heading into the NCAA Championship Playoffs. They'll learn their first opponent tomorrow night during the NCAA Selection Show, which begins at 5:30 p.m.
This is the first time in program history that Brockport has closed out the regular season with a 10-0 record, and it also ties the all-time wins mark for the Golden Eagles.
Brockport received the opening kickoff to start this game, and did not waste any time getting on the board, scoring on their first offensive drive. Wide receiver Tyree Brown, who doubled as a "wild cat" quarterback today, was responsible for the score, rushing one in from five yards out to give the Green and Gold an early lead.
The Saints threatened on the ensuing drive, but a fourth down stop gave the Golden Eagles the ball back at their own 19-yard line to start another drive. Both teams were held off the board for the remainder of the quarter.
St. Lawrence moved the ball deep into Brockport territory again early in the second quarter, using good starting field position to move the ball all the way to the five yard line for a first and goal. After Rashad Baker broke up the first attempt to the end zone, Jake O'Connell picked off his team-leading sixth pass of the season, tipping the ball to himself before coming down with it to end the Saints threat.
Brockport used that momentum to score on the ensuing drive, going 89 yards down the field in just six plays to extend their lead to 14-0. The yardage came completely on the ground, as the trio of Jason Hellwig, Christian Hollister, and Camron Abalos all broke out huge carries to get the ball deep into St. Lawrence territory. On a first and ten from the 26, Hellwig took off up the middle of the field, dodging multiple tackles before barreling his way into the end zone for the score.
The Green and Gold scored again on the next drive as well, this time in interesting fashion. After a methodical drive put the Green and Gold in prime scoring position, a third down stop forced them into a fourth and four from the St. Lawrence fourteen. Head coach Jason Mangone called a timeout to draw up a play that would extend the Golden Eagle lead once again.
The snap went to the QB Hellwig, who pitched it to Brown who was in motion from the left side. Brown pitched it again to Jerry Thompson who was coming across the backfield from the right for the double reverse, but the play was not over yet. Thompson rolled out to the left and threw up a pass to Hellwig, who made a leaping grab over the defender for the touchdown. The score put Brockport up 21-0 with 0:25 seconds left in the half.
The Saints were able to tack on a touchdown late in the half, using a good kick return and long completion to put them at the one-yard line, where a successful fade to Travis Marnell put them on the board.
The second half was a defensive standoff, as neither team was able to get any offense going. The lone second half touchdown came with four minutes remaining in regulation, when it was once again Brown rushing it in from three yards out for his second score of the game.
Hellwig finished the day with 132 yards through the air and 115 on the ground, running for a touchdown and receiving one as well. Hollister backed him up with 67 yards on the ground, while Brown ran for 45 yards and two scores.
Defensively, Brockport limited St. Lawrence to just 202 yards of total offense (-3 on the ground), and sacked the Saints quarterback six times. Julius Mizro and Matt Arita led the team with eight tackles apiece, while Josh Greenwood recorded five including 1.5 sacks.
Eric Yaeger averaged 39.8 yards on his five punts, while kicker Brett Renzi remained perfect on PAT tries, knocking through all four of his attempts today.
Be sure to follow Brockport Athletics on twitter (@BportAthletics), Instagram (bportathletics), and facebook (Brockport Golden Eagles) to find out more information about tomorrow night's selection show.