ALFRED, N.Y. – A crucial fourth-down stop by the Alfred University football defensive unit was enough as the Saxons held on in a wild 28-21 victory, held at Yunevich Stadium on Homecoming Saturday.
Alfred improves to 4-1 overall, while Morrisville drops to 2-3. It was the Empire 8 opener for both teams.
The game looked to be over early as Alfred scored on each of its first three drives. Alfred began the game with a 13-play, 64-yard drive, capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Aaron Griffin (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross).
The Saxon's next drive was a long one, as the team ripped off another 13-play drive. This time, Casey Boston (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) connected with A.O. Othman (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) in the endzone for a four-yard touchdown.
Midway through the second quarter, on Alfred's sixth play of its third drive, Boston connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Nazier Landes (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca), as the Saxons extended their lead to 21. Morrisville responded at the end of the half with a 15-play touchdown drive, as Bill Flatow found Jermaine Cooper with a 12-yard touchdown pass.
The Mustangs made it a game to begin the second half, as Flatow found Cooper for the second time, cutting the deficit to 21-14. After a short Alfred drive, Morrisville was poised to tie the game. Facing 1st-and-10 deep in their own territory, the Alfred defense came alive, as Sean Cameron (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) intercepted a tipped Flatow pass at the three-yard line.
Alfred took advantage of the Morrisville turnover, uncorking its longest drive of the game. 15 plays and 95 yards later, it was a 14-point swing as Griffin sidestepped a few Mustang defenders, en route to an 18-yard touchdown run. The Saxons went 3-for-3 on third downs as the team took a 28-14 lead with 13:21 to go in regulation.
"It starts with the run game, but it was good to have great balance offensively," said head coach Bob Rankl. "Casey [Boston] did a great job executing our RPO [Run-pass-option] plays and our guys did a great job setting him up on the ground."
Morrisville answered with a long touchdown drive of its own, as Flatow threw his third touchdown pass of the game. A long Saxon drive stalled at the Morrisville 30, giving the Mustangs one last shot to tie the game with 1:55 to go. The Saxon defense bended but didn't break, forcing seven incomplete passes, and two sacks. The last sack was the biggest, as Rodney Bailey (Buffalo, N.Y./Hutchinson Central Tech) took down the Morrisville quarterback on a crucial fourth-down play with 2.4 seconds left, on the Alfred 20-yard line as the Homecoming faithful erupted in celebration.
"That stop at the end was huge," Rankl said. "They were very good on fourth downs, and we need to be better with our execution, but at the end of the day we got the play we needed from Bailey to win it."
Alfred's offense tallied 352 yards in the win. Griffin was once again a force on the ground, tallying 178 yards and two touchdowns. It's the fourth straight game that Griffin has tallied 90+ yards. Boston was an efficient 12-of-17 with 109 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air. Landes led the Saxon receiving corps with three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Alfred was a solid 9-for-11 on third down conversions and held the ball for a little over 33 minutes, controlling the tempo.
The Saxon defense was led by Raeqwon Greer (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) and Nick Milgate (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) with 12 tackles a piece. Russell Kohler (Seaford, N.Y./St. Anthony's), Jason Gauthier (Java Center, N.Y./Pioneer), and Bailey each recorded a sack.
The Saxons will have a week off, returning to action on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Cortland.