Brockport, NY – In week two of the season, the SUNY Brockport football team will be on the road to face No. 11 Susquehanna University on Saturday, September 14^th at 1pm.
 
DATE – TIME: September 14^th, 2024 – 1pm
LOCATION: Amos Alonzo Stagg Field – Selinsgrove, PA
LINKS: Video | Stats | Radio
 
I-90 Bowl Victory: The Golden Eagles defeated the Buffalo State Bengals, 27-0, in the annual I-90 Bowl Rivalry Game to open the season. Moving to 1-0 to start 2024, Brockport retained the I-90 Bowl Trophy for an eighth consecutive year. The defense had three takeaways to help keep Buffalo State from getting any points on the scoreboard. Offensively, the Golden Eagles totaled 435 yards of offense (242 rush, 193 pass) with a pair of rushing and passing touchdowns. Brockport has now won four season openers in a row.
 
Big Week for Simmons: Thursday night's opener at home was Isaiah Simmons' best outing of his young career. He rushed for a career-high 185 yards (2^nd career 100-yard game) and scored a career-best two rushing touchdowns. On 19 carries against the Bengals, Simmons averaged 9.7 yards per rush on the home turf. His big highlight of the night came on just the second snap of the game for the Brockport offense. He broke loose for a a career-long, 77-yard touchdown run. His second score of the night came from eight yards out later in the first quarter. Following the big night, Simmons was named the Empire 8 Football Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
 
Strong Defensive Effort: Brockport's intimidating defense looked as strong as ever by shutting out the visiting Bengals in week one. Allowing just 187 yards of total offense, Buffalo State's run game was reduced to just 26 yards on 21 carries for 1.2 yards per rush. The secondary held the opposing quarterback to just a 39.3% completing rating, and picked him off twice. After week one the Brockport defense ranks seventh in the nation in first down defense and is one of just 16 teams in the country that has not allowed any points yet.
 
Forcing Turnovers: A big piece of the puzzle in the Brockport defense shutdown performance was the ability to force three turnovers. Malik Kelly came up big in the secondary with two interceptions. The third turnover came on a fumble recovery late in the contest. The Buffalo State running back fumbled the handoff and Brockport's Jayson Thomas fell on it for the takeaway.
 
Getting Stops: All night long the Brockport defense was able to make tackles and force the opposing offense off the field. Buffalo State had just nine total first downs in the season opener, which included just one from a run play. Ben Robinson led the squad with six total tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss. Kyle Haettich and Mike Talbert Jr. both had four solo stops in the contest. Andre Marianetti had the lone sack for the Green and Gold, finishing with 2.0 tackles for a loss of 14 total yards. The Bengals struggled to convert on third downs, going 4-for-15 on third down conversions in the week one game.
 
Rushing Attack: Of the 69 offensive snaps for the Golden Eagles, 44 of those plays were kept on the ground behind the strong offensive line. The unit up front paved the way for 242 rushing yards, two scores, and 5.5 yards per carry. Isaiah Simmons broke loose for his career-high of 185 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Kyseem Springer was able to rush for 28 yards on the first nine carries of his collegiate career.
 
Aerial Threats: Quarterback Ben Gocella was able to throw for 193 yards with two touchdowns and one interception on 15-for-25 passing in week one. His favorite target in the first game was sophomore Nolan Slywka. Slywka had a team-high six receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Gocella also connected with Daniel Manneh a few times for big gains. Manneh had four receptions for a team-high 89 yards and a touchdown in his debut with the Golden Eagles.
 
Special Teams Notes: Dan Giangrasso had just one punt attempt in the game and it was a beauty. The All-Conference punter booted a 59-yard punt that pinned the opposing offense back inside its own 20. Freshman kicker Sal Montaperto made his debut as the Brockport place kicker. He went 3-for-4 on point after attempts and missed his lone field goal attempt from 32 yards out.
 
Last Year's Clash: The 2023 meeting between the Golden Eagles and the River Hawks was a defensive standoff that featured no touchdowns. No. 22 Susquehanna took the win at Bob Boozer Field, 6-5, on a last second field goal in the fourth quarter. The Golden Eagle special teams unit not only provided points on a field goal make, but also blocked two kicks in the fourth quarter. One block forced a safety on a punt attempt from Susquehanna and the other block was on a field goal attempt. After such a defensive battle and all the special teams drama, the game came down to one big play. The River Hawks completed a key 49 yard pass play with just five seconds left to play, which set up the game-winning field goal from 18 yards out. Susquehanna escaped with the 1-point win on the road and Brockport is looking for payback this year down in PA.
 
Looking at the River Hawks: Currently ranked No. 11 in the D3football.com Top 25 rankings, the Susquehanna River Hawks are 1-0 heading into week two. They toppled Bridgewater College in week one, 41-7, at home. Generating 617 yards of total offense, Susquehanna saw three touchdowns from running back Rahshan La Mons who totaled 123 rushing yards on nine carries and 99 receiving yards on three receptions. He broke free for both a 61-yard rushing touchdown and an 86-yard touchdown reception. Quarterback Josh Ehrlich threw for 279 yards with three touchdowns and rushed for another 104 yards with another score. The defense played its role well by forcing four turnovers (3 INT, 1 FR) and holding Bridgewater to just 264 yards of offense. The one touchdown allowed by the River Hawks came on a 96-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. Susquehanna is coming off a 10-1 season, which saw an undefeated regular season run get halted in the first round of the national tournament in a 21-20 loss to Grove City.
 
Coming Up Next: Coming up in week three is Homecoming Weekend for SUNY Brockport. The Golden Eagles join in on the celebration with a home game against Wilkes University at 1pm on Saturday, September 21^st at Bob Boozer Field.