BUFFALO, NY – Hartwick led 10-7 with less than six minutes left in the third quarter but host Buffalo State (6-3, 4-3 E8) would score two touchdowns later in the third and another two in the fourth to earn a 35-10 victory Saturday at Coyer Field in Buffalo.
After trailing 7-0 at halftime, the Hawks got on the scoreboard on a Korey Jubie (Kingston, NY/Kingston) field goal 4:14 into the third and took the lead on a Carl Holmes' (Cuba, NY/Cuba-Rushford) 3-yard run just under four minutes later.
The Bengals answered with two touchdowns in a 4:40 span to end the third and tacked on another two touchdowns in a 2:21 span in the fourth.
Offensively, Hartwick quarterback John Garcia (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) threw for 271 yards on 16-of-46 passing. Holmes made five catches for 119 yards to lead the Hawks' receiving corps.
The Hawks would miss out on a scoring chance on their opening possession of the day as they drove all the way to the Buffalo State 17 yard-line. An interception on the Bengal one yard-line would turn the ball back over to the hosts.
Buff State would score first on its second possession. A Rich Pete 28-yard run would later set up a Dan Serignese 15-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Carney for the lead with 4:13 left in the first quarter. It would not be the last of Carney as he finished the day with nine catches for 229 yards receiving with three scores.
The Bengals would threaten again early in the second quarter as they drove to the Hartwick 14, but senior defensive end Andrew Bashford (East Rockaway, NY/East Rockaway) forced a fumble that was recovered by Sal Levanti (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon) to thwart the drive.
The Hawks would end another potential scoring play for Buffalo State later in the quarter. The Bengals faced a 4th and 1 on the Hartwick 16, but Seringese was stuffed by linebacker Matthew Ali (Sayville, NY/Sayville) for a 1-yard loss.
The half would end with the hosts holding a 7-0 lead. In the opening two quarters, the teams combined for five fumbles, two turnovers, and 13 negative plays.
The Bengals received the second-half kickoff but on the first play from scrimmage, corner Midnet Cantave (Spring Valley, NY/Spring Valley) picked off quarterback Kyle Hoppy for his Empire 8-leading sixth interception of the season. The Hawks promptly marched 51 yards with passing plays of 37 yards to Ricky Giraldo (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) and 15 yards to Holmes paving the way to a Jubie 30-yard field goal to put the Hawks on the board.
On the kickoff, Jubie lined his kick which deflected off a Bengal player and Hartwick recovered on their own 46 yard-line. A Garcia to Holmes 30-yard passing play would set the Hawks up inside the Bengal 20, and six plays later, Holmes ran it in from three yards out to give Hartwick its first lead of the day, 10-7, with 7:10 left in the third.
The Hawks' lead would only last 1:39 as Hoppy would connect with Carney on the sideline and he shook off a Hartwick defender and took it to the end zone for a 52-yard score and the Bengals regained the advantage for good.
Buffalo State got the ball back in Hartwick territory following another interception and Carney scored from Hoppy on a 39-yard pass for a 21-10 lead.
The Bengals capitalized on a turnover on the Hawks' first possession of the fourth quarter with an 11-play, 63-yard drive capped by a Mike Doherty touchdown catch to extend the lead to 18 points.
Hartwick drove into the Bengals' end on their next possession only to have Marquis Artis pick off a Garcia pass and he ran it back 59 yards to the Hartwick 11. Brandon Alexander ran it in on the next play and Marc Montana's extra point closed out the day's scoring with 6:03 remaining in the game.
Receiver Chris Spell (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) would contribute three catches for 43 yards in the game for the Hawks with tight end Marcus Mistersaro (Leroy, NY/Leroy) adding two catches for 37 yards.
Ali registered a game-high 12 tackles for the Hawks, including one tackle for a loss. Bashford registered seven hits, 2.5 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and two passes broken up.
Hartwick (2-7, 1-6 E8) will wrap up its regular season on Senior Day next Saturday against Utica College at Wright Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m.