Oct 10, 2015
BUFFALO, N.Y.—Buffalo State shut out No. 18 Cortland in the second half and erased a 12-point halftime deficit to post a 29-21 victory in an Empire 8 contest today at Coyer Field.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 29, Cortland - 21
LOCATION: Coyer Field, Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS: Buffalo State (3-2/2-2), Cortland (5-1/3-1)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Buffalo State quarterback Aaron Ertel (Depew/Depew) finished 24 of 43 for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in his second collegiate start.
- Converted running back Joe Oca (Webster/Webster Thomas) had a breakout game at wide receiver with nine catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Billy Joiner (Rochester/John Marshall) added six catches for 83 yards.
- Dale Stewart (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls) finished with 102 yards on the ground on nine carries, including two touchdowns covering 1 and 84 yards.
- Buffalo State finished with 456 total yards, including 271 in the second half, while allowing 411 yards by Cortland, but just 170 in the second half.
- John Alessandra (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) and Shaq Frederick (Brooklyn/Holy Cross) led the Bengals' defense with nine tackles each.
- The Bengals' defense finished with six sacks, including two each by Anthony Sanders (Buffalo/McKinley) and Khalil Sommerville (Buffalo/Bennett).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Cortland took advantage of a blown coverage on the opening drive of the game, when Steven Ferreira avoided a third-down sack and hit a wide open Jake Smith for a 77-yard touchdown.
- After a Ryan Mutterer (Indian Trail, NC/Porter Ridge) punt was downed inside the 1-yard line, the Bengals registered their first points of the game when Cortland's running back was bottled up and gang tackled in the end zone for a safety to cut the deficit to 7-2.
- The Red Dragons extended their lead to 14-2 on the first play of the second quarter when Ferreira hit a streaking Jon Mannix for a 39-yard touchdown down the side line.
- Buffalo State responded on the ensuing possession with a nine-play, 61-yard drive capped by a 1-yard scoring run by Stewart.
- After a Cortland fumble in Bengals' territory late in the first half, the Bengals looked to mount a scoring drive to take their first lead, but Carson Lassiter jumped on a slant and returned it in stride 59 yards to push the lead to 21-9 just before the intermission.
- Buffalo State scored the final 20 points of the game in the second half.
- The Bengals took the opening drive of the third quarter 62 yards in eight plays, capped by Oca's 23-yard touchdown grab.
- The Bengals finally took their first lead of the game in the closing minute of the third quarter when Stewart broke through the line and raced 84 yards for the score. The Bengal led 22-21 after failing on the two-point try.
- After another defensive stand, the Bengals extended the lead to eight on a 12-play, 59-yard drive that included a 25-yard catch by Nick Jones (Buffalo/West Seneca West) on a fourth-and-1. The drive culminated with a 2-yard strike from Ertel to Stephen Johnson (Buffalo/McKinley).
- Cortland had two more chances with the ball, but the Bengals defense force a turnover on downs each time.
FOR THE FOES
- Ferreira finished 23 of 33 for 377 yards, including going 11 of 13 for 216 yards and two scores in the first half.
- Jake Smith had five catches for 138 yards and a touchdown, Jon Mannix had five receptions for 103 yards and a score, and Nick Wagner caught seven passes for 78 yards.
- Matt Ambrose led the Red Dragons' defense with 13 tackles.
NOTEWORTHY
- Buffalo State has defeated Cortland in each of the past four meetings.
- Cortland had averaged 43.2 points-per-game through its first five games, before being limited to a season-low 21 points today.
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will host Finlandia next Saturday for a non-conference game at noon at Coyer Field.