The SUNY Brockport football team travels to SUNY Morrisville on Saturday for their final road contest of the regular season. The Empire 8 Conference matchup is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
 
DATE – TIME: Nov. 6, 2021 – 2 p.m.
LOCATION: Drake Field – Morrisville, NY
LINKS: Video | Stats | Game Notes .pdf
 
Week 9 Recap: The SUNY Brockport football team retained the I-90 Trophy for the fifth straight year after downing Buffalo State on the road, 41-16, last Saturday afternoon. Jala Coad led the team with 130 yards on the ground, as the team rushed for 210 total yards. In comparison the Buffalo State Bengals were unable to run the ball on Brockport's stifling defense, netting just seven yards on the ground. The Golden Eagle offense tallied five rushing touchdowns in the contest. Rashad Law added to the run game with 53 rushing yards and a score. Linebacker Lawrence Jenkins got in on the action, punching home a rushing touchdown on the goal line carry in the second quarter. Quarterback Jack Cheshire connected with his receivers 15 times on 31 attempts to accumulated 174 yards and one touchdown through the air. Cheshire hooked up with his favorite target Imhotep Cromer seven times for 79 yards and a touchdown. The longest play of the day came on a pass to James Altenburger for a 41-yard catch, as Altenburger racked up 72 yards on four receptions. Ben Damiani helped lead the nationally ranked defense with 10 total tackles, including one sack and a forced fumble. The Golden Eagles also added three more interceptions to their tally as Raylens Boutin, Alaan Montgomery and Kenny Hernandez each registered one. 
 
Where We Stand: Brockport has won three straight is currently 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Empire 8 play this season. The Golden Eagles topped Framingham 31-0 on the road in the season opener.  Brockport then fell to visiting and nationally ranked Ithaca College 23-8 before defeating visiting Rochester 16-7 at home in week three. Following a bye week, the Golden Eagles topped Fisher on the road 34-7 in Courage Bowl XVI before falling to nationally ranked Cortland on the road. The Golden Eagles topped Utica 24-16 for their fourth win of the season before downing Hartwick on Homecoming.  Bport's sixth win of the season came last Saturday at Buffalo State. 
 
All-Time Against Morrisville: Saturday marks the 13th meeting between these two programs, with Brockport holding a convincing 10-3 edge in the series. The Golden Eagles have won seven of the last eight meetings dating back to 2011.
 
Last Meeting Against Morrisville: Brockport, ranked No. 22 nationally at the time, dropped its first Empire 8 contest of the 2019 regular season as the Golden Eagles fell on the road at Morrisville, 24-21.  The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first half behind a 25-yard INT returned for a touchdown by Andrew Covais and two touchdown runs from Jala Coad.  Coad finished the day with 101 yards rushing on 21 carries. Lawrence Jenkins made 10 stops and picked off a pass for the Golden Eagle defense. Covais finished the day with six stops, two pass break ups and one INT. Morrisville scored the final 17 points of the contest to steal the victory away from the 2019 Empire 8 Champions.

Offensive Player of the Year Candidate: Junior running back Jala Coad is etching his name alongside some of the all-time greats at Brockport.  He was named the Empire 8 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the third straight week following his 130-yard, three touchdown performances in Buffalo on Saturday. He averaged 6.2 yards per rush and eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing on the season. He has at least one touchdown in all eight games this season. He is head and shoulders above the competition in the Empire 8 in rushing yards with 533 more yards rushing than his closest competitor.  He has now matched his career-high in rushing yards in a single season with 1,040, in four less games. Coad now has 35 career rushing touchdowns and three receiving TD's. His 2,589 career rushing yards ranks sixth all-time at Brockport.
 
In The National Spotlight: Brockport's defense ranks second nationally with 20 interceptions and they also rank second nationally in rushing defense, holding opponents to an average of just 30.8 yards rushing per contest. The Golden Eagles rank sixth nationally and first in the conference having allowed just 95 first downs all season.  Brockport has allowed an average of just 201.4 total yards per game, which ranks seventh nationally.  Brockport ranks seventh nationally and second in the Empire 8 with a 3rd down conversion percentage defense of .256.
 
It's A Pick Party: Alaan Montgomery ranks fourth nationally with six interceptions this season.  He needs just three more to tie the program's single season record of nine which was set by John Banek in 1990 and again by Tom Massey in 1997.  Sophomore Raylens Boutin ranks 11^th nationally with five interceptions and Kenny Hernandez also has three picks this season.  Seven different players have at least one interception for Brockport.

All-American Candidate: Sophomore defensive back Raylens Boutin, the 2019 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, ranks ninth nationally with an average of 1.6 passes defended per game this season.  He leads the Empire 8 with eight pass breakups, and he also has five interceptions.  He now has 24 career pass breakups and nine interceptions in 20 career games. Boutin was a D3football.com Preseason All-American this Fall.
 
Awards SZN: Jala Coad has been named the Offensive Player of the Week three times this season, while Lawrence Jenkins earned Defensive Player of the Week once. Coad also earned a spot on the D3football.com National Team of the Week earlier this season. Freshman kicker Nate Wigent was named the Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance in the win over Hartwick. 

Improving Each Week: Brockport's offense has come to play as of late, totaling 41 points in each of its last two victories. Brockport's defense has allowed an average of just 14.0 points per contest. 
 
Don't Throw His Way: Senior Alaan Montgomery has a career-high six total INT's, including five in the last five games for the Golden Eagles. He has nine INT's over the course of the last two full seasons.

Primary Target: Senior receiver Imhotep Cromer ranks 34th nationally and first in the league with an average of 6.5 receptions per game. He also leads the E8 with 626 receiving yards for an average of 78.2 yards per game.  He has caught seven or more balls in five of eight games, including a season-high 10 in Brockport's season opening win over Framingham. He caught his second touchdown of the season on Saturday at Buffalo State.
 
Ice in His Veins: Freshman kicker Nate Wigent ranks 20th nationally and first in the conference with an average of 1.00 field goals per game. His .800 field goal percentage this season ranks in the top 15 nationally. He has made at least one field goal in 6-of-8 games this year, including a career-long 43 yarder in the season opener at Framingham.  He is also 23-for-25 on extra point opportunities this year and he ranks second on the team with 47 total points.
 
Freshman Signal Caller: Freshman quarterback Jack Cheshire ranks second in the Empire 8 with an average of 16.12 completions per game this season.  He also ranks second in the league with 1,305 yards passing. His average of 163.1 passing yards per game also ranks second in the Empire 8.
           
Leading Tacklers: Linebacker Ben Damiani leads the team with 52 total tackles this season.  He has 22 solo tackles and one interception for the Golden Eagle defense. Andrew Covais ranks second on the team with 46 tackles and Josh Greenwood ranks third with 35. Lawrence Jenkins ranks fourth with 34. Andrew Covais leads the team with 4.0 sacks, while Josh Greenwood has 3.5. 12 different players have registered at least a half sack this season for Brockport.
 
Backfield Disrupters: Defensive end Josh Greenwood leads the team with 10.0 tackles for a loss this season. Lawrence Jenkins ranks second with 9.5, while Damiani ranks third with 8.5.
 
They Can't Score if We Have the Ball: The Golden Eagles rank seventh in the nation in Time of Possession with an average TOP of 34:38 per contest.
 
Down the Stretch We Come: Bport returns home for the regular season finale and senior day on Nov. 13th against Alfred at 12 p.m.
 
Captains of the Ship: Brockport's three captains for this season include Luke Lodini, and senior linebacker's Lawrence Jenkins and Andrew Covais. Jenkins is now a two-time Empire 8 All-Conference selection, while Covais earned all-conference honorable mention in 2019. Lodini was a 2021 D3football.com Preseason All-American First Team pick for the Golden Eagles.
 
Meet the Sideline General: Head Coach Jason Mangone posted his 64th career victory following Brockport's win over Buffalo State last weekend. He now has a 64-24 overall record. Following the 2019 season, Mangone and his coaching staff became the first group to earn three consecutive Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors in the 19-year history of the conference. Mangone has been named the AFCA Region I Coach of the Year in two of the last three seasons. Mangone and his staff have compiled a 39-7 overall record in the last four seasons.  In 2017 he was named the AFCA National Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Eagles to the semifinals of the NCAA Div. III Championships.
 
Meet the Mustangs: Morrisville is currently on a four-game losing streak and the Mustangs are 1-7 overall on the season.  They have an 0-4 record in Empire 8 play. Their lone win of the season was a 41-10 victory over Buffalo State on Sept. 25^th.  Alex McBurnie leads the rushing attack with 521 yards and two rushing touchdowns this season. Steven Frerichs is listed as the starter under center for Morrisville. He has completed 32 passes for 283 yards and one TD this season.  Freshman QB Alex Britten has also played in all eight games for Morrisville. Ernesto Mitchell is the leading tackler for the Mustangs with 57. Ed Raby Jr. has been at Morrisville since 2017, but is in his first season as head coach after taking over the reins from current SUNY Cortland Head Coach Curt Fitzpatrick.