Brockport, NY – It was Senior Day at Bob Boozer Field on Saturday and the Brockport football team celebrated with a, 17-3, victory over Morrisville State in Empire 8 play. The Golden Eagles improved to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference after winning their third in a row.
Prior to the start of the game the Golden Eagles recognized the seniors in a brief ceremony. The upcoming graduating class included: Ben Marshall, Derrick Chance, John DeRidder, Jared Maurino, Kyle Haettich, Nic Esposito, Ben Damiani, Nolan Frisbey, Max O'Quinn, Demetri Swann, Jordan Harris, and Hakeem Yaya.
The Brockport defense once again held the opponent to three points or less, doing it for the fourth time this season against Morrisville. The unit gave up just nine first downs the entire game, allowing only 48 rushing yards, 105 passing, and 153 yards of total offense. Two seniors celebrated pregame continued the party, as both Ben Marshall and Kyle Haettich recorded interceptions.
Noah Panepinto scored the first points of the game with a field goal late in the opening quarter. A nine-play, 48-yard drive resulted in a 21-yard field goal by Panepinto to give Brockport a 3-0 lead going into the second. With neither team scoring in the second quarter, the Green and Gold held onto that three-point lead at halftime.
Early on in the third quarter, Morrisville's Owen Cole nailed a field goal to tie the game up. With the score tied at 3-3, it was a special teams mistake by the visiting Mustangs that changed the tone of the game. Morrisville's Aidan McDonald mishandled the ball while back to return a punt. The live ball was recovered by Brockport's Will McCarthy in the endzone for a touchdown. McCarthy's hustle broke the tie to put the squad up 10-3 following the extra point by Noah Panepinto.
Gino Fontanarosa was a workhorse for the Green and Gold offense. He lined up behind his strong offensive line for a career-high 40 carries, which is just seven shy of the program single-game record. Gino totaled 125 yards and a touchdown, scoring from six yards out with less than three minutes in the contest. Panepinto's point after would create the final score, 17-3.
With neither defense giving an inch, it was a busy day for the punters. Both teams punted seven times, but Brockport's Dan Giangrasso won the battle between the boots. Giangrasso totaled 312 yards on seven punts, averaging 44.6 per attempt. He pinned the Mustangs inside the 20, four separate times and had three different punts of over 50 yards. His longest of the day was an 82-yard punt that resulted in a touchback, netting 62 yards.
Myles Goddard, Jared Maurino, and Joe Motz each caught one pass on the day, as Chris McGuire completed three of his seven passes for 46 yards. Goddard had 18 receiving yards, while Maurino and Motz each had 14 in the game. McGuire also rushed for 27 yards on 11 carries.
Raylens Boutin, Ben Robinson, and Ben Damiani all tied for the lead on the defensive side of the ball with six tackles each. Boutin tied Vincent Daviero for a team-high of four solo stops. Robinson led the squad with four assisted tackles and added 0.5 tackles for a loss. Both of Ryan Culhane's tackles were solo plays behind the line of scrimmage, including 1.0 sacks for a loss of 10 yards.
Senior Hakeem Yaya also got in the backfield for 0.5 tackles for a loss and pressured the quarterback with three hurries. While defending the air both Ben Damiani and Diore Danzy knocked passes down. Also in the secondary we saw interceptions from Ben Marshall and Kyle Haettich.
Both teams had just over 29 minutes of possession time, went 5-for-15 on third downs, and went 0-for-1 on fourth downs. The Golden Eagles totaled 198 yards of offense, leaning on the ground game with 51 rushes for 152 yards and a touchdown.
Brockport will close its regular season next week on Saturday, November 12th when it travels for a matchup with Alfred. This Empire 8 clash is set to start at 1pm at Yunevich Stadium in Alfred, NY.