Oneonta, NY – The SUNY Brockport football team dominated the Hartwick Hawks on the road Saturday, 53-0. Following their third shutout of the season, the Golden Eagles move to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Empire 8.
It was an absolute dominant showing from the Brockport defense from start to finish. The Golden Eagles allowed just 72 yards of total offense and gave up only four first downs the entire game. Hartwick ended up netting -15 rushing yards on 16 carries and only had 87 passing yards on 31 attempts. Brockport forced the Hawks to punt 12 times and had one interception, giving the defense 12 takeaways on the season (8 INT). The defensive unit had six tackles for loss, including two sacks on the day.
Ben Robinson led the team with five total tackles in the game, including a team-high four solo stops. Marqwan Fluitt had a strong game with three solo tackles, including 1.0 sacks and 2.0 tackles for loss. Elijah Grooms not only had his first interception of the season, but also joined Alan Ramirez-Jimenez for 0.5 sacks each. Malik Kelly played lockdown coverage on the outside with three pass breakups against the Hawks receivers.
Staying balanced with the offensive attack, the Golden Eagles had a season-high 496 yards of total offense. It was a strong outing from the offensive line, as the group up front paved the way for season-high 257 rushing yards on 48 attempts (5.4 yards per carry) and five rushing touchdowns. Four different ball carriers had 40+ yards in the game, with three different rushers finding the endzone. Through the air, Brockport scored two more touchdowns and threw for 239 yards.
Ben Gocella threw for two touchdowns and 187 yards on the day, marking 1,000 yards in the season for the first time in his collegiate career (1,015 passing yards). He found Nolan Slywka and Daniel Manneh five times each for 74 and 66 yards respectively. Brian Caldwell Jr. caught a touchdown for a third straight game. Freshman tight end Tim Lewis celebrated his first collegiate reception with a touchdown catch from six yards out.
The run game saw five different ball carries get seven or more touches behind the strong o-line. Starter Isaiah Simmons ran for 51 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a new career-high of eight rushing scores this year. Cameron Mesh had a productive day with 79 yards and two rushing scores of his own. Kyseem Springer got loose for a 51-yard run to give him 63 rushing yards for the game. Michael Rende was the other Golden Eagle to find the endzone, going for 45 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
On the special teams end of the action, Dan Giangrasso was asked to punt just three times in the contest. With a long kick of 52 yards on the day, he pinned Hartwick inside its own 20 twice in his three tries. Sal Montaperto was 6-for-7 on extra points and 1-for-2 on field goals. Montaperto missed his 24-yard attempt in the first quarter, but bounced back with a make from 21 yards out in the fourth.
Getting the ball to start the game, the Golden Eagles wasted no time in taking control. Gocella found Slywka multiple times early on in the opening drive to get into the redzone quickly. It was all Simmons to finish off the drive, scoring on a 2-yard run to make it an early 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing Hartwick possession, disaster struck in more than one way for the Hawks. Brockport's Jayson Thomas forced a fumble on second down that caused an 8-yard loss on second down. Two plays later, the Hawks punt attempt resulted in a safety to give Brockport two more points on the scoreboard.
Leading by a score of 9-0, the Green and Gold were set to get the ball back in the hands of the offense following the safety. A big completion from Gocella to Manneh for 42 yards quickly got the team in scoring position once again. This time Hartwick would hold in the redzone, forcing a field goal try that Montaperto missed from 24 yards out.
Although the Hawks took over after the missed kick, they would not hold onto the ball for long. Brockport's defense forced a 3-and-out and a penalty during a poor punt would give the offense possession at the 16-yard line. On the first snap, Simmons went 16 yards for his second touchdown of the day. Brockport entered the second quarter up 16-0.
Fairly early in the second, the Golden Eagles would add to their lead with some action in the passing game. Starting with great field position once again, Gocella would link up with Caldwell Jr. for an 18-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the drive. After the extra point was blocked by Hartwick, Brockport's lead stood at 22-0.
While Brockport's defense continued to lockdown the Hartwick offense in the second quarter, Hartwick's defense stepped up for a couple stops. It wasn't until the final two minutes before halftime where Brockport really blew the game wide open.
The Golden Eagles scored two touchdowns after the two-minute stoppage in play. First it was a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Mesh at the 1:55 mark to give the squad a 29-0 lead. Then after another quick stop by the defense, Brockport's offense found the endzone again with 30 second left before halftime. It was Mesh once again on the score, this time from 24 yards out to make it a convincing 36-0 lead at the break.
Brockport's defense kept up the intensity in the second half, starting the third quarter with another 3-and-out. Hartwick held the ball for just 45 seconds after the second half kickoff before punting it back to the Golden Eagles.
After a long completing by Gocella and a pair of chunk rushes by Mesh, the offense was down in the redzone once again. On third down from the 6-yard line, Tim Lewis made his first collegiate catch for the score. Gocella's second touchdown pass of the day helped push the Brockport lead to 43-0.
Consecutive stops by the defenses on the field would keep the score at 43-0 going into the fourth. Brockport ended the third quarter with possession of the ball, looking to take advantage of great field position once again. The Golden Eagles found themselves inside the 20 to start the fourth. This resulted in 5-yard touchdown rush from Michael Rende less than two minutes into the quarter, making it a 50-0 lead early in the fourth.
Desperate for some offense, Hartwick continued throwing the ball deep hoping to make something happen. On the next drive, quarterback Christian Boswell connected to Conor Cosgrove for 21 yards and Aidan Dietz for 20 yards on back-to-back plays. However, the momentum of the drive would halt almost immediately. Brockport's Elijah Grooms would pick Boswell off on a deep pass attempt to give possession back to the offense.
With a 50-point lead and 10 minutes left to play, the Golden Eagles began to kill the clock with the run game. A healthy combination of Kyseem Springer and Michael Rende helped move the chains for Brockport. The duo would eventually set up Sal Montaperto's 21-yard field goal which added to the lead. The extra three points would create the final of 53-0, as the Golden Eagles blowout the Hawks on the road.
Brockport is back in action next week for yet another road Empire 8 clash. The squad will take on Hilbert College in Hamburg, NY on Saturday, October 19th. Kickoff is at 12pm at Frontier High School.