Football dominates Hartwick to celebrate homecoming, 41-7

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Buffalo State forced five turnovers and held Hartwick to just 276 yards of total offense to celebrate homecoming with a convincing 41-7 victory in today's Empire 8 season-opener at Coyer Field. THE BASICS FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 41, Hartwick - 7 LOCATION: Coyer Field – Buffalo, N.Y. RECORDS: Buffalo State (1-3/1-0), Hartwick (2-2/0-1) INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

On offense, the Bengals piled up 447 total yards with a balanced attack.
Martin Bailey (Buffalo/Kenmore West) paced Buffalo State on the ground with 117 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns and added one catch for 21 yards.
Senior quarterback Kevin Torrillo (Amherst/Sweet Home) finished 19 of 28 for 296 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Jordan Evert (Amherst/Sweet Home) was the Bengals' leading receiver with eight catches for 114 yards with a touchdown.
Gino Bonagura (Lindenhurst/Lindenhurst) paced the Bengals defense with 11 tackles, including two for loss with a sack.
Darren Wesley (Brooklyn/Erasmus Hall) produced two of Buffalo State's three interceptions, and Elloheim Tucker (Bronx/Cardinal Spellman) had the other while also adding a fumble recovery.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Buffalo State struck first, finding the end zone on a 6-yard strike from Torrillo to Vinny Gregory(Amherst/Amherst) on its first possession just over five minutes into the contest.
The teams traded interceptions on the next two possessions, before Hartwick evened the score at a 4-yard touchdown catch by Dylan Mucci early in the second quarter.
Buffalo State took a 21-7 lead into halftime, however, scoring on a 2-yard run by Bailey and then a 4-yard scoring catch by Evert with just 14 seconds left in the half.
Hartwick recovered on onside kick to open the second half, but the Bengals defense promptly forced a turnover on downs and Buffalo State answered with a six-play 66-yard drive, including a 40-yard touchdown run by Bailey to push the lead to 28-7.
After several empty possessions, Hartwick drove deep into Buffalo State territory early in the fourth quarter, but Wesley picked off Bryce Macina at the goal line and returned it 37 yards.
Buffalo State quickly moved down the field and put the contest out of reach when backup quarterback Tony Maple (Buffalo/Burgard) scrambled for a 22-yard score down the right sideline.
Tucker's interception on the next drive ended any comeback hopes, and the Bengals later completed the scoring on a 1-yard scoring run by freshman Omar Robinson (Averne/Abraham Lincoln) with just over a minute remaining.

FOR THE FOES

Macina finished 13 for 33 for 163 yards with one touchdown and three picks.
Ronald Ballard had 24 carries for 103 yards to go with three catches for 23 yards.
Connor Darmetko was the leading receiver with four catches for 76 yards.
Tom Peabody had nine tackles, and Josh Wilcox made seven stops, including two sacks.

NOTEWORTHY