Brockport Golden Eagles Dominate to Win 5th Straight I-90 Bowl

Buffalo, NY – The SUNY Brockport football team keeps the I-90 Trophy for the fifth straight year after downing Buffalo State on the road, 41-16. The Golden Eagles have now won three straight and improve to 6-2 overall on the season.

It was all about the run game on both sides of the ball for Brockport on Saturday. Jala Coad led the team with 128 yards on the ground, as the team rushed for 210 yards. In comparison the Buffalo State Bengals were unable to run the ball on Brockport's stifling defense, netting just seven on the ground.

Coad crossed the goal line twice, as the offense tallied five total rushing touchdowns in the contest. Rashad Law added to the run game with 53 rushing yards and a score. Even linebacker Lawrence Jenkins got in on the party, getting a rushing touchdown on his 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. Andrew Covais brought down the ball carrier nine times and was credited with two tackles for a loss and one and a half sacks. Josh Greenwood caused problems in the backfield with two and a half tackles for a loss and had one and a half sacks.

The Golden Eagle secondary was busy as well, coming up with three interceptions on the day. Alaan Montgomery adds to his career-high with his sixth pick of the year, leading the Empire 8. Raylens Boutin and Kenny Hernandez each had a take away as well from their defensive back slots.

The Green and Gold dominated in the first half of play, getting the party started in the first quarter. The squad ran almost six minutes off the clock on a 12 play, a 73-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a Jala Coad touchdown. The point-after attempt was missed, putting the team up 6-0. Brockport scored again before the first quarter ended as Jack Cheshire found Imhotep Cromer on a 22-yard pass. Nate Wigent nailed the PAT this time around, sending the score to 13-0.

The only score of the second quarter came from Lawrence Jenkins goal line carry, as the senior linebacker gets in the end zone for the offense. Wigent put the kick through to give the Golden Eagles a 20-0 lead going into the mid-game break. The score was set up thanks to Alan Montgomery's interception, which gave the offense incredible field position.

Brockport got the ball to start the second half and quickly marched down the field for a four-play, 65-yard drive. Coad stomped in for his second score of the game, and with Wigent's kick, the team went up 27-0. Buffalo State answered quickly with a score and a two-point conversion to make the board read 27-8. The Bengals benefitted from a 73-yard passing touchdown, as Thomas Dupee connected with Tariq Nelson. One more score for the Green and Gold in the third quarter gave the team a 34-8 lead going into the final period.

Rashad Law would get in on the action in the fourth with a rushing touchdown of his own, getting his first of the season. Law's score capped off a six-play, 40-yard drive which gave Brockport a 41-8 lead with 12:30 left to play. The Bengals would find the endzone one last time in the final minutes of regulation and made it 2-for-2 on the two-point conversions to create the final score of 41-16.

Buffalo State's loss puts them at 0-8 this season overall and 0-4 in conference play. The team heads to take on Liberty League opponent Hobart next weekend, still looking for the first win of the year.

After fighting to keep possession of the I-90 Trophy for a fifth straight time Brockport gets back to Empire 8 play next weekend. The Golden Eagles travel to play Morrisville State on the road for an afternoon battle. The game is scheduled for a 2 pm start on Saturday, November 6th.