Five E8 Teams Win Season Opener
The Empire 8 Athletic Conference enjoyed a successful opening weekend, as five of the seven teams in action won their non-conference matchup on Saturday, Sept 7.
Buffalo State, Hartwick, Ithaca, St. John Fisher and Utica were all victorious, while Frostburg and Salisbury suffered a season opening loss. The Bengals and Cardinals had decisive road wins, while the Hawks, Bombers and Pioneers enjoyed their first-weekend success on their home fields.
Empire 8 teams outscored opponents 188-128 on opening day.
St. John Fisher's defense was in midseason form, cruising to a 28-0 shutout win over Otterbein. Hartwick handled Husson 33-7, Utica cruised past Lewis & Clark College, 42-22, and Ithaca held off Moravian, 31-7. Buffalo State opened the season with a 41-28 win over defending NJAC champion Cortland State.
Salisbury gave up 14 fourth quarter points en route to a 17-10 loss to Christopher Newport and Geneseo crontrolled the tempo of the game against Frostburg, 47-3.
Buffalo State 41, Cortland 28
Senior quarterback
Casey Kacz threw for a pair of touchdowns and rushed for three more as visiting Buffalo State (1-0) defeated Cortland (0-1), 41-28, in a non-conference season opener today at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.
Kacz finished 19 of 29 for 226 yards and two scores with an interception, and added 118 rushing yards on 17 attempts.
Mike Doherty was the leading receiver for the Bengals with five catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Mitchell Thomas led Buffalo State with nine tackles, and
Scott Koen had eight stops, including 2.5 for loss and a sack and a fumble recovery.
Utica 42, Lewis & Clark 22
The Utica College football team jumped out to a 42-6 lead in the first three quarters of play and never looked back as it went on to defeat visiting Lewis & Clark College (Portland, Oregon) 42-22 in the season-opener for both squads at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Saturday. UC amassed 470 yards of total offense and junior quarter back
Connor Butkiewicz completed 26-of-35 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns to lift the Pioneers to a season-opening victory for the fifth consecutive season. The Pioneers have scored at least 40 points in each of their last five season opening contests.
Ithaca 31, Moravian 7
The Ithaca College football team (1-0) started its 2013 season with a 31-7 victory over Moravian (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at Butterfield Stadium. The Bombers built a 19-0 lead in the game, possessed the ball for approximately 40 minutes and improved their record in season-openers to 33-4 over the last 37 years.
Phil Neumann threw two touchdown passes,
Garrett Nicholson and
Max Rottenecker combined for three field goals and senior tailback
Rakim Jones had a career day rushing the football including his first career touchdown run on career-best totals of 28 carries for 132 yards.
Hartwick 33, Husson 7
Hartwick scored touchdowns on its opening two drives of the game and never looked back on Saturday in a 33-7 win over visiting Husson University (ME) at Wright Stadium. The Hawks racked up five passing touchdown and accumulated 403 yards of offense while holding the Eagles to a just 147 yards on the day.
St. John Fisher 28, Otterbein 0
The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College football team scored two touchdowns in both halves and allowed just 14 rushing yards on 30 attempts, as the visiting Cardinals posted a convincing 28-0 win over Otterbein University in a Division III football season-opening game for both teams.
With the win, Fisher, ranked 24
th nationally, improves to 1-0 on the year. The Cardinals are 10-2 in the last 12 years in season-opening games, with both losses coming in 2008 and 2009 to Mount Union.
The game marked the first time Fisher has posted a shutout in a season-opener since 2006. That year, Fisher finished with a
12-2 overall record and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championship.
Christopher Newport 17, Salisbury 10
The No. 16 Salisbury University football team suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Christopher Newport University as the Captains scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter to claim a 17-10 win Saturday night at Sea Gull Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
With the game tied, 10-10, the Captains (1-0) took possession of the ball with 5:32 remaining in the game, at the Christopher Newport 41-yard line. With seven plays, the Captains had driven to the Salisbury 18-yard line, including a pair of third down conversions, before Marcus Morrast connected down the left sideline with Paul Dukes for the 18-yard score and a 17-10 lead.
Geneva 47, Frostburg 3
The Frostburg State football team suffered a 47-3 defeat at the hands of Geneva College in the season opener for both schools, Saturday night under the lights at Reeves Field.
Geneva (1-0) scored a touchdown on five of its first six possessions and raced out to a 34-3 halftime lead. The Golden Tornadoes tacked on two third quarter touchdowns for the 47-3 final.
The Empire 8 will play another slate of non-conferences on Sept. 8. For complete results and coverage of all Empire 8 fall sports - stay tuned to
www.empire8.com.
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