Football | 10/7/2023 6:21:00 PM
ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University football team opened their Empire 8 competition portion of the season with a 14-10 win over SUNY Morrisville on Saturday from Yunevich Stadium. The Saxons (3-2, 1-0 Empire 8) outrushed the Mustangs (2-4, 0-2 Empire 8) by a 168-74 margin as part of their winning efforts.
Joe Copp (Minoa, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa) finished the game with a team-high 13 tackles, recording his 300th career tackle with the program and inserting himself into the record books.
Max Freeman IV (Painted Post, NY/Corning-Painted Post) totaled 129 rushing yards and a touchdown across 22 attempts.
Dion Anderson (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph's Collegiate Academy) added 80 scrimmage yards and a touchdown for the Saxons.
"It's always great to get a win on Homecoming," Head Coach
Bob Rankl said. "I was proud of the way that our guys played, particularly in the second half. I thought it was a gritty performance and our team preserved. We are going to enjoy this win and then it's right back to work for us tomorrow as we prepare for a very good Cortland football team."
The Mustangs set the tone early in the first quarter, putting together an 11-play drive that was capped off with a 4-yard touchdown for the early lead. During SUNY Morrisville's following drive, a botched snap was quickly recovered by Copp. Alfred University had just one scoring opportunity before going into the second quarter with a 7-0 deficit.
In the opening moments of the second quarter, the Mustangs had their drive cut short following an interception by
Adam Mietz (Akron, NY/Akron). The Saxons quickly found momentum thanks to a 42-yard passing touchdown from
Chris Kelly (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem North) to Anderson to tie the game. An 8-play drive by SUNY Morrisville led to a fourth down stop by the Saxons defense, as
JJ Mundo (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) secured the tackle. In the closing minutes of the first half, the Mustangs were able to kick a 31-yard field goal to put the Saxons behind 10-7 going into the break.
Alfred University was the first to get on the scoreboard in the second half, as a 2-yard quarterback keeper from Kelly gave the Saxons their first lead of the afternoon. In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs drove down to AU's 32-yard line before an interception from
TJ Marsh (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) secured the win for Alfred University.
Alfred University will next travel to face SUNY Cortland next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com and
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