Football | 9/9/2023 8:08:00 PM
ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Hawks rallied back from a 14-point deficit at the half to take down the visiting Keystone College Giants 31-21 on Saturday afternoon.
THE BASICS
- Final Score: Hartwick 31, Keystone 21
- Location: Oneonta, N.Y.
- Records: Hartwick (1-1 Overall), Keystone (1-1 Overall)
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Hawks won the toss to start their home opener and deferred to the second half.
- On the opening drive for the visiting Giants, Hartwick forced a three-and-out.
- However, a lost fumble on Hartwick's ensuing drive led to a Keystone College drive that would end in a touchdown.
- The Hawks once again turned the ball over on their next possession, allowing the Giants another opportunity to find the endzone.
- Down 14-0, Hartwick struck quick in the second quarter as Dennis Riordan (New City, N.Y.) hit Nate Rath (Newport, N.Y.) for a 63-yard strike down the right sideline to cut the Giants' lead in half.
- Keystone responded with a 14-play 80-yard touchdown drive spanning just over seven minutes.
- Down 14 heading into the 3rd quarter, the Hawks were forced to punt on their first possession, but an Owen Lawler (Enfield, Conn.) pick at the Keystone 41-yard line quickly put the ball back into Hartwick's hands.
- Seven plays later, Carlvin McDonald (Central Islip, N.Y.) ran in for a 1-yard touchdown which was set up by another long reception for 31-yards from Riordan to Rath.
- Hartwick took control of the ball with 2:50 remaining in the 3rd and took the drive into the 4th where Riordan would once again hit Rath in the back right corner of the endzone for a 13-yard touchdown reception to knot the score up at 21-21.
- The Hawks defense once again stepped up on the next Keystone series, as Michael Lombardi (Wantagh, N.Y.) knocked the ball out of the Giants scrambling quarterback, which was quickly recovered by Randall Dennis (Miami, Fla.).
- Hartwick made the most of the turnover, taking the ball 54 yards across seven plays for another McDonald TD run to take the lead.
- The Hawks once again converted the extra point behind the leg off Ransome Turner-Rush (Harrisburg, Pa.).
- Another three-and-out for the Giants allowed the Hawks to make another drive down the field, capped off by a Turner-Rush 22-yard field goal to give Hartwick the 31-21 lead with 2:24 remaining in the game.
- Keystone looked to move the ball down the field quickly, but Lawler picked up his second interception of the game on the first play of the series to put the ball back into the hands of the offense.
- Hartwick was unable to score and were forced to punt with 1:48 remaining in the game.
- The Hawks' defense would bend but not break allowing the Giants to move from their own eight yard-line to Hartwick's 44-yard line, but Michael Vurchio (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) broke up Keystone's Hail-Mary pass into the endzone to clinch the win.
- Offensively, Riordan threw for 264 yards, completing 17 of his 21 attempts.
- Rath ended his afternoon with 162 total yards receiving, while McDonald rushed for 124 yards and was not tackled for a loss the entire game.
- Defensively, the Hawks were led by Lombardi, recording eight solo tackles.
- Jake Thorry (Sayville, N.Y.) notched seven total tackles including getting in on 2.5 sacks for a total loss of seven yards.
UP NEXT FOR THE HAWKS
Hartwick starts their string of four-straight road contests next week with a road trip to Juniata on Saturday for a 1 PM kickoff.
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.
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