Football | 10/26/2024 6:05:00 PM
UTICA, NY - A late scoring drive for the Alfred University football team resulted in a 38-34 win over Utica University on Saturday from Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
Chris Kelly (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY/Lake Ronkonkoma) completed 15-of-23 passes for 241 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Dion Anderson (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) had a breakout performance, totaling 170 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, while adding 93 rushing yards to go with a rushing touchdown.
Max Freeman IV (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post) finished the game with 81 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Roque Santiago (Canisteo, NY/Canisteo-Greenwood) led the AU defense with a team-high 12 tackles.
"I am really proud of the way our kids came out and competed today," Head Coach
Bob Rankl said. "It was definitely a team victory, and we had contributions from a lot of players offensively, defensively, and on special teams. We're excited to start working for St. John Fisher next Saturday!"
A 10-play drive by Alfred University in the opening quarter led to a 29-yard field goal by
Dominic Bronco (Rochester, NY/Aquinas) for the initial lead. However, the Pioneers quickly responded with a touchdown of their own. In the second quarter, a huge tackle by
Aidan Ploss (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) led to a turnover on downs. The Saxons marched down the field, and on the opposing goal line,
Alexander Coffey (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) found the back of the end zone to give the lead back to AU. On the following drive, the Alfred University defense once again stepped up and forced a turnover on downs. Moments later, Freeman IV scored for the Saxons to extend the advantage. Utica scored once more before Anderson ran it in for an 11-yard touchdown. The Pioneers failed to convert a last-minute field goal, allowing AU to go into halftime with a 24-14 lead.
The Pioneers made their way to the opposing 12-yard line, but a tackle by
Joe Copp (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa) led to another turnover on downs. Utica came away with a defensive touchdown, cutting their deficit in the third quarter. The Saxons answered with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Anderson.
Martin Flanders Jr (Schuylerville, NY/Schuylerville) was the next to step up for the Alfred University defense, forcing the turnover on downs, as AU led 31-21 with one quarter remaining.
In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers scored 13 straight points to force Alfred University to play from behind with 1:52 remaining in the game. Completed passes to
Andrew Morling (Canisteo, NY/Canisteo-Greenwood) and
Thomas Welch (Avon, NY/Avon) had AU step up in opposing territory. A 15-yard pass from Kelly to Anderson placed the Saxons in the red zone. On the very next play, Kelly found Anderson for a 12-yard touchdown and the victory.
Alfred University will next return home to face St. John Fisher University at 1:00 PM.
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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