Freshman Tyrone Nichols (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) had just 11 carries on the day but ran for 187 yards and two touchdowns to lead The College at Brockport Football team to a convincing 56-14 victory over Western Connecticut State in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game Saturday afternoon in Danbury, Connecticut.
The 187 yards for Nichols is the 13th best single-game rushing performance in school history and is the best ever effort for a freshman in Brockport history. The two touchdown runs were for 55 yards and 58 yards.
Brockport (2-5 Overall, 2-4 NJAC) gained a total of 723 yards on the day which was just three yards shy of the school record of 726 set against Hartwick College in 2008. The Golden Eagles also moved the chains for 35 first downs in the game breaking the old school record of 32 first downs in a single game.
The Golden Eagles did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard with a touchdown on their first three possessions of the game. In the first quarter, senior Alex Hendrickson (Unadilla, NY/Unatego) capped a 10-play 76-yard drive with a 14-yard scoring run. The big play in the drive was a 24-yard pass completion from junior quarterback Joe Scibilia (North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint) to freshman Andrew Mrozek (Depew, NY/Lancaster) on a 3rd-and-10 situation that moved the ball all the way to the Western Connecticut 20 yard line.
Brockport took over possession two minutes later after the Golden Eagles defense stopped Western Connecticut (0-7, 0-6) on a 4th-and-2 play when sophomore Prince Jacobs (Brooklyn, NY/Thomas Jefferson) stopped the running play in the backfield for a two-yard loss. On the second play of the drive, Nichols broke through the line and raced into the end zone from 55 yards out giving Brockport the 14-0 advantage.
After a three-and-out drive for the Colonials, Brockport was on the move again. This time, a five-play drive that featured four rushes by Hendrickson to get the ball to the 20-yard line and then a 20-yard TD run by backup quarterback Dylan Umbra (Sidney, NY/Sidney) made it a 21-0 Brockport lead.
In the second quarter, the teams punted the ball back and forth before Western Connecticut finally got on the board with an eight-play, 69-yard drive.
On the ensuing possession, Nichols carried the ball for a 12-yard gain on the first play of the drive and then busted another long run with a 58-yard touchdown run to put Brockport up 28-7 with 8:32 left in the first half.
After a short Colonial drive, Brockport took over at its own 13-yard line and marched down the field grinding up more yards including a 16-yard completion to Mrozek, a 19-yard completion to sophomore Jake Spalik (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) before a 40-yard reception by Spalik put the ball inside the Western Connecticut five-yard line. Senior John Doyle (Cuba, NY/Cuba-Rushford) capped the drive with a 1-yard run into the end zone.
After the halftime intermission, Scibilia engineered another scoring drive to start the second half two pass completions and three rushes including a seven-yard carry into the end zone to cap the eight play, 66-yard drive and push the Brockport lead to 41-7. A two-point conversion pass from Schuyler Pero (Macedon, NY/Gananda) to Dylan Kaminski (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) made it a 43-7 Brockport lead.
Brockport hit the 50-point mark with its next drive as Scibilia capped a seven play drive with a 28-yard scoring pass to Mrozek.
Four minutes later, the Colonials took advantage of a failed punt play by Brockport taking over possession on the Brockport 30-yard line. Four plays later, Western Connecticut was on the board trimming the lead to 50-14 with 1:46 left in the third quarter.
With nearly all the starters out of the game, Brockport scored to start the fourth quarter as Umbra guided the Golden Eagles down the field with five running plays by freshman Shireem Cobb (Valley Stream, NY/Sewanhaka) and a four-yard scoring run by Umbra.
On the day, Nichols led the Brockport offense with his 187 yards, Cobb finished with 84 yards, Scibilia had 61, Hendrickson 59 and Umbra 43 for the Brockport ground attack. Scibilia was 18-for-24 for 266 yards through the air and Spalik was the favorite target with eight receptions for 128 yards.
Defensively, five players were tied for the team lead with each registering five tackles as Maurice Brown (Brooklyn, NY/Grand Street), Anthony Bianchi (Rochester, NY/Aquinas), Mike Kaiser (Attica, NY/Attica), Ross Ragonesi (East Northport, NY/Northport) and Jake Ekross (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) each contributing a handful of tackles.
Up next for Brockport is a trip to Buffalo State to face the Bengals for a 12 pm game October 29 as the teams battle for possession of the I-90 Bowl Trophy.