BUFFALO, NY—Buffalo State (1-0) and Cortland (0-1) combined for 1,094 total yards and 99 points, and after a wild finish that saw Marc Montana (E. Amherst/St. Joe's) hit a school-record 49-yard field goal at the end of regulation, Montana's 34-yard field goal in overtime sealed a 51-48 victory for the Bengals in the non-conference season-opener today at Coyer Field.
Cortland had the ball in Buffalo State territory with a 48-45 lead as time wound down in regulation. On fourth down with six seconds remaining, the Red Dragons lined up to punt and ran the ball backwards 22 yards and slid with the intent of ending the game, but one second remained on the clock. Montana came on and set a new school record with the 49-yard boot in his first game as a Bengal to stun Cortland and force overtime.
Cortland started with the ball in the extra period, but Mitch Thomas (Buffalo/Sweet Home) came up with an interception in the end zone to put the Bengals in position to win the game with a score. After three running plays, Montana finally ended the game with a 34-yard kick that split the uprights.
Senior wide receiver and return specialist Mike Doherty (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) led Buffalo State with 419 all-purpose yards, including nine catches for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Kyle Hoppy (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) finished 18 of 33 for 335 yards with four touchdowns and had 23 rushes for 90 yards and a score in his first collegiate start. Rich Pete (Utica/TR Proctor) was the workhorse on the ground, racking up 103 yards and a score on 26 carries.
Marquis Artis (Amherst/Amherst) led the Bengals on defense with 14 tackles. Will Cheshire (Wantagh/MacArthur) had 11 tackles and an interception, and Shaq Frederick (Brooklyn/Holy Cross) also had 11 stops and a fumble recovery.
Cortland quarterback John Grassi (Oceanside/Oceanside) set a new school record with 487 passing yards and had three touchdown passes, going 35 of 54 with two interceptions. Jack Delahunty (E. Northport/Northport) led the receiving corps with 103 yards on six catches and a touchdown. Troy Deddoe (Endicott/Union-Endicott) and Matt Ambrose (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) had 11 tackles each to lead the Cortland defense.
Cortland ran a total of 95 plays for 566 yards, while Buffalo State ran 82 plays and piled up 528 yards.
Cortland used its up-tempo offense to race out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. After field goals of 20 and 32 yards respectively by Shane Cronin (W. Nyack/Clarkstown South) on their first two possessions, Cortland found the end zone on its third possession with a 5-yard run by Dylan Peebles (Port Leyden/South Lewis). A fake extra point led to a two-point conversion on a pass from Grassi to Mannix.
Buffalo State got its footing in the second quarter after a second failed on-side kick attempt by the Red Dragons. The Bengals went 42 yards in 10 plays and scored on a 2-yard run by Pete. Then, just one play after the first Cortland punt of the game, Hoppy found Doherty down the sideline for a 67-yard touchdown to even the score at 14-14.
Cortland reclaimed the lead just three plays later, however, when Grassi dumped a short pass to Layton Lassiter (Madison, NJ/Madison) and he broke a tackle and rumbled 77 yards for the score.
A 35-yard field goal by Montana in the final minute of the first half closed the Bengals deficit to 21-17 at the intermission.
The teams combined for 48 points in the third quarter, starting with Ryan Carney (Olean/Olean) scoring his first of two touchdowns on a 31-yard pass from Hoppy to give Buffalo State its first lead of the day. After Delahunty's 18-yard scoring catch put Cortland back ahead, the Bengals answered with a 32-yard keeper by Hoppy to give the Bengals a 31-27 advantage.
The teams continued to trade scores with a 15-yard catch by Carney for the Bengals and then a 2-yard run by Lassiter. A 20-yard touchdown by Doherty on an acrobatic catch along the sideline in the end zone pushed the Bengals lead to 45-33, but Cortland was not done.
The Red Dragons' Jake Smith (Guilderland/Guilderland) reeled in a 37-yard touchdown strike from Grassi and then capitalized on a Bengal fumble to regain the lead at 48-45 early in the fourth quarter with a 5-yard run by Peebles for his second score of the game.
Cortland seemed to be in control when a punt deflected off of a Buffalo State blocker and the Red Dragons recovered with just 2:24 remaining and the Bengals out of timeouts, but the wild finish ensued.
"Today was a lesson in perseverance," said Buffalo State head coach Jerry Boyes. "We did a lot of very good things today, but committed some costly turnovers to make things difficult. We were just extremely thankful to get one last chance and Marc (Montana) made the most of his opportunities."
Buffalo State will visit Manchester University in Indiana for another non-conference game next Saturday at noon.