BUFFALO, NY— Ryan Carney (Olean/Olean) finished with nine catches for 229 yards and three touchdowns and Buffalo State (6-3/4-3) scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from visiting Hartwick (2-7/1-6) for a 35-10 victory in an Empire 8 contest today at Coyer Field.
Dan Serignese (Port Jefferson/Vandermuelen) and Kyle Hoppy (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) split time at quarterback today for the Bengals. Serignese started and was 7 of 11 for 93 yards with a touchdown, while Hoppy went 11 of 18 for 225 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
The Bengals defense allowed just 266 yards of total offense, including minus-9 rushing yards for the game, and produced five turnovers, including four interceptions. Buffalo State made eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage with five sacks. Anthony Sanders (Buffalo/McKinley) finished with 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Hartwick quarterback John Garcia (Warwick/Warwick Valley) finished 16 of 46 for 271 yards with four interceptions. Carl Holmes (Cuba/Cuba-Rushford) led the Hawks' receiving corps with five catches for 119 yards and added a rushing touchdown.
Buffalo State led 7-0 after a sloppy first half by both offenses. Hartwick drove into Bengals' territory on the game's opening possession, but a Mitch Thomas (Buffalo/Sweet Home) interception on the 1-yard line ended the threat.
The Bengals produced the only points of the first half late in the opening quarter with a seven-play, 64-yard drive, capped by a 15-yard catch by Carney from Serignese in the end zone.
In the opening two quarters, the teams combined for five fumbles, two turnovers, and 13 negative plays. Buffalo State also had a pair of turnover on downs.
Midnet Cantave (Spring Valley/Spring Valley) picked off a Hoppy pass on the first play of the second half, and Hartwick was able to convert the turnover into a 30-yard field goal by Korey Jubie (Kingston/Kingston). Jubie lined the ensuing kickoff off an up-man on the Buffalo State return team and the Hawks recovered near midfield. Hartwick capitalized on the field position and took its first lead of the game at 10-7 on a 3-yard end around by Holmes.
The Hartwick lead lasted just 1 minute, 39 seconds, however, as the score served as a wakeup call for the Bengals who took control of the game from there. Hoppy hit Carney on a quick out three plays later, and Carney shook a defender and went 52 yards for his second score of the game, reclaiming the Bengals' lead at 14-10.
After an Ish Height (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus), Buffalo State scored again, this time on a 39-yard hookup between Hoppy and Carney.
The Bengals added 14 fourth-quarter points to continue to pull away. Senior Scott Koen (Oxnard, CA/Santa Clara) recovered a Garcia fumble, and the Bengals drove 63 yards in 11 plays, ending with a 27 yard touchdown pass from Hoppy to Mike Doherty (Tonawanda/Kenmore East). The final score was also set up by a turnover as Marquis Artis (Amherst/Amherst) picked Garcia off for the third time and returned it 59 yards to the Hartwick 11. Senior Brandon Alexander (New York/JFK) ran it in on the very next play for his first collegiate touchdown on his first collegiate carry.
Nick Anderson (Sloan/JFK) added a late interception for Buffalo State at the Bengals' own 2-yard line to end Hartwick's final scoring chance.
Buffalo State will close out the regular season with the I-90 Bowl next Saturday at Brockport at 1 p.m.