WAYNESBURG, Pa.—Quarterback Kyle Hoppy (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) and wide receiver Mike Doherty (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) teamed up to pace a Buffalo State (8-3) offense that found the end zone eight times en route to a 59-36 rout over host Waynesburg (8-3) today in the ECAC Southwest Bowl.
The Bengals improved to 4-0 all-time in ECAC Bowls in their first postseason appearance since 2000, and recorded their first eight-win season since 1998.
Hoppy finished 24 of 34 and matched a career-best with 335 yards and tied a school record throwing five touchdown passes. He also added a rushing score. Doherty set a pair of school records in his final game as a Bengal. His 15 catches is a new single-game mark, which also gave him the school's career mark of 176 receptions. He finished the game with 201 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and ended the season with 1,144 receiving yards, just eight yards shy of another school record. Junior receiver Ryan Carney (Olean/Olean) had four catches for 81 yards, also going over 1,000 yards for the season, and he added two scores, setting a new school single-season record with 12 receiving touchdowns.
Senior running back Rich Pete (Utica/TR Proctor) closed out the final game of his career with 51 yards on just eight carries before leaving with an injury early in the second quarter. Sophomore Tre Jones (Rochester/Greece-Athena) had 19 carries for a career-best 95 yards and scored twice.
Buffalo State piled up 551 yards of total offense, while holding the Yellow Jackets to 354, including just 42 yards on the ground. Waynesburg quarterback Carter Hill finished 19 of 35 for 282 yards with five touchdowns.
John Alessandra (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) had six tackles including one for loss to lead Buffalo State's defense, while Shaq Frederick (Brooklyn/Holy Cross) had a pair of tackles for loss including one of three Bengals' sacks.
Waynesburg jumped out to an early 7-0 lead just 18 seconds into the game on a 15-yard pass from Hill to Tim Cooper. The play was the Yellow Jackets first play from scrimmage after the Bengals fumbled on their first offensive play.
Buffalo State needed just three plays to answer, however, as Hoppy hit Carney with a 51-yard strike to tie the score at 7-7. The Bengals took their first lead later in the opening quarter when Hoppy and Carney hooked up again, this time for an 18-yard score.
Waynesburg fumbled for the second time of the day on the very next offensive play from scrimmage, but the Bengals could not capitalize as Josh Mundell intercepted Hoppy in the end zone on the next snap.
After a 44-yard punt return by Doherty, the Bengals appeared as though they were going to add to their lead, but a fumble at the Waynesburg 5-yard line, led to Buffalo State's third turnover and the fifth combined turnover in the first quarter.
Buffalo State was able to extend its lead to 21-7 midway through the second stanza, when it capped a 9-play, 55-yard drive that was aided by a Waynesburg rough the kicker penalty, with a 23-yard catch in the back left corner of the end zone by Doherty from Hoppy. The Bengals returned the favor on the ensuing Yellow Jacket possession, committing three penalties for 30 yards, and Waynesburg took advantage with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Hill to Bernie Thompson to cut the deficit in half.
Just like the first time Waynesburg scored, however, Buffalo State had an instant answer. The Bengals marched 63 yards on six plays, and scored on a 1-yard quarterback plunge on the option by Hoppy. Buffalo State tacked on three more points on the final play of the first half on a new school-record 52-yard field goal by Marc Montana (E. Amherst/St. Joe's) that cleared the cross bar with ease and pushed the advantage to 31-14 at the intermission.
Buffalo State forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the second half and its offense continued rolling, finding the end zone again on a 6-yard scoring run by Jones. Later in the third quarter, the Bengals had a second interception of the game negated by a penalty in the secondary, and the Yellow Jackets crept back in the game with a 29-yard pass from Hill to Andrew English, and after a successful two-point conversion, closed the gap to 38-22.
Buffalo State bounced right back again, assembling another long drive that ended with Jones's second touchdown of the day, this time on an option from the 1. The Bengals continued to pour it on with a 26-yard scoring strike from Hoppy to Billy Joiner (Rochester/John Marshall) on their next possession to extend the lead to 52-22.
Waynesburg added a late score on a 29-yard pass from Hill to Willie Leavell, and then recovered on on-side kick, and Hill and Leavell hooked up again for a 22-yard touchdown just 1:31 later, and the two-point conversion.
Buffalo State secured the ensuing on-side attempt and ran out the clock, and tacked on the final points of the game on a 4-yard strike from Hoppy to Doherty.