ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University football team saw its historic season come to an end on Yunevich Stadium Saturday afternoon, as the visiting Mount Union Purple Raiders handed the Saxons their first loss of the year, a 70-45 setback in an NCAA quarterfinal matchup.
AU senior quarterback Tyler Johnson and senior wide receiver Brendan Buisch completed their stellar careers in record-breaking fashion. Johnson threw for a school-record 534 yards and tossed five TD passes, two to Buisch, who finished the season with a school-record 16 touchdown.
With the loss, 14th-ranked AU ends its season with a 12-1 record, with the 12 wins representing a school record. Mount Union (12-1), ranked seventh in the nation, advances to next Saturday's national semifinals, where they will face top-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor at a site and time to be announced.
The teams combined for 115 points and 1,144 yards of offense. AU was hurt by turnovers, as Mount Union scored one defensive touchdown off a turnover and converted two other AU miscues into scores. The visitors also scored on special teams, returning an on-side kick attempt for a touchdown to go up by 17 midway through the fourth.
Things started well for Alfred, as Mount Union took the opening kickoff and drove to the Alfred 33 before freshman linebacker Nicholas Milgate (Hilton, NY/Hilton) intercepted Mount Union quarterback Dom Davis and returned the ball 66 yards for a touchdown, giving AU the early 7-0 lead 12:36 into the contest.
Mount Union scored the next 28 points to take a commanding lead early in the second. Three unanswered TDs came in the first quarter, all off turnovers. Davis connected with tight end Zach Herrington on a nine-yard scoring pass at the 9:40 mark, seven plays after a Saxon fumble at the Mount Union 41; tailback Bradley Mitchell scored on a three-yard run at the 4:39 mark, capping a seven-play 41-yard drive following an AU fumble; and defensive end Elijah Berry scored on a 13-yard fumble return with 1:19 left in the first.
The Purple Raiders added to their lead five seconds into the second quarter, when Davis hit wideout Jared Ruth with a 10-yard scoring pass, putting Mount Union up 28-7.
The Saxons wouldn't go away, scoring three of the next four touchdowns to pull to within nine points at halftime, 35-26. Sophomore wide receiver Jayden Gavidia caught a 37-yard scoring pass from Johnson with 14:14 left in the second. The extra point failed and AU trailed 28-13. Mount Union answered with an eight-play 59-yard drive, as Davis scored on a 12-yard run with 8:12 left in the half to give his team a 35-13 advantage.
Alfred scored twice before intermission: on a 47-yard Johnson-to-Gavidia strike with 6:47 left; and on a 12-yard pass from Johnson to senior wide receiver Emile Frigon with 2:26 left. Frigon's score came nine plays after junior linebacker A.J. LiCata forced a fumble that senior free safety Shyheim Wingate recovered at the Mount Union 47-yard line.
The Saxons drew to within two points (35-33) with 5:46 left in the third, as Johnson capped a six-play 95-yard drive with a one-yard TD run. Mount Union scored two touchdowns to get some breathing room, taking a 16-point lead early in the fourth. Mitchell's two-yard run made it 42-33 with 3:37 left in the third, and a 12-yard scoring strike from Davis to wideout Braeden Friss with 13:44 left in the fourth made it 49-33.
The Saxons drove 79 yards in 13 plays on their ensuing possession, with Johnson connected with Buisch on an eight-yard TD pass with 9:06 left. The two-point conversion try failed and Alfred trailed 49-39. The Saxons tried an on-side kick, but Brian Groves caught the ball in stride at his own 45 and ran untouched 55 yards for the score, making it 56-39, Mount Union, with 8:59 remaining.
Mitchell's third TD run of the game, a 35-yarder, capped a five-play 65-yard drive and gave the Purple Raiders a 63-39 lead with 5:04 left. Buisch caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Johnson with 1:47 remaining, ending an 11-play 71-yard march, and Mount Union's Jawanza Evans-Morris's 10-yard touchdown run with 53 seconds left closed out the scoring.
Alfred had 32 first downs to Mount Union's 29. Alfred, ranked among the nation's leaders in rushing, couldn't run the ball against Mount Union. The Purple Raiders, which came into the game allowing just 69 rush yards per game, held AU to 37 on 20 attempts, with Johnson running for a team-high 43.
Johnson completed 36 of 67 passes (both single-game school marks), and Buisch caught nine passes for 107 yards. Buisch finished the year with 1,056 receiving yards, just two off the school single-season record. Frigon caught seven passes for 135 yards and Gavidia caught three for 113 yards.
Senior tailback Casey Bright caught eight passes for 62 yards; junior wideout Rodney Etienne caught three for 51 yards; and senior tight end Ralph Pagliei caught four for 31.
Davis completed 21 of 29 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns for Mount Union. Wide receiver Tim Kennedy caught a game-high 11 passes for 105 yards and Herrington had a pair of catches for 53 yards. Mitchell ran 15 times for 123 yards and Davis finished with 108 yards on 18 carries as the Purple Raiders ran for 322 yards. Evans-Davis finished with 85 yards on just 10 carries.
Freshman linebacker Isaiah Moak had a game-high 16 tackles for AU, while LiCata had 13 to go with a forced fumble. LiCata finished the season with 153 tackles, just one off the school single-season record. Sophomore cornerback Lewis Ortega had eight tackles and freshman end Joshua Rivers (1 ½ tackles for loss) and senior strong safety Liam Hobbins each had six.
Linebacker Danny Robinson has 12 tackles to lead the Mount Union defense. Cornerback Louis Berry had seven tackles, a forced fumble and three pass breakups, while linebacker Charlie Dear (sack, fumble recovery) and Groves each had seven stops.