ALFRED, N.Y. – Alfred University ran for more than 400 yards and scored five touchdowns on the ground in a 45-7 victory over the University of Rochester on Saturday afternoon.
The Saxons, who were an NCAA quarterfinalist last year, improved to 3-0 this year, 1-0 in the Empire 8. Rochester is 1-2 overall. Alfred is ranked #17 in Division III in the latest poll by the American Football Coaches Association and #23 by D3football.com.
Rochester quarterback Matt Gallagher broke a single-game UR record by completing 30 passes. He finished 30 of 43 for 248 yards with one touchdown and one interception. David Angie caught seven passes for 40 yards and Emanuel Calmar had six for 34 yards. Daniel DiLoreto had five catches for 50 yards, including a six-yard TD reception in the third quarter that put the Yellowjackets on the scoreboard at 28-7.
Alfred's Maleke Fuentes ran 15 times for 185 yards and scored two TDs. Nasir Smith had 138 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. Aaron Griffin ran 10 times for 60 yards and a pair of TDs. Quarterback Bryce Morrison also threw a 27-yard TD to Jayden Gavidia.
In all, Alfred rushed for a net of 423 yards and passed for 85 more – 508 total. Rochester had 87 on the ground (Calmar led the way with 56 net yards on 19 carries) and passed for 268 – 355 total.
Rochester punted on its opening possession, pinning Alfred at its own five thanks to a 53-yarder by Paul Mokrzycki which tied his career long. The Saxons used a rugged ground attack – nine of the 10 plays were rushing plays – to match 95 yards in 5:30 for Griffin's 15-yard TD with 6:58 left in the first. Trevor Monk made the PAT. Monk was six of six for the afternoon and also kicked a 26-yard field goal.
The Yellowjackets moved deep into Alfred territory late in the first quarter. Gallagher threw passes of 16 yards to Tyler Tanen and 22 yards to DiLoreto. He helped his own caught with a 10-yard scramble. On first and goal from the 10, he swept right end for a TD, but it was called back for a blocking penalty. The Yellowjackets couldn't move after that and a low snap sidelined a field goal attempt.
AU took over at its own 16. On the fourth play from scrimmage, Smith took the ball on the wildcat formation, cut to his left, then cut back to his right and broke free on a 72-yard touchdown run.
Gallagher did drive Rochester inside the AU 10 later in the second quarter. On second-and-goal from the 12, his pass over the middle was intercepted by Nick Milgate on the goalline and returned 35 yards. Four plays later, Morrison and Gavidia connected on the 27-yard TD pass. It was 21-0 at halftime, but AU scored on a 49-yard TD run by Fuentes midway through the third period.
Rochester drive 75 yards in 12 plays to score its touchdown. Gallagher completed two third-down throws and the drive was helped by a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty which moved the ball to the AU28. On third-and-two from the six, DiLoreto caught a ball at the line of scrimmage. It was jarred loose, but Tanen fell on it. On fourth down, Gallagher found DiLoreto on a rollout at the four and he vaulted over a defense to score. Paul Tricarico made the PAT.
Defensively, Josh Churchin had 13 tackles for Rochester (six solo) and Christian Marini had 11 (two solo). Mokrzycki punted five times for a 40.6 yard average.
Rochester plays in its second straight homecoming game when the Yellowjackets head for Worcester, Mass. next week and take on Becker College. Becker will be looking for its first victory of the season (0-4). It will be UR's last non-conference game this year. The Liberty League season begins on October 7 when Ithaca College comes to Fauver Stadium.
#23 Alfred Rolls Past Rochester; UR QB Breaks Single-Game Completions Mark
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20170923_qpnw.xml
2017
Rochester
7
Alfred
45
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester (1-2) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Alfred (3-0) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 45 |
Sep 23, 2017