D3football.com - Upstate New York Notes by Mike Warwick

Eight of Upstate New York’s 13 schools have received votes in the first AFCA poll of the season, with Buffalo State (10th) and Ithaca (12th) among the first 20. The Bengals host Adrian this weekend and the Bombers travel to Division II Mansfield.

Only one of this weekend’s games matches two Upstate New York opponents, but four feature New York schools taking on members of the Freedom Football Conference.

The only game between Upstate schools this weekend features Alfred (1-0) hosting St. Lawrence (0-1). The Saxons posted a 20-13 season-opening win at Salisbury State behind the play of junior tailback George Eason and senior cornerback Andrew Genung. Eason ran for 159 yards (including an 81-yard touchdown) and caught seven passes for 78 yards. Genung recorded two sacks and an interception and blocked a pair of punts. His second block set Alfred up on the Sea Gulls’ six-yard line; two plays later the Saxons scored the winning touchdown.

The only Friday night game features Cortland playing at Kean. The Red Dragons, who have not played a night game since beating Western Connecticut in 1989, are looking to beat the Cougars for the fourth time in as many tries. Cortland is coming off a 41-16 home loss to Montclair State; the game marked the first time in 12 years that the Red Dragons opened the season with a loss at home. All-American defensive end Russ Alger, who made a school-record 14 sacks in 1998, collected 1½ Saturday.

Ithaca recorded its first season-opening shutout in 16 years, blanking St. John Fisher 44-0. Of the 14 Bombers making their first career start, none made a bigger impact than sophomore quarterback Brian Young. His 355 passing yards was the school’s third-highest single-game total and he threw four touchdown passes. Ithaca’s defense pitched its second shutout in the past six games; in this one the Bombers did not allow their opponent to cross midfield.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals continue their road swing, traveling to Vermont to play a much-improved Norwich team. The Cadets narrowly lost to Kings Point (21-20) after opening the season with a win at Curry.

Another Rochester-area school will be taking on an FFC member. Plymouth State and Brockport State have split a pair of games over the past two seasons, with the home team winning each year. The 1997 game in Brockport saw the Golden Eagles win on a late field goal. In its season-opening win against New Jersey City, Brockport rushed for 377 yards. Courtlan Green picked up 180 of them (the program’s sixth-best single-game total) in his first game with the Golden Eagles. Linebacker Brett Waterman had a hand in two touchdowns, returning a fumble 67 yards for a touchdown and blocking a punt that resulted in a Brockport safety.

The capital district will have two FFC schools visit on Saturday with Union hosting Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Coast Guard traveling to RPI. The host schools are both coming off lopsided opening-day wins (the Dutchmen topped St. Lawrence and RPI beat Kean 55-7).

Rensselaer’s win featured record-setting and near-record-setting performances from the offense and the defense. Junior defensive back Chris Swartz tied one school record by intercepting two passes and set another by returning two of them for touchdowns. Offensively, senior quarterback Matt Robben threw three touchdown passes, moving him to within one of Brandon Grabowski’s school-record career total of 33.

The RPI game will be the second chance for new Coast Guard coach Bill George to pick up his first win as a head coach. The Albany-area native (Glens Falls) was an all-American center on Ithaca’s 1979 national championship team and was an assistant at his alma mater for 10 years.

Rochester travels to Cleveland to face Case Western Reserve. The Yellowjackets lost 26-14 to Division I-AA Canisius in their season opener as the Griffins scored two touchdowns in the game’s final six minutes. Sophomore wide receiver Anthony Yandek is already just one touchdown catch away from 10th place on Rochester’s career list. Yandek, who scored both of UR’s touchdowns on Saturday, will be playing in front of a hometown crowd against Case Western; the Parma native played at St. Ignatius High School. Rochester is gunning for its first road win since topping Hobart 26-17 in 1995. The Yellowjackets have lost three straight to Case Western, including a 43-36 shootout in 1998 that saw the teams combine for 887 yards of offense.

Hartwick evened its record at 1-1 last week with a win against Westfield State and the Hawks face another New England opponent on Saturday, playing at Division II St. Anselm’s.

Hobart is idle this weekend, which gives freshman Chris Hanly an extra week to enjoy his selection as the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association’s Rookie of the Week. The freshman defensive end recorded six tackles, including four solo, in the Statesmen’s 32-20 loss to Dickinson. Three of his solo tackles held the Red Devils to no gain; the fourth was a one-yard pick-up. The Hobart freshman was making his first career start.

Mike can be reached at mwarwick@ithaca.edu.

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