Buffalo State Breaks Down in I-90 Bowl, Falls to Brockport, 38-24

BROCKPORT, NY—Joe Scibilia was 21 of 33 for 374 yards and three touchdowns as Brockport (2-0) defeated visiting Buffalo State (1-1), 38-24, today to reclaim the I-90 Bowl trophy for the first time since 2009. 

Buffalo State junior quarterback Casey Kacz (Amherst/Sweet Home) finished 26 of 47 for 295 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.  Caesarae Lewis (Newbern, AL/Sunshine) was the Bengals' top receiver with seven catches for 80 yards and a score, and added 180 yard on returns.  Pasquale Vacchio (Glen Head/North Shore) led the Buffalo State defense with 12 tackles. 

Andrew Mrozek was Scibilia's top target, catching six passes for 129 yards and two scores, and Jordan Hogan had four grabs for 97 yards and a score.  Tyrone Nichols had 27 carries for 89 yards and a score.

Brockport piled up 533 total yards, compared to 321 by Buffalo State.  Both teams were heavily penalized with the Bengals committing 12 infractions for 114 yards, and Brockport had 14 penalties covering 134 yards. 

Brockport jumped out to an early 14-3 lead.  Buffalo State scored first on the opening possession on Nate Benoit's (Grand Island/Grand Island) first collegiate field goal from 22 yards, set up by a 67-yard kick return by Lewis.   Brockport found the end zone on each of its first two possessions, however.  The Golden Eagles took the lead on 1-yard plunge by Nichols, and after stopping the Bengals on a fourth-and-1, Brockport struck again on a 61-yard reception by Hogan.

Buffalo State responded on the next drive, taking advantage of a pair of Brockport penalties and then scoring on a 35-yard catch and run on a bubble screen by Lewis to cut the deficit to 14-10 before the end of the first quarter.

The only points of the second quarter came on a 33-yard field goal by EJ Genzano to make the score 17-10.  John O'Hagan thwarted a Bengals' scoring chance with an interception at the Brockport 15 and returned in 33 yards to near midfield with 21 seconds remaining in the first half.   Chris Hall (Pasadena, CA/St. Francis) answered with his fourth interception in two games just three plays later, however, picking off a Scibilia pass at the Bengals' 1-yard line with just two seconds remaining.

Brockport's Colby Morabito took a pick-6 25 yards to the house, eliminating Buffalo State's first possession of the second half and extending the Golden Eagles' lead to 24-10.  Buffalo State answered with a 10-play drive that covered 75 yards and was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Rich Pete (Utica/Proctor), cutting the lead deficit to just seven.

Brockport took control from there, however, answering with its own nine-play, 75-yard drive, culminating with a 32-yard scoring pass from Scibilia to Mrozek.  The same connection worked again for Brockport early in the fourth quarter, and Scibilia and Mrozek hooked up again, cover 70 yards, pushing the Golden Eagles lead to 38-17. 

Buffalo State completed the scoring on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Kacz after Hall came up with a fumble recovery on a Bengals' punt. 

Buffalo State will travel to meet the No. 1 team in the nation and three-time defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater next Saturday.