NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind.—Buffalo State (2-0) found the end zone on its first five possessions and cruised to a convincing 60-32 victory over host Manchester University (1-1) today in a non-conference matchup at Carl M. Burt Memorial Stadium.
In his second collegiate start, Buffalo State sophomore Kyle Hoppy (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) finished 16 of 25 for 273 yards with four touchdowns and one interception, and also had 71 yards rushing and a touchdown on eight carries. Rich Pete (Utica/TR Proctor) finished with 168 rushing yards and two scores on 19 carries, and also had a receiving touchdown, catching two passes for 50 yards. Mike Doherty (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) added another productive day, with six receptions for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Shaq Frederick (Brooklyn/Holy Cross) led the Bengals' defense with nine tackles, including one for loss and a forced fumble.
For Manchester, Logan Haston was 25 of 39 for 254 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers. Haston was also the Spartans' top rusher, gaining 75 yards with a touchdown on 13 carries.
Buffalo State averaged 9.0 yards-per-play, piling up 609 yards of total offense, including 336 on the ground. Manchester finished with 367 total yards, with 113 rushing.
Buffalo State took control of the game early, racing out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. After scoring on their first two possessions on a 40-yard run by Hoppy, and a 12-yard reception by Doherty, the Bengals started their third drive with a short field after Frederick forced a fumble and Anthony Sanders (Buffalo/McKinley) recovered at the Spartans 37-yard line. Pete broke a 17-yard run just seven plays later to take the three-score lead.
Manchester got on the board early in the second quarter with a 9-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown grab by Dakota Nelson from Haston. The Spartans still could not find an answer for the Bengals' offense, however, as Buffalo State extended the lead just five plays later when Pete took a catch out of the backfield 45-yards for the score.
The Spartans closed the margin to 27-13 on their next possession with another 6-yard scoring pass, this time to Austin Adams, but the Bengals quickly found the end zone yet again on a 48-yard catch and run by Tre Jones (Rochester/Greece-Athena). Manchester added a pair of late field goals of 30 and 37 yards respectively by Andrew Coe, and stopped the Bengals' offense for the first time with an interception by Nathan Birk on a ball that deflected off of the receiver's hand, leaving the score 34-19 at halftime.
The Bengals offense continued firing to start the second half when Pete broke a 45-yard run to the house on a counter draw on just the fifth play from scrimmage.
The teams continued trading trips back and forth to the end zone back. Manchester scored on a 16-yard catch by Jarron Jackson, but Buffalo State answered less than two minutes later with Doherty's second score of the day, this time covering 45 yards. The Haston cut the deficit to 48-32 with a 23-yard scramble.
Buffalo State recorded the final three scores of the game in the fourth quarter. After Jones' second score of the day on a 14-yard run, a bad snap on a punt attempt by Manchester led to a safety, and Marc Montana (E. Amherst/St. Joe's) completed the scoring with a 20-yard field goal.
Buffalo State will celebrate homecoming next Saturday when it welcomes Alfred University for the Empire 8 season-opener at noon. The Bengals will be looking for their first 3-0 start to a season since 1999.