ALFRED, NY ‑‑ The Alfred University football team remained unbeaten and moved into first place in the Empire 8 Conference standings with a 41-28 win over visiting Cortland Saturday afternoon at Yunevich Stadium.
The Saxons got 156 rushing yards on just 15 carries from junior tailback Maleke Fuentes and senior wide receiver Brendan Buisch caught seven passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
AU, ranked 23rd in the nation, held Cortland to 78 first-half yards and led 17-0 at intermission. Cortland scored 14 points in each of the final two quarters, but the AU nearly matched the Red Dragons' touchdown-for-touchdown as the Saxons improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Empire 8. St. John Fisher's 23-6 loss at Utica gives Alfred sole possession of the top spot in the league standings. With the loss, Cortland falls to 3-4 overall, 1-4 in Empire 8 play.
After the teams exchanged punts on their first two possessions, AU got on the board first with a 27-yard field goal by junior Trevor Monk with 8:20 left in the opening frame. The score was set up by a 65-yard Fuentes run.
AU added to its lead with just over nine minutes left in the second. After taking over near midfield following a one-yard Red Dragon punt, the Saxons drove 46 yards in six plays, with Fuentes capping the drive with a nine-yard TD run.
The Saxons closed out the first half's scoring with just 47 seconds remaining before intermission. Taking over at their own 32-yard line with 1:31 on the clock, AU drove 68 yards in four plays, with senior quarterback Tyler Johnson tossing an eight-yard touchdown pass to Buisch. The drive featured passes of 26 yards to junior wideout Rodney Etienne and 20 yards to senior tailback Casey Bright.
Cortland got on the board on the Red Dragons' first play of the second half, when quarterback Kyle Schneider, inserted into the game after halftime, hit Jake Smith with a 72-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline. Monk's second field goal, from 42 yards out, made it 20-7 with 10:35 left in the third, but Cortland answered on its next possession, driving 65 yards on 10 plays and climbing to within six points, 20-14, on Johnnie Atkins' three-yard TD run with 6:23 left in the third.
The Saxons responded by scoring two straight touchdowns, both coming on Johnson runs. The first, from a yard out, came with seven seconds in the third and capped a 10-play 65-yard drive. The second, from two yards out, came with 9:56 left in the fourth and ended a nine-play 79-yard drive to put Alfred up 34-14.
Cortland's Alex Wasserman scored on a five-yard run with 4:15 left to make it 34-21. Alfred recovered the ensuing on-side kick attempt at Cortland's 45-yard line and went 45 yards in six plays to go up 41-21. The drive ended with a 17-yard TD pass from Johnson to senior wide receiver Emile Frigon with 2:52 left in regulation. Cortland closed out the scoring with a five-yard touchdown pass from Schneider to Smith that ended a six-play 60-yard drive with 1:18 remaining.
Cortland attempted four on-side kicks in the game and AU took possession each time. The first came on the game's opening kickoff and the other three followed Cortland first, third and fourth touchdowns of the second half.
Alfred finished with 533 yards of offense, with 284 coming on the ground. The Saxons have the top rushing offense in the Empire 8 and came into the game averaging 231 rushing yards per game. In addition to Fuentes' 156 yards, AU got 72 rushing yards from Johnson and 57 from Bright.
Johnson completed 17 of 28 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns. His interception in the third quarter was his first of the season, against 11 touchdowns. Bright finished with four catches for 47 yards and Etienne had two catches for 54 yards.
Schneider completed 19 of 22 passes for 286 yards and a pair of touchdowns in just two quarters of work. Smith had five catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Jon Mannix (72 yards) and Anthony Pintabona (37 yards) each had six receptions. Atkins finished with 50 yards on 15 carries.
Junior linebacker A.J. LiCata had a game-high 10 tackles to pace the AU defense. Senior free safety Shyheim Wingate (forced fumble) and senior end Charles Branwell (three tackles for loss, one sack) each had eight tackles and senior strong safety Liam Hobbins had seven.
Tom Hagan had eight tackles (two sacks) to lead the Cortland defense. Carson Lassiter had seven (one for loss) and Mark DelPrete had three tackles and an interception.
Alfred plays next on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 1 p.m. at Empire 8 opponent Hartwick.