Brockport Offense Shines in 41-17 Homecoming Win
Senior quarterback Joe Scibilia (North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint) threw for 366 yards and five touchdowns with three of the scoring plays going for at least 40 yards as The College at Brockport remained undefeated with a 41-17 victory over The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Saturday in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game on Bob Boozer Field at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium in Brockport. The win was the 100th career coaching victory for Brockport head coach Rocco Salomone.
The Golden Eagles (3-0 Overall, 1-0 NJAC) scored points in each quarter and the defense held TCNJ (1-2, 0-1) who came into the game averaging over 32 points per game to just 17 points in the contest.
TCNJ opened the game on offense but after a three-and-out series, Brockport marched down the field scoring on the first drive of the game with an 11-yard TD pass from Scibilia to senior Kazeem Are (South Orange, NJ/Columbia). The reception was the first career reception for Are who played basketball for the Golden Eagles the last two seasons before using his final season of eligibility to play football in the fall.
The teams exchanged punts for most of the remainder of the first quarter before the Lions put together a scoring drive late in the first stanza after a Brockport fumbled punt return to knot the game at 7-7.
In the second quarter, TCNJ pinned Brockport deep in its own territory with a drive that started at the two-yard line but Scibilia engineered a 98-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 57-yard scoring pass to Joseph Innes (Unadilla, NY/Unatego) giving the Golden Eagles the lead for good at 14-7.
With less than two minutes to play in the first half, TCNJ capped a seven-play drive with a 42-yard field goal to trim the lead to 14-10, Brockport wasted little time regaining double-digit lead as Scibilia hooked up with Jake Spalik (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) on a 69-yard scoring pass on the second play of the ensuing drive.
The halftime intermission did not slow the Brockport momentum as Tyrone Nichols (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) scored on the first play of the second half with a 55-yard run extending the Brockport lead to 28-10 just 15 seconds into the third quarter.
On the next TCNJ drive, the Lions used nine rushing plays on a 12-play drive scoring on a three-yard run to cut the lead to 11 points at 28-17 but again, Brockport did not waste time regaining control. The Golden Eagles drove the length of the field in just six plays with Innes catching a 40-yard TD pass from Scibilia. Brockport led 34-17 after the extra point attempt failed.
The Lions threatened with the next drive but freshman defensive back Kharif Pryor (Brooklyn, NY/Thomas Jefferson) recorded the first of two interceptions on the day and the teams traded punts to end the third quarter with Brockport holding on to the 34-17 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Brockport had a drive that looked to be stalled at the 11-yard line in Lion territory but instead of attempting a field goal, Scibilia lined up for an offensive play and connected with Andrew Mrozek (Depew, NY/Lancaster) for an 11-yard TD pass to give the Golden Eagles a commanding 41-17 lead.
The next Lion drive ended early with the second interception of the day for Pryor and a later drive stalled for the Lions with a 4th-and-7 pass inside the Brockport 10-yard line falling incomplete. TCNJ had one more chance to score with less than a minute to play but an interception by junior Prince Jacobs (Brooklyn, NY/Thomas Jefferson) in the end zone ended the threat.
On the afternoon, Scibilia was 22-for-35 for 366 yards and five scoring passes while Spalik led the team with eight reception, Innes had six catches each for more than 100 receiving yards and Nichols led the running attack with 133 yards, one TD and an average of 6.3 yards per carry.
Defensively, Anthony Bianchi (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) recorded a team-high 14 tackles, John O'Hagan (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River) added 11 stops and Brett Evensen recorded 10 tackles including eight solo stops. The defense recorded four interceptions and eight pass deflections.
