Freshman Dan Andrews (Rochester, NY/Franklin) ran for 292 yards on 31 carries and four touchdowns to set the school record for rushing yards in a game for a freshman leading The College at Brockport Football team to a 55-34 victory Saturday over William Paterson in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game in New Jersey.
The Golden Eagles (2-3 Overall, 1-1 NJAC) scored early and often against the Pioneers (2-4, 0-3) leading 34-6 at halftime. William Paterson scored three times in the fourth quarter but Brockport's early lead was more than enough to hold off the rally and a late 66-yard TD run by Shireem Cobb (Valley Stream, NY/Sewanaka) put the game out of reach.
On the second play of the game, Andrews broke loose for a 63-yard scoring run and Brockport led 7-0 just 48 seconds into the contest. Later in the first quarter, Brockport struck again this time with an 11-play drive that included a 41-yard reception by Darryl Thompson (Rochester, NY/Marshall) and was capped by an Andrews 13-yard scoring run as Brockport led 14-0.
William Paterson scored before the end of the half with a 31-yard field goal just before the end of the quarter. As the quarter ended, the Pioneers attempted an on-sides kick but Brockport was ready and recovered the kick to take over at the 40-yard line.
The Golden Eagles marched down the field and scored as quarterback Wayne Bonsell (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) completed an 8-yard pass to Andrews and a 20-3 lead after the point after kick failed.
After a William Paterson three-and-out, Brockport was on the move again, starting the ensuing drive with a 57-yard pass from Bonsell to Thompson. After a 10-yard completion to Jake Spalik (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) moved the ball to the 10-yard line, Andrews took over and ran the next two plays ending up in the end zone for his fourth score of the half and a 27-3 Brockport lead.
The Pioneers used a 15-play drive on their next possession to get to the Brockport 21-yard line but the drive stalled there and William Paterson had to settle for another field goal.
With 4:16 left in the first half, Brockport started another scoring drive with an Andrews 40-yard run and ended with a Cobb 8-yard scoring run and a commanding 34-6 lead at the break.
In the second half, William Paterson took the opening drive and moved down the field in 10 plays. After a 24-yard pass and catch moved the ball to the one-yard line, the Pioneers punched the ball into the end zone for their first touchdown of the day.
Two minutes later, Brockport stopped another Pioneer drive but fumbles the punt return and William Paterson took over in Brockport territory. A pass into the end zone two plays later ended the drive as Ross Ragonesi (East Northport, NY/Northport) intercepted the pass for a touchback.
The defensive play sparked the offense and Bonsell engineered another scoring drive highlighted by a 33-yard reception by Spalik and a 17-yard third-down run by Andrews setting up a 15-yard scoring run by Bonsell and a 41-13 lead for Brockport.
On the first possession of the fourth quarter, a muffed punt attempt by Brockport gave the ball to William Paterson in great field position and the Pioneers needed just two plays to get into the end zone and trim the Brockport lead to 41-20 two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Andrews started the next drive with a pair of double-digit yard runs and added a 20-yarder two plays later moving the ball near the 10-yard line. Andrews capped the drive with a five-yard scoring run to extend the Golden Eagles lead to 48-20.
After a Pioneer punt, Brockport took over but fumbled the ball away on a third down play and William Paterson recovered the ball and returned it for a touchdown from 47 yards out cutting the lead to 48-27 with 5:33 left to play.
A second on-sides kick by the Pioneers worked this time as William Paterson recovered and drove down the field for another TD making it a 14-point game at 48-34 with 3:13 on the clock.
William Paterson kicked the ball away and Brockport started its final drive from its own 25 yard line. Andrews gained nine yards on the first two plays of the drive but Cobb was stopped for no gain on the third down play setting up a 4th-and-1 situation. After a William Paterson timeout, Cobb broke through the line on the fourth down play and rambled 66 yards to the end zone to put the game away.
Andrews had an amazing day with 292 yards on the ground and four TDs and also had two receptions for 21 yards and another TD. The 292 yards is third best rushing performance in school history and the best ever by a freshman running back. Cobb added 103 yards and two scores a Brockport had a total of 438 yards on the ground. Bonsell was 17-for-28 for 240 yards and a touchdown through the air as Spalik led the way with eight catches. Thompson had two catches for 98 yards.
Jake Brickler (Hilton, NY/Hilton) led the defensive effort with eight tackles including one for a loss while Ragonesi and Anthony Bianchi (Rochester, NY/Aquinas) each had interceptions.