BUFFALO, NY— Rich Pete (Utica/TR Proctor) rushed for 140 yards and four touchdowns and Buffalo State (3-1/1-1) erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat visiting Salisbury (1-2/0-1), 32-28, in an Empire 8 contest today at Coyer Field.
Pete went over 100 yards for the fourth straight game to open the season, averaging 6.1 yards-per-carry, and scoring on runs of 9, 1, 20 and 2 yards. Kyle Hoppy (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) finished 18 of 30 for 253 yards with an interception, while Mike Doherty (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) totaled 80 yards receiving on four catches. Shaq Frederick (Brooklyn/Holy Cross) paced the Bengals' defense with 15 tackles, and Marquis Artis (Amherst/Amherst) had 12 and a forced fumble, while Sherman Nelson (Buffalo/O'Hara) had a pair of interceptions.
Salisbury quarterback John Dunbar (Pt. Pleasant, NJ/Pt. Pleasant Borough) was 4 of 14 for 101 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. J.D. Hook (LaVale, MD/Allegany) led the Sea Gulls' ground attack with 140 yards on 24 carries.
Salisbury led 28-17 and had a chance to put the game away with just over eight minutes remaining. After a Michael Landry (Upper Marlboro, MD/Archbishop Carroll) interception near midfield, the Sea Gulls drove deep into Bengal territory, setting up a fourth-and-goal from the Buffalo State 1. Dunbar was stuffed at the line by Trezz Bailey (Buffalo/Performing Arts) and John Alessandra (Tonawanda/Kenmore East), turning the ball over on downs.
The Bengals then drove the ball 99 yards in just six plays and one minute, 58 seconds and scored on a 20-yard run by Pete. A quarterback sneak by Hoppy led to a successful two-point conversion, and cut the deficit to 28-25 with 6:24 remaining.
Nelson stepped in front of a Dunbar pass three plays later and returned it 33 yards to the Salisbury 15, putting the Bengals in position to take their first lead since 3-0. Four plays later, Pete punched it in from 4 yards out for his fourth score of the day, putting Buffalo State ahead, 32-28 with just 3:06 remaining.
After Salisbury turned the ball over on downs, Buffalo State ran the clock down to just 19 seconds remaining before giving the Sea Gulls on last chance at their own 29. After a pair of incomplete passes, Nelson picked Dunbar off on the final play of the game to secure the win.
Buffalo State's only other lead of the game, came in the very early going. Artis forced a fumble on the opening kickoff that was recovered by Nic Bacon (E. Syracuse/Chittenango), and Buffalo State took a 3-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal by Marc Montana (E. Amherst/St. Joe's).
Salisbury quickly turned the deficit into a 14-3 advantage, however, assembling a pair of long scoring drives on its offense's first two opportunities. A 3-yard scoring run by Aaron Moore (Fenwick, DE/Indian River) was set up by a 60-yard run by Jerome Johnson (Rehoboth, DE/Cape Henlopen) on the Sea Gulls' first play from scrimmage. Salisbury then capped off a 14-play, 85-yard drive, that was aided by an offside penalty on a fourth down punt, with an 8-yard scoring strike from Dunbar to Moore.
Buffalo State's offense got in gear on the ensuing possession, cutting the deficit to 14-10 with a seven-play, 85-yard drive that culminated with a 9-yard touchdown scamper by Pete. Salisbury stretched the lead again just two plays later, however, when Dunbar found Ryan Kolb (Manassas Park, VA/Manassas Park) wide open down the middle of the field for a 72-yard score.
The Bengals were driving again late in the half, but a fumble inside the Salisbury 20 left the score 21-10 in favor of the Sea Gulls at the intermission.
Buffalo State took the opening drive of the second half 70 yards on just five plays and cut the margin to 21-17 on a 1-yard run by Pete. Mitch Thomas (Buffalo/Sweet Home) recovered a fumble by Hook in Salisbury territory just four plays later. The Bengals were on the verge of taking the lead on the ensuing possession, but Pete never gained full control of a handoff from Hoppy and put the ball on the ground at the Sea Gulls' 3-yard line. Salisbury's Nick Anzallo (Crofton, MD/Gonzaga) fell on the ball to erase the scoring threat. The Sea Gulls then marched 95-yards in 13 plays and reclaimed the two-score lead on Moore's second touchdown of the game on an 8-yard run, setting up the come-from-behind finish.
The victory is the first for the Bengals over Salisbury in seven tries in the final regular-season matchup between the two teams. The Sea Gulls will join the New Jersey Athletic Conference next season.
Prior to the game, Buffalo State welcomed honorary captain Ben Botwin and his family to participate in the coin toss. Botwin is an 11-year-old from Amherst, N.Y, with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Buffalo State was participating in the Coach to Cure MD program, a partnership between the AFCA and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. Fans can donate online at www.CoachtoCureMD.org or they can text the word "CURE" to 90999 to donate $5 on their next cell phone bill.
Buffalo State will travel to Maryland next Saturday to face Frostburg State at 1 p.m.