Sophomore linebacker Jake Brickler (Hilton, NY/Hilton) led a strong defensive effort for The College at Brockport Football team as the Golden Eagles posted a 46-0 shutout victory over Frostburg State Saturday afternoon in an Empire 8 game on Bob Boozer Field at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium in Brockport.
Brockport (3-2 Overall, 1-2 Empire 8) scored three second quarter touchdowns to take a 28-0 lead and added nine points in each of the final two quarters for the final score.
Brickler had 11 tackles including six in the first half and the Golden Eagles sacked the Frostburg (2-4, 0-4) quarterback four times while posting 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage to go along with two intercepted passes. The Bobcats were limited to just 80 total yards on offense and just 20 yards of passing on the day. Frostburg State actually had more kickoff return yardage – 116 than total yards of offense.
Offensively, sophomore running back Dan Andrews (Rochester, NY/Franklin) led the Golden Eagles with 125 yards on 30 carries and senior wide receiver Andrew Mrozek (Depew, NY/Lancaster) caught four passes for 85 yards and one touchdown. The TD catch was his 20th career scoring reception tying the school record for career TD catches tying Dan Fichter who scored 20 receiving TDs from 1989-1991.
Junior quarterback Chase Venuto (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca), in his second career start, was 15-for-26 for 254 yards and three TDs.
The Brockport defense forced a three-and-out drives on the first two Frostburg possessions before Venuto drove the Golden Eagles down the field and capped a 13-play drive with a six-yard scoring pass to Eric Malave (Bronx, NY/Canarsie) for a 7-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Frostburg recorded a pair of first downs but faced with a third-and-nine, quarterback Ken Emmons was sacked by freshman Matt Szymanski (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) forcing another Bobcat punt.
Brockport drove again and scored nine plays later as Venuto found junior receiver Eddie Krecisz (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) for a 30-yard TD on a fourth-and-10 play.
Senior Brynell Middleton (Lockport, NY/Lockport) intercepted a third-down pass on the next Frostburg drive but Brockport was unable to move the ball. The Brockport defense put together another three-and-out effort. The short 15-yard punt by the Bobcats gave Brockport great field position.
Two rushing plays later, Brockport was in the end zone again as freshman Nick Vallone (Depew, NY/St. Mary's) broke free for a 22-yard TD run to stretch the Brockport lead to 21-0.
Late in the second quarter, the Golden Eagles started a drive with 2:21 left and scored a Mrozek hauled in a 56-yard pass for his record tying 20th career TD reception and a 28-0 Brockport lead at the break.
Brockport opened the third quarter with a 10-play drive that ended with a Tyler Perna (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West) 32-yard field goal. The kick was a career-best for the sophomore and gave the Golden Eagles a 31-0 lead.
On the ensuing drive, senior Colby Morabito (Rochester, NY/Hilton) picked off a pass by Emmons near midfield on just the second play of the drive.
Venuto hooked up with Nate Wilkinson (Elma, NY/Iroquois) for a 32-yard gain and Andrews rushed the final 11 yards of the drive on two carries scoring a TD to push the Brockport lead to 37-0 after the point after attempt was blocked.
In the fourth quarter, another Frostburg drive was stopped in just two plays when sophomore James Rupp (Sayville, NY/Sayville) forced a fumble with a hard tackle and junior defensive lineman Tarik Bennett (Mt. Vernon, NY/Mt. St. Michael) jumped on the loose ball as Brockport took over at the Frostburg six-yard line for first-and-goal.
Backup quarterback sophomore Mike Torrillo (Amherst, NY/Sweet Home) completed a TD pass to sophomore Ian Gilhousen (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) for six yards and a TD for the 44-0 Golden Eagle lead.
Two drives later, Brockport stalled near midfield and Torrillo pooch punted for Brockport down to the one-yard line pinning the Bobcats deep in their own territory.
On the first play, a fumbled pitch out ended up out of the back of the end zone for a Brockport safety and the final 46-0 margin of victory.
The Golden Eagles return to action for two consecutive road games as Brockport plays at Alfred next week and at Hartwick the following week before returning home for a matchup against Ithaca College on Nov. 1.