ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University football team (4-2, Empire 3-1) fell 52-0 at home to #4 The College at Brockport on Saturday afternoon in Yunevich Stadium.
 
The Saxons suffered their first shutout loss since 2011 to the Golden Eagles, who remain undefeated on the season. Brockport is the highest-ranked team to enter Yunevich Stadium since #7 Mount Union came to town in the 2016 NCAA Division III Football Quarterfinal. Brockport's #1 nationally-ranked rushing defense held AU to 12 yards rushing in the game and 72 yards through the air.
 
The Saxon defense forced a three-and-out against the Golden Eagles to open the game, earning favorable field position. AU started strong out the gate, earning a first down on 14-yard connection between quarterback Ben Burk (Lakewood, NY/Southwestern) and Chance Olivas (Santa Barbara, CA/William Floyd). However, the drive stalled out the Brockport 44-yard line, returning possession to the Golden Eagles. Brockport marched 78 yards down the field to open the scoring in the game, 7-0.
 
Two drives later, the Saxons threatened to score a touchdown of their own, traveling deep into Golden Eagle territory. The drive started with James Kerr (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) rushing for five yards. One play later, Burk found Keandre Sanders (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden) for an 11-yard pass play. Kerr and Nas Smith (Auburn, NY/Auburn) then rattled off back-to-back five-yard rush plays, earning AU its second first down of the drive. The Saxons caught a break on another first down before being slowing down and eventually turning over on downs on the Brockport 34-yard line.
 
Brockport blew the game open in the second quarter, scoring 28 points, taking a 35-0 lead into halftime. The Golden Eagles held the advantage in both rushing yards (88-18) and passing yards (192-42).
 
The second half proved to be a repeat of the first, with Brockport maintaining pace. They continued on to win the game 52-0, marking the first time AU had allowed 50 or more points in a game since hosting Mount Union 2016 during the NCAA Division III Football Quarterfinals. The Saxons dropped that game 70-45.
 
Time under center for the Saxons was split between Burk and Casey Boston (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood). Burk threw for 42 yards on 7-of-17 (41.1%) passing while Boston threw for 30 yards on 4-of-8 (50.0%) passing. Smith led AU with 28 yards rushing while Kerr accumulated nine yards. Sanders caught two passes for 25 yards in the game.
 
Senior middle linebacker, Cole Reed (Gratz, PA/Upper Dauphin Area) led the AU defense with 12 tackles including a 0.5 sack. Reed currently leads the conference 78 total tackles in 2018. Fellow senior Eric Graham (Cheektowaga, NY/Maryvale) had a season-high seven tackles while junior Russell Kohler (Seaford, NY/St. Anthony's) snatched up six total tackles.
 
The Saxons look to rebound next week when they travel to Utica, NY to take on the Pioneers of Utica College. Kickoff is at 2PM.