Peter Mangels Photo Gallery

ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University football team edged visiting George Fox University, 15-14, Saturday afternoon at Yunevich Stadium. Junior quarterback Will Coats (Keeseville, NY/Saranac Lake) rushed for the go-ahead score from three yards out with 10:23 left in the fourth to put the Saxons up by a point, and the Alfred defense came up big late, sacking the George Fox quarterback three times on the Bruins' final drive.

With the non-conference win, Alfred improves to 2-0, while George Fox, from Newburg, OR, and a member of the Northwest Conference, falls to 0-2.

The Saxons and Bruins struggled to move the ball early, with each team ending their two first-quarter drives with punts. Alfred went on an 18-play, 76-yard drive that consumed 8:16, taking a 3-0 lead on a 21-yard field goal by sophomore Dustin McCaslin (Ashville, NY/Chautauqua Lake) with 6:52 left in the half.

George Fox responded on its ensuing possession, as Ethan Kassebaum capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a one-yard TD run with 2:10 left before intermission.

Alfred reclaimed the lead just before halftime, thanks to an unlikely third-down conversion. Facing a third-and-24 from the George Fox 48, senior quarterback Casey Boston (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood), who had been sacked the previous play, was under pressure when he lofted a long pass down the left sideline. Sophomore wide receiver A.O. Othman (Syracuse, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) leapt the snare the ball and got one foot inbounds before coming down hard on his back at the Bruin 8-yard line. Boston rushed in for the touchdown on the next play and, after the extra point was blocked, Alfred held a 9-7 halftime lead.

Each team punted on its first possessions of the second half and after a missed George Fox field goal, Alfred took over at its own 20. The Bruins got the ball right back, intercepting Saxon senior quarterback Ben Burk (Lakewood, NY/Southwestern) and taking over at the AU 12. Anthony Garcia rushed for the go-ahead score on the next play, giving the Bruins a 14-9 advantage with 5:49 remaining in the third.

Both defenses held strong on the ensuing four drives, with the Alfred and George Fox offenses combing for just 37 yards. Then came the Saxon's game-winning drive, a 91-yard, eight-play march that ended with Coats' deciding score. Coats ran for 65 yards on the drive, and senior tailback Aaron Griffin (Queens, NY/Holy Cross) added 24. Coats' biggest play was a 44-yard scamper down the left sideline to the George Fox 7-yard line that set up his game-winning run.

After Alfred missed on a two-point conversion try, George Fox had two more chances to reclaim the lead. Both times, the Saxon defense was up to the challenge. The Bruins drove to midfield before punting, and got the ball back at its own 36 with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.

Bruin quarterback Jaden Sheffey had given the Saxon defense fits all game, three times dropping back to pass and escaping heavy pressure to scramble for first downs. But the Saxons' pass rush was on target during the final drive, giving Sheffey no chance to escape the pocket. After two seven-yard passes gave the Bruins a first down at midfield, Sheffey was sacked three times: the first, by senior defensive end Henry Chau (Tallman, NY/Suffern), pushed the Bruins back three yards. After a penalty and incomplete pass, senior linebacker Nick Milgate (Hilton, NY/Hilton) dumped Sheffey for an 11-yard loss before senior defensive back Jeremy Turenne (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) ended the Bruins' hopes with a seven-yard sack on fourth down with just 44 seconds remaining.

Milgate was all over the field for the Saxons, registering 13 tackles, six of them for loss including a pair of sacks. Junior strong safety Raeqwon Greer (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) had six stops and senior defense end Leo Pamphile (Spring Valley, NY/Spring Valley), fresh off a four-sack game in last weekend's win at Thiel, had five tackles. Chau and Turenne each had four tackles as the Saxons held George Fox to 192 yards of offense, including just 63 passing.

Griffin finished with 91 yards on 13 carries and Coats had 71 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts. Junior tailback Kevin Bragaglia (Holbrook, NY/Sachem North) contributed 47 of the Saxons' 217 rushing yards. Boston completed 6-of-11 passes for 67 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter and Othman had two receptions for 51 yards.

Kassebaum ran for 49 yards and a score and Sheffey added 44 yards as George Fox rushed for 129 yards. Sheffey was 9-of-16 passing and was sacked four times.

Daniel Campos tallied 13 tackles, including 2 ½ sacks, to lead the Bruin defense. Skylar Rayburn had 1 ½ sacks among his six tackles, and Austin Brockamp had an interception.

Alfred head coach Bob Rankl was encouraged with how his squad responded to adversity.

 "We ended up getting to our third quarterback today and he came in and did a great job running the football and led us to a victory. I think offensively we need to stay on schedule. When we did that we were very successful," he commented.

"At the end of the day we ask our guys to persevere, keep grinding, and do whatever it takes to win a football game. We have plenty to work on both sides of the ball, but again that was a good football team here today. I am excited about our victory and the way our guys played."

Alfred is back in action next Saturday, Sept. 21, when the Saxons play at former Empire 8 Conference rival Ithaca College. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.