ALFRED, NY – A crucial fourth down stop for the Alfred University football team in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter resulted in a 21-16 win over Morrisville State College on Saturday afternoon from Yunevich Stadium.
First-year
Max Freeman IV (Painted Post, NY/Corning-Painted Post) led the Saxons (4-3, 3-0 Empire 8) with 139 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore
Blake Van Woert (Corning, NY/Corning) finished with 112 passing yards and a touchdown. Sophomore
Joe Copp (Minoa, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa) and first-year
Adam Mietz (Akron, NY/Akron) each recorded one interception.
"We were excited to win our fourth straight game today," Head Coach
Bob Rankl said. "I was glad that we jumped off to a 21-point lead, but we have to do a better job at finishing the game when we have the opportunity. We need to continue to improve every week."
The Saxons offense committed to the run game in the opening quarter, as Freeman broke free for a 62-yard touchdown to give AU the early 7-0 lead. After holding the Mustangs scoreless in the first quarter of action, Alfred University capitalized on their lead in the second quarter with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Van Woert to senior
Keandre Sanders (Bishop Ludden). Less than four minutes later, Freeman scored his second touchdown with a goal line rush. Morrisville State nailed a 41-yard field goal towards the end of the half, leaving the Saxons with a 21-3 lead at the break.
The Mustangs were the first to find the end zone in the second half, as a 13-yard rushing touchdown from Justin Donnelly cut AU's advantage to 21-10. Morrisville State scored once again in the early moments of the fourth quarter, as a 9-yard passing touchdown from Steven Frerichs to Brandon Mapp was followed by a failed two-point conversion.
Morrisville State compiled a 10-play drive in the final moments of the fourth quarter to reach AU's 10-yard line, but a failed fourth-down conversion secured the victory for the Saxons.
"Right now we continue to focus on the task at hand this week," Rankl said. "I thought we had some silly penalties today, so I would really like to see us be much more disciplined overall as a football team."
The Saxons will travel to play SUNY Cortland next Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 PM.
