ALFRED, NY -- The Alfred University Football team will finish the season nearly as quickly as it started it, hosting Utica in the season finale on Monday, March 29 at 5 p.m.
Odd Times
Due to current COVID-19 protocols, spectators are not allowed on the premises at Alfred University sporting events, including at Yunevich Stadium. Coverage of Monday's contest, including live video and stats, will be available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/alfred/, and on the free Empire 8 apps available for Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV. Locally, the game will be carried on Fun 92.1FM and WLEA AM 1480 with coverage beginning at 4:15 PM. AU legends Bob '66 and Pat Codispoti are on the call.
Series History
This is the 21st meeting all-time between Empire 8 foes Alfred and Utica, with the Saxons holding a commanding 15-5 advantage. The series began in 2001 in Utica's inaugural season, a 47-22 road victory by the Saxons. The teams have played every year since, with AU winning the first 11 contests before Utica won at home in 2012. The Pioneers also earned home wins in 2014 and in the last two seasons, including this past Tuesday.
About Last Tuesday...
The Saxons and Utica returned to action for the first time in 493 days last Tuesday, as the Pioneers were able to engineer a 30-17 victory at Gaetano Stadium. The Saxons out-gained Utica by a 320-288 margin offensively but were undone by three turnovers and solid special teams play by the Pioneers. Connor Englert (Dansville, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) made his first career start, throwing for 234 yards on 46 passing attempts, tossing two touchdowns and throwing three interceptions. Kevin Bragaglia (Holbrook, NY/Sachem North) did a little bit of everything for the Saxons, tallying 302 all-purpose yards. He rushed for 65 yards on just 12 carries, tallied 37 yards on four receptions, and added 200 combined yards on kick and punt returns, including a 55-yard kick return and a 51-yard punt return. He also tallied 197 yards on six punts, pinning one inside the 20. Seven Saxons caught a pass in the contest, led by Nazier Landes (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca). Landes had a career performance, tallying five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. Zach Leinenbach (Penfield, NY/Penfield) scored the other touchdown through the air, tallying two receptions for 23 yards.
Jason Gauthier (Java Center, NY/Pioneer) led the team defensively with 12 tackles, seven solo, and four for loss. Jeremiah Young (Buffalo, NY/Canisius), making the move to linebacker from corner, was more than comfortable in his new role, adding 10 total tackles. Joe Copp (Minoa, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa) made the most of his first career start, making nine tackles, adding an interception and a fumble recovery on special teams. Tommy Vaughan (Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem North) and Tim Dahl (Cobleskill, NY/Cobleskill-Richmondville) each recorded seven tackles.
Last Season's Contest
Last year's contest was 19-10 defensive struggle, won by Utica at Yunevich Stadium. The Saxons knocked in a field goal on their first drive and surged ahead to a 10-7 lead after a Nick Milgate interception led to a short Aaron Griffin touchdown run. Utica's defense stymied the Saxons in the second half, keeping them off the board for the first time all season. Offensively, the Pioneers relied on four Maki Medici field goals, including a 48-yarder late in the fourth quarter, to pull ahead for the win.
Griffin saw his streak of consecutive games with 100 or more rushing yards end, but the Empire 8's leading rusher reached the 1,000-yard plateau after rushing for 83 yards and a touchdown. Casey Boston completed 8-of-16 passes for 98 yards, adding 43 yards on the ground. Defensively, Raeqwon Greer led the team with 13 tackles (six solo), one for loss. Milgate added 11 tackles and an interception. Chris Meano tallied AU's lone sack, adding six tackles.
'Pit' Party
The Saxons have fared well at Yunevich Stadium over the years. Alfred sports a sterling 23-6 record at home since the start of the 2015 season. The Saxons finished 4-1 at Yunevich in the 2019 season, and have had only one losing season at home since 2014.
Senior Day
Alfred honors its 2021 senior class on Monday. The group combines for a 20-13 overall record, which includes a pair of ECAC Bowl victories over Stevenson and Salisbury. The seniors honored on Monday are Nathan Fayerweather (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads), Micah Marshall (Owego, NY/Owego Free Academy), Caleb Marshall (Owego, NY/Owego Free Academy), Ethan Stewart (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South), Ryan McDonald (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island), Zachary Englert (Leister, NY/York), Cameron Huba (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen), Jason Gauthier (Java Center, NY/Pioneer), Kevin Bragaglia (Holbrook, NY/Sachem North), Jeremiah Young (Buffalo, NY/Canisius), Ryan Elliott (Northport, NY/Northport), Tajmaleeak Beckett (South Jamaica, NY/Flushing), Alex Bast (Medford, NY/Patchogue-Medford), Keandre Sanders (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden), and Andrew Duke (Yonkers, NY/Riverside).
Remembering Marge
The Saxons remember the life and legacy of longtime assistant coach Bob "The Bull" Margeson, Jr. who passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Born to the late Bob Margeson, Sr. and Patricia Burns Margeson, the younger Bob was and raised in the Rochester, N.Y. area; he graduated from Mendon High School in 1975. Margeson attended the University of South Florida, earning a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1981. He eventually earned a master's degree in justice studies from Southern New Hampshire University in 2017.
Returning to the Southern Tier where his family grew up, Margeson began his career in law enforcement in the mid-80s, working in the Alfred Police Department for six years. In 1990, he transferred to the Hornell Police Department, beginning a 25-year career serving the city in which he lived. After retiring in 2015, Margeson continued his police work at the Canisteo Police Department. Margeson became interested in writing, so he wrote police fiction novels in his spare time. He wrote many books, beginning with his first published novel, "Tribulation's Fate".
1990 was an important year for Margeson for one other reason – it was the year he was tabbed by former head coach and athletic director Jim Moretti to be an assistant coach for the AU Saxon Football team. From 1990-1997, Margeson worked primarily with the tight ends, before briefly serving as the tight end's coach at Alfred State College for the '98 and '99 seasons. He returned to AU in 2002 and was a longtime Special Teams Coordinator for the Saxons.
He guided some of the best place kickers in school history, including Trevor Monk '18 and Eric Rockwood '11, both of whom hold AU and Empire 8 Conference records. Monk was named Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Year in 2016. He was also a part of three Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year awards in 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2016.
Grüß Gott, Nick Milgate!
Linebacker Nick Milgate '20 was drafted by AFC Rangers Mödling of the Austrian Football League for the upcoming 2021 season. A native of Hilton, N.Y., Milgate spent four seasons at AU, quickly making an impact his rookie year in the 2016 season with a pick-6 against Mount Union in the NCAA Quarterfinal. As a sophomore, led the team with five interceptions, adding 80 tackles and four sacks, then got better as a junior, finishing fifth in the Empire 8 with 96 tackles, adding two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Prior to his senior season, Milgate was named co-captain and earned the prestigious "32" jersey, which is in honor of the late Nick Clark '11. He finished his career in style, finishing 13th in NCAA with 11.1 tackles per game and 26th in tackles for loss per game (1.8). He also led the Empire 8 with three forced fumbles.
His postseason honors were plentiful, as he earned All-Empire 8 First Team honors, and was the 101st All-American in program history, earning D3football.com honors. Milgate graduated ninth in program history with 298 career tackles in 42 games played.
A Look at the Pioneers
Utica comes into the season finale with an 1-0 record, after a 30-17 home victory over the Saxons on March 23. The Pioneers finished the season with a record of 5-5 overall in 2019. They were also an even 3-3 in the Empire 8 Conference. The team had wins over St. Lawrence, Buffalo State, St. John Fisher, Alfred, and Hartwick. They were 4-1 at home and were just four points away from an undefeated home record. The Pioneers finished fourth in the final Empire 8 Conference Standings.
Looking Ahead to 2021
The Saxons will look to enjoy a more traditional fall 2021 season. The Saxons will begin the new campaign with a road trip to Hobart on Friday, Sept. 3. The Saxons will then host Mount St. Joseph for the first meeting between the two teams on Sept. 11. Ithaca then makes the trip to Yunevich Stadium on Sept. 18, before the Saxons finish the non-conference schedule with a trip to Kalamazoo on Sept. 25, the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Homecoming weekend is also the Saxons' Empire 8 opener, hosting Hartwick on Oct. 9. Alternating home and away contests for the rest of the year, the Saxons will travel to St. John Fisher College on Oct. 16 and SUNY Cortland on Oct. 30, sandwiched around a home date vs. Morrisville State on Oct. 23. Hall of Fame Weekend is Nov. 6, as the Saxons host Utica College on the same day that Alfred University honors the 2020 class. The season finale is at defending Empire 8 champion Brockport on Nov. 13.
