ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University football team fell in Empire 8 action to Alfred State College on Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Stadium, 35-28, falling short of claiming the first Stoplight Trophy and dropping points in the Alfred Cup standing.
 
The Saxons (3-6, 1-5 Empire 8) held distinct advantages on the offensive side of the game as well as special teams, but costly penalties led to the Pioneers (5-4, 3-3 Empire 8) capitalizing and coming away with the win.
 
Chris Kelly (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem North) led the passing game on the day with 209 yards from a 17-of-38 performance. Tommy Nyquist (Warren, PA/Warren Area) rushed 33 times, averaging an outstanding 7.2 yards per rush and a total of 236 net yards, including a 32-yard scramble, leading the ground game while Ashton Werner (Windsor, NY/Windsor Central) found the endzone twice on the ground. Carmine Hoag (Salamanca, NY/Salamanca) caught seven passes from Kelly for 121 yards, once again for another game-leading statistic. No A-State players had more than 100 yards in the air or on the ground while quarterback Justin Horvath had 149 yards passing.
 
The Pioneers had multiple players on defense with double-digit tackles while they were forced to be out on the field for almost 38 minutes. Despite only having five solo tackles and a tackle for a loss of one yard, Jack Bestpitch (Buffalo, NY/St. Mary's of Lancaster) was the defensive hero for the Saxons as he blocked a PAT, gathered it and returned it 92 yards for two points and had a 35-yard pick-six that gave AU its third lead of the game after Dominic Bronco (Rochester, NY/Aquinas) put the Saxons on the board first with a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter and Werner scored his first touchdown to put AU up 10-7.
 
Bestpitch forced A-State to punt during their last possession as he made a no-gain stop with 1:31 remaining in the game. AU took over after the punt with 1:24 remaining from their own 20-yard line. Kelly scrambled after an incomplete pass for a 19-yard first down. He then connected with Hoag to put the Saxons into Pioneer territory with a 15-yard reception at the A-State 46-yardline. Facing a 4^th-and-10 situation, Kelly found Hoag again for a 20-yard gain and a first down as time was running out. The duo connected again for a 19-yard gain, bringing the offense down to the seven-yard line. A broken up pass attempt to Hoag and an overthrown ball ended the drive and the game.
 
The Saxons will next host their season finale on Saturday, November 15 at 1:00pm when they host SUNY Morrisville on Senior Day/Hall of Fame Weekend. Alfred State College holds an 8-6 advantage in the Alfred Cup standings, splitting Saturday's potential points with Alfred University as the Saxon men's basketball team picked up a dominant, 62-38 win. A-State's men's soccer, men's cross country, women's cross country and now their football team have all picked up wins over AU. The Saxons' women's soccer and women's volleyball teams joined the men's basketball team as winners in the Alfred Cup.