The Buffalo State Bengals won on homecoming weekend in front of 514 fans at Coyer Field. The Bengals are now 2-1 and have a winning record for the 1st time since 2017.
The game was a hard-fought defensive battle, and the Bengals showed grit and determination. Nick Sciandra (SR North Tonawanda) kicked a 53 yd FG in the 1st quarter to give the Bengals a 3-0 lead. Sciandra’s FG was a school record surpassing Marc Montana’s 52 yarder. The FG was the only scoring as the 4th quarter started.
The Bengals had a couple of untimely interceptions as Alfred St was blitzing almost every play and QB Amir Cameron was scrambling most of the afternoon. Cameron did appear to throw a TD to Tariq Nelson, but he was just out of bounds in the end zone. Alfred State tried a game tying FG, but it was blocked by Brandon Gracey.
Amir Cameron then scored on a 45-yard run to put the Bengals up 10-0. The Bengals weren’t done however, adding a safety to go up 12-0 as Alfred State intentionally stepped out of the back of their end zone.
Buffalo State’s defense made the big plays when they had to, including a huge 4th down stop late in the game that stopped the momentum that Alfred State had gained.
Running back Ale Wilson quietly put together 132 yards on 16 carries for Buffalo State. Sincere Green led the defense with 7 tackles 2 assists 3 tackles for a loss 1 forced fumble 2 sacks and 1 pass defended.
Kicker Nick Sciandra had this to say about his record-breaking FG
“Yeah, when I was going out there I could tell from the field position where we were at and once I had kicked it, I knew it was going in.”
Sciandra then had this to say about the teams winning record for the first time in several years, “It feels amazing. That is our first Homecoming win and it’s the first time I’ve had a winning record.”
Then senior Dominic Ferguson, alum from Kenmore East, who had a timely sack in the game and when asked how it felt to win his first Homecoming game he had this to say “First let me start by saying Coach Lazarus Morgan came up to me before the game and he said Ferg, you never won a Homecoming game before, and I said no coach. He said todays the day.”
“Its indescribable you know each and every play I felt something different than we felt in the past few years. It was just electric to win this game,” Ferguson continued his previous statement.
After yet another win, the Bengals travel to Erie on Saturday to take on Mercyhurst who is 1-4 with 4 straight losses since winning their opening game of the season.