The Buffalo State Bengals were soundly defeated by the Brockport Golden Eagles in Thursday night’s I-90 Bowl, with a final score of 41-0. The I-90 Bowl is an annual meeting between the two football programs, I-90 referencing Interstate 90. The Bengals fought hard under the lights at Coyer Field, but had no answer for the Golden Eagles lethal run game, paired with a dominant defense. This loss extends the Bengals drought against the Golden Eagles to nine straight games. The Bengals record against the Golden Eagles now stands at 17-26.

Turnovers, penalties, and stalled drives were the story for the Bengals. However, the effort remained consistent throughout the entire game, giving the team something to build on going into week two.

First Quarter:
Thursday night’s game started with a bang. The Bengals won the coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff to start the game. Energy was high, but it quickly shifted as Chris Boadi, Bengals running back, fumbled the football on the Bengals’ opening play. Hope was not lost, as only two plays later, Bengals defensive back Sincere Greene forced a fumble to get the ball back into the offense’s hands. After the dust settled from this absurd first minute of play, the Bengals offensive struggle began. Bengals quarterback, Amir Cameron’s early game heroics just did not result in any points on the board. The Golden Eagles let it be known early that they were going to run the football, and run the football they did. Isaiah Simmons, Brockport running back, essentially was the offense last night, as he received a majority of the carries and rushed for the sole touchdown of the first quarter. Final score following the first quarter, 7-0 Golden Eagles.

Second Quarter:
Simmons continued his dominance into the second quarter, bringing the Golden Eagles down the field to set up an easy 1-yard rushing touchdown for quarterback Anthony Vino. On the Golden Eagles next offensive drive, we saw wide receiver Tyler Ronk suffer an injury and be taken away in the ambulance on site. There are no updates at this moment, but we hope he is okay. Five plays later, Simmons found the endzone for the second time of the game on a 1-yard rush. Big runs by Amir Cameron and Jeadi Higdon showed glimmers of hope for the Bengals offense as the first half came to a close, and then the Bengals started to pass, and it worked. Amir Cameron threw a rocket of a pass and connected with wide receiver Keegan Whitfield on a 43-yard gain, getting the team and the fans back into it. Following the Bengals offensive play of the night was a series of unfortunate events. Two incomplete passes followed by a sack and a critical unnecessary roughness penalty on offensive lineman Cole Pearlman. This left the Bengals with no other option than to punt the ball away to close out the first half. Final score following the second quarter, 21-0 Golden Eagles.

Third Quarter:
The Golden Eagles had all the momentum in the world going into the second half, and they used it, receiving the kickoff and getting right to work. After a few short plays, quarterback Ben Gocella connected with Nathan Williams on a 56-yard touchdown pass to begin the half. Bengals running back Chris Boadi gave the team some life in the second half and moved the team down the field a little bit. But penalties put a halt to that drive, and the Golden Eagles offense returned to the field for the remainder of the third quarter. Simmons scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown with seconds on the clock, tallying his third rushing touchdown of the night. Final score following the third quarter, 35-0 Golden Eagles.

Fourth Quarter:
On the Bengals third offensive drive of the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles defense put an exclamation point on what was already a dominant performance. Bengals quarterback Landon LaDuke fumbled the football on a rushing attempt, and Golden Eagles linebacker Chamarr Ware executed a textbook scoop-and-score. The Bengals just had no response to the Golden Eagles throughout the entire game. The final score, 41-0 Golden Eagles.

Visit https://buffalostateathletics.com/sidearmstats/football/summary for detailed statistics from the game.