The Buffalo State Bengals lost to the St. Lawrence Saints on Saturday with a final score of 24-19.

It was Senior Day at a chilly Coyer Field as the school honored 11 senior Bengals ahead of the matchup, ready to make their last game on home turf one to remember.

For the Bengals, running back Jeadi Higdon was the story of this game, scoring three touchdowns three different ways. An 80-yard kickoff return, a 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Otho Cox and a 1-yard run late in the game.

Saints quarterback Will Lederman accounted for 370 yards of offense and a rushing touchdown, guiding St. Lawrence to victory.

First Quarter:
Both teams came out ready for some good old fall football. The Bengals won the toss and elected to defer, giving St. Lawrence the first opportunity on offense.

Buffalo State’s defense held strong to start the first drive as the Saints were faced with a third-and-10 early. But a 58-yard connection from Lederman to running back James Gescheidle put St. Lawrence right in scoring position. Two plays later, Lederman ran it in the endzone for six, giving the Saints an early lead.

Bengals running back Christian Earnst got the party started for the team on the first drive, with short but crucial gains. Buffalo State was moving down the field, putting together a lengthy first drive. Quarterback Amir Cameron led the offense down the field, finding targets like Otho Cox and running on his own out of traffic. The Bengals’ offense found themselves up against a fourth-and-6 on the Saints’ 10-yard line. Following a timeout, Cameron snapped the ball and ran it himself, only to be held up by a pack of Saints defenders. Indecisive on the spot, the referees called over the chain gang for an official measurement. The chain stretched past the ball, and Cameron’s run was short, a turnover on downs.

Starting from their own eight, Lederman led his team to midfield as the quarter came to a close. Final score following the first quarter, 7-0 Saints.

Second Quarter:
Lederman and Gescheidle acted as a left and right hook, attacking the Bengals’ defense to start the quarter, pounding the rock all the way to the Buffalo State 3-yard line.

It was fourth-and-3, Lederman dropped back to pass, and the ball soared just over the fingertips of tight end Andrew Maneggia. Turnover on downs, in a very similar fashion to the Bengals’ previous drive.

Deep in their own end, the Buffalo State offense had a hike ahead of them. Cameron took the snap in the end zone and handed the ball off to Higdon with one goal: to get upfield. Stiff arms and spin moves took Higdon 58 yards up the Bengals’ sideline as a sea of black and orange jerseys cheered him on.

The rushing pursuit for the Bengals continued as they entered Saints territory. Cameron led the charge with a shifty 12-yard run, but he trotted out of bounds clutching his hamstring. Cameron stayed in for the following play as fans clenched their teeth, hoping that their quarterback was ok. Cameron took the bench, and Higdon led the charge. Quarterback Landon LaDuke got the nod to take the reins of the offense with Cameron sidelined.

LaDuke, knowing his team needed something big on third-and-17, took a chance. He rifled the ball deep towards the front corner of the endzone, only for the ball to end up in the airborne defensive back, John Finnegan’s hands. The Saints were back on offense.

In what was a quick drive, Lederman found wide receivers Shea Goodwin and Cole Phelan on huge gains, bringing the team to the Buffalo State 5-yard line. Running back William Murray galloped into the end zone, extending the Saints’ lead.

Down but not out, LaDuke guided his offense onto the field to close out the half strong. The Bengals tried to push the ball down the field, and wide receiver William Kitching made a clutch sliding catch to extend the drive. But LaDuke was getting banged up in the backfield and fumbled the ball after being hit by Saints defensive lineman Joseph Pickett. Jumping onto his own fumble, LaDuke was able to let the punt team get the ball out of their own end the following play.

With less than a minute left in the half, St. Lawrence’s offense took the field. Lederman took the snap, the clock ticking, until suddenly Bengals defensive lineman Tajkeoni Ryan smacked the ball out of Lederman’s hands, sending it down to the turf, where it bobbled through both teams’ fingertips. A pile of Saints and Bengals formed midfield, and at the bottom was St. Lawrence offensive lineman Finn Murphy with the football to end the half. Final score following the second quarter, 14-0 Saints.

Third Quarter:
Down 14 points, the Bengals needed to capitalize on this first drive after receiving the kickoff to open the half. Cameron was back on the field and already making plays with Higdon right out of the gate. Buffalo State’s momentum was quickly struck down as Cameron was sacked by two St. Lawrence defenders. With a challenging second-and-long, Cameron found wide receiver Noah Kimble for a 13-yard gain, but it wasn’t enough. The team then relied on Higdon to get to the first down marker, but he was stopped by a wall of Saints at the line of scrimmage, forcing the Bengals to punt.

The Bengals sent out defensive back Brody Stevens for the punt. The ball was snapped, and Stevens looked as if he was ready to kick until he tucked the ball into his arm and charged upfield. The Saints’ special teams did not fall for the trickery and forced another turnover on downs.

St. Lawrence again started with great field position and got right to running the ball, picking up nice gains. The Bengals caught on, and with the help of Bengals defenders Sincere Green, Brody Stevens, Richard Paul, and a big-time sack by Tajkeoni Ryan, the Saints had no other option but to try the 43-yard field goal. Clayton Fogler, St. Lawrence kicker, nailed the 43-yarder, putting three more points on the board for the Saints. Fogler’s kick was only 6 yards shy of his record-long 49-yard field goal that he hit on Oct. 4 against Hilbert.

The Bengals’ next offensive drive will be shown on the projector during film review, but for all of the wrong reasons. The Saints’ defensive front held strong against the run and didn’t allow for anything deep. Quickly, it was third-and-9, and Cameron was swarmed by white jerseys, but he found a way to sneak out and hit Cox for a 3-yard gain. The idea to go for it was off the table as soon as offensive lineman Cole Pearlman was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the Bengals sent Stevens back out to punt.

The punt was in the air, but Stevens was hit by an antsy Saints player as he kicked. Given an extra five yards after the penalty, it still wasn’t enough to consider going for it, the Bengals had to punt again. Stevens took the snap and kicked the ball, but Saints linebacker Ryan Surhoff was in the perfect spot for the block. Both Stevens and Surhoff were laid out on the turf after the play, but St. Lawrence recovered the blocked ball and set their offense up right on the Bengals’ 2-yard line.

Lederman flipped the ball to Murray for the walk-in touchdown. Fogler banged another extra point to extend the lead to 24.

“O when the saints go marching in, O when the saints go marching in,” sang the mob of Saints fans on the visitor side of the stands. “O Lord, I want to be in that number when the saints go marching in.”

Fogler booted a groundball on the kickoff, and Jeadi Higdon scooped it up. Navigating through defenders, Higdon ran like a runaway train down the field. 80 yards later, he found the end zone, and the Bengals were on the board. The team was back in it, and the energy radiated from the sidelines to the stands. Unable to convert for two points, the Bengals took their six and got right back on defense to try to get the ball back.

St. Lawrence knew that a mistake would be costly in this stage of the game. There was a glimmer of hope for the Bengals when a bad snap sent the ball rolling past Lederman. The Saints quarterback quickly grabbed the ball from his feet and fired it towards Phelan, but the duo came up with nothing.

A rushing pursuit brought the Saints into Bengals territory as the quarter came to an end. Final score following the third quarter, 24-6 Saints.

Fourth Quarter:
The Saints were knocking on the door, and on a crucial third down, Bengals defensive back Richard Paul held strong, stopping tight end Joseph Silver in his tracks to send out the field goal unit. Perfect on the day, Fogler was set up for a 32-yard boot. The kick went up, and it was no good. The Bengals’ offense had a shot at tightening the score.

Buffalo State was poised and knew what had to be done for a chance at winning the game. They stuck to the basics, ran with Higdon, and threw a pass to Kitching to move down the field. Out of nowhere, Higdon is dropping back with the football in front of the Saints’ sideline and throws a dot to Cox as the pair connected on a 64-yard touchdown. Without words, the running back let everyone know, yeah, I can throw too.

Cameron scrambled in the backfield as the team attempted another two-point conversion, but was unable to find an open receiver as he fired it towards the back of the endzone. After an onside kick attempt by the Bengals, St. Lawrence began to work at running down the clock.

The Saints veered away from the run as Lederman found Goodwin for a 20-yard gain. The Bengals clawed at the football after the catch, and defensive back Nicholas Bradt forced a fumble to put the ball back into the offense’s hands.

Cameron, Higdon and Cox led the march to midfield, but the drive was put to a halt on fourth-and-6. Cameron took the snap and threw the ball as Bengals fans prayed. Saints defensive back Brennan Twombly ran under the pass and intercepted the Buffalo State quarterback.

Lederman lined up his squad and looked to close this one out. He took the snap and rushed on his own, but defensive lineman Gabe Williams was on him like a hawk and forced a fumble, giving the Bengals the ball back on the Saints’ 2-yard line.

Higdon found the endzone after two attempts, completing his trio of scores on the day. Buffalo State elected for the extra point, and kicker Jason Gatti-Ezard nailed it. The Bengals scored 19 unanswered points late in this game. Down by five, the team could not afford to take its foot off the gas.

No onside attempt this time, as the ball was booted deep into Saints territory. With all three timeouts remaining, the Bengals were in a good position to get one more chance on offense.

Lederman took charge of his team late in this game, doing just enough to keep the ball out of Buffalo State’s hands. The entire Bengals defense engulfed every Saints ball carrier with the hope of a fumble. But the clock ran, and St. Lawrence closed out this Senior Day battle in victory formation as time expired. The Bengals say goodbye to Coyer Field for the 2025 season, and for the seniors, they’ll say goodbye forever.

Final score, 24-19 Saints. The Bengals fall to 1-8 and head to Geneva next Saturday to close out the season against the Hobart College Statesmen.