The test of character for a team is how they respond to disappointment.

Buffalo State (3-1) passed its test of character Saturday at Coyer Field, defeating Salisbury, 32-28, their first ever against Salisbury in program history. The matchup was the final conference game between the two programs as Salisbury leaves the Empire 8 to join NJAC next season.

Buffalo State was coming off a disappointing loss to Alfred last week and take make matters worse, they trailed Salisbury by two possession in the fourth quarter.

Bengals’ quarterback Kyle Hoppy engineered a fourth-quarter comeback, leading Buffalo State back from a 11-point fourth-quarter deficit.

The Bengals stifled Salisbury on a goal line stand with 8:21 left to play in the fourth quarter and took the momentum from there.

The Bengals took advantage of the stopping Salisbury on the 1-yard line, putting together a 6-play, 99-yard drive, capped off by a 20-yard touchdown run by senior running back Rich Pete. Hoppy’s two-point conversion run cut Salisbury’s lead to just three, 28-25 Salisbury. The big play on the drive was a 35-yard reception by senior wide receiver Mike Doherty, who led the team in receiving with four catches for 80 yards.

The momentum kept flowing Buffalo State’s way with a huge interception by senior cornerback Sherman Nelson, who took the return to the Salisbury 15-yard line.

Pete gave the Bengals the lead for good with a game-winning, 2-yard touchdown run with just 3:08 left in the game to give them a 32-28 lead. The touchdown marked Buffalo State’s first lead since it was 3-0 after the first possession of the first quarter.

After the two teams turned the ball over on downs, it came down to the final possession with 18 seconds to play on the Salisbury 30 yard line. Sherman Nelson sealed it for the Bengals with an interception as the clock struck zero, his second of the game.

Pete led the way for the Bengals with 142 yards rushing on 23 carries and led all scorers with four touchdowns. J.D. Hook led Salisbury in rushing with 24 carries for 140 yards.

Hoppy finished 18 of 30 passing for 253 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

The game started off with a bang for the Bengals when they recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff, which led to a 38-yard field goal from junior kicker Marc Montana.

Salisbury responded with a 60-yard scamper from junior running back Jerome Johnson, which led to a 30yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback John Dunbar to sophomore running back Aaron Moore. The Seagulls kept pounding the rock and jumped ahead to a quick 14-3 lead with an eight-yard touchdown again from Aarron Moore, his second touchdown on the day after a 74-yard drive.

Buffalo State could not get things clicking and had to punt on two consecutive drives.

A 43-yard connection from sophomore quarterback Kyle Hoppy to senior wide receiver Ryan Carney seemed to spark the Bengals offense. Pete finished off the 85-yard drive with a 9-yard run to shave the Seagulls lead 14-10.

The Seagulls were relentless, however.

Sophomoe running back Ryan Kolb was left all alone in the middle of the field and Dunbar found him as Kolb made a one-handed catch and raced for a 72-yard touchdown with 6:24 left in the second quarter.

The Bengals were driving with 3:24 left in the quarter when a moment of controversy came where a swing pass from Hoppy to junior wide receiver Billy Joiner was ruled a fumble recovered by Salisbury though it seemed Joiner never established possession of the pass. The Seagulls led at the half, 21-10.

The Bengals came out firing in the second half with a quick, five play, 70-yard drive ending with a 1-yard Pete touchdown.

Buffalo State kept the pressure on when Salisbury’s senior running back J.D. Hook coughed up the ball after a jarring hit by Dez Howard. The ball was recovered by junior safety Mitch Thomas on the Salisbury 46-yard line.

The Bengals were in the giving mood as well, fumbling the ball away on the following drive at the Salisbury 5-yard line.

The Seagulls marched down the length of the field on a 13 play, 95-yard drive with Aaron Moore scoring his final touchdown on a 9-yard run. He would finish with five carries for 35 yards rushing and two touchdowns on top of two catches for 13 yards and a score receiving.

Shaq Frederick led the team with 15 total tackles. An encouraging sign for the Bengals was the return of their defensive captain, senior defensive end Dez Howard. Howard missed last week’s game with an apparent shoulder injury and led the team with eight solo tackles on Saturday.

The Bengals improved to 3-1 overall, 1-1 in conference play and the Salisbury fell to 1-2, (0-1 in Empire 8 play). Buffalo State will travel down to Maryland next week for a clash with Frostburg.

Tony Callens can be reached by email at [email protected]

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