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Bengals shock Warhawks, end record streak
Late pass pushes Bengals into national rankings
By A.J. Speier
On September 19, 2012
VIDEO: Buffalo State Football Stuns #1 UW-Whitewater
Coming off of a disappointing 48-28 loss to Brockport, not many people were expecting the Buffalo State
football team to pull off an upset against the No. 1 ranked team in the nation Saturday, but the Bengals
shocked the world.
Quarterback Casey Kacz found wide receiver Ryan Carney in the corner of the end zone with three
seconds remaining to lift Buffalo State (2-1) to a 7-6 victory over three-time defending national
champion University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (1-1). The Bengals also snapped a 46-game winning
streak for the Warhawks - the longest active streak in college football and third longest in history -
and ended the their 30-game winning streak at Perkins Stadium.
"This was the biggest win in Buffalo State Football history," head coach Jerry Boyes said. "This shows us
what we are capable of, and now we need to build on this."
"It was better than winning the state championship," Kacz said. "I can't compare this to anything. Just
kind of the way we won today. We were very prepared for them. I can't even describe this adrenaline
rush compared to anything else."
Leading 3-0, in the fourth quarter the Warhawks worked the clock with a 15-play, 52-yard drive,
resulting in a 29-yard field goal and a 6-0 lead with 1:35 left in the game.
"I was a bit nervous," Carney said. "We had to go eighty yards with like a minute and a half, but I
thought we were going to get it done. We work on it in practice all of the time, so we had to execute
and that's what we did."
The Bengals started the drive with a 14-yard pass from Kacz to wide receiver Sherman Nelson but things
looked bleak when Kacz threw two incompletions and was sacked.
Buffalo State faced a fourth-and-19 on its own 30 with 48 seconds left, but managed to convert it with
a hook-and-double-ladder play. Carney caught the pass from Kacz and pitched it to running back Rich
Pete, who then pitched it to running back Brooks Estarfaa for a 39-yard gain. Wide receiver John Beers
had a personal foul penalty called after the play resulting in a 20-yard loss, but the Bengals were still
given the first down.
"We practiced that play almost every week," Kacz said. "We had a feeling it was the perfect time for it,
so we might as well try it. Not many plays in our playbook can get us 19 yards on a fourth down and that
was one that worked perfectly just as we practiced."
An 8-yard run and incomplete pass by Kacz set up a third-and-2 at the Warhawks' 43. Kacz converted it
with a 33-yard screen pass to Ismail Brooks. He was pushed out of bounds at the 10 with 15 seconds left.
"I think they had an idea that we were going to throw the ball out to the flats, which we do a lot of times
in short yardage situations," Kacz said. "I think the linebackers flew out to the flats and we dumped it to
(Brooks), who did a great job once he got the ball."
Two incomplete passes set up third-and-goal. That's when Kacz found Carney in the end zone with a
back-shoulder pass to tie the game.
"The original play called at the sideline was for me to run a slant and we figured that there wasn't
enough time if I didn't get in the end zone," Carney said. "Casey suggested a slant-and-go and it worked
perfectly. As soon as I got in the end zone, he threw it back shoulder. I turned and caught the pass with
nothing but smiles."
Buffalo State kicker Nate Benoit redeemed himself for two earlier misses, hitting the extra point to give
the Bengals the 7-6 edge.
"Coach was telling me all game that it might come down to you because we saw that it was a low-
scoring game, especially in the first half," Benoit said. "It was just kind of like the first two field goals that
I missed, I had to comeback from that and keep staying focused.
"I knew as soon as we scored that I had to make it. "
Benoit missed a 38-yard field goal to end the first Buffalo State drive after a 35-yard pass from Kacz to
Carney set up the opportunity. The Bengals' defense made a statement on UW-Whitewater's first series,
however, when cornerback Chris Hall intercepted a pass from Warhawks quarterback Lee Brekke.
"It was big and it set the tone," Hall said. "We were in man coverage and I just took a good look at the
quarterback. I anticipated a little bit and then I picked it off."
UW-Whitewater responded with an interception of their own, which eventually led to a 21-yard field
goal to give the Warhawks a 3-0 lead.
Neither team could get anything going offensively for the rest of the first half. The Bengals punted three
times while the Warhawks' offensive possessions resulted in a punt and a missed field goal.
"They were running coverages that they didn't show much of on film," Kacz said. "On film they showed a
lot of quarters, cover three and cover four, but they came out in the first half running a lot of cover two
which is something that we didn't expect them to do and they kind of messed up our game plan."
UW-Whitewater took the opening kickoff in the second half, but the Bengals' defense forced a three-
and-out. The Bengals' offense drove down the field with a dink-and-dunk pass game mixed with a few
runs, but it didn't result in a score as Benoit missed another 38-yard field goal.
The Warhawks punted on their next possession, but Kacz threw his second interception, ending the
drive. UW-Wisconsin failed to capitalize again as Kindler missed a 45-yard field goal.
Buffalo State's offense threatened to score during a seven-play, 60-yard drive to the Warhawks' 6, but a
Kacz fumble was recovered by UW-Whitewater.
Hall grabbed his second interception of the game on the Warhawks' last-second Hail Mary. It was his
sixth of the season and sealed the win for Buffalo State.
"I just looked up and I saw the ball right away," Hall said. "So, I just jumped as high as I could and it fell
into my hands."
The Bengals' defense held UW-Whitewater to 311 yards of total offense. Pasquale Vacchio led with 19
tackles.
Kacz completed 18 of 33 passes for 274 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Carney had four
receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown and Ismail Brooks had three receptions for 56 yards.
The Bengals will look to build off of this win when they make their Empire 8 Conference debut this
Saturday at home against Alfred at 12:30 p.m. The Saxons are coming off a 28-7 victory over St.
Lawrence.
A.J. Speier can be reached by email at speier.record@live.com.
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