Bengals run over TCNJ, win 34-12

The Buffalo State Bengals improved their record to 3-4 by defeating The College of New Jersey 34-12 on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon at Coyer Field.

Coming off of a loss to Kean the week before, the Bengals were in need of a win in order to pick their spirits up.

"We played well enough to win last week, but we didn't play for all 60 minutes," said head coach Jerry Boyes. "I'm very pleased with the way we played throughout the game today."

Junior quarterback Casey Kacz agreed.

"I thought it was a good team win," Kacz said. "I thought it was the most complete game that we played this season, and hopefully we'll continue to play like that."

Due to multiple periods of rain, the Bengals leaned heavily on their running game to pull out the victory. The team racked up 365 yards on the ground and five touchdowns and averaged nearly nine yards per carry.

Freshman running back Rich Pete led the team with 157 yards and a touchdown, while junior running back Brooks Estarfaa also went over the century mark with 103 rushing yards and a score. Sophomore running back Ismail Brooks chipped in an addition 78 yards and one touchdown as well.

Boyes said that the Bengals' offensive line was the main reason for the team's success in the running game.

"We have players who can make big plays, and whether it's a running back or some of our receivers, you want to give them the ball," Boyes said. "But everything starts and ends with those five or six guys up front. I think we did a pretty good job blocking people today."

Pete, who was named Buffalo State's Athlete of the Week and New Jersey Athletic Conference Offensive Rookie of the Week, gave credit to the team's offensive line, saying that they contributed a lot to his and the rest of the running backs' success.

"There was no quit from our offensive line today," Pete said. "They blocked great and gave us some big holes to run through."

The Bengals also relied on their defense to keep the Lions from matching their offensive output. Junior linebacker Pasquale Vacchio led the team with 11 tackles and junior defensive end Steve Phillips added two sacks.

One play in particular set the tone for the Bengals' defense. Late in the third quarter with the Bengals holding onto a 21-point lead, the Lions drove down the field looking to score and get themselves back into the game. On third-and-10 at the Bengals' 13-yard line, an errant pass was intercepted by sophomore cornerback Josh Mims, killing any chance of a comeback that the Lions might have had.

"Our coverage on that play was man-to-man, so I was trying to stay with my man's every move," Mims said. "I saw the quarterback get a little flustered and I saw him start to scramble out. He wasn't going to throw to my man, so I kind of read his eyes and looked for the next open man."

"Once he threw it, I was right there for the pick," Mims continued. "I was actually thinking about returning it for a touchdown, but I decided to do the smart thing and kneel it in the end zone."

The next opponent on the Bengals' docket, Rowan University, is an opponent that the Bengals are looking forward to facing as they travel to Glassboro, NJ on Saturday to take on the Owls.

"Traditionally, they've been a good team in NJAC and they're big and fast," Kacz said. "We expect them to come out hard because they are usually one of the top teams in the conference. We'll be prepared."

Tony Fiorello can be reached at fiorello.record@live.com