Football loses season opener

The Bengals came up short in their season opener Saturday, falling on the road to the nationally ranked Cortland Red Dragons, 28-12.

Despite leading at halftime, the game wasn't as close as the score would indicate, as the Bengals failed to execute their game plan from the start.

Following a game plan has been a point of emphasis for the Buffalo State football team, players said. Coming off of their tenth consecutive losing season, the Bengals have tried to keep it simple in order to win more games.

"Losing that game, I think, had a lot to do with the little stuff," said junior guard Josh Jesonowski. "Every time we get out there, we can't do one little thing wrong here and one little thing wrong there that costs us games.

"It just comes down to being able to execute," he continued. "We have to run the right plays at the right time, do our assignments on the offensive line, give our quarterbacks enough time to throw and give our receivers the right amount of time to run the right routes."

Two areas of the game where the Bengals struggled on offense were third-down situations and running the ball. The team amassed only 55 yards on the ground and didn't convert on any of their 13 third-down chances.

"Our defense played a fantastic game and gave us a chance to win the football game," said assistant coach Matt Hanhold, "but some mistakes offensively and a lack of focus really hurt us in the red zone and on third down."

The Bengals failed to score a touchdown, settling for a field goal two out of their three trips inside the 20.

"We expect to score every time we are in the red zone, and score touchdowns. That didn't happen on Saturday," Hanhold said.

Another factor that may have played a role in the loss to Cortland was field positioning. Cortland, on average, started their drives at their own 40 yard line, while the Bengals' average drive started at their own 25.

The players said they didn't believe field positioning made much of a difference in the outcome of the game.

"One of the plus sides of being able to start on offense at our own 20 yard line is if we have a long drive down the field," said sophomore center Kyle Shreve, "it keeps our defense off the field so they can rest and it keeps the opponent's defense on the field so it can tire them out."

Jesonowski agreed.

"Field position does play a big factor, but at the same time," he said. "Whether you're at the 40 yard line or the 20 yard line, you have to be able to go out and execute your assignment. If you do everything that the coaches say you should do, no one will be able to stop you."

The next opponent on the Bengals' schedule, St. John Fisher, looks to be a tough matchup. The Cardinals have won four of the past seven Empire 8 Conference Championships and have made eight straight appearances in postseason play.

"St. John Fisher is a well-coached football team and always are a good matchup for us," Hanhold said. "They have a solid defense and a fast-paced offense that can score points."

Hanhold said he believes that a familiar objective – execution – will be the deciding factor in the game's outcome.

"The only team that beat Buffalo State College on Saturday was Buffalo State College," Hanhold said. "In the end, it is about execution, doing the little things right, and not making mistakes that will decide the outcome of this game. We expect to win."

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