Post Classifieds
Bengals blow 16-point lead, drop to 2-4
By A.J. Speier
On October 10, 2012
Playing in its third home game in as many weeks, the Buffalo State football team left its fans
disappointed yet again.
The Bengals (2-4, 0-3 Empire 8) blew a 16-point lead to Utica (3-2, 1-1 Empire 8) in the fourth
quarter as quarterback Andrew Benkwitt threw four of his school-record six touchdowns in the
final frame. His last was the game-winner with 13 seconds remaining to defeat the Bengals, 51-
44.
"I was thinking that we've got to go out there and play football," Benkwitt said. "It happens.
We've been down before and we just have to keep chugging away and play football. There's
nothing else you can do."
Benkwitt completed a school-record 38-of-58 passes for 398 yards as both teams combined
for 961 yards of total offense. The Bengals had 189 yards on the ground with six rushing
touchdowns, but it was their four turnovers that ultimately decided the game.
"We've had a bit of a roller coaster season at this point in time which is really frustrating and
very disappointing," head coach Jerry Boyes said.
It comes down to guys performing and we seem to be struggling in that side overall."
Buffalo State fell behind early after junior quarterback Casey Kacz had his first pass of the game
intercepted by safety James Lenahan. The Pioneers capitalized on the turnover to take a 7-0
lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Benkwitt to wide receiver Jeremy Meier, who had a
school record four touchdowns.
Later, Pioneers' cornerback Shawn Mitchell blocked a Bengals' punt, which was recovered
by wide receiver Paul Smith at the Buffalo State 26 yard line. Benkwitt and the Pioneers took
advantage of the field position, capping off a six-play drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to
Jamie Murphy to take a 14-0 lead.
A 46-yard kick return by junior Caesarae Lewis shortened the field for the Bengals on their next
possession. Sophomore running back Rich Pete finished the nine-play, 50-yard drive with a one-
yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to14-7.
"We told ourselves that we've got to get together and try to win this game," Pete said. "So we
pulled together and I followed my O-line and the leader, Casey."
Senior linebacker Pasquale Vacchio helped swing the momentum in favor of Buffalo State when
he intercepted Benkwitt to give the Bengals' offense great field position again.
"I read the receiver and I read the quarterback's eyes," Vacchio said. "I just jumped the route
that was right in front of me. It helped the momentum for the offense at the time."
Kacz followed up with a 47-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Dave Jacobs and running
back Ismail Brooks finished the drive with a two-yard plunge. Kicker Nate Benoit had his extra
point blocked and the Bengals trailed 14-13.
"Everyone was just excited," Brooks said. "We were basically just driving and everyone was
saying 'just one play at a time, just one play at a time and it will come,' and it did."
Both teams punted on their ensuing possessions before Utica's offense found rhythm with an
eight-play, 56-yard drive. They scored on a two-yard run by running back Jesse Baldassare with
41 seconds left in the half. The Bengals drove 45 yards in a hurry-up offense, and Benoit hit a
36-yard field goal on final play of the half, leaving the deficit 21-16.
Buffalo State's offense came out of the half fired up as Kacz operated a five-play, 78-yard drive
featuring a 36-yard pass to junior wide receiver Sherman Nelson on the first play and a 25-
yard run by Brooks. Kacz finished the drive with an eight-yard quarterback keeper to give the
Bengals their first lead, 23-21.
After the defense forced the Pioneers to punt, Kacz threw a 38-yard pass to Nelson before Pete
ran for a 35-yard score.
"I just told myself I'm not getting tackled and I've got to score," Pete said. "My right tackle
pulled and I just followed behind him and he led me to the promise land."
On the Pioneers' next possession, Vacchio made his presence felt again as he forced a fumble
by Baldassare with safety/linebacker Brandon Hodgins making the recovery. Three plays later
the Bengals had a 37-21 lead as Brooks scored on a six-yard run.
After outscoring Utica 21-0 in the 3rd quarter, it looked like Buffalo State was going to run away
with the game. However, Kacz threw another interception to Lenahan, sparking a 30-point
fourth quarter for the Pioneers. Benkwitt capitalized off the turnover with a nine-play, 66-yard
drive resulting in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Meier, and then connecting on the conversion
with tight end Lucas Harder, cutting the score to 37-29.
Following punts on the ensuing possession for both teams, the Bengals pushed their lead to 44-
29 with 9:50 left as Pete earned his third rushing touchdown with a one-yard score.
Utica answered back with a six-play 65-yard drive, capped off with a seven-yard touchdown
pass from Benkwitt to wide receiver Alex DeRusso to cut the deficit to 44-36.
Buffalo State went three-and-out on their next possession and forced a punt on defense, but
Nelson muffed the punt, giving the ball back to Utica as Mitchell recovered the ball at the
Buffalo State 35. Benkwitt took advantage of the field position with four completions and a
12-yard touchdown pass to Meier before a two-point conversion pass to Baldassare to tie the
game at 44 with 2:47 remaining.
On the Bengals' potential game-winning drive, Kacz was sacked and stripped by linebacker
Chris Adams on third-and-17. Safety Cedric Hairston recovered the ball at the Utica 40 with 34
seconds left.
Benkwitt completed a 33-yard pass to DeRusso to get to the Buffalo State 27-yard line with 27
seconds left before calling timeout. After an incomplete pass, he completed a 17-yard pass to
Murphy, and then hit Meier with the game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass.
"The first thought in my mind was that we were going to score," Benkwitt said. "I got hit so I
didn't see, but I heard the crowd go crazy and I knew that we scored."
Boyes said he it is very disappointing that the team is struggling.
"At the end of the day, it all boils down to performing, whether it is performing on a block, a
tackle, a catch, a throw, a run or whatever it is," Boyes said.
Buffalo State will try to get its first conference win on Satruday at 1 p.m. against Ithica. Ithaca is
coming off of its first loss of the season to Alfred.
A.J. Speier can be reached by email at speier.record@live.com.
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