Veteran A.J. LiCata (15) and newcomer Isaiah Moak (45) have combined for 67 tackles through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Alfred athletics photo

By Adam Turer
D3sports.com

It hasn't been pretty and it hasn't been easy, but it's been historic.

Alfred has a school-record 12 wins this season. The undefeated Saxons get to host the defending national champions at Yunevich Stadium this Saturday. To get to this point, the Saxons have relied on a variety of players to come up with timely game-changing plays on defense. That has been especially true through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Quarterback Tyler Johnson and the offense have put up consistently impressive numbers all season. But when the game has been on the line, it has been the Saxons defense coming up with the stops to keep this undefeated season intact.

It all began in the opener, against eventual ECFC champion Husson. The Eagles had one final possession, trailing by seven. Senior defensive end Charles Branwell sacked Husson quarterback Cory Brandon on fourth down to preserve a Saxons victory. Fast forward 12 weeks later, and it was Branwell who again delivered the critical stop that the Saxons needed to hold on.

With Western New England trailing by six and driving deep into Alfred territory, Branwell stripped the ball from quarterback Anthony Service. Freshman defensive end Josh Rivers recovered the ball at the 11-yard-line and the Saxons advanced to the quarterfinals.

"Every game usually comes down to defense for some reason. Defense wins championships, of course," said Branwell. "You never know when you might need to step up and be the one to make a play for your team."

Charles Branwell was the latest Saxon to come up with a season-saving play on defense. Alfred athletics photo

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Making the big stop with the game on the line has been a trademark of the Saxons defense this season. After the offense rallied to come back and take the lead by erasing an 11-point deficit against Brockport, Liam Hobbins nabbed the game-sealing interception on Brockport's final possession. That preserved a 30-28 win and kept the Saxons' Empire 8 title aspirations on track. Two weeks later against St. John Fisher, in what was essentially the conference championship game, junior linebacker Shaquille Muscadin and freshman defensive back Shemar Hayes came up with interceptions. The Saxons sacked Matt Naton six times while holding the Cardinals to just 34 yards rushing.

In the first round against Bridgewater State, it was Hobbins' turn again. He intercepted two passes, including a pick to end the Bears' first overtime possession and give the ball to Johnson and the offense, which then delivered the win.

"We've got a bunch of great senior leadership on our defense that keeps everything going for us. We've got a lot of confidence in our defense to go out there and make plays," said junior linebacker A.J. LiCata. "With an offense like ours and having Tyler Johnson as our quarterback, we never feel down. We always know we can come up with some big plays and turn the ball over to our offense and have them take over."

LiCata, a Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist, leads the team with 140 tackles. Next is freshman linebacker Isaiah Moak with 122. Branwell leads the team with seven of the Saxons' 37 sacks. The play of freshmen such as Moak and Rivers has energized the defense.

"We have a lot of depth on our defense," said LiCata. "Someone can come in and make a big play at any time. It's about making sure all of the guys are mentally prepared."

One of the unit's mottos is "Do Your One Eleven." That means, according to Branwell, "Play for the man beside you and never let up."

Despite allowing 51 points in two games this postseason, the Saxons remain confident. They believe that if they stay focused on their assignments, their defense can do enough to give the team a chance to win every week.

"Every team is going to be a good team in the playoffs. We don't take our opponents lightly. Our defense tries to come up with big plays every time," said Branwell. "When we're not playing our game is when we start to mess up and try to do more than what we're supposed to. When we play our game how Alfred plays, that's when we give our best shot."

Making it through the Empire 8 unscathed, knowing that even one bad week could derail their postseason dreams, has prepared the Saxons for the playoffs. This is the first playoff experience for these players, but they feel that their conference slate prepared them well for the challenge.

"We play in a real tough conference in the Empire 8, so we've had our backs against the wall before, and we always know to just fight," said LiCata.

"I think it was very good for our team to have gone through hard-fought games again St. John Fisher and Brockport this year," added Johnson. "I think those experiences helped our team to stay focused and know that we can pull out a win in situations like this."

Now, the Saxons get to host the Purple Raiders, a team on the opposite end of the playoff experience spectrum. Mount Union ended Alfred's last trip to the quarterfinals, in 2010, and is appearing in the quarterfinals for the 25th straight season. The Saxons are looking forward to the challenge this Saturday.

"Playing in the Empire 8 every single week, you're going to have to turn it on again. For our guys, it's just another week of football," said coach Bob Rankl. "Our guys are certainly accustomed to playing in close, tough, nail-biting games. Our guys are definitely battle-tested at this point."