ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University football team improved to 2-0 on the season with a 36-12 defeat of visiting St. Lawrence Saturday afternoon at Merrill Field. The 16th-ranked Saxons ran their winning streak over the Saints to 19 games, piling up 364 yards of offense while holding St. Lawrence to 178 (69 on the ground).
AU scored on its opening possession, with sophomore tailback Austin Dwyer finding the endzone on a 38-yard run to cap a four-play, 59-yard drive and give the Saxons a 7-0 lead 3:16 into the game. Dwyer eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark for a second straight game, running 17 times for 133 yards and a TD.
Alfred scored 16 points on its first three possessions of the second quarter to take a 23-0 lead with 5:48 left before halftime. Junior tight end Adam Schutz caught a three-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Tom Secky 1:28 into the second. The Saxons drove 80 yards in 17 plays after recovering a fumble at their own 20-yard line.
Senior kicker Eric Rockwood booted a 23-yard field goal to put Alfred up 17-0 midway through the second, then Schutz caught a 12-yard scoring pass from Secky with 5:48 left in the second. The conversion attempt failed an Alfred led 23-0. St. Lawrence scored on a 13-yard TD pass from Nic Busharis to Marcus Washington 1:24 before intermission, capping a 10-play, 69-yard drive.
AU put the game out of reach by scoring 13 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters to take a commanding 36-6 lead. Rockwood nailed his second and third field goals of the contest — a 27-yarder with 3:54 left in the third and a 35-yarder with 9:06 left in the fourth — before senior linebacker Nick Clark (Canisteo, NY/Canisteo-Greenwood) scored on a two-yard run with 8:04 left in regulation. Clark's run came three plays after AU junior safety Jon Jackson (East Amherst, NY/Bishop Timon-St. Jude) forced a fumble near the St. Lawrence 20-yard line on a kickoff and recovered at the Saints' 18.
St. Lawrence closed out the game's scoring with 35 seconds left in the fourth on a 12-yard TD pass from Busharis to Mike Tateosian.
AU held a 36-12 advantage in first downs and didn't turn the ball over. The Saxons defense sacked Busharis six times and forced three St. Lawrence turnovers. AU ran for 189 yards, with Clark rushing for 25 yards on eight carries. Secky completed 18 of 33 passes for 175 yards and a pair of scores and junior wide receiver Andre McCloud caught five passes for 63 yards. Schutz caught four for 45 yards and sophomore wideout Justin Oliver caught two passes for 52 yards.
Washington rushed for 70 yards and caught four passes for 44 yards. Busharis was 12 of 24 passing for 109 yards and a pair of scores and wideout Ethan Sutton caught four passes for 36 yards.
Clark had a team-high 10 tackles (five solo), with three for loss and a pair of sacks to lead the AU defense. Senior linebacker Darrick Mason had seven tackles; senior end Marcellus Jones had six tackles and a sack; senior linebacker Wes Smith had five tackles (one for loss, one sack) and a fumble recovery; and junior tackle Mike Raplee and junior end Chris Steeves each had a sack.
Linebacker Ramon Mignott had a game-high 12 tackles (one for loss) to lead St. Lawrence's defense. Cornerback Christian Bianchi had eight tackles and a tackle for loss and linebacker Derek Delzer had six tackles (five solo).
Alfred is in action next on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 12:30 p.m., when the Saxons play their Empire 8 opener against visiting Springfield.