ONEONTA, NY – The Alfred University football team remained unbeaten with a 61-12 Empire 8 Conference victory over host Hartwick College Saturday afternoon.
Junior tailback Maleke Fuentes ran for a career high 217 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns as AU, the top running team in the Empire 8 (240 yards per game coming in), piled up 445 yards on the ground. The Saxon defense held Hartwick's high-powered offense to 230 yards, less than half its average entering the game.
With the win, 17th-ranked AU moves to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in Empire 8 play. Hartwick falls to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in league play.
AU got on the board early. After winning the opening coin toss, the Saxons elected to kick off and Hartwick took over at its own 24. On the Hawks' first play from scrimmage, a bad snap went into the endzone, where Hartwick quarterback Billy Pine was tackled for a safety, giving AU the 2-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.
AU took over at its own 30 on the ensuing free kick and went 70 yards in five plays, with AU senior quarterback Tyler Johnson rushing for a six-yard TD that put Alfred up 9-0 3:04 into the first.
Hartwick responded with a seven-play 65-yard drive that ended with a 40-yard scoring pass from Pine to Koree Reed. The extra point was blocked by AU junior cornerback Jared Watkins and Alfred led 9-6 with 8:45 left in the opening frame.
The Saxons scored 24 unanswered points to take a 33-6 lead at halftime. After Hartwick's TD, AU sophomore Jayden Gavidia returned the ensuing kickoff 48 yards to the Hawk 45-yard line. Eight plays later, Johnson threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Brendan Buisch and Alfred led 16-6 with 4:21 left in the first. Hartwick punted on its ensuing possession and the Saxons drove 43 yards on six plays (all runs), ending with Johnson's two-yard scoring run that put Alfred up 23-6 2:40 into the second. Fuentes had 34 yards on three carries during the drive.
A 24-yard field goal by junior Trevor Monk gave AU a 26-6 lead with 8:29 left in the second. After a Hartwick punt, the Saxons marched 83 yards in nine plays, with Johnson capping the drive with a three-yard TD run that put AU up 33-6 with 1:13 left before intermission.
Two Fuentes touchdown runs in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach. After AU missed a field goal on the opening drive of the second half, Hartwick drove to the Alfred 8-yard line, but Pine was intercepted in the endzone by AU senior cornerback Wes Sanders. Alfred then went 80 yard in 10 plays, with Fuentes running in from two yards out just five seconds into the fourth, giving Alfred the 40-6 lead. Another Hartwick punt gave Alfred the ball at the Hartwick 43. A facemask penalty on a four-yard Fuentes rush set up Fuentes' second touchdown run, a 24-yarder that put the Saxons up 47-6 with 12:20 remaining.
AU went up 54-6 with 8:41 left. After Hartwick turned the ball over on downs at its own 43, the Saxons needed just two runs by junior tailback Sammy Davis to find the endzone. The first, a 41-yarder, put the ball at the Hawk 2-yard line, and Davis plowed in for the TD on his next carry.
A 30-yard Pine-to-Reed touchdown pass capped a nine-play 65-yard Hartwick drive. The two-point conversion attempt failed and AU led 54-12 with 5:28 remaining. Alfred recovered the ensuing on-side kick at the Saxons' 48-yard line. After the team's exchanged punts, AU took over at the Hartwick 37 with 1:39 left and on the Saxons' first play of the drive, freshman tailback Aaron Griffin scored on a 37-yard run for his first collegiate touchdown.
AU had 534 yards of offense and the Saxons' 445 yards rushing were just 37 yards off the school single-game record of 482 set by the 1990 team against Hobart. Fuentes' 217 yards on the ground, which followed last weekend's 155-yard effort, ranks as the seventh-most in a single game in AU history. Johnson ran for 64 yards and three TDs on 10 carries and senior tailback Casey Bright had 78 on 13 attempts.
Johnson completed seven of 11 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown, while Buisch caught four passes for 55 yards and a TD.
Hartwick came into the game averaging 496 yards of offense, but was held to just 230 on Saturday (minus-17 rushing), including just 82 in the first half. Pine completed 19 of 30 passes for 239 yards, with two TDs and an interception. Pine was averaging 358 yards coming in. Reed caught four passes for 103 yards and a pair of scores, while wideout Brad Garcia caught five for 41 yards.
AU junior linebacker A.J. LiCata had a team-high six tackles (one for loss, one sack) and senior end Charles Branwell had five (2 ½ for loss, 1 ½ sacks). Junior linebacker Shaquille Muscadin had four tackles (one for loss); freshman end Josh Rivers had three stops (1 ½ for loss, half-sack); and Sanders had three tackles to go with his interception.
Mark Hackett had a game-high nine tackles for Hartwick. Nate Farley added seven and Marcus Mistersaro had four, including a sack.
AU plays next on Saturday, Oct. 29, at home against Brockport.