Week 6 – Brockport at Alfred University
Saturday, October 18, 2014 – 1:00 pm
Empire 8 Game
Yunevich Stadium at Merrill Field - Alfred, NY
This Week: The College at Brockport Football team hits the road for the first of two straight Empire 8 road games as the Golden Eagles travel to Alfred University for a 1 pm game against the Saxons.
Records and Common Opponents: Brockport enters the game with a 3-2 overall record and a 1-2 Empire 8 mark while Alfred comes in with the exact same record of 3-2, 1-2. Despite both teams playing three conference games, the teams have not faced a common opponent this year. Brockport has played St. John Fisher, Utica and Frostburg in the Empire 8 while Alfred has faced Ithaca, Buffalo State and Hartwick.
Revenge: The last time Brockport faced Alfred was Homecoming 2013 at Brockport as the Golden Eagles held a 28-0 halftime lead before falling in overtime 34-28. Tyrone Nichols had three first-half rushing touchdowns and Jake Spalik capped an 11-play drive with a 7-yard TD catch with 14 seconds left in the first half. Alfred changed quarterbacks at the half and rallied to tie the score at 28-28 with 9:54 left in the fourth quarter before scoring a TD in overtime to stun the Golden Eagles.
Coaches: Head Coach Jason Mangone starts his second season at the helm after establishing the best first-year coaching season record in Brockport history with the 8-3 record and is currently 11-5 as the head coach. Robert Rankl was promoted to head coach at Alfred in the Spring after 15 seasons as assistant coach on the Saxon staff. Rankl was a four-year starting defensive lineman at Ursinus College graduating in 1999.
Next up for Brockport: The Golden Eagles remain on the road for an Empire 8 matchup with Hartwick. Brockport fans will remember the last Hartwick trip in 2008 as Brockport posted an amazing 70-68 victory in the ECAC Northwest Bowl championship game on a very cold day in Oneonta.
Around the Empire 8: There are three other games this weekend involving Empire 8 teams as Ithaca (4-1, 3-1) travels to Frostburg (2-4, 0-4) for a 1 pm game, St. John Fisher (4-1, 3-1) heads to Utica (4-2, 2-2) for a 1 pm game and Hartwick (2-3, 1-2) makes the long trip to Salisbury (3-2, 2-1) for a 1 pm game. Buffalo State (5-1, 3-1) is idle this week.
Slow Start: The Golden Eagles have been a slow starting team this year as opponents have outscored Brockport 48-28 in the first 15 minutes of games in 2014. In the second quarter, Brockport turns it around with a 52-17 advantage and in the second half, Brockport has outscored opponents 76-37.
Record Breaker: Senior wide receiver Andrew Mrozek etched his name into the Brockport record book over the weekend grabbing his 20th career TD pass. The 56-yard TD catch moved him into a tie with Dan Fichter who had 20 TD receptions from 1989-91. Mrozek had three TD catches as a freshman, nine in his sophomore season, four last year and has a team-leading four this year.
Long Gains: Brockport has had 31 offensive plays of at least 20 yards this season with eight of those plays going for TDs. Dan Andrews has had 11 of the 31 long plays and Nate Wilkinson has accounted for six of the gains. Andrew Mrozek has four big gains including the season-best 82-yarder in the season opener against Oberlin. Of the 31 plays, 14 were running plays and 17 were passes.
The Last Safety: The Golden Eagles scored a safety in the victory over Frostburg when an errant pitch to the running back bounced out of the back of the end zone. The last safety for the Golden Eagles was against Rowan in 2013 when the Rowan quarterback ran out the back of the end zone on purpose preventing Brockport from a possible TD with one second remaining in the game.
Century Mark for Andrews: Since taking over as the starting running back for Brockport last year against William Paterson, Dan Andrews has gained 1,819 yards and has gone over the 100-yard mark in 10 of the 12 games. He has also scored 17 rushing touchdowns in the 12 games with at least one in 10 of the 12 games.
