The SUNY Brockport football team travels to Buffalo State on Saturday for the annual I-90 Bowl Rivalry Game. The contest is scheduled to begin at noon.  The winner of Saturday's game will retain the I-90 Bowl Trophy on its campus throughout the offseason. Brockport has won four straight I-90 Bowl games, an annual rivalry game between the two teams located just over 60 miles apart along Interstate-90 on the New York State Thruway.
 
DATE – TIME: Oct. 30, 2021 – 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Coyer Field – Buffalo, NY
LINKS: Video | Stats | Game Notes .pdf
 
Week 8 Recap: Brockport jumped out to a 34-0 lead and never looked back as the Golden Eagles topped visiting Hartwick 41-14 in Empire 8 Conference action in front of 3,256 fans on Homecoming & Family Weekend on campus last Saturday afternoon.  The Golden Eagles rolled up 435 yards of offense, scored a season-high 41 points, and held the visitors to -1 yards rushing on the ground to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Empire 8. Freshman quarterback Jack Cheshire completed 13 passes for 229 yards, including a career-long 53 yard touchdown pass to Jared Maurino to hand Brockport an early 7-0 lead on just their second offensive play of the game at the 12:54 mark of the first quarter.  Maurino finished the day with three catches for 76 yards and his first career TD in the green and gold. Brockport's ground game eclipsed 200 yards rushing for the fourth time in the last five games and junior running back Jala Coad has now scored at least one touchdown in seven straight games.  Coad finished the day with 16 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns.  He has hit triple digits in rushing yards in four of his last five outings.
 
Where We Stand: Brockport has won two straight is currently 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Empire 8 play this season. The Golden Eagles topped Framingham 31-0 on the road in the season opener.  Brockport then fell to visiting and nationally ranked Ithaca College 23-8 before defeating visiting Rochester 16-7 at home in week three. Following a bye week, the Golden Eagles topped Fisher on the road 34-7 in Courage Bowl XVI before falling to nationally ranked Cortland on the road. The Golden Eagles topped Utica 24-16 for their fourth win of the season before downing Hartwick on Homecoming last Saturday. 
 
All-Time Against Buffalo: Saturday marks the 39th meeting all-time between these two programs. Brockport has won four straight games against Buffalo State, including a convincing 55-22 victory over the Bengals in 2019. Brockport holds a 21-17 advantage over the Bengals in 38 meetings dating back to 1982.  Brockport is 6-4 against Buff State in the last ten meetings.
 
Last Meeting Against Buffalo State: Brockport posted 28 third quarter points and cruised to a 55-22 victory over host Buffalo State to retain the I-90 Bowl Trophy for the fourth consecutive season in 2019.  Brockport nearly produced three 100 yard rushers as they were led on the ground by senior Justin Morrison (102 yards) and Jala Coad (98 yards). The Brockport offense totaled 556 yards, including 365 on the ground, to go along with eight touchdowns (five rushing, three passing). The Golden Eagles were also efficient in the red zone, going 4-for-4 on chances inside the 20 yard line. Brockport's receiving corps was efficient to say the least, as DaQuan Hubbard caught two balls for 106 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.  Imhotep Cromer got Brockport started on the right foot as both of his catches resulted in touchdowns in the second quarter. Six different defenders totaled at least four tackles for Brockport. Raylens Boutin put together another stellar performance as he tied for the team lead with six tackles and he also added two pass breakups.
 
In The National Spotlight: The Golden Eagles rank fifth nationally and first in the conference having allowed just 80 first downs all season.  The green and gold have 17 interceptions, which ranks second nationally. Brockport's rushing defense also ranks second nationally, allowing an average of 35.1 rushing yards per game. Brockport has allowed an average of just 192.1 total yards per game, which ranks fifth nationally.  Brockport ranks 13th nationally and second in the Empire 8 with a 3rd down conversion percentage defense of .260.

All-American Candidate: Sophomore defensive back Raylens Boutin, the 2019 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, ranks 10th nationally with an average of 1.7 passes defended per game this season.  He returned an INT 35 yards for a score in the win over Hartwick Saturday. He leads the Empire 8 with eight pass breakups and he also has four interceptions.  He now has 24 career pass breakups and eight interceptions in just 19 career games. Boutin was a D3football.com Preseason All-American this Fall.

Awards SZN: Nate Wigent was named the Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance in the win over Hartwick.  The honor marks the fourth time this season a Brockport player has earned a weekly award.  Jala Coad has been named the Offensive Player of the Week twice, while Lawrence Jenkins earned Defensive Player of the Week once. Coad also earned a spot on the D3football.com National Team of the Week earlier this season.
 
Ice in His Veins: Freshman kicker Nate Wigent ranks 11th nationally and first in the conference with an average of 1.14 field goals per game. His .800 field goal percentage this season ranks in the top 20 nationally. He has made at least one field goal in 6-of-7 games this year, including a career-long 43 yarder in the season opener at Framingham.  He is also 18-for-19 on extra point opportunities this year.

Freshman Sensation: Freshman quarterback Jack Cheshire ranks second the Empire 8 with an average of 16.29 completions per game this season.  He eclipsed 1,000 yards passing for the season last weekend against Hartwick and he now has 1,131. He average of 161.1 passing yards per game ranks second in the Empire 8.

INT Machine: Senior Alaan Montgomery ranks sixth nationally and first in the Empire 8 with an average of 0.7 interceptions per contest.  He has a career-high five total INT's, including four in the last four games for the Golden Eagles. He has eight INT's over the course of the last two full seasons.
 
Top Notch Ground Game: Jala Coad rushed for 106 yards on the ground last Saturday and currently ranks sixth on the program's all-time list with 2,459 career rushing yards. He also has 26 career rushing touchdowns.  He currently leads the Empire 8 and ranks ninth nationally with an average of 130.0 rushing yards per contest.  He also leads the conference in total touchdowns with 12, and points scored with 72. 
 
Primary Target: Senior receiver Imhotep Cromer ranks 31st nationally and first in the league with an average of 6.4 receptions per game. He also leads the E8 with 547 receiving yards for an average of 78.1 yards per game.  He has caught eight or more balls in three of seven games, including a season-high 10 in Brockport's season opening win over Framingham. He caught balls of 41 and 49 yards in Saturday's win over Hartwick.
            
Leading Tacklers: Linebacker Ben Damiani leads the team with 42 total tackles this season.  He has 18 solo tackles and one interception for the Golden Eagle defense. Andrew Covais ranks second on the team with 37 tackles and Lawrence Jenkins ranks third with 32. Andrew Covais leads the team with 2.5 sacks, while Lawrence Jenkins and Josh Greenwood each have 2.0. 
 
Blitz Heavy: Senior linebacker Lawrence Jenkins leads the team with 9.5 tackles for a loss this season. Jenkins also has two interceptions.  Damiani and Greenwood are tied for second on the team with 7.5 tackles for a loss.
 
They Can't Score if We Have the Ball: The Golden Eagles rank sixth in the nation in Time of Possession with an average TOP of 35:11 per contest.
 
Down the Stretch We Come: Bport will hit the road for two straight at Buffalo State and Morrisville, before returning home for the regular season finale on Nov. 13th against Alfred at 12 p.m.
 
Captains of the Ship: Brockport's three captains for this season include Luke Lodini, and senior linebacker's Lawrence Jenkins and Andrew Covais. Jenkins is now a two-time Empire 8 All-Conference selection, while Covais earned all-conference honorable mention in 2019. Lodini was a 2021 D3football.com Preseason All-American First Team pick for the Golden Eagles.
 
Meet the Sideline General: Head Coach Jason Mangone posted his 63rd career victory following Brockport's win over Hartwick last weekend. He now has a 63-24 overall record. Following the 2019 season, Mangone and his coaching staff became the first group to earn three consecutive Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors in the 19-year history of the conference. Mangone has been named the AFCA Region I Coach of the Year in two of the last three seasons. Mangone and his staff have compiled a 36-6 overall record in the last four seasons.  In 2017 he was named the AFCA National Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Eagles to the semifinals of the NCAA Div. III Championships.
 
Meet the Bengals: Buffalo State is currently 0-7 overall and 0-4 in Liberty League play this season. Christian Ozolins was promoted to interim head football coach at Buffalo State in November of 2018. He has been at Buffalo in some capacity since 2003. Quarterback Cam Sionko has completed 98 passes for 881 yards this season to go along with four touchdowns. Ale Wilson is listed as the starting running back on the two-deep for Buffalo State. He has 35 carries for 50 yards this season. Cam Crosier and Tariq Nelson are the leading receivers with 32 and 30 catches, respectfully. Inside linebacker Mike Glinski has a team-high 57 tackles to go along with 2.0 sacks. Defensive end Brendan Cimerman leads the team with 2.5 sacks.