Brockport, NY – This Saturday will be Senior Day for the Golden Eagle football team at Bob Boozer Field. Brockport takes on Alfred University to close out the regular season, with kickoff set for 12pm. Prior to the game a short ceremony will be held to honor Brockport's senior class.
 
DATE – TIME: Saturday, November 11^th – 12pm
LOCATION: Brockport, NY – Bob Boozer Field
LINKS: Video | Stats | Radio
 
Last Week's Recap: The Brockport football team fell to #16 ranked Cortland Red Dragons, 41-17, in the Empire 8 Championship. Brockport's six-game win streak came to an end, as the record moved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference. Cortland claimed a third consecutive Empire 8 Title, remaining undefeated at 6-0 in the conference with an 8-1 mark overall. The Golden Eagles committed six turnovers in a tough outing on the road.
 
Defensive Rankings: Heading into the regular season finale against Alfred, the Brockport defense remains highly ranked among the nation's best units. Here's a list of all the categories the Golden Eagles are Top-10 in the country defensively:
 
2^nd in Total Defense (188.4 ypg)
3^rd in First Downs Defense (98)
4^th in 3^rd Down Conversion Defense (23.1%)
4^th in Passing Yards Allowed (122.3 ypg)
T-6^th in Scoring Defense (9.33 ppg)
8^th in Passing Efficiency Defense (87.87)
 
Defensive Leaders: Ben Robinson is having a big year for the defense in his senior season. He leads Brockport across the board with 66 total tackles (25 solo, 41 assisted), 11.0 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. Classmate Kyle Haettich continues to make plays as well. Haettich has 54 total stops, seven pass breakups, two picks, and two fumble recoveries. Mike Talbert Jr. is in the mix as well with 51 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, and four QB hurries. In the secondary Louie Usera leads the way with three interceptions, while Malik Kelly (6 breakups) and Raylens Boutin (4 breakups & 1 pick) have defended several passes.
 
Block That Kick: In last week's game against Cortland, the Green and Gold special teams unit added another blocked kick to the season total. Vincent Daviero got his hand on a field goal attempt to prevent three points. It is Daviero's second of the season and the fifth for the Golden Eagles. They are tied for 19^th in the nation for most blocked kicks, while Daviero is tied for 17^th individually in the category. Mike Talbert Jr., Ryan Jafarjian, and Liam O'Mara all have one block each.
 
Avoiding Penalties: Throughout the season Brockport has been discipline and did not give the officials much to penalize the team for. The team is tied for fourth in the nation for fewest penalties committed (30). The Golden Eagles also rank highly in fewest penalties per game (2^nd – 3.33), penalty yards (19^th – 320), and penalty yards per game (15^th – 35.56).
 
Punt Return Threat: Brockport heads into Saturday ranking 17^th in the nation, averaging 15.42 yards per punt return. The team's top return man, Raylens Boutin, sits inside the Top-10 individually on the punt return. He ranks eighth in country with his 16.5 yards per return to go with one touchdown this season.
 
Red Zone Offense: The offensive unit has been hard to stop in the red zone in 2023. Scoring on 39-of-41 trips to inside the 20, Brockport is currently tied for 6^th in the nation in red zone offense. 34 of these trips to the opponents scoring zone have resulted in a touchdown for the Green and Gold this year.
 
Top-25 Rushing Attack: Running behind one of the best offensive lines in the nation, the Golden Eagle offense ranks 24^th in the nation with an average of 217.7 rushing yards per game. On the season they have totaled 1,959 yards, 26 rushing scores, and an average of 4.9 yards per carry. Jala Coad broke the century mark last game for the first time all season, finishing with 120 yards on 17 attempts. On the year he has 540 rushing yards and has found the endzone six times on the ground. Gino Fontanarosa (8), Isaiah Simmons (4), Cameron Mesh (4), Chris McGuire (3), and Todd Simonds (1) have all rushed for touchdowns.
 
Clean Pocket: Giving praise to the offensive line once again, the big unit up front is tied for 19^th in the nation in sacks allowed (0.78 per game). Brockport has only allowed seven total sacks through nine games, providing a clean pocket for Ben Gocella to work with. In his freshman campaign he has totaled 866 passing yards for 12 touchdowns through the air. Both Chris McGuire and Jake Ritts each have a pair of touchdown passes this season as well.
 
Another Special Teams Highlight: The special teams unit for the Green and Gold has provided several big plays in 2023, adding one more to the highlight reel last weekend. Trailing Cortland In the fourth, special teams would come through again for Brockport. On the punt coverage, Louie Usera forced a fumble that Kyle Haettich scooped up  and ran back 27 yards for a touchdown. Usera recovered a fumble for score himself earlier in the season on special teams coverage.
 
Meeting with Alfred: Brockport is entering this matchup with the Saxons on Saturday on a 5-game win streak against this Empire 8 opponent. Last year on the road, the Green and Gold walked away with a 16-7 win. In the last four games against Alfred, the Golden Eagles have outscored their foe, 122-14. The Saxons enter this weekend at 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference. They are coming off of a 42-6 win over Hartwick last weekend. Offensively Alfred is scoring 15.6 points per game with 252.9 total yards per game. The defense is allowing an average of 21.3 points and 340.4 yards per game in 2023.
 
ECAC Postseason Bid: Already bowl eligible with an NCAA automatic bid out of reach, the Golden Eagles are looking at the chance to qualify in an ECAC Bowl Game for a third straight season. Brockport hosted the ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl in 2021 and earned hosting rights for the same postseason game in 2022, but the contest was cancelled due to the weather. The announcements for ECAC games will be on Monday, November 13^th for the games to be played on Saturday, November 18^th.