FOOTBALL

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

Rob Schroeder

“I think we played a very hard-fought game,” head coach Jim Hofher said. “I thought there was a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm. I thought our defense played particularly well throughout the game.”

The UB defense held the Zips to 224 yards of total offense, including only 30 yards in the first half. It was an opponents’ lowest offensive output of the season.

Blustery conditions made it difficult on both teams to the throw the ball. Drew Willy (Randolph, NJ/Randolph), coming off a career game at Western Michigan just seven days ago, was limited to 12-of-25 for 71 yards and his first career interception. Likewise, Akron’s signal caller Luke Getsy, who was averaging 319 yards per game heading into the contest, completed 12-of-32 passes for 145 yards.

The Buffalo defensive line did a nice job of getting pressure on the Akron quarterback. The Bulls had 10 quarterback hurries and three sacks – both season highs. Aaron Sanders (Clarence, NY/St. Joseph’s) led the way with a sack and two hurries. Ramon Guzman (Bronx, NY/DeWitt-Clinton) also registered a sack and Rob Schroeder (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester) and Anthony Andriano (Howard Beach, NY/Christ the King) combined on a sack. The defense had nine tackles for loss, including two by Schroeder.

The Bulls’ defense set the tone of the game early by forcing Akron to a three-and-out on its first possession and following a 27-yard put took over on the Akron 42-yard line. Buffalo wasted little time getting on the board as they drove 42 yards in seven plays, capped off by a two-yard run by Steven King (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale), to give the Bulls a 7-0 lead with 10:45 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bulls touchdown drive was kept alive by two key third down conversions. The first was a 15-yard pass from Willy to Brett Hamlin (Jupiter, FL/William T. Dwyer) on a 3rd-and-7 followed by an 18-yard Willy to Evan Wallace (Santa Clara, CA/Wilcox) connection on a 3rd-and-6.

The UB defense held Akron off the scoreboard for the remainder of the first half. In fact, the Bulls limited the Zips to 30 yards of total offense and only one first down in the first half. The score remained 7-0 until the 14:31 mark of the fourth quarter. Brett Biggs scored on a 3-yard run to tie the game, 7-7. Akron (3-2, 2-1 MAC) kept the scoring drive alive by converting a fourth down one play earlier.

Steven King

The Bulls got a beautiful 57-yard punt from Ben Woods (Hermitage, PA/Hickory), on their next possession. However, Akron’s Domenik Hixon fielded the ball at his own 1-yard line, eluded a tackle, a scampered 53 yards to the UB 46-yard line. The Bulls’ defense stepped up again as, on a 3rd-and -2, Akron’s Dennis Kennedy was thrown for a loss by Guzman and Kareem Byrom (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick), forcing the Zips to settle for a Jason Swiger field goal. The 25-yarder gave Akron a 10-7 lead with 10:24 left in the game. Turnovers hurt the Bulls as they coughed up the ball on their next two possessions. The second turnover, a Willy interception, resulted in a 26-yard field goal by Swiger to give the Zips a 13-7 lead with 5:24 remaining.

Following a three-and-out by Akron deep in its own territory, UB would get one more chance to win the game late as it took over on its own 47-yard line. However, following a 10-yard completion from Willy to Chad Upshaw (Southport, CT/St. Joseph’s), the freshman quarterback suffered back-to-back sacks setting up a 4th-and-36 that the Bulls were unable to convert.

Buffalo gained 66 yards on the ground led by Philip Warren (Brunswick, ME/Brunswick) who finished with 33 yards on eight carries. The 6-1, 270-lb. freshman fullback, who lined up in the tailback position for much of the game, made the most of the first carries of his career.

Hamlin led the UB receivers with six catches – tying a career high.

Akron’s running back Biggs led everyone with 77 yards rushing and a touchdown. Hixon finished the day with five catches for 93 yards.

“There were elements to contend with that both teams contended with and I don’t think we did a very good job in the second half and that hurt us,” Hofher said.

Bulletins: With a 7-0 lead in the first half, Buffalo held its first lead of the season... With 10 tackles, Jesse Imes (Cincinnati, OH/Kings Mills) led the Bulls in tackles for the second time this year... With a touchdown drive on the Bulls' first possession, Willy had orchestrated a touchdown drive on the Bulls' last three offensive drives dating back to their last game at Western Michigan.