BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo football team used a gritty second-half performance and a dominating defensive effort to put to rest the nation's longest Division I-A losing streak.

The Bulls rallied from a 14-0 first-half deficit to defeat Ohio University, 26-17, in Mid-American Conference action at UB Stadium. With the win, the Bulls snapped an 18-game losing streak and verified the great improvement Buffalo has made in

Buffalo Victory March!

recent weeks. For the first time in decades the UB locker room rang out with the "Buffalo Victory March," a song that head coach Jim Hofher has instituted this year for his team to sing after a victory. For Hofher and his players it never sounded better.

"(The win) is meaningful to the kids," said Hofher. "It probably gives just a little bit more reinforcement and verification for those things that coaches have to preach to the players. Perseverance, get better, play hard, low pads win...all those things (a victory) helps to verify it. At no point this season did our guys not play to win. Obviously we didn't play well enough to win, but at no point did we not play to win, and today was no different."

To win, however, the Bulls would have to overcome a 14-0 first-half deficit and show the heart and determination that was needed to earn the first win of the season. Buffalo improved to 1-8 and 1-4 in the MAC with the win, while Ohio fell to 2-6 and 1-4 in the MAC. The Bulls limited Ohio to 259 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers on the game.

"I commend Coach Hofher, his staff and players for a game well-played. They made plays at the end of the game to get the victory," said Ohio coach Brian Knorr. "We pride ourselves on being able to run the football. We were only able to run for 118 yards - they did some good things to limit our option attack. I thought they were much more physical than we were up front."

The Bulls started the game in great fashion, pinning the Bobcats inside their 10-yard line when on the first play from scrimmage linebacker Rich Sanders (Miami, FL/Coral Reef) forced a fumble that Ohio recovered at its own one-yard line.

Buffalo did not take advantage of great field position on its first drive, which began at the Ohio 30. After three downs, the Bulls lined up for a 45-yard field goal. However, backup quarterback Randall Secky (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) was sacked on a fake field goal attempt and the Bobcats took over at their own 38.

The Bobcats were able to take advantage of the momentum switch by driving 62 yards in six plays, capped by a

Rob Schroeder

nine-yard run by quarterback Fred Ray. UB sophomore Rob Schroeder (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester) blocked his second PAT of the season - and third block overall - to keep the score 6-0. The key play on the drive was a 39-yard pass from Ray to Adam Porter on third-and-11.

After the Bulls picked up a first down to their own 30-yard line on the next drive, sophomore quarterback P.J. Piskorik (Swoyersville, NY/Wyoming Valley West) threw his third interception of the season as Chip Cox stepped in front of a pass and gave OU possession at the Buffalo 32-yard line. However, the Bulls were able to rise up and stop the Bobcats, with Greg DiMarino missing a 33-yard field goal wide right with under five minutes to go in the first quarter.

The Bobcats took advantage of another Buffalo mistake early in the second quarter. Junior punter Dominic Milano (Hacienda Heights, CA/Los Altos) had the ball slip through his hands with the Bobcats recovering at the Buffalo 22-yard line. Ohio would score on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Fred Ray to Ray Huston. Again, the kick failed and Ohio led 12-0.

The Bobcats would increase the score to 14-0 when Piskorik was called for intentional grounding in his own end zone which was ruled as a safety.

The momentum looked like it might swing back to Buffalo as the Bulls' Delando Bradford (Franklin, MI/Groves) recovered a fumble by Ohio backup quarterback Austen Everson near midfield after the Bulls free kick. However, after a promising drive inside the Ohio 30, the Bulls eventually missed a 47-yard field goal attempt by Dallas Pelz (Holland, NY/St. Francis).

However, UB's defense stood tall on Ohio's next drive and the Bulls would strike back quickly for their first

Matt Knueven

score. Piskorik hit flanker Matt Knueven (Cincinnati, OH/LaSalle) with a 58-yard streak pattern down the right sideline. It was the longest completion of the year for the Bulls and Knueven's longest reception of his career. Pelz hit the extra point to make it 14-7 with 4:11 remaining in the half, which was the way the teams went to intermission.

"It was a simple go route, I stopped to freeze the cornerback and I saw him peek in because he thought it was a run," said Knueven. "It was a jump ball and I was lucky to come down with it and take it to the house."

The Bulls struck first in the second half after a pair of great defensive efforts by senior captain

Lamar Wilcher

Lamar Wilcher (Ossining, NY/Ossining). Wilcher sacked Ohio quarterback Ryan Hawk on first down and on third down tipped a pass that was intercepted by defensive end Phil Jacques (Farmington Hills, MI/Brother Rice) and returned to the Ohio seven-yard line. The Bulls, however, were only able to get a field goal - a 21-yarder by Pelz - that cut the lead to 14-10 with 8:35 left in the third quarter.

The Bobcats upped the lead back to seven points on a 28-yard field goal by DiMarino with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter, but the Bulls would once again not quit.

The Bulls rallied behind Piskorik, who had missed most of the third quarter with a bruised shoulder. The sophomore signal-caller engineered a 93-yard touchdown drive that would knot the score at 17-17. Piskorik would get it started with a 15-yard run to get the Bulls out of bad field position, before tailback Dave Dawson (Camp Hill, PA/Bishop McDevitt) would bolt for 50 yards to take the ball to the Ohio 31.

P.J. Piskorik scores from six yards out

Piskorik would finish the drive with a terrific six-yard run on a reverse option play that saw him elude three players to score.

On the following play, Dawson and the Bulls struck again. Dawson hit Ohio's Chris Jackson on the kickoff return and forced a fumble that was recovered by UB's Gemara Williams (Oak Park, MI/Brother Rice) at the Ohio 28-yard line. The Bulls eventually settled on a 33-yard field goal by Pelz to take their first lead of the game at 20-17 with 8:41 remaining.

The Buffalo defense again stuffed the Bobcats with a three-and-out keyed by a sack by seniors Chris Clifton (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) and Mark Graham (Monroe, MI/Monroe). Both Clifton and Graham had tremendous games to lead the

Chris Clifton

UB defense. On the ensuing punt, Knueven again struck for a big play for the Bulls, returning the kick 50 yards to set up another field goal by Pelz, this time from 34 yards out.

Once again the UB defense rose up, stopping a fourth-down attempt by the Bobcats when sophomore defensive tackle Rob Schroeder batted down Ryan Hawk's pass. From there the Bulls put the game away when Pelz hit his career-best tying fourth field goal from 24 yards out to give the Bulls a 26-17 lead.

The Bulls stopped Ohio's last ditch effort by forcing three straight incompletions by Hawk before Williams and Bradford stopped Scott Mayle five yards shy of a first down. That set off a celebration that the Bulls had been waiting over a year for.

"I don't think very many people understand what goes on and how hard it is when you are in the middle of what we were in the middle of," said Hofher. "It's an unbelievable credit to a group of young people who have kept working and believing in something. I think our guys have been extremely tough and they are the ones that brought themselves through to this point."

For the Bulls, the stars were plenty. Piskorik came back from a painful shoulder injury to rush for 55 yards, throw for 75 yards while running for a touchdown and passing for a score. Dawson

Dave Dawson

finished with 104 yards on 18 carries and made four special team tackles, including forcing a fumble. Knueven had 108 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. Graham had a sensational game defensively with a career-best 15 tackles (10 solos), three tackles for loss, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup and a half-sack. Clifton added nine tackles, four for losses, and a sack, while Williams also had nine tackles, a fumble recovery and a half-sack. All told, the Bulls forced four turnovers on the day.

BULL-etins: UB snapped an 18-game losing streak, picking up its first win since a 34-11 victory over Rutgers on September 7, 2002...the Bulls' last home win and conference win had previously been a 44-0 shutout of Ohio on November 3, 2001... Buffalo outscored the Bobcats, 16-0, in the fourth quarter. On the season, UB has outscored its opponents, 48-24, in the fourth quarter...during the second half, Buffalo compiled 141 rushing yards and allowed Ohio just 47. In the first half, the Bobcats outgained the Bulls, 91-27, on the ground...coming into the game, UB had allowed its opponents to convert on 8-of-10 fourth downs, but on the afternoon it turned aside Ohio on both of its fourth-down conversion attempts...Buffalo started seven drives in Bobcat territory, but recorded only 12 points (four field goals) on those possessions. The Bulls' two touchdowns came on drives of 73 and 93 yards...the second-quarter, 58-yard touchdown pass from P.J. Piskorik to Matt Knueven was the longest pass play of the season for the Bulls - the previous long was 34 yards...the play was also a career-long pass for Piskorik and a career-long reception for Knueven...Knueven also recorded a career-long punt return with his 50-yard return in the fourth quarter - UB's previous long return this season was 12 yards...Mark Graham posted a career-high 15-tackle game and also recorded his team-best third fumble recovery of the season...Chris Clifton had a career-best four tackles for loss, which is one short of the school record of five held by Craig Guest (versus Lafayette on September 9, 1996) and Chris Shelly (at Eastern Michigan on October 27, 2001)...the third-quarter interception by Phil Jacques was the first of his career...Dave Dawson recorded his fourth 50-plus yard gain of the season with a 50-yard run in the fourth quarter...Dawson also finished with his third 100-yard rushing game of the season (also at Rutgers and at Miami) and the fourth of his career. He ranks in a tie for fifth place on UB's all-time list with those four 100-yard rushing games...Dawson also recorded four tackles on special teams and forced a fumble...with four field goals on the afternoon, Dallas Pelz moved into a tie with Gerald Carlson (1993-96) for first place on UB's

Dallas Pelz celebrates post-game

all-time list with 28 career field goals made...Pelz also tied his personal and a Bulls' single-game high with four field goals - he also achieved the feat on November 10, 2001, in a win at Army...with two extra-point kicks, Pelz now has 37 in his career, which moves him into seventh-place in that category on the Bulls' all-time list... The 14 points that Pelz registered on the afternoon also tied a UB single-game high for a kicker - Bernie Weber recorded the same amount with three field goals and five extra points on October 2, 1982, versus Buffalo State...Pelz now has 121 career points, which moves him into eighth-place all-time on UB's career scoring list (fourth-place amongst kickers)...with its plus three performance in the takeaway chart on Saturday, the Bulls are now even for the year...Saturday was the first victory under Jim Hofher where the Bulls trailed after three quarters. UB had been 0-26 under Hofher previously.