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Bulls Rally Falls Just Short at Miami

Drew Willy

The Bulls rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit and nearly came all the way back from an 11-point fourth quarter Miami lead before falling just short, 31-28, before 12,228 fans. Buffalo remains in a first place tie with Miami at 3-1 in divisional play and both teams have two MAC East games left. The Bulls will host Bowling Green on Saturday, November 17 in a critical game for post-season opportunities.

“I’m proud of our football team,” said head coach Turner Gill, “they definitely are competing right until the last play. They did a good job of staying in the game...these guys have a lot of heart and I appreciate all of our players’ efforts.

“The bottom line is Miami made more plays than we made,” said Gill. “They executed at the end when they needed to and we didn’t make enough plays, that’s the way it goes sometimes. We’ll regroup, we have a bye week to heal up, and we will be ready to play Bowling Green on November 17th.”

Quarterback Drew Willy (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) set a school record with 33 completions in the game and nearly led the Bulls back to an improbable win. Buffalo’s last hopes were dashed when Willy was sacked and fumbled near midfield with under two minutes to play.

The Bulls trailed 31-20 with under seven minutes to go when sophomore cornerback Kendric Hawkins (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) crunched Dustin Woods for a three-yard loss on an screen throw. Miami kicker Nathan Parseghian then missed a 35-yard field goal and Buffalo had renewed life.

UB then marched 80 yards in 16 plays, converting two fourth downs en route to Willy completing a three-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s), his second TD of the game. Willy then hit flanker Brett Hamlin (Jupiter, FL/William T. Dwyer) for a two-point conversion to pull the Bulls to 31-28 with 2:54 left on the clock. That play was fitting as Hamlin – who had a career-best nine catches for 100 yards in the game – had three crucial catches on the drive, including a 23-yard catch and run to the Miami one-yard line.

Buffalo’s defense then forced Miami to punt in three plays, including a pass breakup by Hawkins on third down, and the Bulls would get the ball back with 2:27 remaining.

Naaman Roosevelt

The Bulls then moved 25 yards in three plays, including a 16-yard pass to Hamlin, before the pivotal sack and fumble. The defeat ruined a heroic effort by Willy, who completed 33-of-45 passes for 217 yards and a pair of scores. The other offensive star for the Bulls was sophomore tailback James Starks (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) who rushed for 148 yards on 19 carries and caught an additional nine passes for 40 yards. It was the third time this season Starks has been over the century mark.

The game started well for the Bulls. After Buffalo punted in three downs to start the game, the Bulls’ made their first big defensive play of the game. Senior linebacker Larry Hutchinson (Seattle, WA/Franklin) threw Woods for a four-yard loss to foil the RedHawks first drive.

After a punt that downed Buffalo inside their five-yard line, Starks sent shockwaves through the Yager Stadium crowd with a pulsating 92-yard touchdown run to give UB the early lead. After an A.J. Principe (Columbus, OH/Geneva DeSales) PAT, Buffalo led 7-0 with 10:02 left in the first quarter. The touchdown run was the longest of Starks’ career, the second-longest in school history and the longest in the Mid-American Conference this season.

The RedHawks responded with a scoring drive of their own, pulling to within 7-3 on a 34-yard field goal by Jared Parseghian with 8:02 remaining in the first quarter.

After Buffalo punted on its next drive, the RedHawks took their first lead of the game. Miami drove 56 yards in 10 plays with quarterback Dan Raudabaugh hitting Cory Jones with a 17-yard scoring pass on the first play of the second quarter. Miami led 10-7 with 14:54 to go in the first half.

With Miami on another drive in the second quarter, the Bulls’ defense rose up and stopped further scoring. Hutchinson made a tackle short of a first down on third down and the Bulls’ blocked Parseghian’s 39-yard field goal attempt. The block was credited to senior defensive tackle Labinot Hakanjin (Bronx, NY/Fort Hamilton).

Miami was able to boost their lead later in the quarter as Thomas Merriweather scored from nine yards out to give the RedHawks a 17-7 lead with 2:56 remaining in the half.

The Bulls, however, put together a huge touchdown drive on the very next possession. Buffalo drove 70 yards, with Willy connecting on 7-of-8 passes for 56 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s) with :34 left.

The UB special teams than made an enormous play. On the ensuing kickoff, the Bulls’ forced a fumble at the Miami 30-yard line, with senior Ronald Sears (New York, NY/New Utrecth) recovering. After a 14-yard run by Starks, the Bulls were able to kick a 33-yard field goal by Prinicipe on the final play of the first half to knot the score at 17-17.

James Starks

Miami, however, was unfazed by Buffalo’s late first-half rally as they opened the second half with a long scoring drive to retake the lead. The RedHawks drove 78 yards on 10 plays, converting three third downs en route to a one-yard touchdown run by Merriweather with 9:47 remaining in the third quarter.

After the Bulls were stopped, the UB special teams struck again. After a 48-yard punt by senior punter Ben Woods (Hermitage, PA/Hickory), Hakanjin again played a key role, stripping return man Eugene Harris, with the ball recovered at the Miami 25-yard line by Adekunle Akingba (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay). The Bulls converted the turnover into points when Principe drilled a 47-yard field goal, the longest of his career and his eighth straight successful field goal.

In this back-and-forth struggle, Miami had another answer. Keyed by a 57-yard run by Cory Jones, the RedHawks increased their lead to 31-20 with 2:08 left in the third quarter on a six-yard pass from Raudabaugh to Harris.

The Bulls would again find a way to rally before succumbing on the final drive.

Defensively, the Bulls got huge games from a pair of true freshman: safety Davonte Shannon (Jeannete, PA/Jeanette) and linebacker Josh Copeland (Fairborn, OH/Fairborn). Shannon had 14 tackles and a pass breakup, while Copeland, making his second career start, had a career-best 12 tackles. Hutchinson added seven tackles, 2.5 for losses.

Buffalo also forced a pair of special teams turnovers and punter Ben Woods, named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award this past week, averaged 43.6 yards per punt, including two downed inside the 20, giving him 20 for the season.

?BULL-etins: Buffalo entered the game four points shy of matching the 220 points they scored last season, the most in their Division I-A history. They broke that mark on James Starks’ first quarter touchdown run. Buffalo now has 244 points on the season (24.4 ppg)...the 28 points was the most Buffalo has scored at Yager Stadium. Coming into the game, UB had scored just 30 points in the previous four MAC meetings with the RedHawks in Oxford...senior linebacker Larry Hutchinson had 2.5 tackles for loss in the game, giving him 15 for the season which propelled him into a tie for fifth place for a single season in the process...the 92-yard touchdown run by James Starks was the second longest in school history and the longest of the sophomore’s career. The school record is a 95-yard run by Ed Malanowics vs. Hobart on Nov. 16, 1929. It is the longest run from scrimmage in the Mid-American Conference this season. Starks also set a career-best in the game with nine receptions...Starks now has 912 yards on the season, and is seeking to become the first I-A running back to go over 1,000 yards in a season. The 912 yards is currently sixth best all-time for one year...the 100-yard plus performance was the fifth of Starks’ career, but the first time he has accomplished that feat on the road. In addition, Starks leapfrogged four players in career rushing yardage, from eighth to fourth place with 1,616 yards. He is already Buffalo’s career leader in Division I-A rushing with O.D. Underwood (2,062), Alan Bell (3,022) and Anthony Swan (3,103) still ahead of him...freshman safety Davonte Shannon recorded his fourth double digit tackle game of the season with 14 tackles...flanker Brett Hamlin set new career-highs with nine receptions and 100 yards. He became the third UB receiver this season to break the 100-yard barrier, joining Ernest Jackson and Naaman Roosevelt...Hamlin’s two-point conversion was the first of his career and the first by the Bulls’ this season...quarterback Drew Willy completed more than 25 passes for the fourth time this season, and connected on 30+ passes for the second time this season while setting a new school record with 33 completions. Willy now holds the first, second and third spots in that category. He now has 205 completions on the season, the most in the I-A era (Randall Secky had 204). The school record is 218 by Chad Salisbury in 1997. Willy also moved into fourth place in total yards in a career with 5,033...flanker Naaman Roosevelt registered his first two-touchdown performance of his career...freshman kicker A.J. Principe has now made eight straight field goals, including a career-best 47-yarder. Principe is now 11-of-15 on the season and his 11 field goals are tied for fourth in school history in a single season. Principe’s 10 points in the game raised his season total to 62, just six points shy of the school record by Gerald Carlson (68) in 1995...senior defensive tackle Labinot Hakanjin recorded both a blocked kick and a forced fumble on special teams...with four solo tackles senior Kareem Byrom moved into a tie for ninth place for career solo tackles with 137 (tied with Mike Laipple).