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Bulls Flash Past Kent State, 41-14

James Starks

Freshman tailback James Starks (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) rushed for 162 yards and score three touchdowns and senior quarterback Tony Paoli (Fort Lauderdale, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas), making his first career start, completed 14-of-20 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown as the Bulls dented Kent State’s chances at a Mid-American Conference East Division title. Kent State fell to 5-4 and 4-2 in the MAC, while Buffalo improved to 2-7 and 1-5 in the MAC.

The Bulls won the game because of the work of its offensive and defensive lines and a defense that forced five turnovers and gave up just 93 yard in the second half.

“It's definitely a great win,” said head coach Turner Gill. “It was not only great for our players, but also great for our University and for our fans and students as well. There obviously have been struggles, but our players continue to compete with great effort and that is what we talk about all the time.

“At halftime we challenged both our offensive and defensive lines and I told them that they were the keys to us being successful in the second half,” said Gill.

Both units responded emphatically in the second half, with Starks gaining 140 of his career-best 162 yards in the second half and the Bulls' defense racking up six sacks for the game.

The game began to turn early in the third quarter when Buffalo took its first drive of the second half, and jolted by a 54-yard run by Starks, went 78 yards on just five plays – all on the ground – to cut the lead to 14-10. Starks finished the drive with a six-yard touchdown run.

The Bulls then completely swung the momentum their way on Kent State’s next offensive play. Defensive end James Judges (Pickering, Ontario/St. Marys Secondary) forced a fumble with Jesse Imes (Cincinnati, OH/Kings Mill) recovering at the Kent State 21-yard line. One play later, the Bulls had the lead as Paoli lofted a perfect strike to wideout Terrance Breaux (Randallstown, MD/Randallstown) in the right corner of the end zone. The Bulls had the momentum and a lead they would not relinquish.

The hits kept coming for Buffalo, as on the Flashes' next play from scrimmage, junior linebacker Ollice Ervin (Vero Beach, FL/Vero Beach) separated receiver Marcus Hill from the football after a catch and defensive tackle Ronald Hilaire (Laval, Quebec/Vieux) recovered at the Kent 32.

The Bulls again took advantage as Starks spun off tacklers and zig-zagged 19 yards for the score and after the PAT the Bulls led 24-14. UB had scored 21 points in just three minutes and the stunned Flashes would never recover.

Tony Paoli

Buffalo extended the lead on its next drive as senior placekicker Adam Tanalski (Bellerose Village, NY/St. Francis Prep) continued his perfection on field goals. Tanalski matched his career long with a 42-yard boot to cap a 55-yard drive in eight plays and extend the lead to 27-14. The big play in the drive was a 26-yard completion from Paoli to Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s). The Buffalo defense came up big again on Kent's next drive. After the Golden Flashes had moved to a first down at the Buffalo 30-yard line, redshirt freshman free safety Mike Newton (Pasadena, MD/Calvert Hall) intercepted a pass near the UB goal line to thwart the drive.

Newton would strike again after the Bulls were forced to punt and the Flashes started a drive at the Bulls' 37-yard line. On third-and-two at the Buffalo 29, Newton stepped in front of a pass in the left flat and returned it 59 yards to the Kent State 16 to set up another Buffalo touchdown. It was Newton’s team-leading fourth interception of the season.

Once again, Buffalo had a one play scoring drive as Starks bounced off right tackle and hit the pylon with the ball while scoring from 16 yards out.

The Bulls’ defense made sure things stood up from there, including stopping Kent on a fourth-and-three at the Buffalo 28-yard line late in the fourth quarter. The Bulls capped the scoring when senior Steven King (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale) bounced in from four yards out with 2:25 remaining to cap the scoring.

The Bulls had two costly turnovers in the first half that allowed Kent to take a two touchdown lead. After starting a drive at the Kent State 38-yard line, the Bulls' Evan Wallace (Santa Clara, CA/Santa Clara) lost a fumble at the KSU 32-yard line.

Buffalo responded immediately, however, as defensive tackle Ronald Hilaire (Laval, Quebec/Vieux) forced a fumble that was recovered by safety Jesse Imes (Cincinnati, OH/Kings Mill) at the Buffalo 43. Buffalo, however, could not put points on the board.

Mike Newton

Later the Bulls wasted a 55-yard kickoff return by freshman Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s) when Paoli was intercepted by Jack Williams at the Kent 12-yard line.

The Bulls trailed 14-0 late in the first half when the offense was jumpstarted by a big play by junior wideout Terrance Breaux (Randallstown, MD/Randallstown). Paoli hit Breaux with a 43-yard catch and run to the Kent State nine-yard line with :06 left. Senior kicker Adam Tanalski (Bellerose Village, NY/St. Francis Prep) hit a 26-yard field goal on the last play of the first half in what was a prelude to an offensive explosion in the third quarter by the Bulls.

Starks set career highs for carries (24), yards (162) and touchdowns (3). The three touchdowns is tied for fifth in UB history for a single game. The Bulls’ other offensive leaders included Roosevelt, who led Buffalo with three receptions for 90 yards and racked up 157 yards of all-purpose offense including kick returns. Breaux had three catches for 73 yards and scored his second touchdown of the season. The Bulls scored 41 points on a Kent State defense that had not allowed 17 points or more since a week one loss to Minnesota.

Defensively, the Bulls limited Kent to a total of 298 yards. A hard-hitting effort was spearheaded by junior Kareem Byrom (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick) who had 10 tackles, a half-sack and a quarterback hurry. Newton had eight tackles, a half-sack and two interceptions for the first time in his career. Ervin added eight tackles, a forced fumble and a career-best three passes broken up.

Junior defensive end Trevor Scott (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam) had another solid game with five tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hurries. It was the second game this year Scott has logged two sacks.

BULL-etins: Quarterback Drew Willy saw his starting streak of 16 games snapped as he did not dress with an injury to his right thumb...on Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Tony Paoli, connected with Naaman Roosevelt for a 53-yard gain. It was the longest play from scrimmage by the Bulls this season and career-longs for both Paoli and Roosevelt in passing and receiving yards, respectively...with his two fumble recoveries on Saturday, junior Jesse Imes moved his total to three fumble recoveries on the season, tying him for fifth place all-time for a single season. The school record in a season is four. The last time a Bulls' player had two fumble recoveries in the same game it was Craig Rohlfs against Ball State on October 21, 2000...Mike Newton’s two hijacks made him the first player since Mark Graham (on Oct. 26, 2002 versus Kent State) to record two interceptions in a game...sophomore defensive end Chris Callahan (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) recorded his first career sack and added a QB hurry...defensive end Trevor Scott’s two sacks raised his season total to six sacks...the Bulls' six sacks were the most this season...Roosevelt’s 55-yard kickoff return was his second longest of the season and his 67 yards in return gives him 497 on the year, moving him into fifth place for a single season...until Saturday, UB’s longest play from scrimmage was a 50-yard play. On Saturday, they got a 54-yard run from Starks, a 53-yard completion from Paoli to Roosevelt and a 43-yard completion from Paoli to Breaux...James Starks became the first UB back to record three touchdowns in a game since Aaron Leeper turned the trick against Central Florida on Nov. 9, 2002...the 38 points Buffalo scored in the second half was the most since moving up to Division I-A in 1999...senior tight end Chad Upshaw (Southport, CT/St. Joseph's) extended his consecutive streak with a catch to 19 games with two catches for 13 yards...sophomore defensive tackle Mike Thompson (Seffner, FL/Armwood) made his first career start.