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Huskies Handle Bulls, 29-0EAST HARTFORD, CT - Cornell Brockington rushed for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns and the Connecticut defense limited Buffalo to 96 total yards as the Huskies beat the Bulls, 29-0, in a non-conference game at Rentschler Field. Despite a lopsided margin in total yards for the game, the Buffalo defense held the Bulls in the game through nearly three quarters before the Huskies put the game away on a 43-yard run by Brockington to make it 22-0 UConn with 2:17 left in the third. Prior to that, the Bulls had allowed just one touchdown on the afternoon, as UConn marched 70 yards on 10 plays after the opening kickoff and went ahead 7-0 on a 7-yard touchdown run by Cornell Brockington. The Buffalo defense forced the Huskies to punt on their next possession and on the play LaRon Haymore (St. Louis, MO/Cardinal Ritter) broke through the line to block the punt. The ball rolled out of bounds at the at the UConn 22-yard line. However, the Bulls were unable to capitalize on the field position as Mike Baker (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown) missed a 36-yard field goal. Connecticut went ahead 10-0 on a 26-yard field goal by Matt Nuzie with 3:52 left in the second quarter.
Driving into UB territory in the second quarter, UConn decided to go for it on a 4th-and-1 at the Buffalo 10-yard line. However, J.J. Gibson (Buffalo, NY/Sweet Home) and Rich Sanders (Miami, FL/Coral Reef) stuffed Chris Bellamy for no gain and the Bulls took over on downs. It was one of Gibson's 14 tackles for the game - giving him 113 on the season. The senior defensive back became the first UB player since Craig Guest (1993-96) to record a pair of 100-tackle seasons in his career. However, on the ensuing possession, a shotgun snap got away from P.J. Piskorik (Swoyersville, PA/Wyoming Valley West) and the junior quarterback was tackled in the endzone by Shawn Mayne for a safety. Despite outgaining Buffalo, 266-26, in total yardage in the first half, UConn only led 12-0 at the break. The Buffalo defense played well in the first 30 minutes, keeping the Huskies from pulling away early. Connecticut was 0-for-8 on third down efficiency in the first half and would go 11 third down opportunities before finally converting. Nuzie connected on a 39-yard field goal on Connecticut's first possession of the second half to give the Huskies a 15-0 advantage. A 19-yard run by Chris McDuffie (Amherst, NY/Williamsville North) seemed to inject life into the UB offense as the Bulls marched 51 yards to the UConn 9-yard line. However, the Bulls' offense stalled due to a holding penalty and Baker missed his second field goal of the game to keep Buffalo from getting on the scoreboard. The Huskies scored on the following possession compliments of a 43-yard touchdown run by Brockington - his second of the game - to go ahead, 22-0, with 2:17 left in the third quarter. UConn scored again with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter on a 33-yard pass from Dan Orlovsky to Brandon McLean to put the Huskies ahead, 29-0. It was the only touchdown of the game for the All-BIG EAST signal caller.
The Bulls got a sensational game from junior linebacker Bryan Cummings (Cincinnati, OH/Madeira) who had a career-best 15 tackles (seven solos) and forced a fumble. On the day, however, the Bulls did not force any UConn turnovers. Junior cornerback Gemara Williams (Oak Park, MI/Brother Rice) also had a strong game for the Bulls, with nine tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Offensively, the Bulls struggled throughout, completing just four passes as a team. Sophomore Chris McDuffie (Amherst, NY/Williamsville North) led the way with 37 yards on eight carries. BULL-etins: Senior Matt Knueven (Cincinnati, OH/LaSalle) had one catch for 12 yards (giving him 119 career receptions) and finished his career with a catch in 23 straight games...LaRon Haymore's blocked punt was Buffalo's third of the season, and the second straight week Buffalo blocked a punt...J.J. Gibson seven solo tackles on Saturday gave him 59 for the season, eighth-best in single season history. He had 65 solo in 2001...defensive end Aaron Sanders (Clarence, NY/St. Joseph's) had a sack in the game, finishing the season with a team-best 12 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks...sophomore linebacker Ramon Guzman (Bronx, NY/Clinton-DeWitt) had a career-best six tackles...the Bulls failed to force a turnover for just the second time this season. The only other time it happened in '04 was at Akron...Gemara Williams broke up a pair of passes on Saturday, moving him up to fifth place all-time with 25 along with Kareem Stroman and Robert Harris...UConn won its third straight game in the series after Buffalo won the last meeting in Connecticut by a 37-20 score in 2001. Ironically, Buffalo's next scheduled game is at Rentschler Field to open the 2005 season. |
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