Bulls Jolt Flashes In Overtime, 30-23

Buffalo finishes season as co-MAC East champions and with most wins in I-A history

Drew Willy

KENT, OH – A record-breaking season was capped off in thrilling style on Saturday as the fast-improving Buffalo football team came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to down Kent State, 30-23, in overtime at Dix Stadium.

The Bulls trailed by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, rallied to tie the game, blocked a field goal by Kent State in the final two minutes and then won in overtime to secure a first-ever winning record in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls finish the season 5-3 in MAC play, 4-2 in MAC East play and 5-7 overall. The 4-2 mark ties the Bulls for first place in the MAC East with Bowling Green and Miami. All figures are the most in the Bulls’ nine-year association with Division I-A and the Mid-American Conference.

Quarterback Drew Willy (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) broke the school record with 34 completions and threw for a career-best 334 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense. Flanker Ernest Jackson (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili) had a career-best nine receptions for 118 yards and a score.

“Our guys have played with great effort all season long and it was great to see them finish that here today with a win,” said head coach Turner Gill. “We started off slow, but it showed that the guys have a lot of heart and a lot of character. The win is something to build on in our off-season program,” said Gill. “We have a good football team and we’re to be reckoned with and everyone is going to know about the Buffalo Bulls.”

Ernest Jackson

Buffalo opened the game promisingly as sophomore Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s) returned the opening kickoff 83 yards to the Kent State three-yard line. However, the Bulls were not able to punch the ball in and settled for a 23-yard field goal by A.J. Principe (Columbus, OH/St. Francis DeSales) with 12:21 remaining in the first quarter.

Kent State responded immediately with a touchdown drive that took just two plays. The Flashes were aided by a 31-yard return and a 15-yard penalty against Buffalo that started the drive at the UB 42-yard line. Andre Flowers finished the drive with a two-yard run to give Kent a 7-3 lead with 11:52 remaining in the first quarter.

After forcing a Buffalo punt, Kent State put another touchdown on the board, driving 77 yards in 10 plays, capping the drive on a 24-yard pass from Anthony Magazu to Eugene Jarvis. After a failed PAT, Kent State led 13-3 with 3:25 remaining in the first.

The Bulls responded with a scoring drive of their own that culminated in a 21-yard field goal by Principe. Buffalo drove 51 yards in nine plays, taking 4:45 off the clock. Willy hit all six of his passes on the drive for 38 yards.

Davonte Shannon

The Bulls had an opportunity to score again later in the second quarter, but came up empty. Willy hit Roosevelt for 34 yards to set the Bulls up inside the Flashes 30-yard line. However, Buffalo was foiled on a fourth-and-two play when Willy was sacked.

The UB defense, however, stood tall on Kent’s next possession and forced a punt as freshman safety Davonte Shannon (Jeannette, PA/Jeannette) broke up a deep pass, then forced a fumble that resulted in a two-yard loss to force a Kent punt.

The Bulls then drove down the field in the dying minutes of the half, aided by a 34-yard completion from Willy to sophomore flanker Brett Hamlin (Jupiter, FL/William T. Dwyer). Buffalo eventually completed the drive with Principe’s third field goal of the half, this time from 23 yards away and the teams went to halftime with Kent State leading 13-9.

The Bulls came out strong to start the second half. The Bulls forced a punt on Kent State’s opening possession to start the half and then regained the lead.

Buffalo drove 80 yards in eight plays with Willy covering the final 41 yards on a perfect throw to Ernest Jackson (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili). Willy completed five-of-six passes on the drive for 75 yards. The touchdown was the sixth of the season for Jackson.

The Golden Flashes regained the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. Kent drove 59 yards in 10 plays, converting a fourth and inches along the way, and finished the drive with an 18-yard pass from Magazu to Tom Sitko to take a 20-16 lead with 14:54 remaining in the game.

After the Bulls were stopped on their ensuing drive, the Flashes extended the lead to seven points on a 23-yard field goal by Nate Reed with 9:55 remaining that capped a 10-play drive.

The Bulls would tie the score on an impressive 73-yard drive in 11 plays. Again, Willy was outstanding, spreading the ball to receivers all over the field and capping the drive with a four-yard scoring toss to Hamlin. It marked Hamlin’s first career touchdown and knotted the score at 23-23 with 4:54 remaining.

The Flashes, however, had an answer. Converting a key third down, Kent drove to the UB 14 with just over two minutes remaining. However, on third down, senior defensive end Trevor Scott (Potsdsam, NY/Potsdam) threw Jarvis, who rushed for 183 yards, for a two-yard loss.

The Flashes would line up for a 29-yard field goal attempt, but senior defensive tackle Labinot Hakanjin (Bronx, NY/Fort Hamilton) burst through the right side and blocked the kick. It was Hakanjin’s second blocked field goal of the season.

The Bulls would drive as far as the Kent State 45-yard line before time would expire in regulation and send the game into overtime.

Once in overtime, the Bulls had the first chance to score. Willy would connect with Jackson for 13 yards and then hit Hamlin for eight more yards to set the Bulls up inside the five-yard line. On third and goal, redshirt-freshman Brandon Thermilus (Flower Mound, TX/Marcus) slammed in from the one yard line to put Buffalo on top.

On Kent State’s possession in overtime, the Bulls began by forcing an incompletion on a quarterback hurry by Mike Thompson (Seffner, FL/Armwood), who had a career-high seven tackles and a sack. After a three-yard gain, Jarvis was sent for a two-yard loss by Scott setting up fourth and nine. Senior linebacker Larry Hutchinson (Seattle, WA/Franklin) then closed the game, and the season, in style by sacking Magazu for a nine-yard loss to clinch the victory.

Larry Hutchinson

The Bulls had a plethora of defensive stars in the game. Shannon had 15 tackles, two for losses, and forced a pair of fumbles. Safety Mike Newton (Pasadena, MD/Calvert Hall) had 12 tackles, while Hutchinson finished with 11 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. Scott would finished with seven tackles, a half sack and 2.5 tackles for loss.

BULL-etins: Buffalo posted a winning record for the first time in its MAC history, with a 5-3 record. They are also co-MAC East Division champions with a 4-2 record, tied with Bowling Green and Miami..The win was the first by Buffalo this season when trailing at halftime (0-6)...this was the second straight victory over Kent State when the Bulls have trailed at halftime and the third straight win over the Golden Flashes overall...with the UB win, the all-time series is now tied at 8-8...the victory marked the Bulls’ first win in a season finale since 1996, when Buffalo defeated Maine, 35-31...the victory was the Bulls’ second MAC road victory of the season, the most since joining the league in 1999...freshman kicker A.J. Principe booted three more field goals on the day, giving him 15 for the season, second most in school history. In addition, he set the school record for single-season points by a kicker with 75...flanker Ernest Jackson caught his sixth touchdown of the season in the third quarter. That figure ties him for tenth place for a single season with five other players. He also had a career-high nine catches in the game for 119 yards. It was the second time this year that Jackson has gone over 100 yards this season...senior defensive end Trevor Scott had a half-sack in the first half, giving him 10 for the season and 19 in his career... junior defensive end Mike Thompson recorded a sack for the second straight week...sophomore tailback James Starks set a single-season mark for attempts with 18 in the game. Starks now has 251 on the year, surpassing the single-season mark of 244 by Anthony Swan (1996). Starks finished the season with 1,103 yards, the third most in single season history...quarterback Drew Willy tied the career record for completions with his 34 in the game. He now has 545 career completions, tying him with Cliff Scott for first all-time. The 334 yards passing is the third time Willy has passed the 300-yard barrier and second time this season. He now has 5,544 yards passing in his career, fourth all-time. In addition, Willy finished the season by not throwing an interception in his final 235 attempts...Naaman Roosevelt completed his first career pass on his first career attempt. He became the fifth UB player this season to complete a pass...Roosevelt’s eight catches gives him 63 for the season, fourth best all-time for a single season. He also finished with 766 receiving yards, 10th best all-time for a single season...freshman safety Davonte Shannon had 15 tackles on the day, becoming the single season leader for tackles in Buffalo’s I-A history. Shannon finished the year with 123 total tackles, seventh all-time, but 10 ahead of J.J. Gibson’s 113 tackles in 2004. Shannon also finished the year with 73 solo tackles, third-best in school history behind Craig Guest, who recorded 80 in 1996 and 77 in 1995...junior linebacker Chris Callahan had a career day, setting news marks for tackles (8), solos (3), tackles for loss (2) and he matched his career-high with a sack.

11/24/2007