BROCKPORT, NY — The Brockport Golden Eagles football team kicked off their 2024 season at home against the Buffalo State Bengals in the annual I-90 Bowl rivalry game on Thursday night. Brockport running back Isaiah Simmons rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 27-0 victory.
“(Buffalo State)’s a way better football team,” Brockport head coach Jason Mangone said. “That’s a team that’s young, that’s building, and a lot of those guys there we’re familiar with, we recruited a lot of them. There’s a lot of talent there, there was by no means that anybody in our program think we’re just going to come in and walk all over them. So, obviously I think game one you’re eager to get after somebody else. There’s going to be some mistakes, I’m sure they have some plays they wish they could have back. I know there’s a bunch that we wish we had back, I think we left a lot out there. But again, I’ve done this for a very long time and to get the win is outstanding. Then you hope you can refocus yourself, get back at it and fix the things you didn’t do well.”
Tied 0-0, on Brockport’s second play of the season, Simmons broke multiple Buffalo State tackles and took it to the house 77 yards to put the Golden Eagles up 6-0 only 56 seconds into the game. Simmons wasn’t done in the first quarter, as with 5:06 remaining, he was able to take the angle on the Bengals defense and score an eight-yard rushing touchdown to put Brockport up 13-0 early.
For Brockport, quarterback Ben Gocella finished 15/25 for 193 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Nolan Slywka had six receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Daniel Manneh finished with a touchdown on four receptions for 82 yards and corner back Malik Kelly finished with two tackles and two picks.
“Last year was my first year,” Simmons said. “So, this year I was able to learn plays better, and learn how the whole play works and not just what I’m doing. Understanding how my linemen are blocking, and they get me right.”
Those were the only scores of the first half. After Brockport’s opening drive touchdown, the Golden Eagles defense carried the momentum the offense created. After a 40-yard completion from Bengals quarterback Noah Kimble to wide receiver Mikai Johnson who beat Brockport cornerback Kelly deep, Brockport held strong in the redzone. Kelly, after allowing the big completion, went on to intercept Buffalo State at the goal line to prevent the Bengals from putting any points on the board.
To start the second half, it was highly defensive as both teams were able to grab interceptions. First it was the Bengals as defensive back Basiaka Butcher picked off Gocella in the red zone on a tip-drill play. Brockport responded, as Kelly again picked off Kimble on an endzone shot.
“I was watching a lot of film for this game and preparing well,” Kelly said. “I knew a lot of things were coming and that’s honestly what it was, preparation. And when it came time, I made a play.”
After a scoreless third, Brockport’s offense came to life. First it was Brockport wide receiver Manneh as he turned a 15-yard crosser from Gocella into a 31-yard touchdown. Manneh made multiple Buffalo State defenders miss on his way to the endzone with 14:00 remaining in the fourth.
“It’s been great,” Manneh said. “Ben is a great guy, he knows how to throw the ball, and he knows where I’m going to be. We trust each other…Everybody is on the same page, and we compete at different level.”
After the defense forced the Bengals to punt on the following drive, Brockport increased their lead. A 5:03 drive was topped off with a Gocella to wide receiver Slywka touchdown in the back of the endzone that put Brockport up 27-0 with 8:17 remaining in the game. The Golden Eagles completed the shutout as on the following drive, defensive lineman Jayson Thomas recovered a Buffalo State fumble to put the game away.
The Brockport Golden Eagles improve to 1-0 and now look ahead to next Saturday, Sept. 14 to get their revenge on Susquehanna. Last year, when these two teams met it ended in a 6-5 victory for the Riverhawks as they won on a last second field goal. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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