By Logan Moyer, Assistant Sports Editor
9.13.23
Every win does not have to be pretty.
The football team (2-0) survived an upset bid by SUNY Brockport (1-1) on Saturday afternoon at Bob Boozer Field, defeating the Golden Eagles 6-5 on a last-second 18-yard field goal by Christian Colasurdo. The contest was originally supposed to be played in Selinsgrove but was moved after a scheduling conflict at SU’s end.
“Our offense and special teams need to improve immensely this week to help us win as we move forward,” said SU coach Tom Perkovich. “I was proud with how much grit our squad showed to be able to keep pushing to win the game.”
Colasurdo’s game winner seemed unlikely just three minutes earlier when his 21-yard attempt was blocked by Brockport’s Kyle Haettich. This kept, the Golden Eagles in front, giving them the ball back with a two-point lead and just under three minutes to play.
How on earth did we get here?
One week after scoring 51 points in the season opener against Bridgewater, the River Hhawks – ranked as the #22 team in the nation by D3football.com – failed to get anything going on the offensive side of the ball due to heavy pressure from the Golden Eagle front seven – namely Mike Talbert Jr. (11 tackles, two TFLs).
“We had some communication issues throughout the game and that really hurt us,” Perkovich said. “We also had mistakes and penalties at critical times which stopped our momentum in the second half.”
However, Brockport was not necessarily lighting the world on fire either. The game’s opening score came with five minutes left in the second quarter when Nate Wigent drilled a field goal through the uprights from 30 yards out.
On Brockport’s final drive of the second half, Jake Cam Noble (7 tackles, 1 TFL) forced a fumble, which was recovered and returned 35 yards the other direction by reigning All-Centennial Conference cornerback Keith Green III, setting up a buzzer-beating 32-yard field goal by Colasurdo to tie the game at three going into halftime.
“(The fumble) was critical,” Perkovich said. “It swung the momentum back in our favor.”
The second half was more of the same. The two sides kept trading punts under SU were pinned back within its own 10-yard line by Brockport punter Dan Giangrasso. Punting from his own endzone, Aaron Kahn’s punt was blocked out of the back of the endzone by Ryan Jafarjian, resulting in a safety that put the Eagles in front by two with just under nine minutes left to play in the fourth quarter.
“We have not been as disciplined in our assignments as we need to be,” Perkovich said. “We also need to be much more physical overall.”
SU forced a stop on the Brockport drive after the safety but could not score on the ensuing drive after Colasurdo’s blocked field goal attempt. The defense came up huge with another stop, giving the River Hawk offense the ball back with 1:44 to play.
“It was an amazing performance by our defense,” Perkovich said. “They made big play after big play all day and gave us a chance to win.”
A 19-yard pass from Josh Ehrlich to Jacob Erb on fourth-and-eight kept SU’s hopes alive, but the River Hawks still needed a big play to get in field goal range with under 30 seconds and one timeout remaining.
The big play came a few plays later, when Ehrlich heaved the ball downfield and found Kyle Howes open. Howes hauled in the pass and went down at the one-yard line with two seconds left. After SU’s final timeout, Colasurdo drilled the 18– yarder to keep the River Hawks unbeaten on the young season.
“It’s a true testament to the grit and ability to believe in each other,” Perkovich said of the win. “We have enough experience on this team to always believe we have a chance if we can get another opportunity. We also have enough talent to make those big plays when needed.”
The road doesn’t get any easier for the River Hawks, who again travel north of the state border into New York on Saturday for a non-conference game against #10 SUNY Cortland (2-0).
“(Cortland) is an outstanding football team in all three phases,” Perkovich said. “They present a lot of problems. We need to improve this week and have all phases clicking on Saturday.”
SU will host Western New England on Sep. 23 for the home opener.