Hamburg, NY – In the first ever meeting between Brockport and Hilbert on the football field, the Golden Eagles delivered a 51-0 beatdown on the road. They have now won four games in a row, improving to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in E8 play.
One of the nation's top defenses went to work once again, keeping the opposing offense without a score for the fourth time this season. Brockport has now shutout the opponent three weeks in a row, allowing just one touchdown across the last 14 quarters of football.
Hilbert was held to just 63 yards of total offense in the game, coming from 27 yards in the air and 36 rushing yards. Brockport held the run game to 1.0 yards per carry and only allowed two completions in the passing game. The Hawks had just six first downs, two more than Hartwick had against his defense last week. Brockport's defensive unit had 15 tackles for loss, with two sacks, and two fumble recoveries.
Kyle Haettich stepped up to make five solo tackles to lead the defense on the day. He also scooped up a loose ball for one of the team's two takeaways. Ben Robinson had four total tackles, including three solo stops and 1.0 sacks. Brockport's second sack was by Chamarr Ware, who had two solo tackles that were both for a loss. Coming up with the second takeaway for the Green and Gold was Brady Schnell, snagging another fumble for the defense.
Brockport also had a fantastic day on offense in this road matchup, totaling over 500 yards for the first time since 2019. The Golden Eagles had 566 yards of total offense with a balanced attack of 287 rushing and 279 passing yards. They found the endzone seven times in the game, four through the air and three on the ground. The offensive line created plenty of room to work with, setting up a 9.0 yards per carry average and allowing no sacks for Hilbert.
QB Ben Gocella had his best day as a Golden Eagle in this E8 clash. The sophomore from Orchard Park hit career-highs across the board with 250 yards, four touchdown passes, and a completion rate of 86.7% for the day (13-for-15 passing). He set up Nolan Slywka for a career-day as well. The wideout had four catches for 96 yards, with three of those being touchdown receptions. Daniel Manneh of course got in on the party with five catches for 102 yards and touchdown, for his second 100-yard receiving game of the year.
Even with the passing game firing on all cylinders, Brockport's run game remained as dominant as ever. The Empire 8's leading rusher Isaiah Simmons broke 100 yards rushing for the third time this season. Averaging an astounding 22.0 yards per carry on the day, he ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries. Cameron Mesh also found the endzone for the run game, totaling a season-high 93 rushing yards to go with a touchdown.
For the special teams unit, Sal Montaperto and Zach McGowan were kept busy. Montaperto was 6-for-7 on extra points and made good on a 24-yard field goal try. McGowan was asked to kickoff nine times in the game, four of which resulted in a touchback.
The Golden Eagles got right on top of Hilbert from the very first snap. Starting the game with the ball, Isaiah Simmons took the first offensive play for Brockport 64 yards to the endzone for a touchdown. The squad led 7-0 just 17 seconds into the first quarter.
This trend would continue throughout the first and second quarters. Brockport scored 28 points in the opening period. Daniel Manneh scored on a 42-yard pass to put the team up 14-0. Next it was Nolan Slywka catching a 7-yard touchdown to go up 21-0. Simmons found the endzone again to close out the first quarter with a 43-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, Ben Gocella found Nolan Slywka for his second and third touchdowns of the day. Early in the quarter Gocella linked up with Slywka for a 43-yard touchdown pass to put the team up 34-0. Then on a 17-yard play, the duo would increase Brockport's lead to 41-0 going into halftime.
For the third straight week, the Green and Gold held a big lead at the break and was able to kill clock in the second half. After taking Simmons out to save his legs for next week, it was Cameron Mesh who took at turn carrying the rock. Mesh would eventually add to the tally on the scoreboard with a 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He put Brockport up 48-0 going into the final frame. Only Sal Montaperto's 24-yard field goal added to the final tally in the fourth quarter, resulting in the 51-0 final.
The Golden Eagles look to keep up this dominant run through the early part of the Empire 8 schedule next week. They return home to Bob Boozer Field on Saturday, October 26th for a 2pm kickoff against the Morrisville Mustangs.