Morrisville, NY – With 51 points in the first half, Brockport marched past Morrisville in E8 play on Saturday. Finishing the day with a 61-3 final score, Brockport is now on a 3-game win streak. The Golden Eagles improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Empire 8 after the win.
It was a dominant showing from the defensive unit, as Brockport kept its opponent out of the endzone for the third time this season. The Morrisville Mustangs were held to just five total first downs in the game and totaled only 71 yards of offense. Brockport's nationally recognized run defense kept Morrisville at -10 yards rushing on 26 carries for the day. The Golden Eagles also forced a trio of turnovers in the contest (1 INT, 2 FR).
Multiple players on the Brockport defense made an impact in such a strong showing on the road. Nazhier Wilson totaled five tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss. Luca Friedman had 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Jayson Thomas also had a sack, forcing a fumble on the play.
Liam Nealy stepped up for four tackles and recorded the first pick-six of his collegiate career. Both Austyn Gollnitz and Jahmere Clarke came up with a fumble recovery for Brockport's defense.
Offensively, the Green and Gold ran an efficient operation that leaned on the run game as usual. With 460 yards of total offense, Brockport rushed for 282 yards on 54 attempts against the Mustangs (5.2 yards per carry). Through the air, the offense went 10-for-15 passing, averaging 17.8 yards per completion on the way to 178 yards in the air.
Ben Gocella threw a clean 9-for-12 in the game for 167 yards and four passing touchdowns. He linked up with Daniel Manneh (3 rec, 74 yards) for two touchdowns, while also hitting Dylan Caraballo and Nathan Williams for scores.
Three different rushers crossed the goal line for the Brockport offense that set a season-high for rush attempts and rushing yards. Isaiah Simmons ran for 103 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries to lead the ground game. Zymier Jackson's lone rush was a 15-yard touchdown. Chris McGuire found the endzone to highlight his day that included 19 yards on four carries. Lennox Wilson got loose for 56 yards on just eight tries and Micah Harry had 46 yards on 10 rushes. Going for 41 yards on six rushes, John Matthew got in on the action as well.
The Brockport offense scored on the opening possession, handing the ball off to Isaiah Simmons eight times on the drive. Simmons would score on a 2-yard run to put Brockport up 6-0 early on (PAT missed).
Morrisville's first drive was ended quickly. A sack from Luca Friedman on third down would force a 3-and-out to get the offense the ball back to set up another first quarter score. Just a few plays later, Ben Gocella hit Nathan Williams for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Brockport increased its lead to 13-0 in the opening period.
The game would take another bad turn for the Mustangs on their home field on their next possession. Liam Nealy would pick of Jack Wade's pass on second down, taking it 27 yards to the endzone for a touchdown. Nealy's first career pick-six put Brockport up 20-0 in the first. It was his second interception of the season.
Brockport's defense would put even more pressure on Morrisville on the next series. Nazhier Wilon, Kanye Davis, and Luca Friedman caused three straight negative plays to force yet another quick punt in the first quarter.
Within moments, Daniel Manneh scored on a 33-yard pass play to blow the game open. Zach McGowan's extra point would give the Golden Eagles a 27-0 lead going into the second quarter.
The Mustangs got on the board in the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal make. McGowan would answer by making a 19-yard kick of his own for Brockport, making the scoreboard read 30-3.
A pair of fumbles from the Morrisville quarterback, mixed with two more Brockport touchdowns would all but put the game away in the first half. Jahmere Clarke scooped up a loose ball for the defense, which set up a touchdown pass from Gocella to Manneh. Then Jayson Thomas' strip sack, quickly resulted in Zymier Jackson's 15-yard rushing touchdown.
The Golden Eagles would jump out to an incredible 44-3 lead, with still 9:20 left to play in the second quarter. Another stop defensively would give the offense the ball back with another chance to score before halftime.
Brockport bled a lot of clock before punching it into the endzone for another first half score. The team's 16-play, 83-yard drive was finished off by a 13-yard passing touchdown from Gocella to Caraballo. Brockport entered halftime with a commanding, 51-3, lead.
The second half saw the Golden Eagles defense get plenty of more stops, while the offense killed clock with the run game. McGowan added to the scoreboard in the third quarter, making a kick from 36 yards out. The final nail in the coffin was a 1-yard touchdown run for Chris McGuire in the fourth to create the final score of 61-3.
Brockport football returns home to take on Alfred University on Saturday, November 1st for a 12pm kickoff.