Bears Defeat Buffalo State for First Win of Season
By: Erin Walsh
The BSU football team got off to a terrific start after a 30-29 victory over the Buffalo State Bengals. This was just the second meeting between the two teams as the Bears looked to bounce back from a 20-19 loss to the Bengals last season.
Junior, Nick Santavicca rushed for a career best 200 yards while adding two touchdowns and senior Jack Lavanchy caught ten receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown to lift the Bears over the Bengals. Junior quarterback, Stefano D’Emilia completed 17 of 26 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns and threw only two interceptions.
With the score tied 23-23 in the fourth quarter, Santavicca gave the Bears the lead after a ten yard touchdown run. Senior kicker, Jacob Crear, gave the bears a 30-23 lead after knocking home the extra point attempt.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Bengals scored a touchdown with just 27 seconds to play in the game. The bold Buffalo State coaching staff decided to go for a two-point conversion to win the game instead of kicking the field goal to tie it and failed.
The Bengals lined up for an onside kick but Bears freshman, Nathan Ellis, came up with the recovery to help secure the victory for BSU.
The Bears running game helped them secure this victory as they had 243 rushing yards while Buffalo State only had 92. Buffalo’s passing game was stronger than the Bears though, going for 264 yards while the Bears threw for 211 yards.
Travis Bassett became the third receiver in Bears history to to reach the 2,000 yard milestone. Bassett has 136 receptions for 2,037 yards and 17 touchdowns throughout his four year BSU career.
The Bears currently have a record of 2-2, they lost to both Endicott and Framingham State after the win against Buffalo and added a win against Fitchburg State 42-15 on Friday.
