KEELEY AND HENDRIX RACE SAXONS

PAST SAINTS, 49-19

Sept. 15: Alfred University senior quarterback Paul Keeley threw for three touchdowns, and sophomore running back Vinson Hendrix rushed for three more scores as the Saxons defeated the St. Lawrence University football team on Saturday by the score of 49-19.

 

With the win, Alfred improved to 2-0 (0-0) on the young season while the Saints (1-1, 0-0) dropped their first contest of the 2007 campaign. The Saxons improved to 42-23 all time against the Saints, and have not lost to St. Lawrence since 1990.

 

Neither team was able generate much offense on their first series, but sophomore punter Matt Popov was able to pin Alfred’s offense deep on their own three yard line. Senior Paul Keeley, who was intercepted on his first pass of the afternoon, came back in impressive fashion as he orchestrated a beautiful drive, with the key play coming on a 21 yard pass to Trevor Bork. Keeley, using the momentum, then lofted a pass over the top of the St. Lawrence defense to a wide open Matt Gibbins, whose 28 yard post pattern gave the Saxons’ their first touchdown. Chris Reynolds added the extra point to give the home team a 7-0 lead.

 

The Alfred defense went back to work, and again allowed the visitors only one first down before forcing St. Lawrence’s third punt of the afternoon. With Alfred starting from their own 28 yard line, Keeley handed the ball off to sophomore Vinson Hendrix. Hendrix found a seem on the left side of the line, got to the sideline, and went 72 yards for the touchdown. Reynolds’ point after gave Alfred a 14-0 advantage with 3:16 to play in the first quarter.

 

The Saints bounced back, however, as quarterback Brad Heil kept his poise under center. The Fayetteville , NY native connected with senior wide receiver Mike O’Donnell for a 46 yard gain, moving St. Lawrence within striking distance. Heil then found senior tight end Brett Young to move his team inside the Alfred 10 yard line with a fresh set of downs. After two running attempts failed to find the end zone and ran out the first quarter, Heil’s play action pass set up a touchdown to a wide open John Quartuccio, as the sophomore found the back-right corner of the end zone for his first touchdown of the season. Sophomore James Pinkham’s extra point cut the deficit to seven points at 14-7 with 14:56 to play in the second quarter.

 

After the Saints defense forced an Alfred punt, the offense was again moved the ball efficiently to the Alfred 20 yard line. After a swing pass to sophomore Connor Hackett came up short of the first down marker, the Saints opted to go for the first down. Unfortunately, they came away empty when Heil’s pass on fourth down to sophomore Anthony Patterson sailed high.

 

Alfred, looking to capitalize, turned to Keeley and Hendrix. Keeley found Ben Stanton for a big gain, and thanks to their success through the air, Alfred was able to use successful draw plays and set up Hendrix for positive yardage. It was in fact the delayed hand-off that allowed Hendrix to tally his second score of the game, as he took the football untouched and crossed the goal line from 9 yards out with 8:43 to play in the first half. Reynolds once again added the extra point to make the score 21-7.

 

Senior defensive end Ryan Katta and the Saxons’ defense, now with a 14 point cushion, began to attack Heil from all angles. Katta came up with a sack and a quarterback hurry to force a three-and-out and get the ball back into their potent offenses’ hands. It took only three plays for Alfred to strike again, as Keeley found Bork wide open in the middle of the field, and the junior took off up the far sideline. After covering 54 yards, Bork had his second touchdown of the 2007 season, and following the extra point, gave his team a 28-7 lead.

 

Trailing by 21, the Saints continued to attack through the air where they were finding success. Passes to Young and O’Donnell set St. Lawrence up inside the Alfred 30 yard line, and on third down, Alfred’s Zach Smith was whistled for pass interference in the end zone, giving the visitors the ball first and goal at the two yard line. Two plays later, Heil found Young in the back of the end zone to make the score 28-13 with less than four minutes to play in the half, though Pinkham’s extra point bid was wide right.

 

The Saxons took over 1 st and 10 on their own 37 yard line with 3:28 left on the clock. However, it would take only ten seconds for Alfred to re-build their three-touchdown advantage. On the first play of the drive, Keeley turned and handed the ball of to Hendrix again, and he marched 63 yards on the far side line for his third touchdown of the afternoon. Reynolds’ extra point made the score 35-13.

 

After three incomplete passes, the Saints were forced to put the football back in Alfred’s hands with plenty of time remaining on the clock. Keeley found sophomore Jared Manzer in the center of the field on Alfred’s third play of the drive, and Manzer showed both his speed and agility, as he deeked out a St. Lawrence defender and raced down the sideline for his first touchdown of the game. The score, followed by the extra point, gave Alfred a 42-13 lead which they carried to the end of the first half.

 

The third quarter belonged to the defenses, though Keeley and the Saxons began right where they left off when their offense took the field to start the second half. The home team again drove down the field, this time behind senior running back Elmer Newsome and set up 1 st and 10 from the Saints 19 yard line. The drive stalled, however, at the 10 yard line and the Saxons were faced with a 4 th and inches to keep their drive alive. Newsome’s bid up the middle came up short as senior captains Judin Pierre Louis and Josh Hodges kept him from reaching first down marker, giving the Saints possession at their own 10.

 

The teams exchanged three-and-outs again, as a first down pass for the Saints was called back for holding and Alfred’s Josh Shoemaker was unable to move the chains in replacement of Keeley. The quarter yielded only five first downs total, and the score heading to the final 15 minutes remained 42-13 in favor of Alfred.

 

The Saxons scored the first points of the second half 7:03 into the fourth quarter, thanks to a clutch third down conversion scramble by Shoemaker to keep the drive alive. However, the Saints were able to force a 4 th and 1 for Alfred from the 3 yard line. The Saxons again chose to go for the touchdown, and this time succeeded on a run to the right side by junior Morgan O’Brien. The touchdown, followed by Reynolds’ seventh extra point of the afternoon, extended Alfred’s lead to 49-13 with 7:57 to play in regulation.

 

The Scarlet and Brown responded with a touchdown of their own less than two minutes later, as sophomore Chris Wagner rushed for a nice gain, and after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Alfred, the Saints had the ball inside the Saxons’ 30 yard line. Senior quarterback Sean McElduff, replacing Heil, made a nice read on the Alfred defense and hit sophomore Anthony Patterson in the slot. The Lockport, NY native made a nice move to the inside, picked up a block downfield, and dove across the goal line for the touchdown to make the score 49-19, which would prove to complete the game’s scoring.

 

The Saints will look to rebound next Saturday, September 22 nd when they take the field at Leckonby Stadium for the first time in 2007 against the Susquehanna Crusaders in the Liberty League opener for both teams. Kick-off is set for 1:00pm .