ONEONTA, NY – A Billy Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) to Brad Garcia (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley HS) five-yard touchdown pass with 10:56 left in the game gave Hartwick football a 35-31 lead, but Brockport answered 4:20 later to go ahead for good on Saturday in a 38-35 setback for the Hawks. The game marked the first Empire 8 Conference game for both teams and served as the Hawks' home opener.
Seven points or less separated the two teams for all but 1:41 of action in an evenly played football game. The Hawks would accumulate 462 yards of offense, including 356 yards passing.
Pine completed 16 passes for all 356 passing yards and two touchdowns for 'Wick. Garcia made eight catches for 140 yards and two scores and Koree Reed (Baldwinsville, NY/Central Conn. St. Univ.) caught four balls for 174 yards, which was an average of 43.5 yards per catch. Tito Pichardo (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville HS) ran for 80 yards on 17 carries and he scored three of the Hawks' touchdowns.
After neither team scored on their opening drives, the Golden Eagle defense came up with the first points of the day. Jake O'Connell scooped up a Hartwick fumble and ran it back 31 yards for a touchdown and the visitors were up 7-0 with 6:38 left in the opening quarter.
The Hawks got on the scoreboard thanks to a big 79-yard reception from Reed. He made a catch before midfield and ran all the way to the Brockport one yard-line and Pichardo punched it in on the next play. Brian McGovern's (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley HS) extra point evened the game at 7-7.
Brockport answered on its next possession driving 92 yards. Julius Brunson completed a 23-yard pass to Nate Wilkinson for the score to put the Golden Eagles in front 14-7.
Late in the second quarter a 42-yard pass from Pine to Garcia followed by a Pichardo 11-yard run put the Hawks on the Golden Eagle eight yard-line. Pine then found Garcia for the touchdown and McGovern's PAT tied the score 14-14 with 47 ticks left.
Brockport quarterback Brian McKean drove his team down the field and with just three seconds left he hit Wilkinson for a 23-yard TD and the Golden Eagles went into the locker room up 21-14.
Brockport added to its total on the opening possession of the second half. Joseph Ortiz hauled in a 62-yard touchdown catch from McKean for a 28-14 advantage.
On Hartwick's next possession, Pine found Reed for 42 yards and Pichardo ran it into the end zone from 11 yards out on the next play to cut the deficit in half.
Cory Wood (Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge HS) picked off McKean on Brockport's sixth play after getting the ball back. He returned the interception 40 yards to setup a Pichardo 5-yard touchdown and the game was all tied once again after the PAT.
a Brett Renzi field goal early in the fourth put the Golden Eagles back on top, 31-28, but 'Wick would answered less than three minutes later to retake the advantage. Pine struck Garcia for a 40-yard gain and the duo connected again from five yards out for the go-ahead score, 35-31, with 10:56 left.
Brockport needed eight plays to take the lead for keeps. McKean found Ian Gilhousen on a 30-yard touchdown reception with 6:36 remaining.
Hartwick's last two possessions resulted in a punt and a turnover. Brockport got the ball back and looked to run out the clock but the Hawks nearly were back in business after a Golden Eagle fumble with under a minute left. The Hawks had a shot at recovering in Brockport territory but the visitors managed to come up with the ball and killed the remaining clock for the win.
McKean threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns for the Golden Eagles. Wilkinson caught seven passes for 110 yards and two scores and Dan Andrews gained 81 yards on the ground.
Liam Kane (Saratoga Springs, NY/Stillwater HS), Matthew Ali (Sayville, NY/Sayville HS), and Mark Hackett (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls HS) tied for a game-high with seven tackles apiece. David Van Alstine (Otego, Unatego Central) contributed six hits and a defended three passes. Malik Wynter (Auburn, NY/Auburn HS), Wood, Melijah Purvis (West Babylon, NY/North Babylon HS), and Mike Simone (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac HS) each recorded five tackles for Hartwick.
The Hawks have a bye week before entertaining Cortland during True Blue Weekend on October 1. Kickoff begins at 2 p.m. Last season, the Hawks gave the Red Dragons all they could handle in a 48-45 overtime loss.
Hawks Come Up Three Points Short in Empire 8 Opener to Brockport 38-35
/seasons/2016/boxscores/20160917_32jc.xml
2016
Brockport
38
Hartwick
35
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brockport (2-1) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
| Hartwick (1-2) | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
Sep 17, 2016