UAlbany FCS Football Rolls Over St.Francis 27-3 In Heavy Downpour In NEC Conference Action

UAlbany FCS Football Rolls Over St.Francis 27-3 In Heavy Downpour In NEC Conference Action. UAlbany will face Monmouth next week at University Field on the UAlbany campus, likely which will determine the NEC Champion. More to come...

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Football Remains Unbeaten in Northeast Conference Play with 27-3 Homecoming Victory

Vinny Esposito threw two first-half touchdown passes and tailback David McCarty scored twice in leading UAlbany to a 27-3 Northeast Conference victory over Saint Francis, Pa. on Saturday, Oct. 25 before a Homecoming crowd of 5,284 at rain-swept University Field.

UAlbany (5-3, NEC 4-0) posted its fourth straight win by reaching the end zone on its opening two possessions before a driving rain and gusty winds made the field hardly playable as the game progressed. The Great Danes marched eight plays for its first touchdown. Esposito hit McCarty in the right flat on third-and-seven, and the junior cut back, using his blockers, on a 22-yard score.

After cornerback Daniel Avery came up with his first career interception, UAlbany drove 62 yards in just five plays. Esposito found wide receiver Tim Bush with a third-down completion for 11 yards. Reserve tailback Justin Gannon later broke through off left guard and split the defensive backfield en route to paydirt on a 45-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead.

“The play was blocked perfectly,” Gannon said. “I just had to run straight. Tim Bush made a good block downfield and I was able to outrun the secondary. It was the type of day where you just had to do a good job of holding on to the ball.”

UAlbany upped its lead to 21-0 late in the first quarter. Defensive end Mike Kelly sacked Saint Francis quarterback Colton Sipe, a redshirt freshman who was making his first start for the injured George Little, to force a punt. Esposito, who completed 7 of 11 attempts for 134 yards, then delivered a 58-yard scoring strike to Bush, who maneuvered around the cornerback into open space on the right sideline as he hauled in the pass.

St. Francis (0-8, NEC 0-5) had an opportunity to get back into the contest in the second period. Zak Campbell’s 34-yard field goal finished off a 14-play drive. Linebacker Scott Lewis, last year’s ECAC and NEC defensive rookie of the year, who had a game-high 15 tackles, would then pick off Esposito’s intended screen pass for McCarty at the Albany 27. Following the return and a personal foul penalty, the Red Flash ended up with a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line. But UAlbany’s defense stiffened and Sipe was tackled for a loss on fourth down by linebacker Rich Duff and safety Dave West.

“That was a good goal line stand,” offered defensive tackle Tom Pandolf, whose defense held the visitors to 145 total yards, including 68 on the ground. “We just didn’t let them score in that situation. I wasn’t absolutely sure what they would run (on fourth down) following the timeout. We played well in the conditions. You get a little leeway, as a defense, to make mistakes when the weather is like that.”

The weather played havoc with both teams’ offense and special teams throughout the second half. A bad punt snap gave the Red Flash the ball at the Albany 21 late in the third quarter, but Sipe threw three incomplete passes during the series, including a fourth-down attempt that sailed out of bounds. The Great Danes would tack on to their lead when Omar Winston muffed a punt return and UAlbany’s Luke Weaver recovered at the St. Francis 9. McCarty would eventually score off the left side from one-yard out with 7:53 remaining.

“You have to run the football in the Northeast, because you are going to get conditions like we had today,” said UAlbany coach Bob Ford, whose team will battle Monmouth for first place in the conference standings next week. “We didn’t use the shotgun or probably throw as much as we would like. With the lead, we had the ability to work the clock. At the same, our defense took their run away.”

McCarty rushed for 122 yards on 31 carries, and has reached the century mark in 13 of his last 14 starts. The Great Danes have won nine in a row against league opponents. St. Francis’ Sipe finished 9-of-23 through the air for 77 yards and was intercepted twice.