With 33 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second and seven in the third, the Yellowjackets dominated the football field this past weekend against the Alfred State Pioneers. They posted a final score of 61-0 to boost their record to 2-0 with high hopes for the rest of the season.
Sophomore quarterback Dan Bronson made this game extrordinary, completing four touchdown passes within the first quarter to tie the school record. This was the second win of the season for the ‘Jackets, previously winning 45-28 against the Catholic University of America.
Notching 54 of their 61 total points during the first half, Bronson completed five of seven passes for a total of 216 yards. Scoring opened up in the first two minutes, coming off a 16-yard run from Bronson. A 28-yard pass to senior Farid Adenuga followed suit, bringing the score up to 12-0. Adenuga caught a second pass from Bronson with 8:45 left in the first quarter to tack on 59 yards and a score.
There was only time to score twice more to end the quarter 33-0, coming off a 35-yard throw to senior Derek Wager and a long pass and run to junior Luke Szumski.
Freshman runningback Jeff Martin regarded the game highly, stating that “after starting the first quarter with a 33 point lead, it’s hard for any team to combat that. Ending the half with a 54 lead made the idea even more improbable.” He continued, “The best part of it all was having almost the entire team get playing time. It felt awesome to play in the first home game.”
Some of the freshman watching their first college home game had very similar comments. Jo Foong, who was attending her first football game, claimed it was “part of the induction into American college culture,” and also commented that “little things like pep band playing and face paint on my cheeks made it a unique experience while [I] learned the rules of football. It was a great win.”
The team’s scoring trend continued in the second quarter, with senior Bruce McKenty laying down a three-yard run to put the team up by 40. The other two scoring plays came off a five-yard pass from senior Justin Redfern to sophomore David Angie and a one-yard run by freshman Malik Wells. The half ended at 54-0, with Alfred yet to get on the board.
Wells added a two-yard run, with 12:13 left in the third quarter, to bring us to the would-be final score of 61-0. Bronson’s impressive four touchdowns in a single quarter tied records in UR history set in 1967, 1971, 1988, 2006, 2008 and 2011.
UR football’s next home game takes place at 12 p.m. this Saturday at Fauver Stadium against Springfield College, where they look to carry this momentum deep into the season.
Miller is a member of the class of 2019.
