The UR football team suffered a tough loss this past weekend at the hands of the Alfred University Saxons. The Saxons, clad in purple uniforms, played a passionate game on Saturday afternoon against the ‘Jackets.
They scored with ease on their first drive of the game, putting up a touchdown very early in the first quarter, capping off a 55-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass.
The Yellowjackets faced an uphill battle from that point on and were never able to catch Alfred on the scoreboard. The final score of the game was 43-14, which dropped UR’s record to 2-6 overall.
The ‘Jackets struggled to keep up with Alfred. After the Saxons’ initial scoring drive, the teams exchanged a series of punts in a battle for field position a fight that UR would eventually lose because of problems with special teams.
In particular, the Yellowjackets had difficulty with the exchange between the long-snapper and the punter, which led to a series of scoring opportunities for Alfred.
The ‘Jackets were also unable to put any sort of attack together on the offensive side of the ball. Factoring in the negative yardage from the special teams’ mishaps, the UR offense only gained a net total of 121 yards throughout the course of the game.
Early in the second quarter, the Yellowjackets pulled their starting quarterback, freshman Braezen Subick, and replaced him with junior Kapps Killingstad in hopes of igniting some sort of offensive spark.
Killingstad was at the helm of the ‘Jacket offense for the majority of the second quarter but was unable to put together any scoring drives.
‘[Alfred] established a solid game plan against us this week,” Killingstad said. ‘They were able to stop the things we run really well, like our isolation and power plays, which threw us off our game plan. The fact that we couldn’t establish our running game made it very difficult to throw the ball down field.”
In order to be successful, the UR offense needed to keep Alfred’s defense on its toes. The lack of an established running game made it easy for the Saxons’ defense to effectively thwart UR’s passing efforts.
Overall, the Killingstad and Subick quarterback duo finished the day only 13 for 27, totaling 133 yards and a touchdown.
The ‘Jackets’ only scoring drives came late in the fourth quarter, at which point the Saxons had already established an insurmountable 43-0 lead.
Following a flashy 57-yard kick return by freshman inside linebacker Chris Bickford, UR was able to put up its first score of the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore runningback Clarence Onyiriuka.
On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, the UR offensive coordinator pulled some unprecedented trickery out of the playbook, completing a tackle-eligible pass to freshman offensive lineman John Whiting.
The second ‘Jacket touchdown of the day was a 33-yard touchdown pass to Onyiriuka. However, the late offensive surge by the ‘Jackets proved to be too little, too late.
Bickford was named Liberty League Rookie of the Week for the third week in a row this past week for his team-high 14 tackles and solid play on the defensive front.
Next week, UR will return to Fauver Stadium for its final home game of the season to face off against the Saints of St. Lawrence University.
The Saints have proven to be a formidable Liberty League opponent in past seasons but are currently tied for last place in the Liberty League.
For the senior members of the team, it will be their last home game ever and, needless to say, they want to go out with a victory.
‘This is my last home game ever at the University,” senior outside linebacker Jake VanWhy said. ‘We’re not having the success that we wanted to have this season, but more than anything I just want to win my last game in Fauver Stadium.”
The following week, the ‘Jackets will wrap up their season when they travel to Geneva, N.Y. to face the Hobart College Statesmen.
Horowitz is a member of the class of 2009.
