Brockport runs over Geneva to win the ECAC Robert M. "Scotty" Whitelaw Bowl
- David Premyslovsky
- 26 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By: David Premyslovsky/Staff Writer
BROCKPORT, N.Y. -- The Brockport Golden Eagles won their second straight ECAC Bowl Game after a dominant 46-10 win over the visiting Geneva Golden Tornadoes. The Golden Eagles were led by junior running back Isaiah Simmons, who recorded 271 yards and four touchdowns on 21 attempts. Simmons was named the game MVP for the second straight year.
The Golden Tornadoes came into the game averaging 35.09 ppg, led by Junior quarterback Caleb Romano, who was third in the nation at 3,425 passing yards. Romano got right to work, completing three passes on the opening drive as the Golden Tornadoes opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal from Ryan Reitler.
Brockport would immediately respond with a catch and run from senior Daniel Manneh to set up a 2nd and short. Then, on the second play from scrimmage, Simmons would take a handoff to the right for a 65-yard touchdown. A Zach McGowan PAT would make the score 7-3, and Brockport would never look back
The two teams would then trade defensive stops before the Brockport defense would stop Geneva on a 4th-and-11 after sophomore Liam Nealy and senior Jayson Thomas would get to the quarterback untouched on a blitz, giving Romano no chance of making a play. This stop would set up the Golden Eagles’ offense at their own 40-yard line. Romano did suffer an apparent injury on this play, but he would return for one more drive before sitting out the rest of the game.
The ensuing drive for Brockport would only take four plays and was punctuated by a 16-yard touchdown rush from Simmons. After a botched PAT, the score would remain 13-3 in favor of Brockport.
On the following drive, the Brockport defense would force a three-and-out after giving up only one yard and forcing two incompletions from Romano. On fourth down, the long snap to sophomore punter Evan Baker would go over his head and out of the endzone for a safety, making the score 15-3.
After the kickoff, Brockport would kick-start their drive with a 15-yard rush by Manneh, followed by a 27-yard rush by sophomore quarterback Zymier Jackson. Gocella would then find Manneh for a 20-yard pass touchdown, making the score 22-3 after the PAT.
The Golden Eagles would continue to stifle Geneva, now being led by sophomore Will Patterson, and the offense would add 10 more points by way of a McGowan field goal and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Gocella to sophomore Luke Lockhart, making the score 32-3 in favor of the Golden Eagles at the Break.
In the third quarter, Simmons would add his third and fourth touchdowns of the day by way of a 48-yard rush and a 14-yard rush. Throughout the third quarter, the Brockport defense would continue to have its way, giving up only one first down.
In the fourth quarter, Geneva would score their only touchdown on the day on a fourth-down pass from freshman Jace Sauders to freshman Makuei Dai to make the final score 46-10 in favor of Brockport.
Leading the way for the Golden Eagles was Simmons, who finished with 271 yards and four touchdowns on 21 attempts. Jackson had 48 yards on eight attempts on the ground, while freshman Sameer Thomas had 29 yards on nine attempts, Gr. Quamir Jenkins registered 16 yards on two attempts, Manneh had 15 yards on his only rush, and senior Chris McGuire had one yard on his single attempt on the day.
Through the air, Gocella had a great bounce-back game, registering 88 yards and two touchdowns on 8 of 14 passing through two quarters of play, and Jackson recorded 12 yards on 2 of 3 attempts.
On the receiving end, Manneh had five receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown; Lockhart recorded 32 yards and a touchdown on two catches, freshman Aydin Stephens caught two passes for 12 yards, and sophomore Nathan Williams had one catch for 10 yards.
Defensively, Brockport dominated all game long, giving up only 230 total yards and recording seven sacks. Freshman Jayden Ferrell had his best game of the season, recording nine tackles and three sacks.
“Just went out and played football. Didn’t think too much, didn’t think too hard, just play ball,” said Ferrell on his outstanding individual game. “We were really physical all year. We just carried that from the beginning of the season to the very end,” added Ferrell on the defense’s success throughout the year.
Also filling up the box score for the Golden Eagles, junior linebacker Brady Winter recorded nine tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble. Thomas had seven tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Junior Alan Ramirez-Jimenez had six tackles; Nealy contributed four tackles and 0.5 sacks, senior Luca Friedman had four tackles and 0.5 sacks, and Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Nazhier Wilson had three tackles and 0.5 sacks.
“I’m really happy it ended like this. This was great. Even though it didn’t go how I wanted it to, everything worked out,” added Thomas on finishing the season, and his career, with a bowl game victory.
With the victory, Brockport won its third bowl game in its last four attempts and will end the season with a 7-4 record. With the loss, Geneva finishes their season with a 6-5 record and extends their streak of no bowl wins to 16 seasons.