Golden Eagles soar past Russell Sage thanks to hot start

By: Dylan O'Loughlin

BROCKPORT, NY --- Brockport Women’s Flag Football was back in action for day two of a back-to-back at Bob Boozer field hosting the Russell Sage Gators. The Golden Eagles came out hot, scoring 23 unanswered points in the first quarter en route to a 50-6 victory. 

Brockport Women's Flag Football extends its win streak to three with a 50-6 victory over Russell Sage. (Photo: Anderson Stoker)

“I think we had great flow,” Brockport Flag Football head coach Charrise Everett said. “Too many holding penalties, so we got to clean that up over the next couple days, but overall great flow. Everybody got in, everybody touched the ball in some type of way so I think it was an amazing day.” 

After rushing for 318 yards on the ground yesterday, senior quarterback Megan Gerber did damage through the air this time, throwing for 135 yards and four touchdowns with three coming in the first quarter. 

On the opening drive for the Golden Eagles, Gerber connected with wide receiver Grace Guarino down the right sideline for a 39-yard touchdown to start off the game up 7-0. On the first defensive possession for Brockport, safety Lauen Cundra intercepted Sage quarterback Bianca Ricciuto and returned it 50 yards to set up the Golden Eagles in the red zone. 

Brockport capitalized on the field position as Gerber found first year Addy VanDewater over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown reception. The defense matched the Brockport offense on the following drive, as Cundra notched her second interception of the game to put the Golden Eagles in enemy territory once again. 

Gerber took advantage of the field position with her arm again as the senior connected with Hannah Roxstorm on a five-yard out route for the third touchdown of the game in the opening 13 minutes. 

 A safety caused by the Brockport defense capped off the quarter to make it 23-0 after one. 

“We start right away, as soon as the clock starts we start,” Everett said about the importance of having hot starts. “A couple games we waited and it kind of put us in a bad spot in the second half, so we made adjustments from the start and we started.” 

In the second, both defenses stepped up as only 13 points were scored. Both touchdowns came from the Golden Eagles capitalizing off of two Roxstorm interceptions.

First, Gerber dropped a dime down the seam to Guarino again for her second touchdown of the day. Then with under four minutes to go before half, first year quarterback Madison Beardsley threw a dot to VanDewater on an out route that the first year took 70 yards to the house for her second touchdown.

Megan Gerber (12) running in for the score. (Photo: Anderson Stoker)

At halftime, the Golden Eagles garnered 249 yards on offense with five touchdowns and five caused turnovers to take a 36-0 lead. 

From there, it was the VanDewater show as the dual-sport athlete went on to score two more touchdowns for a game-high four on the day. The first came in the third quarter as Beardsley threw a beauty into the back of the endzone for the Brockport Women’s Basketball guard to catch in stride for the score. 

The final touchdown of the day was the icing of the cake, as VanDewater hit her defender with an in-and-out move to create space down the sideline and make a one-handed snag for the final touchdown of the day to start the fourth quarter. VanDewater finished the day with five receptions,156 yards and four touchdowns. 

“They’re both (Beardlsey & Gerber) great and the whole team is really close off the field so it’s really easy to translate that on the field,” VanDewater said about her and the offense’s success. “Especially with the quarterbacks, just practicing with them everyday it builds a really good connection.” 

Sage was able to find pay dirt once in the fourth quarter as Ricciuto took an 11-yard QB scramble into the endzone for a final score of 50-6. 

To go along with the senior’s work through the air, Gerber rushed for 44 yards on five attempts. Guarino finished with four receptions for 94 yards while Beardsley went 6/12 for 129 yards and three touchdowns through the air and rushed for 90 yards on the ground. 

Defensively, Brockport forced six turnovers with two forced fumbles and four interceptions as Roxstorm and Cundra collected two picks apiece. Cymbri Jefferson led the team with nine tackles and a pass breakup while Ava Seelbach followed with six tackles and two PBUs. Ava Leyh notched five tackles and two PBUs while Analysia Sosa posted three tackles including a tackle for loss and one sack. 

“Just tracking the quarterback's eyes and keeping an eye on the receivers,” Roxstorm explained about the defense. “Defense is really competitive and aggressive. I personally love going and attacking the ball. We got some penalties that we can clean up, but that shows our eagerness and aggression.” 

Lauren Cundra (21) running back one of her two interceptions on the day. (Photo: Anderson Stoker)

For the Gators, Ricciuto led the way with 118 yards through the air and 25 on the ground while Hailey Blake led Sage in receiving and rushing with 71 through the air and 41 on the ground for a total of 112 yards. Aniyah Kelley followed with four receptions for 19 yards while Morgan Potter added three catches for 18 yards. 

Kaleigh Dean led the defense with five tackles including one for a loss while Ricciuto notched four tackles and five PBUs. Lydia Kern garnered four tackles, two tackles for loss and one PBU. 

With the win, the Golden Eagles extend their win streak to three and sit with a 5-2 record and 4-1 in Empire 8 play. Brockport looks to keep this going with an undefeated mentality the rest of the season. 

“Our goal in general is to win out,” Everett said. “But, focus on the next one, so we got to get another victory.” 

For Sage, the Gators fall to 1-5 on the season.

The Golden Eagles are back in action Tuesday, April 14 hosting Elmira. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.