Football Outlasts Alfred State in Thriller

The Anderson University football team (1-0) outlasted Alfred State College (0-1) in a 7-6 thriller on Saturday at Lapel High School.

In a defensive showdown, both teams remain scoreless. Alfred State opened the third quarter by letting running back Noah Currier carry the load. Currier, who finished the day with 115 rushing yards, produced 44 rushing yards on nine carries on that drive alone. Anderson started to halt Currier on the run, forcing the Pioneers to end the 5-minute, 11- second drive with a field-goal attempt, which they missed.

The Ravens ate some clock with their first drive of the third quarter, ticking 9:39 off the clock. With two seconds remaining in the third quarter, Albert Rabb punched in a two-yard rushing touchdown. Corey Layton converted the extra point to put the Ravens ahead 7-0.

With 4:09 left in the game, Currier went to work. After Justin Horvath opened the drive with a 19-yard carry, Currier rushed the next seven plays, totaling 46 yards. The seventh carry was a 10-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 7-6 with 1:05 left in the contest. Logan Stressinger missed the extra-point attempt and Anderson remained ahead by one.

The onside kickoff bounced behind the 35-yard line and Anderson started the drive on Alfred State's 33. The Pioneers had all three timeouts and forced a three and out. Quarterback Luke Manning delivered a pooch punt and Alfred State started the drive on the Alfred State 24 with 39 seconds remaining. On the first play of the drive, Horvath's pass attempt struck Elijah Georges in the foot, ricocheting upward to be intercepted by Kevin Thomas. The Ravens lined up in victory formation and ran out the clock.

"I am really proud of our team," Coach Jonathan Coddington said. "We talk all the time about our mission as a program – Developing Champions, and how we need to take steps each day to become a championship-level team. [Saturday], we took a big step as a program. It is hard to win college football games. It takes so much time, effort and energy by each member of our program. I was proud of how our players continued to play hard all game, responded well to adversity throughout the game and loved and encouraged each other throughout the process. As always, there is still a lot of work to do. I am excited to work with our coaching staff and our players each day to become the team we all know we can be."

The two teams posted nearly identical total offense numbers, Anderson holding a 213-209 advantage over Alfred State. Anderson dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for 38:02 (63.4 percent) of the total 60 minutes.

Rabb tallied 90 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Manning threw 94 yards and rushed for 36 yards. Layton converted his only extra-point attempt. Troy Humphreys contributed three receptions for 29 receiving yards while Deitric Johnson provided three receptions and 18 receiving yards. Preston Yoder tallied 14 receiving yards and Adam Dunson added 12 yards. Landen Anderson recorded a punting average of 38.8 yards on five punts while contributing one punt inside the 20 and a long of a 62-yard punt.

Jaylen Hayes racked up nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 10 tackle-for-loss yards one quarterback hurry and a half sack. Thomas intercepted a pass and returned it for 13 yards. Johnathen Hayworth-Dupree recorded eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a half sack. Jake Simpson recorded a sack for a loss of six yards, finishing the game with three tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss. Travis Billups Jr. notched seven tackles. Leonard Rand contributed three tackles and one tackle for loss. Zaire Prioleau tallied six tackles while Alex Myers recorded four tackles and one pass breakup. Gavin Reners provided three tackles while Khem Harris and Jayden Holeman each broke up a pass.

The Ravens also celebrated Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day.

"I was so thankful to see so many current and former faculty and staff members come out to the game and support our players," Coddington said. "We were excited to recognize them as they work incredibly hard each day to give our students the best experience possible. They really make Anderson University a special place."

Anderson battles State University of New York-Maritime (1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. in Throggs Neck, N.Y.