Activate beast mode! The Empire 8 flexed its muscle as the premier football conference in eastern region, advancing two teams to the NCAA Division 3 quarterfinals.
Salisbury held off Kean 49-47 in a thrilling triple-overtime victory, while St. John Fisher defeated Delaware Valley 27-14 to upset the undefeated MAC champion.
Salisbury Holds Off Kean
The Salisbury State Sea Gulls (11-1) rolled up 382 yards rushing the football to stop the upset-minded Kean Cougars (10-2). Randal Smedley rushed for 202 yards on 26 carries, and quarterback Dan Griffin added 70 yards on the ground and 57 through the air on only 5 passes.
Tom D'Ambrisi completed 15-of-26 passes for three touchdowns for the Kean Cougars, but was intercepted three times by the Gulls.
Salisbury built a 34-20 lead late in the game, but Kean roared back behind the rushing of Chris Dimicco (20 carries for 155 yards) and the passing of D'Ambrisi. After cutting the score to 34-27, the Kean defense kept Salisbury in check through the fourth quarter.
D'Ambrisi found Matt Pitarresi for a 16-yard pass play to the Salisbury 2-yard line with just 51 seconds to play. On the next play, Darius Kinney rushed for a 2-yard score to tie the game at 34-34 and send it to overtime.
Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime. Kean had an opportunity to win the football game, but had a 31-yard field goal attempt blocked. Brandon Lemon saved Salisbury's season rejecting the Billy Daniels kick.
The teams traded touchdowns in the second overtime. In the third overtime, Randall Smedley rushed for a 2-yard touchdown to put Salisbury ahead 47-41. A Ross Flanigan rush on the two-point conversion play put the Gulls ahead 49-41.
The game appeared over with Kean trailing by eight, and facing a 4th-and-12 from the Salisbury 27-yard line. But D'Ambrisi rolled out to his right, avoided pressure, and threw toward the end zone. Chris Suozzo made an outstanding leaping grab to shock the Salisbury crowd.
With the score 49-47 in favor of Salisbury, the Gulls defense rallied to force a desperation pass from D'Ambrisi into the back of the end zone. The ball fell incomplete, and Salisbury celebrated a thrilling victory.
Cardinals Upset Aggies 27-14
The St. John Fisher Cardinals (10-2) stopped the Delaware Valley Aggies (11-1) 27-14 to advance to the national Elite 8.
It was the second consecutive week the underdog Cardinals beat an undefeated team on the road. Against high scoring offenses Johns Hopkins and Delaware Valley, the Cardinals yielded only 26 point in two weeks.
Backup quarterback Ahmed Hassanien filled in for injured Ryan Kramer, rushing for 196 yards and passing for 93 yards. Sophomore running back Cody Miller added a career-high 145 yards rushing. Wade Kline had a key second half interception for the Cardinals, thwarting a Delaware Valley drive.
The Cardinals never trailed against the young Aggies.
St. John Fisher may have been the last team to get into the tournament, but it is one of the final eight remaining. The victory over Delaware Valley marks the first time Fisher has been to the NCAA quarterfinals since 2007, when it was defeated by Mount Union.
The combined victories by Salisbury and St. John Fisher make a strong statement for the Empire 8 as the strongest eastern conference. Despite disappointing seasons by Alfred and Ithaca, Salisbury and St. John Fisher carried the conference into the playoffs, and eliminated the top teams from the MAC, NEFC, Centennial Conference, and NJAC to advance to the national quarterfinals.
1 comments:
Agree but I have to wonder what would have happened if Hobart drew JHU instead of Wesley in the first round. Not taking anything away from SJF but their placement / seeding ended up being more beneficial than a conference champion's that beat them by 36 points in the regular season. A head scratcher for sure but good for Coach Vos and the Cardinals to make this run.
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