Ertel guides Buffalo State over Morrisville
Buffalo State quarterback Aaron Ertel (Depew) hit tight end Nick Jones (West Seneca West) with a 9-yard scoring pass to put down a Morrisville State rally and Bengals went on to a 40-24 victory Saturday in an Empire 8 Conference football game at Coyer Field.
Ertel, filling in for the injured Kyle Hoppy, completed 15 of 28 passes for 255 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His first TD pass went to junior wide receiver Stephen Johnson (McKinley), who had a huge game with four receptions for 147 yards, including a 66-yard TD to make it 17-0 in the second quarter.
Buffalo State (2-1, 1-1 Empire 8) led, 27-3, after Ish Height intercepted a Morrisville pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The Mustangs (0-3, 0-2 Empire 8) made a quarterback change and scored 21 unanswered points, cutting the deficit to 27-24. That's when Ertel directed a 65-yard drive ending with the TD pass to the 6-foot-6 260-pound Jones. Junior Antoine Holloman, playing his first game this season, ran 1 yard for an insurance TD with 1:17 left.
The Bengals avenged a 37-23 loss at Morrisville last season, the only Mustangs win in the eight games of the rivalry.