Alfred University football team looks to even record Saturday at Hartwick 10/10/02
ONEONTA, NY The Alfred University football team, on the heels of a 20-12 victory at Union last weekend, will look to even its 2002 record at 3-3 when the Saxons travel to Oneonta Saturday to take on rival Hartwick College. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.The Saxons (2-3, 0-2 Empire 8) have had little luck lately playing at Hartwick (3-1, 2-1 Empire 8), having lost the last three times they've played the Hawks in Oneonta. Alfred will hope for a repeat performance of last Saturday's 20-12 victory, when the Saxon defense forced three Union turnovers and held the Dutchmen offense to four field goals.The AU defense will have to be poised for a Hartwick offense that is known for its passing game. In last week's 31-27 comeback win at St. John Fisher, Hawk quarterback Dan Pincelli threw for 315 yards and a pair of scores, including the gamewinner with 1:52 left in the game. Through four games, Pincelli has thrown for 1,103 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. Senior wide receiver Ryan Soule, Pincelli's favorite target, has 33 catches for 499 yards and four TDs. Junior wide receiver Jeff Moyer has 15 catches for 209 yards and three scores.The Hartwick running game has produced 70.5 yards per contest. Senior tailback Clarence Welch gets the bulk of the carries and is averaging 53 yards per game.The Alfred defense, which is allowing 197 yards passing her game, will look to put pressure on Pincelli and the Hawk offense. The Saxons are paced by senior linebackers Colin Murphy (Manchester, NH/Central) and Will Till (Forestville/Forestville) and sophomore linebacker Joe Pereira (Rochester/Greece Athena), who have combined for 125 tackles, including seven for loss and a pair of sacks. Senior cornerback Gabe Bouthillier (Bridgeport/Cicero-North Syracuse), who had two interceptions last week (one returned for a touchdown) and junior cornerback Vinnie Adamo (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) will be charged with controlling Soule and Moyer.The Saxon offense may receive a boost by the return of senior tailback Jesse Raynor (Weedsport/Weedsport), who missed last weekend's game with a foot injury. His status for Saturday will be a game- time decision. Raynor is averaging just under 88 yards per game on the ground and is the Saxons' leading receiver with 16 catches. If Raynor can't play, junior tailback Corey Raner (Locke/Moravia) will make his second start in as many weeks.The Alfred passing attack has been effective of late. In the victory over Union, sophomore quarterback Ron Duliba (Forestville/Forestville) threw for a career-high 266 yards and a touchdown. Through five games, Duliba is averaging 167 yards passing. Junior wide receiver Nick Coleman (Waverly/Waverly) and sophomore wide receiver Jake Sprague (Johnsonburg, PA/Johnsonburg) have combined for 31 catches for 369 yards. Sprague caught five passes for a career-high 127 yards at Union.Hartwick's defense allows only 240 yards in offense per game and is equally tough against the run (112 ypg) and pass (128 ypg). Senior cornerback Kory Schramm already has five interceptions (22 for his career) and the team has nine. Junior linebacker Nick Tucci has a team-high 35 tackles, including nine for loss and three sacks, while sophomore linebacker Andy Hadeka has a team-high five sacks.
