UAlbany Earns Share of Northeast Conference Football Title and Gridiron Classic Berth

Football UAlbany Sports Information

UAlbany Earns Share of Northeast Conference Football Title and Gridiron Classic Berth

Moon Township, Pa. -- Quarterback Vinny Esposito passed for one touchdown and ran for another in leading UAlbany to its sixth consecutive victory in a 41-7 triumph over Robert Morris on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Joe Walton Stadium.  The Great Danes clinched a share of the Northeast Conference title and earned a berth in the Gridiron Classic on Dec. 6.

            UAlbany (7-3, NEC 6-0) exploded for 17 third-quarter points to seal the outcome.  David McCarty, who rushed for 129 yards on 25 carries, led his team to a field goal on the first possession of the second half.  McCarty, a junior tailback, hauled in a18-yard screen pass to put his team in the red zone, before Herb Glass booted a 27-yard field goal for a 24-7 cushion.

            Free safety Dave Casale picked off his second pass of the game and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown with 6:15 to play in the stanza.  Robert Morris quarterback Erik Cwalinski, who connected on 12 of 27 attempts for 156 yards, had his pass tipped by cornerback L.B. McCloskey and Casale came up with the ball out of the air and raced untouched for the score.   The Great Danes pushed out to a 38-7 lead late in the quarter with reverse tailback Justin Gannon cut back to his left on a 40-yard dash to the end zone.

            “We came to play right from the start,” said Casale, who added seven tackles and led a defense that held the Colonials to 59 net rushing yards and recorded five sacks.  “Each level (of the defense) played well.  The defensive line got pressure, the linebackers took care of the run and defensive backs just had to worry about the pass.  It's great to reach a season-long goal (Gridiron Classic).".

            UAlbany bolted to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.  After a 24-yard field goal was blocked on their first drive, the Great Danes struck for two touchdowns in a two-minute span.  McCarty, who tied a single-season record with his ninth 100-yard rushing effort and matched a career standard with 17th game over the century mark, bounced around left end on a 26-yard scamper, using wide receiver Jason Poore's downfield block en route to paydirt.  He extended his touchdown streak to 18 consecutive games.  Outside linebacker Emerson Kinsey then blocked a punt that set up Esposito's 1-yard quarterback sneak with 2:39 left in the period.

            The Colonials, who entering the contest with three wins in a row against league opponents, put together a 15-play, 80-yard march to slice the deficit in half.  Karey Murray's 1-yard run over the right side capped the sequence.  Cwalinski, a 6-foot-3 senior, kept the drive alive with a 34-yard completion to Sherrod Evers in a third-and-15 situation from the UAlbany 37.

            RMU's defense stuffed UAlbany on fourth-and-goal from the six-inch line when Adam Lawrence and Andy Walton shut off Esposito's sneak with 6:09 remaining in the second quarter.  But UAlbany's Casale halted that momentum with his first interception of the day.  The Great Danes went 56 yards in four plays behind Esposito's passing for a 21-7 advantage.  He fired a 16-yard scoring pass to wideout Daniel Bocanegra, who caught his first career touchdown pass in the middle of the end zone with two seconds to play before the intermission.

            “The defense shut down their pass game and we got to the quarterback early in the game,” said UAlbany coach Bob Ford, whose team will meet the Pioneer Football League champion in the Gridiron Classic for the second straight year.  “It was a close game at the start, but the special teams blocked a punt and had a couple of good kickoff returns.  That was a great read by Vinny (Esposito) on the touchdown before the half.  Jason (Poore) was double-covered and he looked off the defense with the throw.”

            Sophomore Myles Russ, the nation's eighth-leading rusher, was held to 66 yards on the ground, as the Colonials fell to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the conference.  Esposito, who connected on 16-of-24 through the air, threw for 153 of his 201 yards in the first half.  The Great Danes, who have won 12 straight against NEC opposition, rolled up 486 total yards, the second-highest figure of the season.

Albany vs Robert Morris (11/08/08)


 

Scoring Summary

 
Scoring Summary (Final)
2008 UAlbany Football
Albany vs Robert Morris (11/08/08 at Moon Township, Pa.)

Albany (7-3,6-0) vs. Robert Morris (4-6,3-3)

Date: 11/08/08  ? Site: Moon Township, Pa.  ? Stadium: Joe Walton Stadium  ?  Attendance: 1021

Score by Quarters  Score 
Albany   14  7  17  3  41 
Robert Morris   0  7  0  0  7 

SCORING SUMMARY   ALBANY -RMU  
1st  04:41  ALBANY   David McCarty 26 yd run (Herb Glass kick) 
         3 plays, 50 yards, TOP 0:56  7 - 0 
  02:39  ALBANY   Vinny Esposito 1 yd run (Herb Glass kick) 
         2 plays, 1 yard, TOP 0:52  14 - 0 
2nd  10:16  RMU   MURRAY, Karey 1 yd run (CLAWSON,Garrett kick) 
         15 plays, 80 yards, TOP 7:16  14 - 7 
  00:02  ALBANY   Daniel Bocanegra 16 yd pass from Vinny Esposito (Herb Glass kick) 
         4 plays, 53 yards, TOP 0:24  21 - 7 
3rd  11:32  ALBANY   Herb Glass 27 yd field goal 
         10 plays, 40 yards, TOP 3:21  24 - 7 
  06:15  ALBANY   Dave Casale 23 yd interception return (Herb Glass kick) 
           31 - 7 
  00:39  ALBANY   Justin Gannon 40 yd run (Herb Glass kick) 
         9 plays, 97 yards, TOP 3:20  38 - 7 
4th  06:51  ALBANY   Herb Glass 25 yd field goal 
         11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 6:25  41 - 7 

Kickoff time: 1:00 pm  ? End of Game: 3:38 pm  ? Total elapsed time: 2:38
Referee: Vance Harris  ?  Umpire: Rob Kinter  ?  Linesman: Joseph Mate  ?  Line judge: Kenneth Broome  ?  Back judge: George Trout  ?  Field judge: Dan Carr  ?  Side judge: Tim Kehoe  ?  Scorer: RMU Sports Info ? 
Temperature: 51  ? Wind: NW@ 5mph ? Weather: overcast, cool
 

Team Statistics

 
Team Statistics (Final)
2008 UAlbany Football
Albany vs Robert Morris (11/08/08 at Moon Township, Pa.)

 Team Totals  ALBANY  RMU 
FIRST DOWNS  25  14 
   Rushing  12 
   Passing  12 
   Penalty 
NET YARDS RUSHING  274  59 
   Rushing Attempts  49  34 
   Average Per Rush  5.6  1.7 
   Rushing Touchdowns 
   Yards Gained Rushing  282  106 
   Yards Lost Rushing  47 
NET YARDS PASSING  212  156 
   Completions-Attempts-Int  17-25-0  12-27-3 
   Average Per Attempt  8.5  5.8 
   Average Per Completion  12.5  13.0 
   Passing Touchdowns 
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS  486  215 
   Total offense plays  74  61 
   Average Gain Per Play  6.6  3.5 
Fumbles: Number-Lost  0-0  2-1 
Penalties: Number-Yards  4-46  4-45 
PUNTS-YARDS  2-63  6-210 
   Average Yards Per Punt  31.5  35.0 
   Net Yards Per Punt  31.5  32.0 
   Inside 20 
   50+ Yards 
   Touchbacks 
   Fair catch 
KICKOFFS-YARDS  8-469  2-117 
   Average Yards Per Kickoff  58.6  58.5 
   Net Yards Per Kickoff  40.4  29.0 
   Touchbacks 
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD  3-18-0  0-0-0 
   Average Per Return  6.0  0.0 
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD  2-59-0  7-126-0 
   Average Per Return  29.5  18.0 
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD  3-43-1  0-0-0 
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD  0-0-0  0-0-0 
Miscellaneous Yards  20 
Possession Time  31:15  28:45 
   1st Quarter  7:46  7:14 
   2nd Quarter  5:46  9:14 
   3rd Quarter  8:36  6:24 
   4th Quarter  9:07  5:53 
Third-Down Conversions  5 of 13  9 of 16 
Fourth-Down Conversions  2 of 3  0 of 0 
Red-Zone Scores-Chances  4-6  1-1 
Sacks By: Number-Yards  5-36  1-3 
PAT Kicks  5-5  1-1 
Field Goals  2-3  0-0 
 

Individual Statistics

 
Individual Statistics (Final)
2008 UAlbany Football
Albany vs Robert Morris (11/08/08 at Moon Township, Pa.)

Albany
  
Robert Morris
RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg. 
David McCarty   25  131  129  26  5.2 
Justin Gannon   53  53  40  17.7 
Colin Simmons   43  43  22  8.6 
Duane Harper   23  23  15  4.6 
Frank Blasinsky  22  22  17  11.0 
Dan Di Lella   3.0 
Vinny Esposito   0.3 
TM  -1  -1.0 
Totals...  49  282  274  40  5.6 
  
RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg. 
RUSS, Myles   19  69  66  11  3.5 
LINK, Jeff   4.5 
JOHNSON,Raphael  13  13  3.5 
KASTELIC, Jesse  2.5 
MURRAY, Karey   0.5 
CWALINSKI, Erik  38  -29  -4.1 
Totals...  34  106  47  59  13  1.7 
  
  
 
PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack 
Vinny Esposito   16-24-0  201  39 
Frank Blasinsky  1-1-0  11  11 
Totals...  17-25-0  212  39 
  
PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack 
CWALINSKI, Erik  12-27-3  156  34 
Totals...  12-27-3  156  34 
  
 
RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg 
Tim Bush   72  39 
Justin Petersen  33  18 
David McCarty   30  19 
Jason Poore   33  24 
Dan Archer   19  11 
Daniel Bocanegra  16  16 
John Lullen  
Colin Simmons  
Totals...  17  212  39 
  
RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg 
EVERS, Sherrod   89  34 
GREEN, T.J.   18  10 
O'QUINN, James   18  18 
COLEMAN,Anthony  13  13 
KING, Shadrae   12  12 
JOHNSON,Raphael 
Totals...  12  156  34 
  
  
 
PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB 
Chris Lynch   63  31.5  34 
Totals...  63  31.5  34 
  
  
PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB 
SCHIRTZINGER,N.  210  42.0  60 
TEAM   0.0 
Totals...  210  35.0  60 
 
   Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept 
ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg 
Colin Simmons   40  40 
Emerson Kinsey   13 
Dave Casale   43  23 
Kareem Cooper  
Justin Gannon   19  19 
Totals...  18  59  40  43  23 
  
   Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept 
ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg 
COLEMAN,Anthony  119  23 
KREPPS, Jon  
Totals...  126  23 
  
  
  
 
ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total 
David McCarty   129  30  159 
Colin Simmons   43  40  84 
Justin Gannon   53  19  77 
Tim Bush   72  72 
Dave Casale   43  43 
Jason Poore   33  33 
Justin Petersen  33  33 
Duane Harper   23  23 
Frank Blasinsky  22  22 
Dan Archer   19  19 
Daniel Bocanegra  16  16 
Emerson Kinsey   13  13 
John Lullen  
Dan Di Lella  
Vinny Esposito  
TM  -1  -1 
Totals...  274  212  59  18  43  606 
  
ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total 
COLEMAN,Anthony  13  119  132 
EVERS, Sherrod   89  89 
RUSS, Myles   66  66 
GREEN, T.J.   18  18 
O'QUINN, James   18  18 
JOHNSON,Raphael  13 
KING, Shadrae   12  12 
LINK, Jeff  
KREPPS, Jon  
KASTELIC, Jesse 
MURRAY, Karey  
CWALINSKI, Erik  -29  -29 
Totals...  59  156  126  341 
  
  
  
  
 
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 
Herb Glass  1st  07:50  24 yards  Blocked 
Herb Glass  3rd  11:32  27 yards  Good 
Herb Glass  4th  06:51  25 yards  Good 
  
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 
  
  
  
 
KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg. 
Herb Glass   469  58.6 
  
KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg. 
CATANZARITE, M.  117  58.5 
 
FUMBLES: Albany-None. Robert Morris-RUSS, Myles 1-0; CWALINSKI, Erik 1-1.
 

Box Score

 
Box Score (Final)
Albany vs Robert Morris (11/08/08 at Moon Township, Pa.)

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Albany.............. 14  7 17  3  - 41       Record: (7-3,6-0)
Robert Morris.......  0  7  0  0  -  7       Record: (4-6,3-3)



Scoring Summary:
1st 04:41 ALBANY - David McCarty 26 yd run (Herb Glass kick), 3-50 0:56, ALBANY 7 - RMU 0
    02:39 ALBANY - Vinny Esposito 1 yd run (Herb Glass kick), 2-1 0:52, ALBANY 14 - RMU 0
2nd 10:16 RMU - MURRAY, Karey 1 yd run (CLAWSON,Garrett kick), 15-80 7:16, ALBANY 14 - RMU 7
    00:02 ALBANY - Daniel Bocanegra 16 yd pass from Vinny Esposito (Herb Glass kick), 4-53 0:24, ALBANY 21 - RMU 7
3rd 11:32 ALBANY - Herb Glass 27 yd field goal, 10-40 3:21, ALBANY 24 - RMU 7
    06:15 ALBANY - Dave Casale 23 yd interception return (Herb Glass kick), , ALBANY 31 - RMU 7
    00:39 ALBANY - Justin Gannon 40 yd run (Herb Glass kick), 9-97 3:20, ALBANY 38 - RMU 7
4th 06:51 ALBANY - Herb Glass 25 yd field goal, 11-70 6:25, ALBANY 41 - RMU 7



                                 ALBANY      RMU
FIRST DOWNS...................       25       14
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   49-274    34-59
PASSING YDS (NET).............      212      156
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  25-17-0  27-12-3
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   74-486   61-215
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............     3-18      0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     2-59    7-126
Interception Returns-Yards....     3-43      0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............   2-31.5   6-35.0
Fumbles-Lost..................      0-0      2-1
Penalties-Yards...............     4-46     4-45
Possession Time...............    31:15    28:45
Third-Down Conversions........  5 of 13  9 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   2 of 3   0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      4-6      1-1
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     5-36      1-3


RUSHING: Albany-David McCarty 25-129; Justin Gannon 3-53; Colin Simmons
5-43; Duane Harper 5-23; Frank Blasinsky 2-22; Dan Di Lella 1-3; Vinny Esposito
7-2; TM 1-minus 1. Robert Morris-RUSS, Myles 19-66; LINK, Jeff 2-9;
JOHNSON,Raphael 2-7; KASTELIC, Jesse 2-5; MURRAY, Karey 2-1; CWALINSKI, Erik
7-minus 29.

PASSING: Albany-Vinny Esposito 16-24-0-201; Frank Blasinsky 1-1-0-11.
Robert Morris-CWALINSKI, Erik 12-27-3-156.

RECEIVING: Albany-Tim Bush 4-72; Justin Petersen 3-33; David McCarty
3-30; Jason Poore 2-33; Dan Archer 2-19; Daniel Bocanegra 1-16; John Lullen 1-8;
Colin Simmons 1-1. Robert Morris-EVERS, Sherrod 6-89; GREEN, T.J. 2-18; O'QUINN,
James 1-18; COLEMAN,Anthony 1-13; KING, Shadrae 1-12; JOHNSON,Raphael 1-6.

INTERCEPTIONS: Albany-Dave Casale 2-43; Kareem Cooper 1-0. Robert
Morris-None.

FUMBLES: Albany-None. Robert Morris-RUSS, Myles 1-0; CWALINSKI, Erik 1-1.

Stadium: Joe Walton Stadium    Attendance: 1021
Kickoff time: 1:00 pm   End of Game: 3:38 pm   Total elapsed time: 2:38
Officials: Referee: Vance Harris; Umpire: Rob Kinter; Linesman: Joseph Mate;
Line judge: Kenneth Broome; Back judge: George Trout; Field judge: Dan Carr;
Side judge: Tim Kehoe; Scorer: RMU Sports Info;
Temperature: 51        Wind: NW@ 5mph  Weather: overcast, cool



Albany vs Robert Morris (11/08/08 at Moon Township, Pa.) SACKS (UA-A): Albany-Trevor Anderson 1-1; Emerson Kinsey 1-0; Eddie Delaney 0-1; Chris Simpson 1-0; Chris Wilk 0-1; Nick Krajacic 0-1. Robert Morris-WALTON, Andy 1-0. TACKLES (UA-A): Albany-Chris Simpson 2-7; Dave Casale 4-3; Dave West 1-5; Rich Duff 2-3; L.B. McCloskey 2-2; Daniel Avery 3-0; Raymond Dorcely 3-0; Justin Brancaccio 2-1; Kareem Cooper 2-1; Eddie Delaney 1-2; Mike Kelly 1-2; Chris Wilk 0-3; Ross Bertrand 1-1; Kyle Hussey 1-1; Tom Pandolf 1-1; Nick Krajacic 1-1; Emerson Kinsey 1-1; Trevor Anderson 1-1; Mark Peretore 0-2; Chris Blais 0-1; Justin Petersen 0-1; Jake Ciccarello 0-1. Robert Morris-DiMICHELE, Alex 5-10; MILANAK, Ian 2-10; WALTON, Andy 4-7; LAWRENCE, Adam 4-5; PITTMAN, David 1-6; SNIDER, James 4-2; SZYMANSKI, Mark 2-3; LANDERS,Michael 3-1; BATHOLD, Rolf 3-0; WILLIAMS,Robert 0-3; SMOOT, Shannon 0-3; ROBERTS, Chris 0-3; CATLEY, Ryan 2-0; KREPPS, Jon 1-1; WINES, Joey 1-1; MURPHY, James 1-0; RICHARDS, M. 1-0; GREEN, T.J. 1-0; CATANZARITE, M. 1-0; KASTELIC, Jesse 0-1; MARSHALL, Gavin 0-1; ENGLAND, Nick 0-1. Game Starters: Albany POS ## OFFENSE LT 74 Raphael Nguti LG 78 Andrew Stevens C 75 Kevin Richards RG 72 Nik Schultz RT 76 Jon Leible TE 89 Dan Archer WR 1 Tim Bush RB 3 David McCarty QB 7 Vinny Esposito FB 46 Justin Petersen WR 85 Jason Poore POS ## DEFENSE CB 18 Ross Bertrand DE 96 Eddie Delaney DT 94 Tom Pandolf DE 90 Mike Kelly CB 2 Jean Juste S 22 Dave West OLB 28 Emerson Kinsey ILB 54 J. Brancaccio ILB 24 Mark Peretore OLB 50 Rich Duff FS 31 Dave Casale Robert Morris POS ## OFFENSE LT 57 MARGERUM, Ian LG 69 RODGERS, Brad C 73 MILLER, Sam RG 77 KONYCKI, Corey RT 79 JONES, Maurice TE 86 FLOWERS, Regis SE 84 EVERS, Sherrod FB 34 LINK, Jeff QB 7 CWALINSKI, Erik HB 3 RUSS, Myles FL 21 O'QUINN, James POS ## DEFENSE CB 16 SNIDER, James DE 61 SMOOT, Shannon NG 97 WALTON, Andy DE 32 SZYMANSKI, Mark CB 28 BATHOLD, Rolf SS 30 PITTMAN, David OLB 8 LAWRENCE, Adam ILB 6 DiMICHELE, Alex ILB 31 MILANAK, Ian OLB 58 WILLIAMS,Robert WS 24 LANDERS,Michael Player participation: Albany: 4-Chris Lynch, 5-L.B. McCloskey, 8-Devin Wooten, 9-Frank Blasinsky, 11-D. Bocanegra, 12-Dan Di Lella, 13-Herb Glass, 19-Daniel Avery, 20-Colin Simmons, 25-Chris Kenneally, 26-Justin Gannon, 27-Jeff Benway, 30-Chris Blais, 34-Duane Harper, 37-Kareem Cooper, 38-Garrett Askew, 43-Raymond Dorcely, 51-Chris Simpson, 53-Nick Krajacic, 55-Kyle O'Keefe, 57-Chris Wilk, 58-Jake Ciccarello, 62-Andy Sparano, 64-Vince Gonzales, 66-Matt Faughnan, 71-Keith Peifer, 80-Luke Weaver, 87-John Lullen, 91-Trevor Anderson, 93-Kyle Hussey, 95-Zach Gallo, 99-Wil Moushey. Robert Morris: 2-GREEN, T.J., 4-COLEMAN,Anthony, 9-BLANCHARD, M., 11-CROUSE, Camdin, 12-JOHNSON,Raphael, 17-RICHARDS, M., 19-CLAWSON,Garrett, 22-KEIL, Josh, 23-KASTELIC, Jesse, 26-NOWELL, Barry, 29-KING, Shadrae, 35-CATANZARITE, M., 36-MURRAY, Karey, 39-WINES, Joey, 40-FRUND, Eric, 49-ENGLAND, Nick, 51-NAVARRO, Elias, 52-KREPPS, Jon, 55-MURPHY, James, 67-ROBERTS, Chris, 70-ANDRADE, Carlos, 81-KOZAK, Chris, 83-JOHNSON, Greg, 90-MARSHALL, Gavin, 92-SCHIRTZINGER,N., 95-CATLEY, Ryan.

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Players Mentioned

Trevor Anderson

#91 Trevor Anderson

DT
6' 2"
Sophomore
Dan Archer

#89 Dan Archer

TE
6' 3"
Senior
Garrett Askew

#38 Garrett Askew

S
6' 1"
Sophomore
Daniel Avery

#19 Daniel Avery

CB
5' 9"
Redshirt Freshman
Jeff Benway

#27 Jeff Benway

FS
5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
Ross Bertrand

#18 Ross Bertrand

CB
5' 11"
Sophomore
Chris Blais

#30 Chris Blais

OLB
6' 0"
Sophomore
Frank Blasinsky

#9 Frank Blasinsky

QB
6' 0"
Junior
Daniel Bocanegra

#11 Daniel Bocanegra

WR
6' 1"
Senior
Tim Bush

#1 Tim Bush

WR
5' 9"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Trevor Anderson

#91 Trevor Anderson

6' 2"
Sophomore
DT
Dan Archer

#89 Dan Archer

6' 3"
Senior
TE
Garrett Askew

#38 Garrett Askew

6' 1"
Sophomore
S
Daniel Avery

#19 Daniel Avery

5' 9"
Redshirt Freshman
CB
Jeff Benway

#27 Jeff Benway

5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
FS
Ross Bertrand

#18 Ross Bertrand

5' 11"
Sophomore
CB
Chris Blais

#30 Chris Blais

6' 0"
Sophomore
OLB
Frank Blasinsky

#9 Frank Blasinsky

6' 0"
Junior
QB
Daniel Bocanegra

#11 Daniel Bocanegra

6' 1"
Senior
WR
Tim Bush

#1 Tim Bush

5' 9"
Senior
WR