ONEONTA, NY – A disastrous third quarter led to the downfall of the Hartwick football team on Saturday afternoon, as visiting Rochester forced four turnovers and outscored the Hawks 28-0 in the third period en route to a 42-28 win on the Wright Stadium turf. The win bumps the Yellowjackets up to 3-6 on the year, while 'Wick is now 1-7.
The first quarter was fairly quiet for scoring. Rochester's Shane Bombace missed a 42-yarder wide left, and then the Hawks drove 75 yards for the period's only score. Hartwick utilized a lot of direct snaps to Davien Kuinlan (Bethpage, NY/Plainedge) on the drive, as he rushed eight times for 58 yards, finishing it off with a four-yard score with 2:57 to go.
Rochester's Alex Ortiz picked off a Kuinlan throw near the end of the first, and then completed a 38-yard pass on the first play of the next drive to set themselves up at the Hartwick 20. They eventually got down to the seven-yard line before Michael Lombardi (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) jumped Ryan Rose's pass at the one and saw nothing but green ahead of him, returning it 99 yards to the house. Kevin Roberts' (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) extra point made it 14-0 with 1:45 gone by.
The Yellowjackets would find themselves with primo field position a couple drives later, starting at the Hartwick 35. It took just one play for them to score, as Daniel Papantonis ran it in for the score. Rochester was driving again the next time out, but stalled out at the Hartwick 27 this time as Lombardi broke up Rose's pass to Ryan Pasquali on fourth down. 'Wick would score six more just four plays after that, thanks to a 32-yard Kuinlan pass to Justice Mansfield-Beaulieu (Hartford, CT/Bloomfield) and a gorgeous 31-yard rush from Kuinlan for the score with 5:11 to go. Rochester finished the quarter's scoring with an efficient three-minute drill that saw Will Varney punch it in from a yard out with 14 seconds to go. The Hawks led at the half, 21-14.
After three punts to start the second half, the Yellowjackets drove 50 yards to knot the score up with 5:39 to go. The big plays on the drive were the last two, a 23-yard Rose completion to Peyton Monaco followed by a 12-yard Varney run for six. Things got better for the visitors immediately after, as Jason Garcia's (Yonkers, NY/Yonkers Montessori Academy) pass was tipped and then picked off by Jack Yensel at the Hartwick 39, and he took it to the house for the 28-21 lead. Kuinlan was intercepted on the very next play from scrimmage, this time by Damon Yargeau, and he took it 17 yards to the Hartwick 23. Rochester punched it in shortly after on a one-yard Papatonis rush.
Two more plays from scrimmage later saw another Hartwick turnover and another Yellowjackets defensive touchdown. Garcia dropped back to pass and had the ball knocked out of his hand by Cole McHugh as he went to throw. J.T. Monahan plucked it out of the air and sauntered 13 yards for the score. There was one more turnover to be committed in the quarter, as Kuinlan was intercepted again by Ortiz at the Hartwick 36, although this time the drive ended in a Bombace miss from 44 yards.
There was just one score in the fourth quarter, as the Hawks drove 59 yards over 4:12 for a touchdown, with Mansfield-Beaulieu earning the score on a throw from Kuinlan in the back right of the end zone. It ended up too little, too late, as the Yellowjackets recovered the ensuing onside kick. Although they ended up punting with a couple minutes left, the Hawks could not make anything of it.
Kuinlan and Garcia each completed six passes on the day, with the former throwing for 122 yards, a touchdown, and three picks, and the latter throwing for 63 yards and two interceptions. Kuinlan was used heavily on the ground, rushing 29 times for 185 yards and two scores. Justin LoBasso (Honesdale, PA/Honesdale) had three receptions for 49 yards and a score. Matt Beam (Red Hook, NY/Stissing Mountain) led the receiving corps with four catches for 76 yards, while Mansfield-Beaulieu had three catches for 46 yards.
Defensively, Jake Ely (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) led with nine tackles, including a sack, and two forced fumbles. Jeremy Gerdvil (East Northport, NY/Northport) had seven tackles, two for a loss, and Owen Lawler (Enfield, CT/Enfield) made five tackles and led all players with four pass breakups.
The Hawks outgained Rochester on the day, 357-329, although the game was clearly won on the defensive end. The Yellowjackets forced six turnovers to Hartwick's one.
'Wick closes out their season next Saturday, hosting Morrisville State at 1 p.m. The team's seniors will be honored prior to the game.
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