Bison Best AMCATS, 53-26, in ECFC Opener

PAXTON, Mass.—The Anna Maria College football team opened Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) play with a 53-26 loss to the Bison of Gallaudet University on Saturday afternoon at AMCAT Field.

The win was the first of the season for the Bison, who improve to 1-2, while the AMCATS fall to 0-4. The game was the league-opener for both teams.

The Bison totaled 481 yards of offense, including 418 rushing yards, en route to the win. The AMCAT offense recorded 202 yards of passing offense but finished with negative rushing yards to total 166 yards on the day.

Sophomore quarterback Gregory McGoldrick (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was credited with all 202 passing yards as he completed 14 of 34 pass attempts for three touchdowns, all of which were caught by Ryan McCarthy (Deer Park, N.Y.). The sophomore wide receiver totaled 125 yards on six catches.

After falling behind 15-0 on back-to-back scores by the Bison in the first five minutes of the game, McGoldrick and McCarthy teamed up for their first touchdown of the day with a 19-yard completion with 8:10 still to play in the first quarter. A blocked extra-point attempt set the score at 15-6

Gallaudet's Eric Setzer (Middletown, Conn.) would see success on a 24-yard field goal 5:04 later for the three-point boost, and the Bison would net one final first-quarter touchdown, as Brandon Capuano (Lexington, N.C.) recovered a botched AMCAT punt attempt in the end zone. A successful extra-point attempt by Setzer would give the Bison a 25-6 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Bison added two more touchdowns in the second half to take a 38-6 lead before the AMCATS began a three-score rally of their own, beginning with a defensive fumble-recovery by the AMCATS on the Gallaudet 11-yard line, ultimately setting up for the one-yard touchdown run by Christopher Bettano (Tewksbury, Mass.) with 30 seconds left to play in the half. 

The AMCATS added on to their run with the only two touchdowns of the third quarter. McCarthy caught a 29-yard touchdown at the 7:45 mark, followed by a three-yard pass from McGoldrick with 1:13 left to play.

The Bison refused to let the momentum swing in Anna Maria's favor any longer and senior linebacker Greg McConville (Frederick, Md.) intercepted the AMCATS' two-point conversion attempt and returned it the entire length of the field for a two-point defensive PAT. The score made it a two-possession game, 40-26, in favor of Gallaudet.

The Bison defense would stifle the AMCATS offense in the final quarter, holding the offense to just 5:55 of offensive time, while scoring two touchdowns of their own on big runs. David Jones scored three minutes into the fourth quarter on a 42-yard run, while BJ Flores (Raymondville, Texas) added a 54-yard touchdown run just 36 seconds later following a three-and-out by the AMCATS.

Flores had a big day for the Bison, as he totaled 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Braxton Baker (Webb City, Mo.) added 118 yards on the rush, while Jones, John Anderson (Clarksville, Tenn.) and Brian Freeman (Fremont, Calif.) all tallied rushing touchdowns.

The Bison defense was paced by Toby Canterbury (Chicago, Ill.) with a team-high six tackles. Gallaudet totaled seven sacks on the day, including two for 17 yards by Devante Walters (Rockdale, Ga.). The Bison defense also recovered two fumbles by Capuano and Montray Roberts (Dallas, Texas) and saw Carneilus Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) record an interception.

Anna Maria's Mike Sinto (Long Island, N.Y.) totaled a game-high 12 tackles on the day, 11 of which were solo. Tyler Rocha (Cranston, R.I.) and Jacob Achelus (Stamford, Conn.) tallied five tackles each.

AMCAT defenders Tyler Jacobs (New Bedford, Mass.) and Mike Kennedy Jr. (Naugatuck, Conn.) both recorded sacks on the day, while Joe Colao recovered two fumbles for the AMCATS.

Today's game concludes a three-game home stand for the AMCATS, who will travel to Castleton for a 1:00 p.m. ECFC game next Saturday. Gallaudet will host Becker next Saturday at noon.