Strong 2nd Half Not Enough for Pioneers

The Alfred State football team had a strong 2nd half but were unable to overcome a slow start in a 24-8 home loss to the Apprentice School on Saturday afternoon.

The Builders took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to grab the early lead. Ethan Bryce ran in from five-yards out to cap a six-play 80-yard drive to make it 7-0. After the Pioneers fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Apprentice added to their lead eight plays later when Bryce scored from three-yards out. 

In their first offensive possesion the Pioneers marched all the way down the field and got into the red zone before turning the ball over. The offense didn't have many more opportunities the rest of the half and Apprentice scored twice in the final five minutes of the half to add to their lead. Keith Taylor caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Brenden O'Neil and William Martin hit a 21-yard field goal in the final seconds to make it 24-0 at the break.

Alfred State scored the lone points of the 2nd half early in the 4th quarter when Dashon Turner (West Genesee) connected with Dante Jordan (New York/Law & Public Service) on a 20-yard scoring pass to cap a 98-yard drive. The duo connected again to convert the two-point conversion.

The Pioneers put together another long drive that took them inside the red zone but the blue & gold were unable to add any more points to cut into the lead.

Fred Hendrieth and Bryce both finished with over 100-yards rushing for the Builders. Hendrieth had 115 yards on 15 carries while Bryce had 113 on 26 carries. O'Neil finished 6 for 11 for 101 yards with Taylor catching six passes for 67 yards.

Turner finished 14 for 25 for 185 yards for the Pioneers. Jordan had four catches for 95 yards while Khris Greggs (Rochester/Aquinas) had 46 yards receiving on five catches and 28 yards rushing.

Keshawn Reid led Apprentice with eight tackles while Khris Smith had seven tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery.

Steven Hubick (Fountain Hills, AZ) and Brandon Davis (Lansing) continued to lead the Pioneer defense. Hubick had 16 tackles (seven solo) while Davis had 15 and recovered a fumble. 

The Pioneers gained 269 yards on the day while the Builder had 427. Apprentice had the ball for 37:53 of the game. 

The blue & gold are back in action next Saturday when they travel to Franklin, MA to renew their rivalry with Dean College. Kickoff is slated at Noon (please note new kickoff time).