The Brockport Golden Eagles dominated the Hartwick Hawks 56-0 in front of a large crowd for homecoming weekend. The win moves the Golden Eagles to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play as Brockport begins its journey for an Empire 8 championship.
Brockport dominated the game from the very first play as the opening kick by Hartwick bounced right to senior wide receiver Daniel Manneh, who would return it 80 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0 Brockport after a Sal Montaperto PAT.
“Touchdown, that’s all I’m thinking, touchdown,” Manneh said on his thoughts when the opening kick bounced right to him.
Despite this start, Hartwick’s first Drive looked to be a promising one as the Hawks drove 54 yards deep into Brockport territory. The drive stalled though when on fourth down, Hartwick quarterback Dennis Riordan’s pass was intercepted at the goal line by sophomore defensive back Liam Nealy. After this drive it was all Brockport the rest of the way.
On the ensuing drive, Brockport took the ball 72 yards and finished off the drive with a 23-yard touchdown from junior quarterback Ben Gocella to Manneh, his second touchdown of the day, to put the Golden Eagles up 14-0.
Brockport’s defense once again stopped Hartwick and forced a punt on the following drive. Manneh returned the punt for Brockport and took it 67 yards to the house for his third touchdown of the opening quarter to make it 21-0 Brockport.
To close out the first quarter, the Golden Eagles forced a fumble on a strip sack of Riordan, which was recovered by Luca Friedman. On the very next play, junior running back Isaiah Simmons took a run up the middle 26 yards to the house as Brockport led 28-0 after one.
In the second quarter, the Golden Eagles added another two touchdowns from Luke Lockhart and Simmons to make the halftime score an astonishing 42-0.
In the second half, the Golden Eagles did not take their foot off the gas as Brockport added two touchdowns in the third quarter. The first touchdown was by way of a 39-yard scamper by graduate running back Quamir Jenkins while the following came from a Tyler Ronk 49-yard reception from freshman quarterback Zymier Jackson to make the final score 56-0 in favor of Brockport.
On the day for Brockport, Gocella went 11/17 through the air for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson got the most action at quarterback he’s seen all season and finished the day 4/5 for 91 yards and a touchdown through the air.
On the ground, it was once again Simmons who led the Golden Eagles with 90 yards and two touchdowns, all of which came in the first half. Jenkins totaled 65 yards and a touchdown, Jackson rushed for 43 yards, both Aidan Kennedy and Austyn Gollnitz had 11 yards, and Sameer Thomas contributed 4 yards, rounding out the rushing attack for Brockport.
On the receiving end, Ronk led the way for Brockport with 49 yards and a touchdown on one reception, Daniel Manneh had 45 yards and a touchdown on three receptions, while Luke Lockhart had 44 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. Nathan Williams had two catches for 32 yards and Simmons recorded 28 yards on three receptions.
Defensively for Brockport, leading the shutout effort was safety Jahmere Clarke with five total tackles, also with five tackles were linebackers Felton Howard and Jonathon Cranker. Defensive tackle Jayson Thomas recorded four tackles and one pass breakup, while edge rusher Alan Ramirez-Jimenez recorded three tackles and two sacks and edge Carroll Dolshun had two tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
“We’re going to be the best D-line in the nation, we got to act like it and play like it too,” Ramirez-Jimenez said on the play of the defensive line for Brockport, which held Hartwick to 10 yards rushing.
“We’re all aggressive, we get to that ball by any means necessary,” added Thomas on the mentality of the defensive line.
In special teams, Manneh returned two punts for a total of 68 yards and one kickoff for 80 yards, recording one touchdown from both a punt and a kickoff return. Micah Harry also saw some action as he returned two punts on the day. In the kicking game, Montaperto drilled all seven of his PATs while Zach McGowan was perfect on his one attempt.
“Whenever Dan touches the ball, whether it be offense or special teams, we got a chance,” Brockport head coach Jason Mangone said on Manneh’s three-touchdown performance.
“If we want to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves, it’s bigger than playing well when it’s 42-0. You only get 10 of these, and if you waste an opportunity to play well in one of these 10, then you’re only erasing time for yourselves, and we’re not going to allow that to happen,” Mangone said. “I’m glad with the energy our guys played with. We got to clean up a few minor things and keep this train moving.”
Next up for the Golden Eagles, they will travel to St. John Fisher to take on the Cardinals in the annual Courage Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 4. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.
