The Brockport Women’s Flag Football team hosted the SUNY Geneseo Knights in their inaugural season home opener. Although the Golden Eagles began to find momentum heading into the second half, their offense went cold and did not score again for the rest of the game, allowing Geneseo to pull away with a 21-13 victory.
“We had our first inaugural game,” Brockport Flag Football head coach Charisse Everett said. “It’s inspiring. We came out here, we gave everybody a show, we played hard until it was 0:00 on the clock. So, the future is bright, and I’m proud of these girls.”
SUNY Geneseo won the coin toss and deferred to the second half as Brockport received the opening kick off. Quarterback Megan Gerber displayed her strong scrambling abilities, rushing for 30 yards in Brockport’s first drive.
Both teams followed turning over on downs through their first possessions, Gerber then threw an interception to Geneseo defensive back Madelyn Jordanov on the second Golden Eagles drive.
Following multiple penalties from Brockport, Geneseo took advantage of the turnover as quarterback Ella Koopman threw a 66-yard touchdown to Kenna MacKenzie to open scoring. Koopman converted on the point-after-attempt (PAT), putting the Knights up 7-0 over Brockport.
Following a false start on the Geneseo offense from wide receiver Abigail Uhrich, the Knights punted back to Brockport. Quarterback Madison Beardsley tossed a pass to tight end and punter Trelani Harper who ran through the Geneseo defense, without losing a flag, into the endzone for Brockport’s first score of the day early in the second quarter.
Gerber was just short on the PAT, leaving the Golden Eagles trailing 7-6.
“I think Maddy [Madison Beardsley], the other quarterback, and I have good teamwork. If I’m quarterback or wide receiver, and she’s quarterback, I think we can use our strengths to our advantage. I do like when I can run; I know I can use my speed to my advantage. I love when Maddy’s in, too. I think we have some good teamwork.”
Following another Geneseo punt, the Brockport offense continued its strong passing attack. Following multiple completions, including an impressive catch from Brockport receiver Hannah Roxstrom, Beardsley found Harper again for her second touchdown of the game. Gerber converted the PAT with a designed quarterback run to the right boundary, putting the Golden Eagles on top 13-7.
Geneseo got the ball before the end of the half. Following a holding call on the Brockport defense, On fourth down with one minute remaining in the half, Koopman found MacKenzie in the endzone on a short rollout pass. The PAT was good, as Geneseo retook the lead, up 14-13 with one minute left in the first half.
Brockport received the ball with less than a minute left in the second quarter. Beardsley hit Gerber for a small gain. Beardsley displayed her strong connection with Harper once again, finding her in the air for the first down on the following play.
In the final play before halftime, Beardsley threw a quick pass to Roxstrom over the middle of the field but could not get to the boundary as the clock ran out on the first half of play.
The Knights began the second half with the ball. Following a deep incompletion to MacKenzie, the Brockport defense forced a Geneseo punt early into the third quarter. The Brockport offense was not able to convert, going three and out following a deep incompletion from Gerber intended for first year Addy VanDewater in double coverage.
Geneseo once again took advantage, as Geneseo wide receiver and kick returner Natalia DiPalma returned the Brockport punt 57 yards for a touchdown. Koopman was successful on the following PAT, as the Knights increased their lead to 21-13.
“I think in the future we need to realize what the other team is doing differently and adjust to that,” Gerber said. “But I think we’ll be good. First loss, it’s okay, and we’re on the road on Friday, and we’ll win that one.”
Following a Brockport three-and-out, Koopman threw an interception to Brockport defensive back Jaianna Byrd. Unfortunately, Brockport did not capitalize on this turnover, as the offense once again went three-and-out, punting back to Geneseo with just four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, Brockport stopped Koopman’s run on 4th and goal. Brockport continued their streak of being unable to capitalize on turnovers though, as Gerber threw her second interception to Geneseo center and linebacker Malene Comeau and Geneseo took over at the Brockport 38.
After both teams were unable to score, Brockport got the ball back, still down 21-13 to Geneseo. Following an incomplete pass to Roxstrom, Geneseo called a timeout. Beardsley then connected with Harper and Gerber on the drive, but was not able to find the back of the end zone.
From there Geneseo held the ball the rest of the time. The Knights ended the game kneeling out the clock, as Brockport lost by eight to and Empire 8 foe.
“Do our roles and responsibilities, for one,” Everett explained about the loss. “For two, this is flag football. We’re reaching for shorts when we should be reaching for the flag belt, so stop trying to bail out by not doing what we’re supposed to do. Do what we’re supposed to do and we’ll be fine.”
Although ending the game cold on offense, Everett believes their game planning for Elmira will remain the same, ensuring the proper adjustments will be made for their next Empire 8 matchup.
“We have a solid game plan,” Everett stated. “We’re just going to adjust to what Elmira does. So, we’ll watch film on Elmira, and we’ll make adjustments based upon that. But overall, I think that our game plan was good. We just, ourselves, made some silly mistakes.
Harper led Brockport in receiving yards (66) and touchdowns (2), being the only Golden Eagle to make it into the endzone. Her play will continue to boost her confidence as the season goes on.
“It’s a big confidence boost,” says Harper. “I think it’s going to help me on Friday.”
Although unable to capture victory in her inaugural home game at Brockport, Harper can reflect on her team being resilient in the face of adversity.
“We didn’t give up,” Harper said. “We just kept going, even though we missed some stuff.”
Beardsley ended the game as Brockport’s leading passer, going 17/24 with 135 passing yards and two passing touchdowns and a long of 22 on the day.
Gerber led the Golden Eagles on the ground, finishing with 86 yards on 16 carries, averaging 5.4 yards per carry with a long of 21 yards. Beardsley contributed on the ground with 45 yards on four carries as well.
Harper led Brockport in receiving yards and touchdowns, snagging five catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns. VanDewater caught four passes for 50 yards. Roxstrom had the longest catch of the day of 22 yards, while catching 5 total for 41 yards. Gerber ended up as the top target in the passing game, bringing in 7 catches for 32 yards. Br
Wide receiver and safety Lauren Cundra led Brockport in stops, with six total flag pulls. Roxstrom continued to show her consistency on both sides of the ball, snatching four flags for herself, while leading the Golden Eagles in sacks and on the day with two. She also tied with the most tackles for loss of the game with running back and rusher Karina Rozhevenko, both finishing the night with two. Jaianna Byrd made the only interception of the day for the Golden Eagles, while making three stops of her own and one pass breakup (PBU). Defensive Back Ariana Kennedy finished the day with her own PBU and three flag pulls.
With the loss to Geneseo, Brockport Flag Football falls to (2-2/1-1) on the year. The Golden Eagles will travel to face an Empire 8 foe, Elmira College (2-2/0-2) this Friday, April 3. Coin toss is scheduled for 4.pm.
