Luke leads Brockport to win over Frostburg

By Michael Thayer
STAFF WRITER

By Mike Pratt, SPORTS INFORMATION Garet Lynch ran for 111 yards on 16 carries, including a 16-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

The Brockport Golden Eagles ended their three-game home stand with a decisive win over Frostburg State (1-2) Sept. 22 38-7. In the win, junior quarterback Zack Luke (17-24-1) showed great pocket presence as his ability to keep composure continues to grow each week.

Cevon Carver, who replaces the injured Tim Hall on kick returns, found incredible field position for Brockport on their first possession, starting the action on Brockport’s 49-yard-line. Luke and running back Garet Lynch (16-111) would assemble a 44-yard drive into Frostburg territory, before senior Matt McCormick (21-78) punched in a six-yard touchdown carry to score first for the Golden Eagles.

Luke would connect with Mike Maciejewski (5-96) later in the first quarter for the second Brockport touchdown, adding to the shutout lead. Brockport would be forced to punt on their third possession, but Garet Lynch would score his own touchdown on the following drive to tally the score to 21-0.

After another successful defensive stand, the Brockport offense came back on the field for their fifth possession. This possession would end in similar success, with Luke landing his second touchdown pass, connecting with Mike Smith (7-58) for three yards. With the touchdown, Brockport would go to the locker rooms with a 28-0 lead.

Even with the dominant offense Brockport put on the field, the stars of the game may have been the defense. There were plenty of contributions from the defense, lead by Kyle Lackie with 10 tackles, with ACFC Defensive Player of the Week Dale Buck tackling nine and Josh Day finding seven himself. The Golden Eagles forced Frostburg into punting situations in their first three possessions, and then a turnover on downs in the fourth. Frostburg would have two more drives end in punting the ball away before they would finally snap the shutout.

After Luke and Smith connected for a second touchdown Saturday afternoon to increase the lead to 35-0, Frostburg finally found the end zone. In a fourth down situation, Frostburg quarterback Andre Dixon (11-19-0) connected with wide receiver Fred Howze (6-31) for an eight-yard touchdown pass.

Late into the final quarter, Brockport’s Jeff Cook would find his first successful field goal of the season with a 28-yard attempt. Cook was a crucial part of the scoring all afternoon, going 5-for-5 in point-after attempts, keeping his streak of consecutive point afters intact at 48 dating back to his high school career and the late field goal. Cook, who has been given the task to fill the shoes vacated by All-American Adam Lanctot, is building a reputation of dependability for Brockport, earning ACFC Rookie of the Week honors.

Moving to a 1-1 record and third place in the Atlantic Coast Football Conference (ACFC) wasn’t the only big news from Saturday afternoon. Lynch moved into 10th place in school history for career rushing yards. Both Lynch and McCormick remain on pace to bring Brockport to their first season with two 1,000-yard running backs. With a combination of the running and passing games, Brockport outgained the Bobcats 486-236 in total yards and had 27 first downs compared to nine for Frostburg State.

Luke had great things to say about the defense after the game, but was also happy with the performance of the offense;

“We’re doing a good job, and we’re getting better every week.” Luke said in a post-game interview.

Luke was also pleased with the pocket protection he had, saying he had guys around him, and “had good protection to make the plays.”

Pocket protection is always a quarterback’s best friend. With time to make the plays in the pocket, and receivers down field to catch the football, a quarterback can take charge of an offense. Luke had both of those on Saturday, and may be able to rely on the same all season, with a veteran offensive line.

  Brockport was able to win their 3-game home stand (2-1), but will now have to face the test of playing on opponent territory. Brockport will hit the road for the first time this season, facing two of the hardest teams on their schedule.

Brockport will visit the Ithaca Bombers this Saturday, and then they visit St. John Fisher the following week.The Cardinals found a win over Ithaca last week, which may give Brockport some more confidence for the weekend.

The Golden Eagles fell to the Bombers 26-7 on their home turf last season, with a much younger Zack Luke, and a running game that relied on one star player. Emotions will be at Butterfield Stadium, with Brockport rolling on a 2 game streak, while the Bombers will be mending wounds of a tough loss at the hands of St. John Fisher.

Last season was a battle of two sophomore quarterbacks, where Zack Luke had 12 receptions in 27 attempts, while Dan Juvan went 16-for-24.

The difference in the game could have been the season high 4 interceptions given up by Luke. This year, both are back with another season experience, and anything could happen.

Michael Thayer will be broadcasting the Golden Eagles game against Ithaca College on WBSU 89.1 FM beginning at 12:30pm Saturday September 29th.