PLYMOUTH, NH—Buffalo State (3-5) held Plymouth State (1-7) to just 112 yards of total offense and 21 yards in the air, as the Bengals earned a 26-0 victory today at Currier Field.

Buffalo State took advantage of a short field early in the opening quarter when Mike Mikolaichik scored on a five-yard quarterback keeper. The score came just three plays after David Barabas recovered a Plymouth fumble on the Panthers‘ own six yardline.

Plymouth earned great field position of its own later in the quarter, when Dan Fallon recovered a fumble and returned it 43 yards to the Bengals‘ 15 yardline. The Panthers got as close as the eight yardline, before the Bengals forced them all the way back to the 22 with two consecutive losses. Plymouth then missed a 39-yard field goal attempt.

The Bengals‘ next score came just three plays later on the second play of the second quarter. After starting the quarter with a 32-yard reception by Jeff Shostak, Mikolaichik used his legs again, this time running 51 yards for the touchdown.

Later in the quarter, the Bengals extended their lead to 16-0 when Joe Frawley blocked a punt through the end zone for a safety. It was the second blocked kick for a safety in as many weeks for the Bengals.

Following the free kick, Buffalo State needed just two plays to put more points on the board, as Mikolaichik connected with Shostak for a 49-yard touchdown strike, extending the Bengals lead to 23-0 with 1:41 to play in the first half.

The only score of the second half came in the form of a 34-yard field goal by Eric Buchanan with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter.

“Our defense turned in a dominating performance today,” said Head Coach Paul Shaffner. “We were solid in all phases of the game and our kids fed off each other. We got away from what we like to do on offense in the second half, but overall it was a just great team win.”

Mikolaichik finished the game 17-for-29 for 183 yards and was the team‘s leading rusher with 94 yards on eight carries. Shostak totaled 84 yards on three catches. Perry Taglienti led the Bengals defense with 11 tackles, including nine solo stops. Barabas had eight tackles with four for loss. Michael Holbok recorded two sacks for 18 yards, blocked a punt and recovered a fumble.

Plymouth‘s quarterbacks Tye Seastedt and Jimi Lampron combined to throw for just 21 yards, completing just 5-of-13 attempts. Tyler McAniff led the Panthers defense with eight tackles and two forced fumbles.

The shutout was the first for the Bengals since defeating Kean, 38-0, in 1997.