Buffalo State (0-2) at Albion (0-2) - Saturday, September 21, 2002 - 1:00 p.m. - Sprankle-Sprandle Stadium (Albion, MI)

Series Record

Buffalo State is 1-1 with Albion in two previous meetings during the past two seasons. Albion defeated the Bengals at Coyer Field last season 34-31 in triple overtime when Andy Kline booted a 20-yard field goal. Felix Joyner and Sterling Anderson ran for 87 and 77 yards respectively for the Bengals as the team pounded out 234 yards on the ground.

About the Coaches

Buffalo State is led by second-year head coach Bob Swank who became the Bengals' third head coach since the program's inception in 1981. After a late hire last season, Swank brings his first recruiting class into the mix this season as he and his staff will look to return the program to the postseason for the 11th time in 12 years. Swank came to Buffalo State after spending six seasons as the Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator at Methodist College in Fayetteville, NC. Prior to Methodist, Swank was the defensive backs coach at Midwestern State, and played quarterback and defensive back at Widener University.

Craig Rundle is in his sixth season as the head football coach at Albion College. He has led the Britons to wins in nearly 73 percent of their games and to three Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships. In addition, Albion played in the NCAA Division III playoffs in 1998. His previous coaching experience includes stints at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California, and at Colorado College in the early 1990's.

Previous Meetings:

2001 - Albion 34, Buffalo State 31 (3 OT)

2000 - Buffalo State 41, Albion 17

Last Week?

Division II Mansfield held on to triumph at Buffalo State by a 20-19 score as the Bengals missed a 21-yard field goal as time expired to fall to 0-2 on the season. Mansfield is now 1-1.

Buffalo State got on the scoreboard first with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter when Felix Joyner (Rochester/Hilton) plunged in from three yards out and an Eric Buchanan (Hamburg/Frontier) kick made the score 7-0. On the ensuing drive, Mansfield drove 64-yards on five plays, capped by a 10-yard touchdown catch from Travis Motley to Arnoldo Santiago. Mansfield missed the extra point try, to make the score 7-6. Buffalo State answered the Mansfield score on its next possession with a similar drive of 65-yards on four plays, including a 38-yard run by Joyner and a 20-yard touchdown strike from Mariano Granata (Lewiston/Lewiston-Porter) to Marc Hoppy (Depew/Depew). After another missed extra point, Buffalo State held a 13-6 lead. Mansfield was able to tie the score before the intermission, however, as they blocked a Ryan Cox (Amherst/Williamsville North) punt and recovered on the Bengals' 15-yard-line. Steve Smith ran it in from the one-yard-line just four plays later, and the teams would go to the locker room 13-13.

After forcing the Bengals to punt on their first series of the second half, the Mountaineers took the lead for good at 10:19 of the third quarter when the quarterback Motley pounded the ball in from the 1-yardline. After Jeff Mimm's kick sailed through the uprights, Mansfield grabbed a 20-13 lead. In the fourth quarter, Buffalo State orchestrated a seven-play drive of 45 yards, and Joyner scored his second touchdown of the day from one-yard out. After a second missed kick, the Bengals still trailed 20-19. After trading possessions, Buffalo State pinned Mansfield back to its own four-yard-line with 1:37 remaining after a 70-yard boot by Cox. The Bengals defense held and after a 20-yard punt Buffalo State took over on the Mansfield 27 with just 31 seconds remaining. Bobby Ballard (Buffalo/McKinley) hauled in a Granata pass at the four yard-line with just 22 seconds to play to set up a potential game-winning field goal. After Tom Jakubaszek (N. Tonawanda/N. Tonawanda) recovered a Buffalo State fumble on the next play, the Bengals were forced to call on Cox to try a 21-yard field goal. His attempt missed right, however, as time expired and Mansfield triumphed 20-19.

Joyner led Buffalo State's offense with 125 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns. Granata was 7-for-19 for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Billy Edwards (Buffalo/McKinley) was the leading receiver with four catches for 23 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Michael Pawlikowski (W. Seneca/W. Seneca East) racked up 12 tackles, including seven solo stops and a sack. Tyree Parker (Buffalo/Burgard) also had 12 tackles and John Lesure (Rochester/Greece-Athena) added 10 stops.

Who's Albion?

The Britons are off to a 0-2 start with losses against Wittenberg and Tri-State, 44-7 and 38-0 respectively. In 2001, Albion posted an 8-2 overall record and won its 32nd Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship.

Career Best?

Tailback Felix Joyner (Rochester/Hilton) rushed for a career-best 125 yards in the 20-19 loss to Mansfield on Saturday. The junior who was primarily used as a kick return specialist during his first two seasons also had career-highs with 26 attempts and two touchdowns.

Active Backfield?

Buffalo State's top-three tacklers from the Mansfield game all play in the Bengals' secondary. Michael Pawlikowski (W. Seneca/W. Seneca East) and Tyree Parker (Buffalo/Burgard) each had 12 tackles and John Lesure (Rochester/Greece-Athena) had 10.

Botched Kicking Game?

Buffalo State has made just one extra point this season in four tries, and is 0-for-2 on field goal attempts this season. Dating back to 1999, Buffalo State is 52-for-80 on extra point tries and just 2-for-9 on field goal tries.