After a Springfield (3-3) touchdown with a 1:48 remaining in the game, the Pride decided to go for two. But after a delay of game penalty, the 25-yard extra point missed wide left, giving the Golden Eagles the win. Several Springfield coaches were screaming for a time-out with four seconds left as the 25-second clock ticked down, but the request went unheeded by the officials. The ball had been placed on the left hash mark at the request of the Springfield coaching staff in preparation for the two point try. But when the penalty was called, Springfield requested the ball be placed at the center of the field, but a little-known rule states that the penalty must be marched off in a direct line from where the ball was placed on the field. The ball remained on the left hash mark, from where it was kicked. The extra point attempt then sailed just wide to the left.

After a failed on-side kick, Springfield got the ball back one last time at its own 14 yard line with 35 seconds left. But Springfield could advance the ball only 21 yards as the game ended.

The Golden Eagles (3-3) forced a three-and-out to begin the game. McCormick then took the first play from scrimmage for Brockport and found a crease on the right side and made a few defenders miss on his way to a 76-yard touchdown run, giving the Golden Eagles an early 7-0 lead. McCormick’s run was the 6th-longest in school history, and longest for Brockport since the 2000 season.

The Brockport defense created the first turnover of the game on the next play from scrimmage for the Pride on a fumble caused by junior Matt Rice and recovered by junior Kyle Lackie. That gave the Golden Eagles the ball at the Springfield 28-yard line. But the offense could not take advantage and returned the ball to the Pride after coming up short on a fourth down attempt. The Pride then drove 75 yards on 14 plays for a tying touchdown. The drive consumed nearly seven minutes off the clock on the drive, which was capped off by quarterback Chris Sharpe’s (Derry, N.H.) one-yard touchdown run with three and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Golden Eagles regained the lead after a seven-play, 70-yard drive concluding on a 38-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jake Graci to McCormick. The touchdown pass was Graci’s first of his career. The Golden Eagles took a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Each team had four possessions in the third quarter, and seven punts were the result. The lone exception came after a 50-yard punt return by sophomore Jarred Burrell (Cranston, R.I.), setting the Pride offense up at the Brockport seven-yard line. Two plays later, Baldwin Cunningham (Manchester, Conn.) scored on a four-yard run, tying the score at 14-14 with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Sharpe dropped back to pass looking for a receiver down field, but found Brockport safety Alex Grant who intercepted the pass at the Brockport 46-yard line with eight minutes to go in the game. It was Sharpe's first interception of the season. Six plays and 54 yards later the Golden Eagles scored the go-ahead touchdown and what would be the game winning extra point, giving Brockport a 21-14 lead with four and a half minutes remaining. On a third and 13 during the drive, quarterback Jake DerCola, who split time with Graci in the second half, found senior wide receiver Mike Maciejewski down the side-line for a diving over-the-shoulder 28-yard catch to the Springfield 29-yard line. Later, on a third and long DerCola gave McCormick the ball on a delayed hand-off and the senior scampered 30 yards into the end zone for what proved to be the winning touchdown.

Springfield then regained possession and drove 68 yards, resulting in another Sharpe touchdown run (from 10 yards out), cutting the Brockport lead to 21-20.

Offensively, Sharpe rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 41 yards. Cunningham finished with 82 yards on the ground for Springfield.

Defensively, Brian Hess (Kingston, Mass.) finished with 11 tackles, including six tackles-for-loss, while Tom Caporale (Closter, N.J.) finished with 10 stops.

Springfield returns home on Saturday for an Empire 8 tilt against rival St. John Fisher on Homecoming weekend. Kick-off is slated for 1:00 p.m.

published: 10/13/2007