Bulls football comes out on top in home opener vs. St. Francis
Despite stumbling on the road to start the season, UB football bounced back at home, and then some.
A week after their season-opening loss to Minnesota (2-0, 0-0 B10), the Bulls (1-1, 0-0 MAC) made amends with a dominant 45-6 victory over the St. Francis Red Flash (0-2, 0-0 NEC) on Saturday; showcasing a commanding display in front of an enthusiastic crowd at UB Stadium. Buffalo seized control early and did not let up, producing a statement win for head coach Pete Lembo and the Bulls.
The Buffalo defense came out with a bang, forcing an opening-drive 4th down to start the game. This proved to be the catalyst for their control throughout the rest of the evening. The ensuing punt was blocked by graduate linebacker Connor Henderson, setting up a 17-yard touchdown pass from sixth-year quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson to redshirt junior wide receiver Victor Snow to open the score.
From there, Buffalo poured it on.
With the Buffalo defense preventing St. Francis from achieving a single first down in the opening quarter, UB’s offense took advantage. The Bulls scored on their first three drives of the game, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Red Flash, who struggled to produce anything of value offensively. Senior running back Al-Jay Henderson added a 10-yard rush to extend Buffalo’s lead, marking his second touchdown of the game heading into the second half.
Following the end of the halftime break, Buffalo continued its scoring onslaught. Despite Roberson giving up an interception early in the 3rd quarter, he regained control with back-to-back rushing touchdowns to extend their lead to 38 points. Henderson continued to churn out yardage with his runs, with him and Roberson finishing the night with 190 combined rushing yards.
Buffalo maintained the offensive barrage both on the ground and through the air. Roberson connected on multiple passes, spreading the ball to a variety of targets and keeping the St. Francis defense off-balance. Henderson and the running game churned out more yardage, while the Bulls’ defense forced several punts and kept the Red Flash’s offense stagnant.
St. Francis were able to break their scoring drought late in the 4th quarter, earning their first touchdown of the season, but the Bulls quickly responded with another rush to the endzone. This time, it was Buffalonian and redshirt freshman running back James McNeil Jr; scoring his first career touchdown off of a 26 yard rush to conclude the offensive assault. Buffalo maintained complete control of the game until the final whistle.
Defensively, the Bulls were led by graduate linebacker Red Murdock, who ended the night with a game-high six tackles. By his side was redshirt senior edge Kobe Stewart, who had two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
With their first win of the season under their belts, Lembo and the UB Bulls will look to build off the momentum of this triumph as the year progresses. They will take the field away from home this Saturday to take on Kent State (1-1, 0-0 MAC) to open conference play.
