FINAL SCORE: Apprentice School 44, Alfred State 13

RECORDS: Apprentice School 1-5, Alfred State 0-6

LOCATION: Alfred, N.Y.

IN BRIEF: The Builders have three players eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark, with each getting into the endzone twice. The Apprentice School's defense held Alfred State to just 42 yards of total offense.

HOW THEY SCORED

• After the Builders turned over the ball on downs to start the game, the Pioneers took over with prime field position at the Builder 25-yard line. After a Joshua Hinds run for a loss of two, quarterback Ben Wilkerson found Dante Jordan for an 8-yard pass. Wilkerson would then run it in from the 19-yard line to give Alfred State its only lead of the game with 11:42 to play in the first quarter.
• The Apprentice School would respond with their next drive, starting at their own 31-yard line following a James Green return for 21 yards. After a pair of Brandon Jones rushes and a false start penalty moved the team to their own 40-yard line, Brenden O'Neil found some daylight and ran it 60 yards for the score. The rush capped off a 3-play, 69-yard drive and tied the score at 7-7 with 10:16 remaining in the opening quarter.
• On the ensuing Alfred State drive, the Pioneers would fumble on their first play and Akiven Williams would recover to set the Builders up at the Pioneer 16-yard line. Ethan Bryce and Jones traded off several runs before Bryce would punch it in from the 1-yard line. The Builders couldn't convert the extra point, however.
• Halfway through the second quarter, the Builder defense forced a Pioneer punt from deep in their own territory, allowing the Builder offense to start off at the Pioneer 42-yard line. After a 14-yard O'Neil pass to Kyle Flowers moved the ball down to the 28-yard line, runs by Jones and Bryce would set up a 5-yard rushing touchdown for O'Neil. The Builders would take the 20-7 lead into the break.
• The third quarter didn't start off well for the Pioneers as they fumbled deep in their own territory and allow the Builders to capitalize. Ryan Ransom forced the fumble and I. Gordon would recover it at the 16-yard line and return it 6 yards. The Apprentice School would recover its own fumble to get to the 5-yard line and Jones covered the remaining 5 yards on a pair of runs for another Builder touchdown. Lou Picolo would run in the 2-point conversion to give the Apprentice School a 28-7 lead at the 13:25 mark.
• Starting at its own 45-yard line, the Apprentice School marched 52 yards on 13 plays to set up an Austin Wall 20-yard field goal. The kick made it 31-7 with 0:34 remaining in the third quarter.
• The Builder defense forced a turnover on downs to start the final quarter, giving the offense the ball at its own 49-yard line. A 10-play, 51 yard drive was highlighted by a 14-yard run by O'Neil and a 13-yard run by Jones, who would punch it in from the 1-yard line for his second score of the day. The touchdown made it 38-7 with 8:27 left to play.
• Alfred State got its other score on the day on the ensuing kickoff. Romiio Littlejohn fielded a 47-yard Wall kick and returned it 82 yards for the touchdown. The Pioneers would go for the two-point conversion but weren't successful, making the score 38-13.
• With 8:06 to play, the Builders started at their own 25-yard line and drove 75 yards in 10 plays for their final score, a 19-yard rushing touchdown by Bryce. A pair of 14-yard runs by Jones and an O'Neill rush of 13 yards helped set up the score as the Apprentice School took 4:44 off the clock. The Builder defense would force a 3-and-out and the offense would kneel to seal the win.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

• The Apprentice School tallied 21 first downs, compared to just 3 for Alfred State.
• The Builders converted 8-of-17 (47%) third downs while the Pioneers went 1-for-10 (10%). The Builders were also 2-for-4 (50%) on fourth down.
• The Apprentice School racked up 403 yards of total offense while holding Alfred State to just 42.
• The run game was the key to the Builders' success as the team rushed for 381 yards, with 19 of the teams' 21 first downs coming on the ground. The net yards rushing was just 13 yards shy of tying the program single-game record of 394 (vs. Wesley in 1986).
• 10 Builders defenders recorded tackles for loss.
• The Builders possessed the ball for two-thirds of the game (40:35) while Alfred State controlled the ball for 19:25.

NEXT UP

The Builders are on the road next week as they travel to Bluefield, Va. for a 1 p.m. game at Bluefield College. The Rams lead the series 1-0 having won the only other meeting 46-24 on September 13, 2014.