Bulls fall short in comeback

It was a nice Sunday afternoon for a football game in Buffalo. Only this Sunday, the home football game in Buffalo did not include the Bills.

Due to the horrific weather just a few days before, the game between the Buffalo Bulls (1-5 overall, 0-4 MAC) and the Miami (OH) RedHawks (1-6, 1-2) was postponed from Saturday to Sunday. With a driving ban still on the town of Amherst and an unusual start time, a meager amount of fans saw the Bulls fall by a score of 38-31.

Despite having scored the games' final ten points, the Bulls were unable to complete the comeback as Miami obtained its first victory of the season.

"I'm disappointed," said Bulls head coach Turner Gill. "I thought we played with a lot of energy and a lot of heart today. We played very hard, but I think at some points we even played a little too aggressive."

The game needed to be played for Mid-American Conference play. Buffalo does not have a week off until for the rest of the regular season, so officials had few options.

After both teams started with drives that concluded in punts, the Bulls received the ball and drove 75 yards down the field for the opening score. Freshman James Starks had seven carries for 68 yards on the drive, including a 38-yard scamper down the right sideline for the touchdown. It was the longest run of his career.

The RedHawks responded with a touchdown of their own. Mike Kokal completed a pass to Ryne Robinson for 22 yards, which gave Miami a first and goal from nine yards out. Kokal rushed for eight yards before Austin Sykes ran it across the goal line on the next play.

Miami was next to score again, this time Andre Bratton completed the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to give Miami the lead.

With less than a minute before halftime, Bratton fumbled in Miami territory after a hit by senior Jeff Bublavi. Buffalo junior Trevor Scott picked it up and ran towards the end zone before he lost the ball inside the five-yard line. The ball rolled across the goal line and junior James Judges fell on it for a touchdown.

The defensive touchdown tied the game up and the teams went to the locker room tied in a 14-14 halftime gridlock.

Buffalo got on the scoreboard first in the second half due to good field position. Freshman Naaman Roosevelt returned a punt to the Miami 39 before a facemask penalty added 15 yards. Sophomore quarterback Drew Willy finished the drive when he completed a pass to freshman Jesse Rack. It was the first career touchdown for Rack.

Miami went on to score the next three touchdowns. Bratton and Sykes each added their second rushing touchdowns of the day around a touchdown reception by Jake O'Connell. RedHawks' kicker Trevor Cook also added a field goal.

Despite trailing by 17 points, Buffalo did not quit. They had to punt on their next possession, but freshman Kendri Hawkins recovered a fumble to give the Bulls the ball back. Willy hooked up with Roosevelt for a 45 yards and a touchdown just over the right pylon on the first and only play of the drive.

With the game closer, the Bulls opted to try an onside kick. After a successful recovery, Willy connected for 30 yards on a pass to Starks. The drive stalled, but the Bulls added a field goal to pull within seven.

With the score at 38-31 the Bulls tried another onside kick, but were not successful as the ball bounced out of bounds. The RedHawks took control of the ball and ran out the clock, notching their first conference victory.

Miami had four interceptions, which often resulted in a short field to work with. In the fourth quarter, their average starting position was at the Buffalo 35 yard-line.

"That's football," Scott said. "People are going to make plays. As a defensive unit, we need to step up and stop them."

There were some controversial penalties, but Coach Gill did not disagree and accepted the blame for the calls.

"The referee is always right," Gill said. "They make the calls and I understand that. We have to eliminate unforced errors"

Starks finished with 113 yards rushing and a touchdown to go along with 68 yards receiving. He emphasized the importance of never giving up.

"No matter what happens, we have to keep our heads up and keep fighting," Starks said. "From the first game until now, we never gave up. Coach (Gill) stresses that."

According to Gill, the weather and unusual situation did not have an effect on the outcome of the game.

"There is always going to be adversity coming around in football, in life," Gill said. "When it comes, you've just got to put that aside. We cannot let circumstances dictate how we play and how we don't play. That had nothing to do with how we played."

The Bulls will travel to play Ohio next Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.