The Alfred State football team will head to the NCAA Division III tournament for the second straight year following a 39-37 victory over Anna Maria in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) Championship game.
Alfred State will take on Endicott College (Beverly, MA) in the first round on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Noon. The Gulls are 9-1 and won the Conference of New England Championship. The winner of this first round contest will advance to play SUNY Cortland.
In the ECFC Championship game, the Pioneers jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the first half. Justin Horvath connected on a 39-yard touchdown to Elijah Georges. In the 2nd quarter, Nicholas Cuomo scored from seven-yards out and from two-yards.
Anna Maria scored the final 16 points of the 1st half to cut the Pioneers lead to 19-16 heading into the 2nd half.
Horvath connected with Georges on a 33-yard scoring play on the first drive of the 2nd half to add to the lead. After an AMC touchdown, Horvath connected with Matthew Mancuso on a 23-yard pass play to make it 33-22 heading into the final fifteen minutes.
Josh Graham ran in from three-yards out to make it a three-score lead 39-22 with 6:10 left in the game but the AMCATS would not go away. Anna Maria scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 4:10 of the game to pull within 39-37 but the Pioneers recovered the on-side kick attempt with 20 seconds remaining to seal the game.
Horvath finished 13-27 for 235 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Cuomo tallied two touchdowns and 41 yards on nine carries. Graham rushed for 77 yards on 13 carries while Georges had two receptions for 72 yards and two scores.
Silas Egenlauf notched 12 tackles to lead the defense while Nick Johnson tallied eight tackles and an interception. Chris Bergman added four tackles and an interception as well Alfred State has now won the ECFC title two straight seasons.
Last year, the Pioneers qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time and traveled to Mount Union.