SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Playing its first game in 643 days, the No. 15 Union College football team made some noise with a decisive 48-14 win over Morrisville State College on Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
"It's been a long time since I had to play a full game," said senior William Bellamy. "I can tell you that the excitement was second to none. We were flying around, came out here with a mindset, played hard and got the W."
"I'm so happy for the players," added head coach Jeff Behrman. "They've been through a lot and I think it's harder on the student-athlete to miss a whole season. For me, I knew I was going to be coming back and doing this, this year. For some of them, they weren't sure they were going to be able to come back and do it, so for them to be able to experience this again and be on the field, is tremendous. So happy for them."
The Union offense moved the ball all game long against the Mustangs, finishing with 484 total yards - 327 passing yards and 157 rushing yards. On the defensive side of the ball, the team held Morrisville State to only 38 rushing yards on 27 carries and forced a key interception late in the third quarter. Seniors Colin Lama and Cam Adams and junior Thomas Cavallo led the team defensively with seven tackles apiece.
Bellamy had an excellent game under center for Union, completing 20-of-25 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Andre Ross Jr. caught two of those touchdowns and finished with 159 receiving yards on nine receptions.
The Dutchmen marched down the field on their first drive and never looked back. After a pair of completions to Ross and two short runs, Bellamy connected with first-year Robbie Tolbert on a 25-yard pass to put Union up 7-0 with the newcomer's first collegiate catch. Senior Ike Irabor added to the lead with a three-yard run up the middle to put Union up 14-0 with 8:28 left in the quarter. The visiting Mustangs answered with a touchdown of their own with 5:04 left to cut the lead to seven after one quarter.
Bellamy connected with a wide-open Robbie Hermann on a 19-yard pass for the senior's first career touchdown with 11:16 left in the second. Ross Jr. added to the scoring a few minutes later with his first touchdown of the day on a 32-yard pass into the back corner of the endzone to put the Dutchmen up 28-7 with 8:49 to go in the second quarter.
Sophomore Michael Fiore muscled his way through the Morrisville defense on a 3rd & 2 for the lone score late in the third quarter. Sophomore Cole DaSilva picked off Morrisville's Alek Britten on the final play of the third quarter, catching a tipped pass and returning it 33 yards. Union capitalized on the interception early in the fourth when Bellamy found a waiting Ross Jr. in the endzone for a 16-yard score to give the Dutchmen a 41-7 lead.
Morrisville State added one more score to the board late in the fourth, but the Dutchmen proved to be too much. Sophomore Liam Hoye provided one final highlight late in the fourth quarter, blocking a punt and scooping it up for a touchdown to seal the victory.
"It certainly allows us to gain some confidence," added Behrman. "But like I told the team, that game's over. We've turned the page and now we have to get back to work tomorrow and start looking at how we can improve. I think the mark of any good team is how much we can improve from week one to week two. Even though the scoreboard says one thing, we're going to turn that film on and there's still going to be a lot of things we're going to correct in all three areas of the game and also with coaching too."
The Dutchmen return to action on Saturday, September 11, at Worcester State University. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m. from John Coughlin Memorial Field.
#15 Union Dominates Morrisville State in 2021 Opener
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20210904_yrty.xml
2021
Morrisville State
14
Union
48
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morrisville State (0-1) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Union (1-0) | 14 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 48 |
Sep 04, 2021