The Alfred State football team led 20-7 after the first 16 minutes in their season opener but William Paterson clamped down and kept the Pioneers off the board the rest of way while scoring the games final 34 points to earn a 41-20 victory.

William Paterson got on the board first after forcing a three-and-out on Alfred State's first possession. Mike Keller connected with Darius Kersey on a 61-yard touchdown on WP's first offensive play of the game.

Neither team could get much offense going until late in the 1st quarter (3:56 remaining) when Jason McMahon (Chatauqua Lake) connected with Khris Greggs (Rochester/Aquinas) on a 40-yard pass play.

After forcing another William Paterson punt, McMahon completed a screen pass to Josh Ashley (Brooklyn/Grand Street). Ashley broke numerous tackles and raced down the sideline to score from 49-yards out.

Five plays later, the Pioneer defense made two consecutive plays. John Garbowski (Mohegan Lake) and Carlisle Philip (Brooklyn/South Shore) combined on a sack and on the next play Garbowski picked off a pass and returned it 54-yards for a score to make it 20-7 (PAT failed).

William Paterson spent the final 14:11 of the 1st half chipping away at the lead. Back-up quarterback James Waldron entered and connected with Malcolm Robinson on a 24-yard scoring play.

Nick DeAngelis sent the game to halftime tied at 20-20 with field goals of 32 and 21 yards in the final 3:40 of the half. The 21-yard field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired.

William Paterson continued where they left off in the 3rd quarter putting together three scoring drives to put the game out of reach. Waldron connected with Robinson for the second time on the day (46-yards), Matt Deiana dove in from one-yard out, and Craig Kimbrough ran in from five-yards out. WP also forced two Pioneer turnovers in the 3rd quarter.

Neither team would put any points on the board in the 4th quarter.

William Paterson racked up 501 total yards and held Alfred State to 254. Waldron finished the day 13 for 20 for 210 yards and two scores, Deiana rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries, and Robinson caught four passes (two for scores) for 106 yards.

McMahon finished 16 for 23 for 172 yards and two scores. Ashley caught six passes for 71 yards (1 TD) while Greggs caught three passes for 58 yards (1 TD). Joshua Hinds (Brooklyn/Boys & Girls) had 17 carries for 41 yards.

Pat Moran led William Paterson with eight tackles while Carlo Caponetta had seven. Dennis Goodman and Jontahan Jackson both recovered fumbles.

Garbowski had a big day for the Pioneer defense. He finished with a game high 10 tackles and two sacks to go along with his interception return for a touchdown. Gerald Bailey (Buffalo/MST Prep), Phillip, and Steven Hubick (Fountain Hills, AZ) all had seven tackles. 

The blue & gold was slowed down by 13 penalties and was only 4 of 16 on 3rd downs.

The Pioneers are home again next weekend for Homecoming 2015 when they host Husson. Opening kickoff is at 1 p.m. Husson fell 39-25 to Alfred University on Saturday.