Anderson, IN- The Alfred State football team dropped a hard-fought match-up against Anderson (IN) in the season opener, 7-6. The Pioneers fall to 0-1 on the season.

On the offensive side of the ball, Justin Horvath went 11-22 on the day for 52 yards, while Noah Currier rushed for 95 yards on 21 carries, with a longest rush of 21 yards. Matthew Mancuso had four receptions for 25 yards.

On the defensive side, Evan Cervantes tallied 11 tackles with three of them for a loss.  Donnell Hall came away with two interceptions. Josh Mallabar and Jordan Nunn finished with eight tackles each, while Ceon Miles III ended the day with seven tackles and a sack.

In the first quarter, after forcing a three and out, the Pioneers got close too striking first but the series stalled after a missed field goal. From there both defenses were able to keep the offenses out of the endzone to keep the score at 0-0 at the halftime break.

Late in the third quarter, the Ravens got on the board with a touchdown to take the 7-0 lead.

The Pioneers rallied late in the fourth to get on the board. After forcing a three and out with less than four minutes left in the game, the Pios started their drive at their own 35. Hovath opened the drive with a 19 yard. Currier followed with back-to-back carries, the first went for seven yards and the second went for 19 yard to put the ball on the Anderson 20-yard line. After four rushes, Currier scored the first Pioneer touchdown of the season on a 10 yard rush up the middle to make it a 7-6 game. After a missed extra-point, the Ravens were able to hold the Pios to win the game.

The Pioneers will be back on the road next Saturday as they to Hamburg, NY to take on the Hilbert Hawks on September 13^th at noon.