Coming off a season during which he scored 17 touchdowns and amassed over 1,700 all-purpose yards, Brockport senior Denzel Knight picked up right where he left off to open the 2012 campaign. The 2011 AGR first-team running back carried the load against HF-L on Friday night, scoring six touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils to a 41-20 win.
“Denzel was special tonight,” said Brockport head coach Scott Nugent. “He is a great player with an outstanding work ethic. It was fun to watch him tonight as he helped up get our first win.”
Knight finished the night with video game-like numbers: 24 rushes for 268 yards and four touchdowns, along with four receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns. His night had the potential to be even more impressive, but a 55-yard touchdown run was called back after a holding penalty.
“I was a little nervous before the game, but I felt good,” said Knight. “The offensive line did a great job tonight, and I stayed patient and waited for the holes to open up. We all wanted to come out and play hard for our coaches.”
Nugent, in his 15th year with the program, took the field on Friday night for the first time as Brockport’s head coach. He had worked the previous 10 years with former head coach Greg Pelletier, who passed away in February after a battle with bladder cancer. Along with a memorial plaque that will be dedicated to Pelletier prior to the Blue Devils’ first home game, the team will honor their fallen coach through sportsmanship, integrity and hard work both on and off the field.
“There was definitely a few pre-game jitters before this first game,” added Nugent. “You think you have prepared and done everything to get your team ready, but you never know if you are fully prepared as a first-time head coach. We tried to make sure we were sound in the basics, and everything worked out well tonight.”
Brockport got its offense rolling on the opening drive of the game. After a quick pass to the flat for a gain of four yards, Knight followed with three consecutive first down runs. The Cougars had a chance to gain momentum early on the next play, but the Blue Devils were able to recover their own fumble and retain possession. Two plays later Knight took a screen pass from quarterback Tom Sydeski, made a few nifty moves behind his downfield blockers, and crossed the goal line to give Brockport a 6-0 lead.
Coming off a season during which he scored 17 touchdowns and amassed over 1,700 all-purpose yards, Brockport senior Denzel Knight picked up right where he left off to open the 2012 campaign. The 2011 AGR first-team running back carried the load against HF-L on Friday night, scoring six touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils to a 41-20 win.
“Denzel was special tonight,” said Brockport head coach Scott Nugent. “He is a great player with an outstanding work ethic. It was fun to watch him tonight as he helped up get our first win.”
Knight finished the night with video game-like numbers: 24 rushes for 268 yards and four touchdowns, along with four receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns. His night had the potential to be even more impressive, but a 55-yard touchdown run was called back after a holding penalty.
“I was a little nervous before the game, but I felt good,” said Knight. “The offensive line did a great job tonight, and I stayed patient and waited for the holes to open up. We all wanted to come out and play hard for our coaches.”
Nugent, in his 15th year with the program, took the field on Friday night for the first time as Brockport’s head coach. He had worked the previous 10 years with former head coach Greg Pelletier, who passed away in February after a battle with bladder cancer. Along with a memorial plaque that will be dedicated to Pelletier prior to the Blue Devils’ first home game, the team will honor their fallen coach through sportsmanship, integrity and hard work both on and off the field.
“There was definitely a few pre-game jitters before this first game,” added Nugent. “You think you have prepared and done everything to get your team ready, but you never know if you are fully prepared as a first-time head coach. We tried to make sure we were sound in the basics, and everything worked out well tonight.”
Brockport got its offense rolling on the opening drive of the game. After a quick pass to the flat for a gain of four yards, Knight followed with three consecutive first down runs. The Cougars had a chance to gain momentum early on the next play, but the Blue Devils were able to recover their own fumble and retain possession. Two plays later Knight took a screen pass from quarterback Tom Sydeski, made a few nifty moves behind his downfield blockers, and crossed the goal line to give Brockport a 6-0 lead.
After a missed point after attempt, HF-L responded in the blink of an eye. Senior Ryan Quackenbush (a 1,000 yard rusher in 2011) fielded the ensuing kickoff at his own 8-yard line and returned it 92 yards to the house, tying the score at 6-6. The extra point made the score 7-6 in favor of the Cougars, but it was all Brockport after that until late in the first half.
On its next possession Brockport mixed the run with the pass to move the ball into Cougar territory. HF-L twice had the Blue Devils in late down-and-long situations, but were unable to come up with a key stop to halt the drive. Sydeski connected with classmate Tyler Murtaugh for 18 yards on third-and-15 to give the Blue Devils a new set of downs, then three plays later, on fourth-and-15, Sydeski found Knight for his second receiving touchdown of the game, a 25-yard strike. A two point conversion run by Knight brought the score to 14-7.
Brockport regained possession late in the first quarter when Alex Alvarez stepped into the passing lane and came up with the Blue Devils’ first of three interceptions on the night. The team converted a fourth-and-two to keep the drive alive, and then gave the ball back to their star. A 26-yard run by Knight brought the Blue Devils inside the HF-L five yard line, and he followed the next play with a two yard jaunt into the end zone to give Brockport a 20-7 lead with 10:30 left in the half.
Knight scored his fourth touchdown of the game eight minutes later after Brockport regained possession following a missed field goal by the Cougars. From his own 25-yard line Knight took a hand-off to the right side and made a cut up field. After losing control of the ball he was able to recover his own fumble and complete the play, outrunning the HF-L defenders up the right sideline for a 75-yard score.
With 1:42 left in the half, HF-L quarterback Alex Obenhofer found Andrew Segar for a 55-yard touchdown strike to cut the lead to 28-13. However, the Cougars were unable to carry that momentum into the second half. With good field position after the kickoff Brockport aggressively pursued another score. The Blue Devils again turned to their workhorse running back, giving Knight the ball on a hand-off at the 40-yard line and watching him follow his blockers into the end zone for his fifth touchdown of the affair.
Trailing 34-13 to start the second half HF-L received the ball first after differing the opening coin toss. Quackenbush got his team and the crowd back into it quickly, as he took the first play from scrimmage 85 yards up the left side of the field for a touchdown. A successful extra point cut the lead to 34-20, but that would be all the scoring for the home team Cougars.
After the teams traded three-and-outs to close out the third quarter, Knight closed the game’s scoring early in the fourth. With 10:45 left on the clock Knight crossed the goal line from 22 yards out, giving him his sixth touchdown of the day and tying him for second most in a game in Section 5 history.
“This is a great way to start the season,” added Knight. “As a team we want to win another championship, and then keep it going in sectionals. We just want to continue to get better all season.”
The Blue Devils finished the 2011 season with a regular season record of 8-0. Champions of the Monroe County West A division, they fell to McQuaid in the Class A semifinals. With the return of Knight and Sydeski, Brockport will likely be right near the top again at the end of this season.
The Cougars will return to practice this week to prepare for Eastridge next Saturday. Also under a first-year head coach, they will look to improve their tackling while maintaining some of the positives that came out of the second half against Brockport.
“I was really pleased with how the team came out in the second half and didn’t hand their heads,” said head coach John Russ. “We played them even for the last 30 minutes and we started to move the ball, so we will look to keep that going. On the defensive side of the ball we need to be a little more sure with our tackles, but we faced a touch opponent tonight and we will work hard on improving.”
In his first season as head coach, Russ will look to build off the strong foundation the HF-L program has to offer. With long-time coach Bill Donegan back on the sidelines as offensive coordinator, it is likely to be soon when the Cougars find themselves approaching their 2011 record of 8-3.
