Spencerport's Covella leads Eagles

Junior quarterback A.J. Covella (Spencerport) was 21-of-30 passing and two touchdowns as SUNY Brockport defeated Frostburg State (MD) 19-14 in college football to even their record at 2-2.

Covella found Kevin Beaumont on a 13-yard touchdown pass on the Golden Eagles first possession of the game and, later in the first half, hit Mike Mahoney on another 13-yard touchdown to make the lead 17-0.

Brockport would add a safety late in the third quarter after Frostburg scored their first touchdown making it 19-7. The Bobcats scored late to pull within five, but Brockport was able to run out the clock thanks to a roughing the kicker penalty.

Covella threw for 280 yards and ran 15 times for another 47 yards. The Golden Eagles ran 78 plays total and held the ball for over 38 of the game's 60 minutes.

"I wasn't in rhythm and I had a lot of throws where I didn't make a good read today, but we came out with a win," said Covella after the game. "We lost a heartbreaker against Salisbury (in week two) after leading at halftime, so now we need to win out - that's our season."

Linebacker John Walther ranks fifth in the nation averaging 14.3 tackles per game and Brian Wise ranks 27th in the country in punt returns averaging 12.5 yards per return with one touchdown. The team battled ninth ranked Ithaca College on the road Saturday.

October 2, 2005