CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Monday, October 14, 2002
Erie Community College, ranked ninth in the latest NJCAA poll, scored 14 unanswered second-half points and held on to defeat Hudson Valley Community College 21-13 on Saturday, October 12 on the campus of Hudson Valley. The Vikings drop to 3-3 and 2-2 in the Northeast Football Conference (NFC).
The Vikings got on the board first after Larry Starks II (Watervliet, NY/Watervliet) took the short opening kickoff to the Erie 46 yard line. Following a sack that dropped Hudson Valley back to its own 49 yard line, Emmanuel Marc (Spring Valley, NY/Spring Valley) took the handoff up the middle for the 51-yard score. Marc finished the game with 97 yards rushing on 20 carries.
The lead didn't last long as Erie tied the game up with a 90-yard return on the ensuing kickoff.
Hudson Valley reclaimed its advantage with 2:06 remaining in the half when quarterback Ryan Gribulis (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) found tight end Anthony Martinez (Albany, NY/Colonie) over the middle for a 31-yard score.
Hudson Valley held Erie, who entered the game averaging 359.8 yards per-game, to only 199 yards of total offense including only 53 yards in the first half. Mike Miller (Akron, OH/Firestone) and John Howell (Columbia, SC/Lower Richland) each had nine tackles to lead Hudson Valley. Francis Brown (Camden, NY/Woodrow Wilson) ran his season interception total to four with two picks on the day.
Marc leads the NFC with 109.2 rushing yards and 130.7 all-purpose yards per game. His 97 yards against Erie stopped his consecutive 100-yard game streak at two, but was still quite an accomplishment considering Erie entered the game having allowed a total of only 106 (26.3 ypg) yards rushing over its first four games. Marc has scored a touchdown in four of the last five games and has five scores on the season.
Brown's four interceptions are tops in the NFC and his nine pass break-ups places him second in the conference.
Starks has been an all-purpose special teams player for the Vikings. He averages 35.4 yards per return on kickoffs and 11.6 yards per punt return. He also is averaging 34.3 yards per punt, which is second in the NFC.
Upcoming Football Action: Saturday, October 19, at Alfred, 1:30 p.m.