CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, October 11, 2003
The Hudson Valley Community College football team raced out to a 19-3 halftime lead and held on for a 26-23 win over Erie Community College earlier today in Orchard Park. Erie entered the contest ranked 15th in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll and had never lost a home game in the three year history of the program, a streak which spanned 11 games.
Hudson Valley improves to 5-1 on the year and sports a 3-1 record in the Northeast Football Conference (NFC). The Vikings can clinch at least a share of the conference title with a win over Alfred State College next Saturday at Veterans Memorial Field in Troy. The Pioneers, who rolled to a 52-0 win over Williamson Trade today, will enter the game with a 5-2 record. Kick off is set for 1 p.m.
Sophomore running back Emmanuel Marc (Spring Valley/Spring Valley High School) carried the ball 27 times for 205 yards; including a 70-yard touchdown run that gave Hudson Valley a 7-0 lead six minutes into the opening quarter. He also caught three passes for 35 yards in the game.
Marc, who has amassed 1,107 rushing yards thus far this year, has become the only player at Hudson Valley to rush for more than 1,000 yards in two different seasons. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in nine straight games and currently leads the NJCAA with 184.5 rushing yards per game.
The Vikings stretched their lead to 13-0 when sophomore quarterback Ryan Gribulis (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley High School) found freshman Durell Dukes (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth High School) over the middle for a 48 yard touchdown pass with 4:48 remaining in the opening quarter. Dukes caught five passes for a career-high 109 yards on the day.
Gribulis then found sophomore tight end J.J. Nesheiwat (Poughkeepsie/Arlington High School) from 30 yards away to give Hudson Valley a 19-0 advantage. Gribulis completed 16 of 27 passes for a career-high 224 yards and three touchdowns on the day.
Trailing 19-3 midway through the third quarter, the Katz got back in the ballgame when quarterback Mike Currie (Jamestown/Southwestern High School) hit Joe Blahowicz (Alden/Alden High School) from 16 yards away to cut the Hudson Valley lead to nine points.
However, the Vikings were able to score the decisive touchdown with two seconds remaining in the third quarter when, on a fourth down play, Gribulis hit Nesheiwat from 17 yards out to give the Vikings a 26-10 lead. The 19-yard drive was set up by a 60 yard punt return from freshman Damion Malott (Akron, OH/Akron North High School).
Currie completed 16 of 32 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns to lead Erie (4-2/2-1 NFC). Terrin Usher (Rochester/East High School) had 74 yards on 23 carries.
Freshman linebacker Shonda Faulkner (Poughkeepsie/Poughkeepsie High School) had 12 tackles to pace the Hudson Valley defense. Sophomore linebacker John Howell IV (Columbia, SC/Lower Richland High School) had 11 tackles while Malott came away with two interceptions, including one on the Hudson Valley 10 yard line with six seconds remaining to clinch the game for the Vikings.