Pioneers and Bulldogs Set to Battle Saturday

The wait for the Alfred State College football team to play on campus is nearly over as the Pioneers are working on final preparations for Saturday's 2008 season opener versus Stevens Tech (Lancaster, PA).  Saturday's 3 p.m. kickoff will mark the first football game played on the college's new athletic complex and the first game in the programs 13-year history to be played on campus.

The Pioneers (3-7 in 2007) play Stevens Tech as their season opener for the fifth straight season.  ASC fell to the Bulldogs last year in a back and forth contest that saw Stevens score in the final minute for a 22-21 victory.  Last year's loss snapped Alfred State's five year streak of winning season openers.

Stevens Tech (7-3 in 2007) will be playing their second game of the year after downing Delaware Valley College JV last week.  The Bulldogs are members of the Seaboard Football Conference and fight for the conference top spot year after year.

The contest will be the debut of Michigan Player of the Year running back DeAndre Johnson (Detroit, MI) in the Pioneers Blue & Gold.  Johnson rushed for over 7,000 yards in his high school career at Madison High School.  Geoff Hicks (Cleveland Hill) will make his first start at quarterback after playing wide receiver all last season.

On the defensive side, Bill Drake (Hornell) will complete the switch to the defensive side and line-up at nose tackle.  Rod Streater (Burlington, NJ) will also make his collegiate debut as the projected starter at free safety after missing last season with an injury.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. with live broadcast of the game available on 92.1 WCKR out of Hornell and live internet feed through TEAMLINE