Jarrena's Fourth-Quarter Touchdown Lifts Green Bay Past Buffalo
Riley Kade — JRSports One
Jairo Jarrena's five-yard touchdown run with 10:32 left in the fourth quarter gave Green Bay the lead for good, and the Freeze beat Buffalo 31-20. The win moved Green Bay to 7-0 and left Buffalo at 3-5.
Buffalo led 20-17 after three quarters, and Green Bay had trailed for most of the first half. Jarrena's touchdown made it 24-20 and was the turning point. Green Bay then scored 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points, and the three lead changes of the game all came in the second half.
Buffalo struck first. Amaury Calada hit Parker Hairt for a 40-yard touchdown at 12:32 of the first quarter, and Gustavo Zie's 45-yard field goal at 1:16 made it 10-7. Clay Breswood's three-yard touchdown run at 5:37 had tied the game at 7-7 before that. Andrew Lendford's 20-yard field goal at 4:44 of the second quarter tied it 10-10, and Zie's 27-yard field goal at 0:42 gave Buffalo a 13-10 halftime lead.
Green Bay took control in the third quarter. Ryan Harkton hit Breswood for 40 yards to the Buffalo 37 at 14:16, and Rhett Brays scored on a two-yard run at 9:31 to make it 17-13. Hyun-woo Yaingzaki answered with a five-yard run at 4:23 that put Buffalo back ahead, 20-17. Jarrena's score at 10:32 then made it 24-20, and Ismael Tentuez's three-yard run at 0:27 closed the scoring at 31-20.
Two turnovers shaped the first half. At 9:01 of the first quarter, Brady Crardley's big hit forced a fumble that Green Bay recovered on Buffalo's drive. At 14:21 of the second quarter, Seo-jun Mungta recovered a Breswood fumble for Buffalo.
Harkton completed 20 of 30 passes for 298 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Breswood ran 23 times for 139 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 65 yards. Calada completed 23 of 31 for 260 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions for Buffalo. Hairt caught 11 passes for 118 yards and a score, and Yaingzaki ran for 92 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Eli Gusson had seven tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble for Green Bay, and Javier Dienduz led Buffalo with 14 tackles.
Cesar Nun, Green Bay's strong safety, was ruled out with a fractured hand and is expected to miss five weeks; Marcus Jitmore replaced him. Heath Woordson, Buffalo's fullback, was ruled out with a concussion, and Mungta was ruled out with a hamstring strain. Troy Whoorkings left Green Bay's game with an ankle injury and is listed as questionable.
Green Bay outgained Buffalo 461 yards to 337, and the Freeze are now the only unbeaten team in the league at 7-0.
