UAlbany football's Tom Perkovich will make homecoming at Buffalo

University at Albany football coach Tom Perkovich said there’s something of Buffalo in his coaching style.

Perkovich, who grew up in nearby Tonawanda, will return to coach his first game in the area when the Great Danes take on the University of Buffalo at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Perkovich also played football and basketball at Canisius University in Buffalo.

“I grew up there, my parents grew up in that area, my wife (too), right?” he said. “It’s a special place. I stayed there and went to school. It’s kind of the area, the town, the place that built me a little bit. That blue collar, steel, Rust Belt type of place that Buffalo is, blue collar is kind of how I’ve always operated as a football coach and how I’ve wanted my teams to play and how they’ve worked.”

The Great Danes reflected that gritty pedigree in Friday’s 28-14 victory over New Hampshire at Casey Stadium in Perkovich’s UAlbany debut. They rushed for 374 yards on 53 carries and four touchdowns to pick up the Coastal Athletic Association victory.

Now, UAlbany turns to nonleague play against the Bulls of the Mid-American Conference. The Great Danes, who belong to the Football Championship Subdivision, are stepping up a level to face a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.

Though Perkovich made coaching stops at four colleges before UAlbany, including the last decade at Division III Susquehanna, his closest game to Buffalo was in Rochester.

“This will be the first time back in my hometown of having to coach a game,” he said. “The short week (of preparation) is tough, going Friday night into Thursday night is a litlte bit tough, but definitely excited to see some family and friends.”

Perkovich, who grew up 10 minutes from the campus, said he’ll need extra tickets at Buffalo’s Broadview Stadium.

“There’s no doubt,” he said. “A lot of people have hit myself up, hit my wife up. Both grew up there, so lot of people definitely want to see what kind of tickets they can get. We try to take care of a decent amount, but there’s still a bunch that have already bought tickets or are already coming, either way. It’s going to be fun.”

The win over UNH in Albany was attended by Perkovich’s parents, Thomas and Lynn, his wife, Brandi, and their three children, along with some of Perkovich’s high school friends.

Dunathan named CAA Defensive Player of the Week

UAlbany junior linebacker Dillon Dunathan, the only Great Dane named to the preseason all-CAA team, got off to a fast start in Friday’s victory.

He had eight tackles, including two tackles for loss, and had an end-zone interception on the opening play of the fourth quarter.

For his efforts, the CAA recognized Dunathan on Monday as its Defensive Player of the Week.

“It’s great, right?” Perkovich said. “You want the guys who are your leaders to be your best players and the way he played the game was the right way. He was all over the place making plays.”

Dunathan and senior defensive lineman Shawan Lewis had back-to-back sacks on UNH’s final drive to turn the ball over on downs. 

The interception came on a blown coverage by UAlbany’s defense that led to a wide-open Wildcats receiver. Dunathan raced over to intercept the pass by Tommy McLeish, who was under heavy pressure from UAlbany’s Jaydon Williams.

“(Dunathan) put the ‘S’ on his chest on that interception,” Perkovich said.

Perkovich said UAlbany was torn on whether to nominate Dunathan or Lewis, who had a pair of sacks, for the weekly honor. They chose Dunathan because he filled the stat sheet.

“He was the guy we thought he was,” Perkovich said. “He came out, he played really well, made the plays he’s supposed to make, made some big plays that maybe he wasn’t supposed to make, just having our back.”

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This article originally published at UAlbany football’s Tom Perkovich will make homecoming at Buffalo.