SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
2009 Cortaca Jug Game
Cortland (7-2) vs. Ithaca College (6-3)
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009; 12 p.m.; Butterfield Stadium; Ithaca, N.Y.
Game televised live on Time Warner Cable Channel 17 (Cortland County) and Channel 16 (Tompkins County)
Game broadcast live on WXHC, Homer (101.5 FM and www.wxhc.com)

More Broadcast Information
Cortaca Press Conference Interviews (courtesy of Steve Cuce and Mike Millstein)
Read Steve Cuce's weekly interview with Head Coach Dan MacNeill

THE MATCHUP: Cortland makes the approximately 20-mile trip to rival Ithaca College for the annual “Cortaca Jug” game. The Red Dragons enter the game with a 7-2 record, including victories in each of their last four games. Ithaca is 6-3 after knocking off previously undefeated Alfred University last Saturday.

THE SERIES: This is the 51st time that Cortland and Ithaca are playing for the Cortaca Jug. The schools actually started playing in 1930 and have met every year since 1948. Ithaca leads the overall series 38-26-3. In 1959, however, Cortland captain Tom Decker and Ithaca captain Dick Carmean originated the Cortaca Jug as the prize for the winner of the “Route 13 Rivalry.” Each year, the game's result is printed on the Jug. The first Jug ran out of room for scores in the mid-1980's, necessitating a second Jug that sports the most recent results.

Ithaca leads the Jug series 33-17, which does not include the Bombers' 1988 NCAA playoff win over the Red Dragons. Ithaca has won the last two games, but Cortland is 7-6 versus the Bombers since 1996. Last year, Ithaca denied Cortland a perfect 10-0 regular-season record with a 35-13 win in front of 10,300 fans at Cortland. Brian Grastorf, filling in for injured quarterback Dan Juvan, threw two TD passes to Kyle Crandall and ran for a pair of 1-yard scores.

Dan Ruggiero rushed 27 times for 96 yards and a touchdown and Crandall finished with four catches for 111 yards, with one of his scores an 80-yard catch-and-run late in the first half. Cortland's points came on two Jeffrey Lang field goals and a Bill Smith 12-yard return of a Cody Allen blocked punt. Andrew Giuliano rushed for 135 yards on 18 carries in the loss. Ithaca intercepted four passes in the second half – three by Jason Chier. Three of the four picks came in the end zone and the other at the Ithaca 2-yard line.

Ithaca won 40-17 at home in 2007, while the Red Dragons won in overtime both in 2006 (23-20 in Cortland) and 2005 (37-30 at Ithaca). Cortland also edged the Bombers in 2003 (16-15 at Ithaca) and 2002 (16-12 in Cortland). Of the last 12 games, nine have come down to the final two minutes with the outcome in doubt. The only games in that span that weren't close were the last two contest and the 2004 game in Cortland, when Ithaca pulled away from a 23-22 lead late in the third quarter to win 47-22.

CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland enjoyed its best offensive day of the season in a 56-42 victory at Brockport to wrap up New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play last Saturday. The Red Dragons are guaranteed to finish third in the 10-team league behind Kean and Montclair, which are each 8-0 prior to their league-deciding matchup this Saturday. The Red Dragons will finish outside of the top spot in the NJAC for the first time since the 2004 season – Cortland tied for first in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and won the league outright in 2008.

Senior Eric Hajnos caught 12 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns at Brockport. He tied the school record for TD catches in a game, which he already held a share of, and he is the fourth player in school history to register more than 200 receiving yards in a game. Alex Smith completed 22-of-33 passes for 324 yards, a career high, and four touchdowns. Dom Sair rushed 19 times for 155 yards, and his four touchdowns matched his career best set earlier in the season at Buffalo State.

After allowing 35 points and 359 yards in the first half, Cortland's defense rebounded to give up only seven points and 132 yards to the Golden Eagles in the second half as the Red Dragons rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit. Cody Allen made a career-high 18 tackles, nine solo, and his two sacks thwarted Brockport's final drive in Cortland territory. Will Schroeder made a career-best 15 tackles and intercepted a pass, while Bobby Somerville recorded 10 stops and two pass breakups. Cortland finished the day with seven sacks.

Sair leads Cortland's rushing attack with 118 carries for 645 yards (5.5 per carry) and 13 touchdowns. Since making the move from fullback to tailback four games ago, Sair has rushed for more than 100 yards three times (163 vs. Western Connecticut, 104 at William Paterson and 155 at Brockport).

Smith took over as starting quarterback for the Western Connecticut game and is 50-of-87 passing (57.5 percent) for 635 yards and seven touchdowns. Smith started the season as a graduate assistant coach after playing in 2004, 2005, 2006 and one game in 2007. He suffered a knee injury in the sixth game in 2006, then was injured again in the 2007 season opener and was out the rest of the year. He worked as a volunteer coach in 2008 and started this season as a graduate assistant coach. Cortland starting quarterback Dan Pitcher suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in mid-September versus Rowan, prompting Smith to seek for and eventually receive a waiver from the NCAA that allowed him to return to the playing roster in early October.

Hajnos leads the team with 44 catches for 662 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing the Montclair State game due to injury. He ranks second at Cortland with 20 career touchdown catches, three behind Neal Heaton Jr's 23 TD grabs from 2001-04. Hajnos is also third at Cortland with 2,025 career receiving yards (behind Steve Ellis – 2,375 from 1991-94 and Heaton with 2,065) and is tied for fifth at Cortland with 124 career receptions.

Linebackers Allen and Schroeder lead the team with 68 and 67 tackles, respectively. Defensive end Bryan Wiley has 64 tackles, including nine sacks and 16 total tackles for losses, while defensive end Evan Wyler's 58 tackles include team-highs of 9.5 sacks and 17 tackles for losses. Cornerback D.J. Romano has a team-high four interceptions. Senior Kyle Peterson averages 38.8 yards per punt, with 14 of his 41 attempts pinning teams inside the 20-yard line compared to only three touchbacks. Sophomore Marc Corrado has made 29-of-31 point-after kicks and 5-of-7 field goals. Corrado has made 27 straight PAT kicks over the last eight weeks, including eight at Brockport, after going 2-for-4 in the season opener versus Morrisville.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 13th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 87-48 (.644) ranks first at Cortland in winning percentage and second in victories. Carl “Chugger” Davis is the school's victory leader with a 105-67-17 mark between 1932-62 (no games from 1943-45 due to World War II). MacNeill has led Cortland to seven postseason berths – NCAA showings in 1997, 2005 and 2008 and ECAC appearances in 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007. His 2008 squad won two NCAA tournament games before losing to eventual champion Mount Union in the quarterfinals, and was honored with the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy and the ECAC Div. III Team of the Year awards.

MacNeill is a 1979 Cortland alumnus and played linebacker and defensive tackle from 1975-78. An assistant coach at Division I-AA Villanova University from 1984-1996, MacNeill is Cortland's 11th head coach since the school's modern era of football began in 1924. MacNeill served as linebackers coach at Villanova and was the team's defensive coordinator from 1988-96. MacNeill is 6-6 versus Ithaca.

A LOOK AT...ITHACA COLLEGE: Ithaca improved to 6-3 and extended its streak of consecutive winning seasons to 39 by defeating undefeated Alfred University, 31-10, in Ithaca last Saturday. The streak is the second-longest nationally at any level of college football. Brian Grastorf tied his career high with four touchdown passes, including two to Thomas Vossler. Grastorf finished with 254 passing yards and eclipsed the 3,000-yard career mark in only his 10th start. Grastorf ranks fifth all-time at Ithaca with 31 career TD passes. Dan Ruggiero rushed for a season-high 116 yards and linebacker Ryan Clarke made a career-high 16 tackles.

Grastorf has completed 60.4 percent of his passes (191-of-316) fro 2,220 yards and 22 touchdowns. Vossler and Dan Ruffrage each have 45 receptions for more than 600 yards. Vossler leads the Bombers with eight touchdowns. Ruggiero averages 94.5 rushing yards per game in four games and Thomas Bergerstock is averaging 50.1 yards per game on the ground with four touchdowns in seven outings.

Eric Toporoff has a team-high 69 tackles and David Ahonen has made 62 tackles. Joe Gilfedder and Spence White lead the team with four interceptions apiece. Andrew Rogowski has made 9-of-12 field goals, including a pair of 43-yarders, and 29-of-31 point-after kicks. He also averages 32.7 yards per punt with eight inside the 20-yard line versus no touchbacks.

Head Coach Mike Welch is participating in his 29th Cortaca Jug game as head coach, assistant coach or player. He took over as Ithaca's head coach in 1994 and has an overall record of 127-45 (.738), including an 8-7 record against Cortland.

NOTEBOOK:

* Punter Kyle Peterson was named the NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance at Brockport last Saturday. He averaged 38.5 yards per punt, and three of his four kicks pinned Brockport inside the 20-yard line. Two of the punts were downed inside the 5-yard line in the fourth quarter.

* Alex Smith was named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week after he completed 22-of-33 passes for 324 yards and four touchdowns last week at Brockport. Smith's return to quarterback this fall has allowed him to continue moving up Cortland's career passing charts. He now ranks third at Cortland with 42 career TD passes, fourth with 405 completions and fourth with 5,055 passing yards. His 42 TD passes are three shy of second place (45, J.J. Tutwiler, 2000-03) and six shy of first place (48, Ray Miles, 2005-08). His 405 completions are four short of third place (409, Miles), with Dick Puccio leading the category at 451 (1988-91) and Tutwiler second at 447. Tutwiler holds the lead with 6,007 yards, followed by Miles (5,683) and Puccio (5,366).

* Cortland has recorded 30 sacks this season, including seven last week at Brockport, and ranks eighth nationally in Division III with 3.3 per game. The Red Dragons have recorded at least 30 sacks each of the last nine seasons, including 50 or more in both 2005 and 2006. Cortland's 50 sacks in 2006 were the best nationally in Division III. The Red Dragons set a school record with 52 sacks in 2005 (sacks have been officially tracked at Cortland since 1982).

* Freshman Justin Autera became the first Cortland player in 76 years to return both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the same game Oct. 17 versus Western Connecticut State. He ran back the opening kickoff of the second half 79 yards and scored again on a 59-yard punt return early in the fourth quarter. He matched Wilbur “Bill” Bergstrom, who accomplished the feat versus Trenton State in 1933.

* Last week's 56-42 victory at Brockport featured the most combined points ever scored in a Cortland football game. The previous mark of 96 occurred in a 62-34 loss at Springfield in 1998. In addition, Brockport's 42 points are the most ever allowed by a Cortland team in a victory. The previous record of 37 points came in the 2008 season opener at Morrisville (51-37). Cortland has won eight games in school history when allowing 30 or more points.

* Junior wide receiver Anthony Giuliano has thrown two passes in his collegiate career, and both were TD passes this season. He threw a 54-yard TD pass at William Paterson and a 4-yard TD pass versus The College of New Jersey. This keeps the Giuliano family perfect in the passing department at Cortland. Anthony's brother, Andrew, threw one pass in his four-year career as a Red Dragon running back from 2005-08 – a 6-yard TD toss versus Montclair State in 2007.

* Cortland finished 7-2 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference this fall and is a combined 33-5 (.868) in NJAC games since the start of the 2005 season. Overall, since joining the league as an affiliate member in 2000, the Red Dragons are a combined 50-17 (.746) in league play.

* Cortland and Ithaca rank in the top 30 nationally in Div. III in the following team and individual statistics:

CORTLAND:

Sacks, 8th, 3.3/game
Tackles for Losses, 14th, 8.4/game
Total Defense, 21st, 258.9 yards/game
Kickoff Returns, 24th, 22.6 yards/return
Rushing Defense, 30th, 92.4 yards/game

Evan Wyler, 10th, Tackles for Losses, 1.9/game
Evan Wyler, tied 13th, Sacks, 1.1/game
Justin Autera, 13th, Punt Returns, 14.1 yards/return
Bryan Wiley, tied 16th, Sacks, 1.0/game
Bryan Wiley, tied 21st, Tackles for Losses, 1.8/game
Kyle Peterson, 28th, Punting, 38.8 yards/punt

ITHACA:

Punt Returns, 15th, 13.6 yards/return

Dan Ruffrage, 14th, Punt Returns, 13.9 yards/return
Andrew Rogowski, tied 19th, Field Goals, 1.0/game


Cortland's Weekly Award Winners (game date/opponent in parentheses)

Justin Autera, Fr., Running Back/Kick Returner
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 17 vs. Western Conn. St.)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 17 vs. Western Conn. St.)
NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 31 vs. The College of New Jersey)

Phil Bossman, Fr., Safety
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 10 at Montclair St.)

Steven Lenhart, Fr., Safety
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Sept. 19 vs. Rowan)

Kyle Peterson, Sr., Punter
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 26 vs. Kean)
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 7 at Brockport)

Dan Pitcher, Jr., Quarterback
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12 vs. Morrisville)
ECAC Southeast Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12 vs. Morrisville)

Alex Smith, Gr., Quarterback
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Nov. 7 at Brockport)

Bobby Somerville, Jr., Linebacker
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 3 at Buffalo St.)

Bryan Wiley, Sr., Defensive End
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 19 vs. Rowan)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 17 vs. Western Conn. St.)

Evan Wyler, Sr., Defensive End
NJAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12 vs. Morrisville)
ECAC Southeast Co-Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12 vs. Morrisville)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 24 at William Paterson)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 31 vs. The College of New Jersey)

SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (7-2)

Sept. 12  * MORRISVILLE ST.           W 26-17
Sept. 19  * ROWAN (NJ)                   W 24-14
Sept. 26  * KEAN (NJ)                       L 10-24
Oct. 3      * at Buffalo St.                  W 42-13
Oct. 10    * at Montclair St. (NJ)         L 7-16
Oct. 17    * WESTERN CONN. ST.        W 35-6
Oct. 24    * at William Paterson (NJ)    W 12-10
Oct. 31    * THE COLLEGE of N.J.        W 30-7
Nov. 7     * at Brockport                     W 56-42
Nov. 14    at Ithaca                            12:00

* NJAC game (7-2) (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)

ITHACA (6-3)

Sept. 5     at St. Lawrence                  W 45-0
Sept. 12   at Union                             L 21-24
Sept. 19   WIDENER (PA)                   W 41-17
Sept. 26   * at Utica                           W 27-24
Oct. 3       * at Hartwick                     W 24-20
Oct. 10     * ST. JOHN FISHER             L 17-40
Oct. 17     at Frostburg St. (MD)         W 20-10
Oct. 31     * at Springfield (MA)          L 26-47
Nov. 7       * ALFRED                         W 31-10
Nov. 14     CORTLAND                       12:00

* Empire 8 game (3-2) (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)

CORTLAND vs. ITHACA – SERIES RECORD
(Ithaca leads overall series 38-26-3 and Cortaca Jug series 33-17)


Year    Winner       Score      Site
1930    Cortland    12-0        Cortland   
1931    Ithaca       12-6         Ithaca
1932    Tie             0-0          Ithaca
1933    Tie             6-6         Cortland   
1934    Ithaca        7-0         Ithaca

1948    Cortland    19-0       Cortland
1949    Cortland    32-7       Ithaca

1950    Ithaca        7-6        Cortland
1951    Ithaca        13-6       Ithaca
1952    Cortland    39-6       Cortland
1953    Cortland    32-0       Ithaca
1954    Tie             13-13    Cortland
1955    Cortland    28-0       Ithaca
1956    Cortland    37-0       Cortland
1957    Cortland    32-13      Ithaca
1958    Cortland    16-6       Cortland
1959    Cortland    13-7        Ithaca

1960    Ithaca        12-6       Cortland
1961    Ithaca        34-0        Ithaca
1962    Ithaca        24-12      Cortland
1963    Ithaca        22-7        Ithaca
1964    Cortland    16-0        Cortland
1965    Ithaca        13-12      Ithaca
1966    Cortland    24-11      Cortland
1967    Cortland    11-7        Ithaca
1968    Cortland    34-13      Cortland
1969    Ithaca        36-28      Ithaca

1970    Cortland    7-0          Cortland
1971    Ithaca        21-13      Ithaca
1972    Cortland    21-16      Cortland
1973    Ithaca        41-33      Ithaca
1974    Ithaca        34-33      Cortland
1975    Ithaca        21-6        Ithaca
1976    Ithaca        28-12      Cortland
1977    Ithaca       38-17       Ithaca
1978    Ithaca        27-13      Cortland
1979    Ithaca       42-7         Ithaca

1980    Ithaca        24-7        Cortland
1981    Ithaca        42-0        Ithaca
1982    Cortland    21-17      Cortland
1983    Ithaca       49-26       Ithaca
1984    Ithaca       42-6         Cortland
1985    Ithaca       41-0         Ithaca
1986    Ithaca       40-12       Cortland
1987    Ithaca       37-15       Ithaca
1988    Cortland    21-20      Cortland
1988    # Ithaca    24-17       Ithaca
1989    Ithaca       28-0         Ithaca

1990    Ithaca       28-14       Cortland
1991    Ithaca       23-14       Ithaca
1992    Cortland   22-20       Cortland
1993    Ithaca       32-14       Ithaca
1994    Ithaca       15-13       Cortland
1995    Ithaca        35-19      Ithaca
1996    Cortland    41-13      Cortland
1997    Cortland    33-28      Ithaca
1998    Ithaca       37-29       Cortland
1999    Cortland    26-21       Ithaca

2000    Ithaca        19-14       Cortland
2001    Ithaca        21-14       Ithaca
2002    Cortland    16-12       Cortland
2003    Cortland    16-15       Ithaca
2004    Ithaca        47-22       Cortland
2005    Cortland    37-30 (OT)  Ithaca
2006    Cortland    23-20 (OT)  Cortland
2007    Ithaca       40-17       Ithaca
2008    Ithaca       35-13       Cortland

# NCAA quarterfinals