SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland (6-2, 6-2 NJAC) vs. The College at Brockport (3-5, 2-5 NJAC)
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009; 1 p.m.; Special Olympics Stadium; Brockport, N.Y.
Game broadcast live on WXHC, Homer (101.5 FM and
www.wxhc.com)
Read Steve Cuce's weekly interview with Cortland head coach Dan MacNeill
THE MATCHUP: Cortland concludes the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) portion of its schedule with a trip to intrastate rival Brockport. Despite a 6-2 league record, the Red Dragons have been eliminated from NJAC title contention (Kean and Montclair are both 7-0 in the league with two games left, and still play each other). Cortland had finished at least tied for first in the NJAC standings each year from 2005-08. The Red Dragons are still hopeful for either an NCAA Division III tournament at-large berth or a spot in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) postseason bowl.
Brockport enters the contest at 3-5 overall and needs wins in its final two games to finish at .500 and be eligible for selection to an ECAC postseason bowl game. The Golden Eagles won the ECAC Northwest Championship last fall with a 70-68 victory at Hartwick.
THE SERIES: Cortland leads the overall series 44-14-2, including victories in three of the last four meetings. Last year, Cortland grabbed a 21-3 halftime lead and never trailed in a 42-30 home win over the Golden Eagles. Andrew Giuliano rushed for 146 yards and four touchdowns, while Ray Miles threw TD passes to Eric Hajnos and Zacc Guaragno. Miles finished 20-of-30 passing for a career-high 348 yards, the fifth-highest single-game total in school history. Guaragno caught eight passes for 156 yards.
Both teams finished with more than 500 yards of total offense in the contest (Brockport 542, Cortland 511). Brockport quarterback Zack Luke connected on 39-of-48 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns, although he was intercepted four times. Felipe Diaz made 12 catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns, Tamere Shannon caught 11 passes for 121 yards and Matt Newman finished with eight receptions for 105 yards.
Cortland linebacker Jim Smith finished with 19 tackles and an interception. Colan Shue made 15 tackles and D.J. Romano intercepted two passes.
The Golden Eagles won in 2007 at home, 28-14, as Garet Lynch rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown and Matt McCormick ran for 118 yards and a score. One of Cortland’s scores came on a Smith 77-yard return of a blocked field goal. Cortland used a late goal-line stand to defeat the Golden Eagles 17-10 at home in 2006. The Red Dragons also posted a 20-10 victory at Brockport to open the 2005 campaign. Brockport won eight times in nine years from 1996-2004, with Cortland’s lone win in that stretch a 21-12 decision in 2002 in the first football game ever played at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.
The series started in 1948, and the teams have played every year except for 1950. Cortland enjoyed a 38-4-2 advantage in the first 44 games of the series.
CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland’s defense allowed only 190 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers in a 30-7 victory over The College of New Jersey in the Red Dragons’ final regular-season home game last Saturday. Dom Sair recorded 19 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown and Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes and completed 10 of 20 tosses for 86 yards and no interceptions. Anthony Giuliano and Eric Hajnos caught TD passes, while Giuliano also threw a short TD pass to fullback Bill Smith. Sophomore Marc Corrado made a career-best 40-yard field goal.
Justin Autera registered 51-yard and 31-yard punt returns that led to a touchdown and field goal, respectively. He also rushed for 67 yards on only five carries and was named the NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Week. Senior defensive lineman Evan Wyler was the Red Dragons’ leading tackler with eight, four for losses. He also totaled four quarterback hurries and was chosen to the D3football.com national “Team of the Week” for the second straight week.
Sair leads the team with 490 total rushing yards, including 352 over the last three games, and has scored nine touchdowns. Hajnos is the top Red Dragon receiver with 32 catches for 442 yards and four touchdowns. Corrado is 5-of-7 on field goal attempts and has made 21-of-23 point-after kicks, including his last 19 tries. Kyle Peterson averages 38.9 yards per punt. Six of his punts have covered 50 or more yards, including both 67-yard and 60-yard kicks last week.
Defensive end Bryan Wiley has made a team-high 56 tackles, followed by Wyler’s 54 and linebacker Will Schroeder’s 52. Wiley leads the team with nine sacks, with Wyler second at 7.5, and the two linemen share the team lead with 15 tackles for losses each. Cornerback D.J. Romano has team-highs of four interceptions and four pass breakups.
Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 13th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 86-48 (.642) 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.
A LOOK AT...THE COLLEGE at BROCKPORT: Senior quarterback Jake Graci threw for 263 yards and completed touchdown passes to four different wide receivers to lead Brockport past visiting Morrisville, 59-28, last Saturday. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Golden Eagles.
Graci completed 16-of-28 passes and was named the NJAC Offensive Player of the Week. Aaron Zurn and Riedrick Alceus each rushed for two touchdowns and Matt Newman caught six passes for 118 yards and one of Graci’s four touchdown tosses. Linebacker Nathan Bull made 10 tackles, eight solo, and intercepted a pass, and Derek Austin picked off two passes. Brockport forced five Morrisville turnovers in the game.
Graci moved into third place on the all-time Brockport list for passing yards in a season with 1,960. Zurn averages 74.8 rushing yards per game and has scored nine touchdowns. Felipe Diaz has 51 receptions for 527 yards and three touchdowns, while Newman has made 38 catches for team reception-highs of 572 yards and five touchdowns. Bull is easily Brockport’s leading tackler with 98 stops, 54 solo, in eight games. He is tied for seventh nationally with 12.3 tackles per game. Bull also paces the Golden Eagles with three interceptions and two forced fumbles.
Brockport 15th-year head coach Rocco Salomone has an overall record of 91-60-1 (.602). Brockport’s career victory leader, Salomone led the Golden Eagles to four straight NCAA tournament appearances from 2000-03. He also served as an assistant coach at Brockport for five seasons before taking over as head coach in 1995. Salomone was a two-year starter at Brockport (1986-87) after stints at Juniata College and East Stroudsburg.
NOTEBOOK:
* When it comes to tackling opponents behind the line of scrimmage, Cortland senior defensive ends Bryan Wiley and Evan Wyler are the best tandem in Division III. Both players are tied for ninth in the country with 1.9 tackles for losses per game, and their combined average of 3.8 per game is better than any other school’s top-two combination. No other Division III team has more than one player ranked in the top 30 nationally in tackles for losses per game.
* With its 6-2 league record, Cortland is now a combined 32-5 (.865) in NJAC games since the start of the 2005 season. Since joining the NJAC as a football-only member in 2000, Cortland has a combined record of 49-17 (.742) in league play and has posted a .500 record in the conference nine of 10 years. Brockport and Morrisville joined the NJAC in 2008, Buffalo State became a member in 2006 and Western Connecticut joined in 2004.
* Cortland and Brockport rank in the top 50 nationally in Div. III in the following team and individual statistics:
CORTLAND:
Total Defense, 10th, 229.8 yards/game
# Kickoff Returns, 11th, 24.0 yards/return
# Scoring Defense, 15th, 13.4 points/game
# Tackles for Losses, 16th, 8.4/game
Rushing Defense, 22nd, 85.6 yards/game
Passing Defense, 22nd, 144.0 yards/game
# Sacks, 29th, 2.9/game
# Punt Returns, 31st, 11.8 yards/return
Pass Efficiency Defense, 34th, 100.5 opponent rating
Net Punting, 46th, 33.4 yards/punt
# Bryan Wiley, tied 7th, Sacks, 1.1/game
Bryan Wiley, tied 9th, Tackles for Losses, 1.9/game
Evan Wyler, tied 9th, Tackles for Losses, 1.9/game
# Justin Autera, 10th, Punt Returns, 14.9 yards/return
Evan Wyler, tied 26th, Sacks, 0.9/game
Kyle Peterson, 28th, Punting, 38.9 yards/punt
D.J. Romano, tied 34th, Interceptions, 0.6/game
BROCKPORT:
Fewest Sacks Allowed, 15th, 0.8/game
Kickoff Returns, 26th, 22.6 yards/return
# Total Offense, 29th, 430.9 yards/game
Scoring Offense, 36th, 34.7 points/game
# Passing Offense, 38th, 264.0 yards/game
# Nathan Bull, Tackles, tied 7th, 12.3/game
Cevon Carter, Kickoff Returns, tied 13th, 27.6 yards/return
# Jack Graci, Total Offense, 35th, 276.6 yards/game
# Felipe Diaz, Receptions, tied 41st, 6.4/game
# NJAC leader in this category
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)
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)
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 (6-2, 6-2 NJAC)
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 1:00
Nov. 14 at Ithaca 12:00
* NJAC game (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)
THE COLLEGE at BROCKPORT (3-5, 2-5 NJAC)
Sept. 5 * at William Paterson (NJ) W 22-19
Sept. 19 FROSTBURG ST. (MD) W 37-32
Sept. 26 * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ) L 39-41
Oct. 3 * at Rowan (NJ) L 20-56
Oct. 10 * at The College of N.J. L 34-48
Oct. 17 * KEAN (NJ) L 22-40
Oct. 24 * at Western Connecticut St. L 44-45
Oct. 31 * MORRISVILLE ST. W 59-28
Nov. 7 * CORTLAND 1:00
Nov. 14 * at Buffalo St. 12:00
* NJAC game (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)
CORTLAND vs. BROCKPORT – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 44-14-2)
Year Winner Score Site
1948 Cortland 19-6 Cortland
1949 Cortland 27-6 Brockport
1951 Cortland 35-13 Cortland
1952 Cortland 45-6 Brockport
1953 Cortland 62-0 Cortland
1954 Tie 12-12 Brockport
1955 Cortland 32-0 Cortland
1956 Cortland 45-0 Brockport
1957 Tie 0-0 Cortland
1958 Cortland 20-6 Brockport
1959 Brockport 19-6 Cortland
1960 Cortland 22-0 Brockport
1961 Cortland 39-0 Cortland
1962 Cortland 13-6 Brockport
1963 Cortland 49-0 Cortland
1964 Cortland 54-8 Brockport
1965 Cortland 26-0 Cortland
1966 Cortland 59-6 Brockport
1967 Brockport 27-20 Cortland
1968 Cortland 7-6 Brockport
1969 Cortland 73-6 Cortland
1970 Cortland 28-0 Brockport
1971 Cortland 20-7 Cortland
1972 Cortland 19-7 Brockport
1973 Cortland 23-6 Cortland
1974 Cortland 28-7 Brockport
1975 Cortland 56-0 Cortland
1976 Cortland 24-0 Brockport
1977 Cortland 28-0 Cortland
1978 Cortland 20-15 Brockport
1979 Brockport 25-13 Cortland
1980 Brockport 41-26 Brockport
1981 Cortland 24-3 Cortland
1982 Cortland 45-20 Brockport
1983 Cortland 17-13 Cortland
1984 Cortland 42-21 Brockport
1985 Cortland 41-6 Cortland
1986 Cortland 21-16 Brockport
1987 Cortland 14-10 Cortland
1988 Cortland 28-13 Brockport
1989 Cortland 49-0 Cortland
1990 Cortland 31-7 Brockport
1991 Cortland 52-14 Cortland
1992 Cortland 62-12 Brockport
1993 Brockport 26-14 Brockport
1994 Cortland 20-14 Cortland
1995 Cortland 21-13 Brockport
1996 Brockport 23-16 Cortland
1997 Brockport 30-28 Brockport
1998 Brockport 28-27 Cortland
1999 Brockport 28-24 Brockport
2000 Brockport 14-0 Cortland
2001 Brockport 17-14 Brockport
2002 Cortland 21-12 Cortland
2003 Brockport 28-14 Brockport
2004 Brockport 42-26 Cortland
2005 Cortland 20-10 Brockport
2006 Cortland 17-10 Cortland
2007 Brockport 28-14 Brockport
2008 Cortland 42-30 Cortland