SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland (2-0, 2-0 NJAC) vs. Kean University (1-1, 1-0 NJAC)
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009; 1 p.m.; SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex; Cortland, N.Y.
Game broadcast live on WXHC, Homer (101.5 FM and www.wxhc.com)
TICKETS: $6 adults, $5 students with ID (SUNY Cortland students free with ID), Children 12 and under Free

Read Steve Cuce's weekly interview with Cortland head coach Dan MacNeill

THE MATCHUP: Cortland looks to protect its lead in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) standings as it hosts Kean (pronounced KANE) University. The Red Dragons, ranked seventh in the latest D3football.com national poll and eighth by the American Football Coaches Association, improved to 2-0 both overall and in league play with a 24-14 victory over Rowan. It was a costly win, however, as starting quarterback Dan Pitcher suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the fourth quarter and will miss the remainder of the season. Kean is 1-1 overall and won its league opener last Saturday at Western Connecticut State, 31-24.

THE SERIES: Cortland has won all 13 meetings between the schools. The teams started playing non-league games in 1996, and continued as league opponents when Cortland joined the NJAC in 2000. Of the 13 Cortland wins, 11 have been by double figures – the exceptions were come-from-behind wins at Kean last year (32-28) and in 2003 (23-20). The games at Kean have been closer than those at Cortland – the Red Dragons have won by an average margin of 15 points in seven road games and by 26.3 points in six home games.

Last year at Kean, Cortland trailed 14-10 after three quarters but outscored the Cougars 22-14 over the final 15 minutes for the 32-28 victory. Ray Miles completed 15-of-24 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns, including 6-of-8 attempts for 170 yards and all three of his TDs in the fourth quarter. Jeffrey Lang made five catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. He also kicked a field goal and three extra points, and caught a two-point conversion pass from holder Wayne Wheeler on a broken play. Lang is the only player in school history to record a touchdown, field goal, two-point conversion and PAT kick in the same game.

Anthony Giuliano caught five passes for 56 yards and a touchdown, and his blocked punt set up Cortland's go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Eric Hajnos made four catches for 114 yards, including an 81-yard TD on a wide receiver screen pass. Chris Hanlon led the Red Dragons with 12 tackles, eight solo, and Brian Haas made nine stops and forced a fumble. Matt Berman recorded seven tackles, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass.

Thomas D'Ambrisi completed 34-of-48 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars. Durell Dukes made 14 catches for 155 yards and two scores and James Felton had 10 catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in addition to a rushing score. Joseph Laguna led Kean with nine tackles.

CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland held Rowan scoreless for the final 34 minutes and 25 seconds and defeated the visiting Profs, 24-14, last Saturday. Dan Pitcher completed 14-of-27 passes for 192 yards, including first-half touchdown tosses to Eric Hajnos and Wayne Wheeler. A 21-yard Marc Corrado field goal on the final play of the half gave Cortland a 17-14 lead, and Dom Sair scored on a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

Defensive end Bryan Wiley made a career-high 15 tackles, seven solo, and was named to the D3football.com national Team of the Week. Linebacker Cody Allen's career-best 11 tackles included five solo stops. Freshman safety Steven Lenhart came off the bench early after starter Chris Hanlon was injured and, on his first play, forced a fumble that set up Cortland's opening touchdown drive. Lenhart finished with four solo tackles and was named the NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week. Cornerback D.J. Romano intercepted a pass to thwart a Rowan drive early in the fourth quarter.

With his season-ending injury, Pitcher finishes the year 33-of-54 passing (61.1 percent) for 425 yards and four touchdowns and with 113 rushing yards and one touchdown. Junior quarterback Hudson Woodward finished the game versus Rowan and is the projected starter against Kean. Woodward is in his third season with the Red Dragons – he joined the program as a walk-on in 2007 and earned a spot in the team's preseason camp last season. He lettered in football, basketball and baseball at Beacon High School, and was an All-Section I selection by the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Woodward's father, Doug, was a quarterback in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983-85 with the Breakers franchise (Boston, New Orleans and Portland). Doug also signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 1980, played for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 1982, and is in the Pace University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 13th season with the Red Dragons. The 2008 NJAC Coach of the Year and finalist for 2008 Liberty Mutual National Division III Coach of the Year honors, MacNeill has a record of 82-46 (.641), putting him first at Cortland in career winning percentage and second in career 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...KEAN UNIVERSITY: Kean bounced back from a 30-17 non-league loss to Delaware Valley College and defeated host Western Connecticut State, 31-24, in its NJAC opener. The Cougars jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a Thomas D'Ambrisi 22-yard touchdown pass to Matt Puorro and Jason Liberti's recovery in the end zone of a Chris Aquino blocked punt. D'Ambrisi also threw two scoring passes to Alex Cade, and Billy Daniels made a 40-yard field goal. Western Connecticut closed to within seven points with 4:12 left and drove deep into Kean territory on its final drive. The Cougars' defense held, however, keyed by a 13-yard Victor D'Arrigo sack on 3rd-and-goal at the 6-yard line.

D'Ambrisi completed 15-of-26 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns and Cade caught six passes for 126 yards. D'Ambrisi was the NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Year last season after connecting on 166-of-275 passes (60.4 percent) for 2,054 yards and 17 touchdowns. He has thrown for 438 yards and five touchdowns this season. Jared Chunn earned NJAC Offensive Player of the Year honors last fall. He averaged 127.7 rushing yards per game in 11 contests and scored 13 touchdowns. This fall, however, he has been limited to just 69 total rushing yards and no touchdowns through his first two games.

Jamahl Williams recorded eight tackles and an interception and Chris Lauda finished with six tackles and three pass breakups at Western Connecticut. Williams leads the defense with 21 tackles and two interceptions and Jordan Cagle has 14 tackles. Darryl Jackson and Richard Jaeger are team captains this fall along with Chunn and Cade.

Dan Garrett took over as Kean's head coach in 2006 after three seasons as the team's defensive coordinator. He has an overall record of 20-14 (.588), including 7-4 records and ECAC Bowl appearances in both 2006 and 2008. Garrett graduated in 1997 from Montclair State, where he was a first team All-NJAC linebacker and defensive end in 1995 and 1996 and recorded more than 200 career tackles. He served as an assistant coach with the Red Hawks for six years, including four as defensive coordinator from 1999-2002.

NOTEBOOK:

* Senior wide receiver Eric Hajnos is within nine receptions of becoming the 14th player in school history to reach 100 career catches. Hajnos caught 50 passes last season and 30 in 2007 along with 11 in his first two games this fall.

* Three Red Dragons rank in the top 10 nationally in Division III in statistical categories. Senior Kyle Peterson ranks third in punting at 43.5 yards per punt, trailing only Tyler Funk of Carthage (45.1) and Jared Jenkins of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (44.7). Senior Bryan Wiley is tied for sixth nationally with 2.5 tackles for loss per game and sophomore Bryan Davey is eighth in the country in kickoff return yardage at 33.8 yards per return.

* Cortland is in its 10th season as a football-only member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). The Red Dragons compete in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) in most of their other sports. Cortland was the first non-New Jersey school to join the NJAC for football, starting in the 2000 season, and has since been joined by Western Connecticut State, Buffalo State and, in 2008, Brockport and Morrisville. Cortland is 28-3 (.903) in NJAC play since 2005 and 45-15 (.750) overall.

* SUNY Cortland's two individual national champions from the 2008-09 season will be honored at halftime of Saturday's contest. Alyssa Neely won the balance beam title at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division III Championships in March and Jake Zanetti captured the pole vault title at the NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships in May.


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

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

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)

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)

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


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:


CORTLAND (2-0, 2-0 NJAC)

Sept. 12  * MORRISVILLE ST.           W 26-17
Sept. 19  * ROWAN (NJ)                   W 24-14
Sept. 26  * KEAN (NJ)                       1:00
Oct. 3      * at Buffalo St.                  12:00
Oct. 10    * at Montclair St. (NJ)         1:00
Oct. 17    * WESTERN CONN. ST.        1:00
Oct. 24    * at William Paterson (NJ)    1:00
Oct. 31    * THE COLLEGE of N.J.         1:00
Nov. 7     * at Brockport                     1:00
Nov. 14    at Ithaca                            12:00

* NJAC game (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)


KEAN (1-1, 1-0 NJAC)

Sept. 12   DELAWARE VALLEY (PA)        L 17-30
Sept. 19   * at Western Connecticut St.  W 31-24
Sept. 26   * at Cortland                        1:00
Oct. 2       * COLLEGE of N.J.                 7:00
Oct. 10     * BUFFALO ST.                      1:00
Oct. 17     * at Brockport                      1:00
Oct. 24     * MORRISVILLE ST.               1:00
Oct. 31     * ROWAN (NJ)                      1:00
Nov. 7       * at William Paterson (NJ)     1:00
Nov. 14     * at Montclair St. (NJ)           1:00

* NJAC game (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)

CORTLAND vs. KEAN – SERIES RECORD (Cortland leads 13-0)

Year    Winner      Score     Site
1996    Cortland    31-10    Cortland
1997    Cortland    47-21    Kean
1998    Cortland    53-27    Cortland
1999    Cortland    26-13    Kean
2000    Cortland    48-0      Cortland
2001    Cortland    37-20    Kean
2002    Cortland    35-14    Cortland
2003    Cortland    23-20    Kean
2004    Cortland    49-17    Cortland
2005    Cortland    27-6      Kean
2006    Cortland    24-14    Cortland
2007    Cortland    35-14    Kean
2008    Cortland    32-28    Kean