SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland (0-0, 0-0 NJAC) vs. Kean University (0-0, 0-0 NJAC)
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010; 1 p.m.; Kean Alumni Stadium; Union, N.J.
Game broadcast live on WXHC, Homer (101.5 FM and www.wxhc.com)

Follow the game online:
WXHC Radio Broadcast
Live Stats
Kean Video Broadcast

THE MATCHUP: Cortland opens its 2010 season as it travels to Kean (pronounced KANE) University for a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) matchup. The Red Dragons are the preseason favorite in the 10-team NJAC per the league's coaches' poll, while the Cougars ranked third in the preseason poll. Cortland received four first-place votes and Kean had two first-place votes. Cortland looks to earn a postseason berth for the fifth straight year – the Red Dragons advanced to the NCAA Div. III quarterfinals in 2008

THE SERIES: Cortland leads the overall series between the schools 13-1, but Kean won the most recent matchup 24-10 last fall in Cortland. The teams have played every year since 1996, starting with non-league contests before Cortland joined the NJAC in 2000.

In last season's game, Kean quarterback Tom D'Ambrisi rushed for two touchdowns and threw a 16-yard scoring pass to Matt Puorro. The Cougars' other score came on a Billy Daniels 40-yard field goal. Cortland grabbed a 3-0 lead on a Marc Corrado 29-yard field goal and tied the game at 10-10 on a 7-yard TD pass from Hudson Woodward to Brian Haber midway through the second quarter. Kean, however, took the lead on a D'Ambrisi 3-yard run later in the quarter and scored the only points of the second half on D'Ambrisi's 2-yard run 4:39 into the third quarter.

D'Ambrisi finished with 64 yards on 15 rushes and completed 14-of-21 passes for 136 yards. Darryl Jackson made a team-high eight tackles. For Cortland, Woodward was 20-of-39 for 183 yards but was intercepted three times. Anthony Giuliano and Eric Hajnos caught five passes each and Chris Hanlon made eight tackles.

CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland returns 17 starters from last year's squad that finished 7-4 and competed in the ECAC Div. III Northwest Bowl. The Red Dragons finished third in the NJAC with a 7-2 record and are a combined 33-5 (.868) versus league foes since 2005.

Graduate student quarterback Dan Pitcher returns after missing the last nine games of last season due to injury. A transfer from Colgate University now in his third fall with the Red Dragons, Pitcher completed 33-of-54 passes for 425 yards and four touchdowns in two games last season. Senior tailback Dom Sair led the team in rushing with 154 carries for 785 yards and 13 touchdowns, while senior Anthony Giuliano is the team's leading returning receiver with 34 catches for 351 yards and four touchdowns. Giuliano was also the second-leading rusher with 240 yards and two touchdowns on 54 attempts.

Four starters are back on the offensive line – senior guard Sean Kennedy, junior center Corey Hymes, junior guard Billy Castro and junior tackle Matt Pitcher – Dan's brother. Senior Eddie Spillett returns at tight end after making four catches last season.

Junior Bill Smith is listed as a starter on both sides of the line of scrimmage as the season opens. He's the team's starting fullback – a role he held last year – and is also a starter at inside linebacker. Junior inside linebacker Cody Allen led Cortland with 84 tackles. Seniors Will Schroeder and James Lenhart are expected to see time at outside linebacker, as will freshman Chris Corvino, who opens his collegiate career about 20 miles from his hometown of Parsippany, N.J.

Two of Cortland's starting defensive linemen are seniors who gained an extra year of eligibility due to medical hardship seasons. Defensive end Evan Wyler, who missed most of the 2007 season due to injury, recorded 68 tackles last season. He led the Red Dragons with 18.5 tackles for losses, including 10 sacks. Tackle Lou Crispo made 11 tackles in three games last year before suffering a season-ending injury versus Kean.

Cortland's experienced secondary features senior cornerback Joe Lopez, junior cornerback D.J. Romano, senior safety Chris Hanlon and sophomore safety Phil Bossman. Lopez recorded 37 tackles and two interceptions in nine games last season and enjoyed one of his best games at Kean two years ago when he registered five pass breakups. Romano picked off a team-high four passes last year and has nine career interceptions in two seasons. Hanlon registered 58 tackles and an interception last fall, while Bossman made 21 stops in eight games. Junior Marc Corrado returns as the team's starting kicker. He made 5-of-8 field goals and 31-of-35 PAT kicks last season. Sophomore Pete Furey, a backup cornerback, opens the season as the team's starting punter.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 14th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 87-50 (.635) ranks him second at Cortland in career victories and first in winning percentage. He was the NJAC Coach of the Year and a finalist for Liberty Mutual National Div. III Coach of the Year honors in 2008 after leading the Red Dragons to a league title (9-0 league mark) and the NCAA quarterfinals.

MacNeill has guided Cortland to eight postseason berths – NCAA showings in 1997, 2005 and 2008 and ECAC appearances in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009. His 2008 squad 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 fell one game shy of winning the NJAC title in 2009. The Cougars finished with an 8-1 league mark, with the only setback a 14-6 decision at league champion Montclair State on the final weekend of the season with the championship on the line. Kean completed the season with a 9-2 record, including a 35-14 win over Ursinus in the ECAC Southeast Bowl.

Junior quarterback Tom D'Ambrisi returns for his third season as a starter. He completed 134-of-251 passes (53.4 percent) for 1,768 yards and 17 touchdowns last year and was intercepted just eight times. He also rushed for 200 yards and four touchdowns. Senior running back Jay Gwaltney arrived at Kean last fall after stops at Div. I West Virginia and Div. II C.W. Post, but was injured in the season opener versus Delaware Valley and didn't play the rest of the season. Senior tight end Matt Puorro and senior fullback Sean Atkins are the team's top returning receivers. Puorro caught 23 passes for 279 yards and four TDs, while Atkins made 16 catches for 161 yards and four scores.

A trio of defensive backs – junior Jamahl Williams and seniors Chris Lauda and Justin McLendon – combined for 13 interceptions last fall. Williams picked off five passes and led the Cougars with 66 tackles. Lauda recorded four interceptions and 15 pass breakups, while McLendon registered four interceptions. Junior defensive back Mike Mancini made 59 tackles and junior linebacker Richard Esdaile led the team last fall with 14 tackles for losses and 7.5 sacks. Junior Billy Daniels is back as the team's kicker and punter. He made 12-of-16 field goals in 2009, including 3-of-3 from at least 40 yards, and 32-of-37 PAT kicks. Daniels averaged 35.4 yards per punt.

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 28-15 (.651) in five seasons. His teams have made ECAC Bowl appearances in 2009 (9-2 final record), 2008 (7-4) and 2006 (7-4). 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:

* Cortland has won its last five season openers – the last four years versus Morrisville and in 2005 against Brockport. The Red Dragons' last opening-day loss was a 42-26 setback at home to Brockport in 2004.

* Cortland is in its 11th 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, Brockport and Morrisville. Cortland is 33-5 (.868) in NJAC play since 2005 and 50-17 (.746) overall.

* The Red Dragons have recorded at least 30 sacks each of the last nine seasons, including 33 last year and 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).

Cortland's 2009 Postseason Awards (* indicates returning player in 2010)


D3football.com All-East Region
Bryan Wiley, DE, First Team
* Evan Wyler, DE, Second Team
Chris Van De Weert, OG, Second Team
Eric Hajnos, WR, Third Team
* D.J. Romano, CB, Third Team

All-ECAC Southeast Region
Bryan Wiley, DE, First Team
* Evan Wyler, DE, First Team

All-NJAC
Bryan Wiley, DE, NJAC Defensive Player of the Year
* Evan Wyler, DE, First Team
Eric Hajnos, WR, First Team
Chris Van De Weert, OG, First Team
* Anthony Giuliano, WR, Second Team
* Will Schroeder, LB, Second Team
* D.J. Romano, CB, Second Team
Kyle Peterson, P, Second Team
* Dom Sair, RB, Hon. Mention
* Chris Hanlon, S, Hon. Mention


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:


CORTLAND (0-0, 0-0 NJAC)

Sept. 11   * at Kean (NJ)                           1:00
Sept. 18   * BUFFALO ST.                           1:00
Sept. 25   * at Western Connecticut St.       12:00
Oct. 2       * at The College of New Jersey   1:00
Oct. 9       * BROCKPORT                           1:00
Oct. 16     * at Rowan (NJ)                         12:00
Oct. 23     * at Morrisville St.                      1:00
Oct. 30     * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)                1:00
Nov. 6       * WILLIAM PATERSON (NJ)         1:00
Nov. 13        ITHACA                                  12:00

* NJAC game (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)

KEAN (0-0, 0-0 NJAC)

Sept. 11     * CORTLAND                              1:00
Sept. 18     * at Morrisville St.                      12:00
Sept. 25     * at Buffalo St.                           12:00
Oct. 1         * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)                7:00
Oct. 9         * at Rowan (NJ)                         1:00
Oct. 16       * WESTERN CONNECTICUT ST.    1:00
Oct. 23       * WILLIAM PATERSON (NJ)          1:00
Oct. 30       * BROCKPORT                            1:00
Nov. 6         * at The College of New Jersey    12:00
Nov. 13          at Wesley (DE)                         1:00

* NJAC game (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)

CORTLAND vs. KEAN – SERIES RECORD (Cortland leads 13-1)

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 
2009    Kean         24-10    Cortland


.