SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (4-2, 4-2 NJAC) vs. William Paterson University Pioneers (2-4, 1-4 NJAC)
Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011; 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

Follow the game online:
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THE MATCHUP: Cortland returns home after a two-week road swing to host William Paterson University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) contest. The Red Dragons are 4-2, both overall and in the NJAC, and look to stay alive in the conference championship race.


THE SERIES: William Paterson has won just once in the 15 meetings between the schools – a 49-42 victory in New Jersey during the 2001 season on a touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining. The teams have played every year since 1996, including four non-league games prior to Cortland joining the NJAC in 2000. Cortland has allowed seven or fewer points in 10 of its victories in the series, including five shutouts (1997, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2008).

Last season in Cortland, the Red Dragons scored the game's final 31 points in a 38-7 victory over the Pioneers. Joe Lopez opened the scoring with a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown, but William Paterson tied the game on a Dawys German 4-yard TD run later in the first quarter.

Cortland took the lead for good on Marc Corrado's 29-yard field goal. The Pioneers had a chance to tie the game on an attempted field goal in the final minute of the first half, but Lou Crispo blocked the kick and Anthony Giuliano returned the ball 82 yards for a score and a 17-7 halftime lead.

Giuliano also threw a 72-yard TD pass to Jake Burgess out of a “wildcat” type formation and caught a 15-yard TD pass from Dan Pitcher. Tailback Justin Autera ran for a 4-yard TD and finished with 20 rushes for 122 yards. Cody Allen made 14 tackles and Evan Wyler recorded 11 stops for Cortland. German rushed for 89 yards and Ryan Gresik completed 16-of-28 passes for 116 yards, but was intercepted three times.


CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland gained 605 yards of total offense – its highest output since September 2002 – in its 56-10 victory at Western Connecticut State last week. Dan Pitcher completed 14-of-21 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for a score, all in the first half, as the Red Dragons grabbed a 43-3 halftime lead.

Mike Humphrey caught seven passes for 145 yards and a touchdown and John Babin made five catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Kordel McInnis also caught a TD pass. Dorian Myles ran 14 times for 101 yards and a touchdown, Bronson Greene ran for 64 yards and two scores and Daniel Olivier finished with 70 rushing yards and a score. Chris Rose completed 8-of-10 passes in the second half for 75 yards as Cortland totaled 345 yards in the air and 260 on the ground.

The Red Dragon defense limited the Colonials to 59 yards net rushing and 143 yards in total offense. Connor Tompkins and Chris Bright made eight tackles each, with Bright also intercepting a pass. Jesse Scanna and Joe Kirchner each registered two sacks and seven total tackles.

Cortland's two losses this season have come by a combined six points – a 21-16 home setback to Kean on Sept. 17 and a 34-33 loss at currently unbeaten Montclair State on Oct. 8. In the Montclair loss, Cortland rallied from a 31-14 third-quarter deficit to take a 33-31 lead before the Red Hawks kicked the game-winning field goal with 1:16 remaining.

Pitcher has passed for 1,525 yards and 16 touchdowns in six games. He's completed 60.7 percent of his passes (99-of-163) and has been intercepted just three times. Babin leads the team with 38 catches for 703 yards and nine touchdowns. He's just one TD catch shy of tying the school single-season record set by Eric Hajnos in 2009.

Myles is averaging 83 yards rushing per game with three touchdowns and Greene averages 57.4 yards per game and has scored seven touchdowns. Marc Corrado has connected on 5-of-6 field goal attempts and 24-of-26 extra-point kicks.

Bill Smith leads the defense with 37 tackles, followed by Steven Lenhart's 36 tackles. Kirchner has five of Cortland's 18 sacks and has forced three fumbles.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 15th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 94-54 (.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 the league title and the NCAA quarterfinals.

MacNeill has guided Cortland to the NCAA playoffs in 1997, 2005, 2008 and 2010. 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...WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY: William Paterson lost 20-0 last Saturday at nationally seventh-ranked and undefeated Montclair State. The Pioneers trailed 10-0 at halftime and were still within two scores at 13-0 before a late interception return completed the scoring. Dawys German rushed for 75 yards on 16 carries in the setback. Linebacker Jim Hamill made 12 tackles, eight solo, and linebacker Clifton Gaze finished with 10 tackles, two for losses, and a fumble recovery.

German is averaging 104.7 rushing yards per game with three touchdowns. He's also caught two TD passes among his four receptions. Quarterback Ryan Gresik has played in four games, two as a starter, and has passed for 403 yards and four touchdowns. Joe Salame has started at quarterback the last two games and is 14-of-32 passing on the season for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Mick Paye is the team leader with 12 receptions for 256 yards and three touchdowns.

Hamill is the top tackler on the team with 60 stops, followed by Doug Dudek with 48 tackles. Damian DiIorio is the team leader with five sacks, nine total tackles for losses and three forced fumbles. Freshman Robert Sinegra has made all 11 of his point-after kicks and 2-of-3 field goals, including a 43-yard attempt. Cory Mundt averages 36.6 yards per punt and has pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line on 12 of his 38 kicks.

The Pioneers opened the season 2-1 with wins over King's College (Pa.) and Brockport, but have lost their last three contests at Buffalo State, home versus Rowan and at Montclair State.

Jerry Flora is in his fourth season as William Paterson's head coach after serving as an assistant coach in the program for six years. His overall record is 15-21 (.417). Prior to his arrival at William Paterson, Flora coached at Division I-AA Iona College from 1992-96 and 1998-2001, working with the team's wide receivers as well as coordinating the special teams. He also coached the offensive line at FDU-Florham in 1997-98. A 1992 Iona graduate, Flora was a three-year starter at offensive tackle for the Gaels before emerging as the starting tight end as a senior.


NOTEBOOK:

* Dan Pitcher has thrown at least one TD pass in eight straight games (all six this season and two NCAA games last year) and has TD passes in 19 of his 20 games as a Red Dragon starter (two games in 2009, 11 of 12 in 2010, six in 2011). Pitcher's school-record streak of 11 games with a TD pass ended versus Ithaca last November. His current eight-game streak is now tied for third-best in school history.

* Pitcher is on pace to record the best passing efficiency rating in one season at Cortland. His current rating is 168.0, and the school record (minimum 100 pass attempts) is 157.5 by current assistant coach Alex Smith in 2006. Next on the list is Ray Miles at 155.9 in 2008 and J.J. Tutwiler with ratings of 153.7 in 2001 and 137.7 in 2002. The rating, which has been calculated by the NCAA since 1979, weighs four statistics – completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns per attempt and interceptions per attempt.

* Freshman linebacker Jesse Scanna was named the NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week for his performance at Western Connecticut State. Scanna made seven tackles, six solo, with two sacks among his 3.5 tackles for lost yardage. He also recorded two quarterback hurries.

* Cortland has reached the 400-yard mark in total offense each of the last five games. No Red Dragon squad has accomplished that feat in a season since at least 1984 (single-game team totals from before 1984 are currently not available). Cortland gained 455 yards versus Kean, 406 at Rowan, 506 versus Morrisville, 430 at Montclair State and 605 last week at Western Connecticut State). Cortland's 605 yards last week was its highest total since gaining 614 yards in a home overtime loss to The College of New Jersey in September 2002.

* Cortland and William Paterson rank in the top 30 nationally in Division III in the following categories:

CORTLAND:
10th, Rushing Defense, 80.5 yds./game
15th, Passing Efficiency, 161.6 rating
19th, Fewest Sacks Allowed, 0.7/game
24th, Total Defense, 266.7 yds./game
24th, Tackles for Loss, 8.0/game
29th, Passing Offense, 273.0 yds./game
29th, Total Offense, 442.0 yds./game
30th, Sacks, 3.0/game

Dan Pitcher, 9th, Passing Efficiency, 168.0 rating
John Babin, 13th, Receiving Yards, 117.2 yds./game

WILLIAM PATERSON:
12th, Pass Defense, 126.7 yds./game
25th, Pass Efficiency Defense, 96.4 rating

* Cortland's has 18 sacks through six games, including four last week at Western Connecticut. Cortland has recorded at least 30 sacks each of the last 10 seasons, including 31 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 is in its 12th 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 has finished at least tied for first in the NJAC five of the last six years (2005-08, 2010).


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

Cody Allen, Sr., Linebacker
D3football.com Team of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)
D3football.com Team of the Week (Special Teams) (Oct. 1 vs. Morrisville St.)

John Babin, So., Wide Receiver
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Buffalo St.)

Pete Furey, Jr., Punter
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Buffalo St.)

Bronson Greene, Fr., Running Back
NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 1 vs. Morrisville St.)
NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 8 at Montclair St.)

Dan Pitcher, Gr., Quarterback
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)

Jesse Scanna, Fr., Linebacker
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 15 at Western Conn. St.)

Andrew Tolosi, Fr., Cornerback
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (4-2, 4-2 NJAC)

Sept. 3      * BUFFALO ST.                         W 28-12
Sept. 17    * KEAN (NJ)                             L 16-21
Sept. 24    * at Rowan (NJ)                        W 31-28
Oct. 1        * MORRISVILLE ST.                   W 55-14
Oct. 8        * at Montclair St. (NJ)               L 33-34
Oct. 15      * at Western Connecticut St.      W 56-10
Oct. 22      * WILLIAM PATERSON (NJ)         1:00
Oct. 29      * THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY  1:00
Nov. 5        * at Brockport                           1:00
Nov. 12         at Ithaca                               12:00

* NJAC game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS

WILLIAM PATERSON (2-4, 1-4 NJAC)

Sept. 3         at King's (PA)                          W 13-6
Sept. 10    * THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY   L 6-24
Sept. 24    * BROCKPORT                            W 35-23
Oct. 1        * at Buffalo St.                            L 27-42
Oct. 8        * ROWAN (NJ)                             L 21-30
Oct. 15      * at Montclair St. (NJ)                  L 0-20
Oct. 22      * at Cortland                               1:00
Oct. 29      * MORRISVILLE ST.                      12:00
Nov. 5       * KEAN (NJ)                                 1:00
Nov. 12     * at Western Connecticut St.         12:00

* NJAC game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS

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

Year                  Winner                    Score               Site
1996                  Cortland                  31-3                  Cortland
1997                  Cortland                  31-0                  Cortland
1998                  Cortland                  47-6                  Cortland
1999                  Cortland                  45-7                  Wm. Paterson
2000                  Cortland                  42-3                  Cortland
2001                  William Paterson      49-42                Wm. Paterson
2002                  Cortland                  32-0                  Cortland
2003                  Cortland                  20-14                Wm. Paterson
2004                  Cortland                  18-13                Cortland
2005                  Cortland                  31-0                  Wm. Paterson
2006                  Cortland                  30-14                Cortland
2007                  Cortland                  42-0                  Wm. Paterson
2008                  Cortland                  38-0                  Cortland
2009                  Cortland                  12-10 **             Wm. Paterson
2010                  Cortland                  38-7                  Cortland




** victory later vacated - NCAA secondary violation