SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (6-2, 6-2 NJAC) vs. The College at Brockport Golden Eagles (2-6, 2-5 NJAC)
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011; 1 p.m.; Bob Boozer Field at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium; Brockport, N.Y.
Game broadcast live on WXHC, Homer (101.5 FM and www.wxhc.com)

Follow the game online:
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THE MATCHUP: Cortland completes the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) portion of its schedule as it travels to intrastate rival Brockport. The Red Dragons will wrap up the regular season on Nov. 12 in the annual Cortaca Jug game at Ithaca College, a non-league opponent.


THE SERIES: Cortland and Brockport have met on the gridiron 62 times – every year since 1948 except for the 1950 season. Of those games, Brockport has won just 14 times in addition to two ties. Cortland has lost only once in the series since 2005 – a 28-14 setback at Brockport in 2007.

Last season, Cortland won 35-0 at home versus the Golden Eagles. Justin Autera ran for three first-quarter touchdowns from one, 22 and two yards out to give the Red Dragons a 21-0 lead. Bill Smith, who started at fullback last season in addition to linebacker, ran for a 16-yard score in the third quarter and Dan Pitcher threw an 18-yard TD pass to Anthony Giuliano, also in the third quarter.

Autera rushed for 163 yards on 23 carries and Giuliano caught five passes for 87 yards. Cody Allen led the team with 13 tackles, followed by Smith with 10 stops. Matt Kaufmann recorded 3.5 of Cortland's eight sacks and four Red Dragon players – Allen, Joe Lopez, Conor Kelly and Mason Ellis – intercepted passes.

Brockport quarterback Jon Williams completed 17-of-26 passes for 154 yards, including five receptions by Jordan Hogan and four each by Matt Luke and Jake Spalik. The Golden Eagles' defense was led by Derek DeCandia's eight tackles and fumble recovery.


CORTLAND CAPSULE: Sophomore John Babin caught eight passes for 77 yards and a touchdown and freshman Bronson Greene ran for two scores in Cortland's 23-20 win last week versus The College of New Jersey in the Red Dragons' final regular-season home game. Cortland led 23-6 at halftime and held on after the Lions scored twice in the final six minutes.

Senior linebackers Cody Allen and Bill Smith led Cortland with 14 tackles apiece. Allen finished with 2.5 tackles for losses, including 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble, while freshman linebacker Jesse Scanna recorded two sacks. Dan Pitcher completed 17-of-28 passes for 154 yards, Dorian Myles ran for 64 yards and Greene finished with 33 yards rushing.

A key play in the game came after TCNJ scored a TD early in the second quarter to cut Cortland's lead to 14-6. Smith blocked the ensuing extra-point kick and senior D.J. Romano returned the loose ball 84 yards for a two-point defensive conversion and a 16-6 Red Dragon advantage.

Pitcher has completed 135-of-223 passes (61 percent) for 1,941 yards and 21 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Babin leads the team with 56 receptions for 915 yards and a school single-season record 13 touchdowns. Smith and Allen lead the Red Dragons with 55 and 49 tackles, respectively, and Scanna is the team sack leader with 6.5.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 15th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 96-54 (.640) 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...THE COLLEGE at BROCKPORT: Brockport had a two-game winning streak snapped with a 51-30 loss at Buffalo State last weekend. The Golden Eagles are 2-6 overall and 2-5 in the NJAC, but three of their losses are by seven points or less and they are the only team thus far this season to have defeated current NJAC co-leader Kean (28-20 in Brockport on Oct. 15).

Last week, Joe Scibilia completed 21-of-36 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns at Buffalo State. Andrew Mrozek caught seven passes for 92 yards and Alex Hayes made 11 tackles.

For the season, Scibilia is 167-of-268 passing (62.3 percent) for 1,854 yards and nine touchdowns in seven games, but he's been picked off 11 times. Jake Spalik and Jordan Hogan have combined for 81 receptions – Spalik has 41 catches for 502 yards and two scores and Hogan has 40 receptions for 554 yards and four touchdowns. Tyrone Nichols leads the Golden Eagles' rushing attack with 53.9 yards per game and five touchdowns.

Jim Carlson is the team leader with 53 total tackles and 36 solo stops. Ross Ragonesi has intercepted four passes and Mike Kaiser has 4.5 sacks. Bobby Giambra has assumed placekicking duties the last four weeks. He is 13-for-13 on PAT kicks and is 2-for-3 on field goals with a long of 42 yards.

Brockport 17th-year head coach Rocco Salomone has an overall record of 96-75-1 (.561). 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:

* Three Cortland players were named to the D3football.com national Team of the Week for their efforts in last week's 23-20 victory over visiting TCNJ. Cody Allen was named as a linebacker on the team for his 14-tackle performance that featured 2.5 tackles for losses and a forced fumble. Bill Smith and D.J. Romano were both selected as special teams performers. Smith blocked an extra-point that Romano returned 84 yards for a two-point defensive conversion to give Cortland a 16-6 lead in the second quarter.

* Dan Pitcher has thrown at least one TD pass in 10 straight games (all eight this season and two NCAA games last year) and has TD passes in 21 of his 22 games as a Red Dragon starter (two games in 2009, 11 of 12 in 2010, eight in 2011). Pitcher's school-record streak of 11 games with a TD pass ended versus Ithaca last November, and his current 10-game streak is now the second-best in school history.

* Dan Pitcher is on pace to record the best passing efficiency rating in one season at Cortland. His current rating is 161.6, 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.

* Cortland's streak of gaining 400 or more yards of total offense in a game was snapped at a school-record six games last week when TCNJ held the Red Dragons to 278 yards.

* Cortland has allowed only seven sacks over a combined 248 pass plays (241 pass attempts plus seven sacks). That 2.8 percent “sack rate” is currently the lowest since the stat was first officially tracked at Cortland in 1982. The school record for a season is 3.6 percent in 2002 (12 sacks allowed on 335 pass plays).

* John Babin has 56 receptions for 915 yards and 13 touchdowns through seven games. The 13 TD catches are already a school single-season record. Babin is 85 yards shy of becoming the third player in school history to reach 1,000 yards in a season. Steve Ellis holds the record with 1,089 yards in 1994 (the figure doesn't include 38 yards in the ECAC playoffs since postseason stats have only counted in records since 2002, per NCAA rule). Zacc Guaragno finished with 1,053 receiving yards in 2008.

In addition, Babin is 12 catches shy of Ellis' school-record 68 catches in 1994 (not counting four Ellis catches in the ECAC playoffs), and his four 100-yard receiving games this fall are two away from the Ellis record of six 100-yard games, also in 1994.

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

CORTLAND:

7th, Rushing Defense, 72.0 yds./game
10th, Sacks, 3.4/game
15th, Tackles for Loss, 8.5/game
15th, Total Defense, 251.5 yds./game
17th, Passing Efficiency, 157.2 rating
25th, Sacks Allowed, 0.9/game

Dan Pitcher, 12th, Passing Efficiency, 161.6 rating
John Babin, 13th, Receiving Yards, 114.4 yds./game
Connor Tompkins, 17th, Tackles for Loss, 1.8/game
John Babin, Tied 24th, Receptions, 7.0/game
John Babin, Tied 26th, Scoring, 9.8 pts./game

BROCKPORT:

Joe Scibilia, 13th, Total Offense, 302.9 yds./game
Ross Ragonesi, Tied 19th, Interceptions, 0.6/game


* Cortland's defense has recorded 27 sacks through eight games, including six last week vs. The College of New Jersey. Cortland has at least 30 sacks each of the last 10 seasons (2000-10), 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.)
D3football.com Team of the Week (Oct. 29 vs. The College of New Jersey)

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)

D.J. Romano, Sr., Cornerback
D3football.com Team of the Week (Special Teams) (Oct. 29 vs. The College of New Jersey)

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

Bill Smith, Sr., Linebacker
D3football.com Team of the Week (Special Teams) (Oct. 29 vs. The College of New Jersey)

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


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (6-2, 6-2 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)         W 35-7
Oct. 29      * THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY  W 23-20
Nov. 5        * at Brockport                           1:00
Nov. 12         at Ithaca                               12:00

* NJAC game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS

BROCKPORT (2-6, 2-5 NJAC)

Sept. 3         at Ithaca                                 L 14-19
Sept. 17    * ROWAN (NJ)                             L 32-39
Sept. 24    * at William Paterson (NJ)            L 23-35
Oct. 1        * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)                 L 13-20
Oct. 8        * at The College of New Jersey     L 17-26
Oct. 15      * KEAN (NJ)                               W 28-20
Oct. 22      * at Western Connecticut St.        W 56-14
Oct. 29      * at Buffalo St.                            L 30-51
Nov. 5        * CORTLAND                              1:00
Nov. 12     * MORRISVILLE ST.                      1:00

* NJAC game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS


CORTLAND vs. BROCKPORT – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 45-14-2)

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
2009                Cortland                56-42 **          Brockport

2010                Cortland                35-0                Cortland

** victory later vacated - NCAA secondary violation