Four SUNY Cortland players have been selected to the 2011 D3football.com All-East Region team. Graduate student quarterback
Dan Pitcher (Cortland), sophomore wide receiver
John Babin (Warwick Valley) and senior offensive tackle
Billy Castro (Washingtonville) were named to the first team, while senior center
Corey Hymes (Hamburg/St. Francis) earned third-team all-region honors.
All four players are eligible for D3football.com All-America honors, which will be announced on Friday, Dec. 16, at the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl (Div. III national title game) in Salem, Va.
Pitcher completed 197-of-317 passes (62.1 percent) for 2,712 yards and 31 touchdowns with only five interceptions in 11 games. He broke school records for TD passes in a season (31) and career (54) and passing efficiency rating in a season (163.1). His 2,712 passing yards are second-best in school history. In addition, Pitcher threw a TD pass in a school-record 13 straight games, dating back to the 2010 season, and in 24 of the 25 games he started as a Red Dragon.
Babin set Cortland single-season records with 72 receptions for 1,183 yards and 16 touchdowns in 11 games. He caught at least one TD pass in 10 of 11 games, including each of Cortland's final eight contests. He surpassed 100 receiving yards in a game five times, and tied the school single-game record with three TD catches on two occasions.
Castro earned first-team All-East honors for the second straight year, while Hymes was selected to the all-region team for the first time. Castro and Hymes led an offensive line that helped Cortland average 413.1 total offensive yards per game, including more than 400 yards in eight of 11 games. The Red Dragons allowed only nine sacks in 344 total passing plays – a school-record 2.6 percent sack rate.
Cortland finished the season with a 9-2 record, including a victory in the ECAC Div. III Southeast Bowl. The Red Dragons tied for second place in the 10-team New Jersey Athletic Conference with a 7-2 mark and defeated rival Ithaca College on the road, 27-3, to retain the Cortaca Jug traveling trophy.
