DANBURY, CONN. – Senior tailback Andrew Giuliano (Thornwood/Westlake) rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns as Cortland (6-0, 6-0 NJAC) stayed unbeaten with a 41-14 win at Western Connecticut State. The Red Dragons, ranked ninth in Division III by the AFCA and 13th by D3football.com, scored the final 21 points after the host Colonials (2-4, 2-3) had closed a 20-0 deficit to 20-14 midway through the third quarter.

Cortland senior quarterback Ray Miles (Port Byron) completed 18-of-26 passes for 209 yards and rushed for a touchdown. Sophomore cornerback Joe Lopez (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown and sophomore Cory Russell (La Fayette) scored on a 3-yard run. Senior Zacc Guaragno (Lansing) made seven catches for 85 yards and senior Eric Hajnos (Grand Island) finished with four catches for 51 yards.

Senior linebacker Jim Smith (Nanuet) led the Red Dragons with 11 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Colan Shue (Theresa/Indian River), making his first start of the season in place of injured Josh Jablonski (West Seneca/West Seneca West), finished with eight tackles, six solo. Four of his tackles were for lost yardage, including one of Cortland's four sacks.

Cortland outgained the Colonials 365-207 in total yardage. Western Connecticut junior quarterback James Williams (Wolcott, CT) completed 13-of-31 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice. Jason Santiago (Cromwell, CT) rushed for 41 yards on eight carries.

The Colonials' two scores came on a 22-yard pass from Williams to Derrick Way (Norwalk, CT/Norwich Free Academy) with 15 seconds left in the first half and a Wayne Neal (Poughkeepsie) 6-yard run in the third quarter. Chad Milling (Hartford, CT/Conard) led Western Connecticut's defense with nine tackles.

A 54-yard James Campbell (Oakdale/Connetquot) punt late in the first quarter pinned Cortland at the 1-yard line. The Red Dragons, however, proceeded to drive 99 yards on 11 plays, starting with a 39-yard run by Giuliano and capped by a Miles 4-yard touchdown run with 11:33 left in the second quarter. On Western's next possession, Lopez picked off a Williams pass on 3rd-and-8 and returned the ball 46 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. Lionel Assie (Bridgeport, CT/Bassick) blocked the extra point and Cortland led 13-0.

Western had to punt from its own end zone after a holding penalty and two rushing losses, the second on a Bryan Wiley (Cape Vincent/Thousand Islands) sack, pushed the Colonials back to their own 2-yard line. Cortland was able to start its next drive at the Western 33-yard line, but some early gains were wiped out by a personal foul penalty. Miles then connected on a 23-yard pass to fullback Dom Sair (Huntington) to the 12-yard line, with a personal foul moving the ball to the 6-yard line. Giuliano carried the ball on the next two plays, the second time for a 4-yard touchdown with 4:38 left in the half.

With 1:19 left in the half, the Colonials mounted a 10-play, 68-yard touchdown drive, finished by Way's 22-yard reception. Way, however, was injured while stretching out for the goal line and didn't return. Cortland drove to the Western 32-yard line on the first possession of the second half but lost the ball on a fumble forced by Angelo Mancini (West Hartford, CT/Conard). Defensive end Norvell Martin (North Haven, CT/Hyde Leadership) recovered the ball and, following an illegal block penalty, set up the Colonials on the Cortland 33-yard line. Neal's 6-yard touchdown run concluded a 7-play scoring drive and Western trailed 20-14.

Cortland answered with a 9-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 27-yard pass from Miles to Guaragno on 2nd-and-10 from the Cortland 45-yard line. Giuliano carried for eight and 11 yards on the final two plays of the drive and the Red Dragons led 27-14 with 5:49 left in the third.

Russell's touchdown run on Cortland's next possession extended the lead to 34-14 early in the fourth quarter. The Red Dragons also scored on their next drive, covering 63 yards on 10 plays. Giuliano plunged in from a yard out for his third score of the game.

Cortland will host William Paterson on Homecoming/C-Club Hall of Fame Weekend next Saturday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m.

Box Score