BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Wayne Bonsell completed 22-of-34 passes for 315 yards and five touchdowns and Dan Andrews rushed for 118 yards as Brockport rallied from an early 10-point deficit to defeat Cortland, 49-32, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game.
Brockport, playing in its final season in the NJAC before joining the Empire 8 next season, is now 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the league. Cortland is 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the NJAC.
Cortland opened the game with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown – the first 13 yards by
Justin Autera (Mahopac) and the final 85 yards by
Dylan Peebles (Port Leyden/South Lewis) – to take a 7-0 lead. The Red Dragons went up 10-0 after
Nick Daley's (Saratoga Springs) career-long 39-yard field goal. That scoring drive started on the Brockport 28-yard line following a
Troy Beddoe (Endicott/Union-Endicott) interception.
Brockport got on the board with 4:07 left in the first when Bonsell threw a 13-yard TD pass to Nick Prince to cap a 9-play, 67-yard drive.
Late in the first half,
Joe DeLuca (Sayville) intercepted a Brockport pass to set up the Red Dragons on the Golden Eagles' 24-yard line. Cortland eventually scored with 13:01 left in the second quarter on an Autera 2-yard TD run to go up 17-7.
Brockport scored the final 21 points of the half and led 28-17 at halftime. Bonsell threw a 35-yard TD pass to Darryl Thompson and a 23-yard scoring pass to Jake Spalik, and Shireem Cobb ran seven yards for a score. The last of the three scores was set up by a Colby Morabito interception. He picked off the ball at the Brockport 45-yard line and ran in for a score, but a holding call put the ball at the Cortland 37-yard line. A roughing-the-passer penalty on 3rd-and-13 at the Cortland 14-yard line kept the drive alive and Cobb scored on the next play.
Neither team scored again until late in the third quarter. The Red Dragons started a drive on their own 46-yard line with 6:49 left and ran 11 plays, the last a
Tyler Hughes (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) 2-yard run with 1:59 remaining. Hughes then hit
John Babin (Warwick/Warwick Valley) on a 2-point conversion pass and Cortland was within three at 28-25.
Brockport, however, scored three straight touchdowns to start the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Bonsell connected with Eric Malave on 7-yard and 24-yard TD passes, the latter on a 4th-and-2 play, and Cobb ran in from four yards out with 2:31 left.
Cortland closed the scoring when Hughes hit Babin on a fourth-down, 43-yard TD pass with 59 seconds left. With the catch, Babin broke the Cortland career record with his 24th touchdown reception.
Hughes completed 8-of-18 passes for 104 yards and rushed for 79 yards on 15 carries.
Tyler Augliano (Watertown) was 5-of-12 passing for only four yards. He left the game with an injury late in the first half and did not play in the second half. Babin caught six passes for 82 yards.
Defensively,
Tristan Laurore (Jamaica/Boys & Girls) made 12 tackles, nine solo, and
Gabe Ostrow (Nanuet) had nine tackles. Cortland lost despite forcing five Brockport turnovers. The Red Dragons intercepted four passes – two by
Ke'shaun Stallworth (Pelham/Pelham Memorial) and one each by DeLuca and Beddoe – and
Andrew Tolosi (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) forced a fumble.
For Brockport, Malave caught eight passes for 95 yards and Spalik made five catches for 89 yards. Jake Brickler finished with nine tackles and Colby Morabio intercepted a pass.
Cortland will host NJAC leader The College of New Jersey next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Box Score/Play-by-Play
