SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
56th Annual Cortaca Jug Game
Cortland Red Dragons (4-5) vs. Ithaca College Bombers (7-2)
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014; Noon; SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex; Cortland, N.Y.
Game televised live by Time Warner Cable Sports (Central New York Region)
TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT

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THE MATCHUP: Cortland hosts Ithaca College in the 56th Annual Cortaca Jug rivalry game to close out the season. The Red Dragons look to even their record at 5-5 after starting the season 0-4. Ithaca clinched the Empire 8 title for the second straight season with a win at St. John Fisher last weekend and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III playoffs. The schools will become league rivals next year when Cortland moves from the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) to the Empire 8.


THE SERIES: This is the 56th time that Cortland and Ithaca are playing for the Cortaca Jug. The schools actually started playing in 1930 and have met every year since 1948. Ithaca leads the overall series 39-30-3. In 1959, Cortland captain Tom Decker and Ithaca captain Dick Carmean originated the Cortaca Jug as the prize for the winner of the game between the schools located about 20 miles apart on Route 13. Each year, the game's result is printed on the Jug. The first Jug ran out of room for scores in the mid-1980s, necessitating a second Jug that sports the most recent results.

Ithaca leads the Jug series 34-21, which does not include the Bombers' 1988 NCAA playoff win over the Red Dragons. Cortland, however, is 11-7 versus the Bombers since 1996, including wins each of the last four seasons. Cortland is looking for its first five-game winning streak against Ithaca since winning five straight from 1955-59, capped by a win in the inaugural Cortaca Jug game at Ithaca in 1959.

Of the last 17 games in the series (1997-2013), 13 have been decided by eight points or less. In the previous 55 Cortaca Jug games, Cortland is 5-4 in games decided by 1-3 points and 11-7 in games decided by 4-8 points, but Ithaca is 8-2 when the margin is 9-16 points and 15-3 when a team wins by 17 or more.

Last year, Cortland won 28-24 at Ithaca on John Babin's 41-yard TD catch from Tyler Hughes with 1:08 remaining. Babin also caught a 63-yard TD pass from Hughes in the third quarter and finished with eight catches for 174 yards. The Red Dragons' other scores were a first-quarter Dylan Peebles TD run and a second-quarter Joel Nunez TD catch from Hughes, who completed 16-of-24 passes for 251 yards and rushed for 59 yards. Matt Ambrose led the defense with 15 tackles, while Troy Beddoe and Tom Hagan had nine tackles each.

For Ithaca, Joel Lynch caught two TD passes, Vito Boffoli caught a TD pass and threw for a score and Tom Dempsey went 23-of-34 through the air for 216 yards and two TDs. Garrett Nicholson made a 32-yard field goal that put Ithaca up 24-21 with 9:24 remaining. Marc Recio paced the Ithaca defense with seven tackles.

Cortland won 16-10 at home in 2012 after stopping Ithaca on 4th-and-goal from inside the Red Dragons' 1-yard line with less than a minute remaining. The Red Dragons won 27-3 at Ithaca in 2011 for their biggest victory in the series since 1996 and largest margin of victory at Ithaca since 1955 (28-0). In 2010 at home, Cortland rallied from a 17-3 third-quarter deficit to win, 20-17. Ithaca won the three previous Cortaca Jug games from 2007-09, with the 2008 win in Cortland denying the Red Dragons a 10-0 regular-season record. Cortland won OT games at home in 2006 and at Ithaca in 2005.

In 1988, Cortland hosted Ithaca is what was billed as the "Upstate New York Game of the Century" since both teams entered the game with 8-0 records. Cortland won that game, 21-20, but lost at Ithaca in the NCAA Div. III quarterfinals three weeks later, 24-17, to finish 11-1. Ithaca went on to win the national title. In a 1991 Sports Illustrated football preview story, the phrase "biggest little game in the nation" was used in reference to the Cortaca Jug game. And in 1992, Cortland won at home, 22-20, versus a Bombers' team that entered 8-0 and had won the national title the previous season.


CORTLAND CAPSULE: Playing in its final game as a member of the NJAC, Cortland jumped out to a 16-0 first-quarter lead and defeated host William Paterson, 26-17. John Grassi completed 18-of-25 passes for 187 yards, including a 55-yard TD pass to K.J. Zinermon, and also rushed for a score. Dylan Peebles returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown and Shane Cronin made two field goals. Gabe Ostrow led the Red Dragons with 10 tackles and Mark DelPrete intercepted a pass for the third time in four weeks.

Grassi has completed 191-of-328 passes this season (58.2 percent) for 2,122 yards and 11 touchdowns but has thrown 14 interceptions. He currently ranks ninth on Cortland's single-season passing yardage list and could move to as high as third on the list (currently 2,364 by Chris Rose in 2012) depending on his performance versus Ithaca. Peebles has scored nine touchdowns - seven rushing and two on kickoff returns - and has rushed for 595 yards on 149 carries (4.0 yards per carry).

Jon Mannix has caught 54 passes for 549 yards and four touchdowns. He's six catches away from becoming the 10th player in school history to reach the 60-catch mark in a season. Jack Delahunty has 41 receptions for 623 yards and three scores, while Zinermon has also caught three TD passes.

Six Red Dragons have made at least 50 tackles this fall, led by Matt Ambrose's 64 stops. Ostrow and Andrew Tolosi each have 59 tackles. Jake Ceresna's 53 tackles include a team-high 4.5 sacks, and Ceresna and Ostrow share the team lead with 13 tackles for loss each. Cronin is 12-of-17 on field-goal attempts and 18-of-20 on PAT kicks. His 12 field goals are tied for second in a season at Cortland, trailing only Mike DeBole's 16 field goals in 2012.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 18th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 118-66 (.641) ranks him first at Cortland in career victories and winning percentage. He won NJAC Coach of the Year honors in both 2008 and 2012, and also was 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 five NCAA playoff appearances (1997, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012) and seven ECAC bowl games. His teams have finished at least tied for first in the NJAC six times (2005-08, 2010, 2012), including outright NJAC titles in 2008 and 2012. 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 (now FCS) 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...ITHACA COLLEGE: Ithaca clinched its second straight Empire 8 title with a 19-8 victory last Saturday at St. John Fisher. The Bombers forced five turnovers and held the Cardinals 33 points under their season average.

Ithaca was tied 6-6 at the half on the strength of two Max Rottenecker field goals, the second a 50-yarder on the final play of the second quarter. Quarterback Tom Dempsey ran for a 2-yard TD in the third quarter, although Fisher blocked the PAT kick and returned it for two points, and the Bombers led 12-8. Wide receiver Vito Boffoli threw a 24-yard pass to Andrew Tabbert with 10:11 left to close the scoring.

Dempsey completed 19-of-27 passes for 144 yards and Boffoli caught five passes. Marc Recio finished with 13 tackles and two pass breakups and Anthony Domenick recorded 11 tackles and a forced fumble. Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week Noah Poskanzer intercepted two passes and forced a fumble and Sam Carney added four tackles and a fumble recovery.

Through nine games, Dempsey is 184-of-272 (67.6 percent) through the air for 2,025 yards and 20 touchdowns with only six interceptions. Boffoli has caught 48 passes for 476 yards and five touchdowns and Ben Cary has 39 receptions for 345 yards and seven touchdowns. Tristan Brown has rushed for 571 yards and four touchdowns, but has not played the last two weeks.

Kenneth Bradley and Recio share the team lead with 64 tackles each. Domenick has intercepted three passes and Rob Barbieri has three of Ithaca's 14 forced fumbles. Garrett Nicholson and Rottenecker have shared the kicking duties for the second straight year. Nicholson is 26-of-30 on PAT kicks and 5-for-7 on field goals. Rottenecker is also 5-for-7 on field goals, including three makes from 41 yards or longer, and handles the team kickoff duties.

Head Coach Mike Welch is in his 21st season at the helm for the Bombers. His overall record is 160-65 (.711). Welch has led Ithaca to seven Empire 8 titles, including both this fall and last season. Ithaca will be making its eighth NCAA appearance under Welch next week, and he has also guided the Bombers to four ECAC bowl games. As a player at Ithaca, Welch earned two letters as a running back after missing most of his sophomore season due to injury. Also a lacrosse player for the Bombers, he graduated in 1974 and returned to his alma mater as an assistant football coach in 1984.


NOTEBOOK:

* Dylan Peebles was named the NJAC and the ECAC Div. III Southeast Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown at William Paterson last Saturday. Peebles set a school single-season record with his second kickoff return TD, and his three career kickoff return scores are believed to be a school record.

* Cortland's defense has held opponents to just 27 percent success on third-down conversions this season (45-of-167), but the Red Dragons' offense has also struggled in that category with just a 28 percent success rate (47-of-168).

* Senior receiver John Babin was an All-American last season after catching 82 passes for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns, but has missed most of the 2014 season due to an injury suffered in the first quarter of the season opener at Buffalo State. He caught four passes in that game, and recorded seven receptions in his only other appearance versus Southern Virginia Oct. 18 at home. Babin has 166 career receptions, four behind the school career record of 170 by Steve Ellis from 1991-94. Babin is already Cortland's career leader in receiving yards (2,601) and TD catches (30).

* Cortland is in its 15th and final season as a football-only member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) in 2014. The program will join the Empire 8 as a football-only member in 2015. 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 was joined by Western Connecticut State, Buffalo State, Brockport and Morrisville. However, Buffalo State left for the Empire 8 in 2012, Western Connecticut joined the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) for football only in 2013, and Brockport begins its first year in the Empire 8 this fall. Morrisville will make the move with Cortland to the Empire 8 in 2015. Southern Virginia joined the NJAC as a football affiliate member this fall. Salisbury and Frostburg State (both current Empire 8 members), along with Wesley and Christopher Newport, will join the NJAC as football-only members in 2015.

Cortland finished at least tied for first in the NJAC six of the last 10 years (2005-08, 2010, 2012). The Red Dragons were outright league champions in 2008 and 2012, and won a tiebreaker to earn the league's NCAA automatic bid in 2010.


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

Jake Ceresna, Defensive End
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 27 at Morrisville St.)

John Grassi, Quarterback
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 6 at Buffalo St.)

Dylan Peebles, Kick Returner
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 27 at Morrisville St.)
ECAC Div. III Southeast Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 27 at Morrisville St.)
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 8 at William Paterson)
ECAC Div. III Southeast Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 8 at William Paterson)

Josh Riley, Tight End
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 11 at TCNJ)

* Cortland and Ithaca rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:

CORTLAND:

4th, Kickoff Returns, 27.2 yds./return
12th, Third Down Conversion Defense, 27.1 pct.
16th, Tackles for Loss, 8.4/game
19th, Punt Return Defense, 3.6 yds./return
34th, Team Passing Efficiency Defense, 103.6 opponent rating

Dylan Peebles, 3rd, Kickoff Returns, 34.3 yds./return
Shane Cronin, 9th, Field Goals, 1.3/game
Mark DelPrete, 23rd, Passes Defended (INT Breakups), 1.6/game
Dylan Peebles, 34th, All-Purpose Yards, 148.8 yds./game
Gabe Ostrow, 36th, Forced Fumbles, 0.3/game

ITHACA:

9th, Completion Percentage, 67.9 pct.
17th, Time of Possession, 33:24/game
19th, Fourth Down Conversion Defense, 30.0 pct.
21st, Fewest Penalties, 4.7/game
23rd, Team Passing Efficiency Defense, 97.0 opponent rating
24th, Turnover Margin, 1.0/game
29th, Punt Return Defense, 4.5 yds./return
31st, Team Passing Efficiency, 154.7 rating
33rd, Scoring Defense, 16.0 pts./game
34th, Kickoff Returns, 22.4 yds./return
37th, Punt Returns, 11.8 yds./return

Tom Dempsey, 10th, Completion Percentage, 67.6 pct.
Josh Oliver, 29th, Punt Returns, 10.5 yds./return
Robert Barbieri, 36th, Forced Fumbles, 0.3/game
Tom Dempsey, 40th, Passing Efficiency, 150.0 rating


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (4-5)

Sept. 6 at Buffalo State...................................... L 48-51 (OT)
Sept. 13 BROCKPORT...................................... L 14-17
Sept. 27 * at Morrisville St.................................. L 31-38
Oct. 4 * ROWAN (NJ)...................................... L 14-38
Oct. 11 * at College of New Jersey.................. W 24-14
Oct. 18 * SOUTHERN VIRGINIA...................... W 35-0
Oct. 25 * at Kean (NJ)....................................... W 21-14
Nov. 1 * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)...................... L 20-30
Nov. 8 * at William Paterson (NJ)................... W 26-17
Nov. 15 ITHACA............................................... 12:00

* NJAC game (4-3) HOME GAMES IN CAPS

ITHACA (7-2)

Sept. 6 UNION................................................. W 21-16
Sept. 20 * HARTWICK....................................... W 42-7
Sept 27 * at Alfred............................................. W 17-6
Oct. 4 * UTICA................................................ W 27-10
Oct. 11 * BUFFALO ST.................................... L 27-38
Oct. 18 * at Frostburg St. (MD)......................... L 37-38 (2 OT)
Oct. 25 * SALISBURY (MD).............................. W 32-7
Nov. 1 * at Brockport...................................... W 24-14
Nov. 8 * at St. John Fisher............................... W 19-8
Nov. 15 at Cortland............................................ 12:00

* Empire 8 game (6-2) HOME GAMES IN CAPS


CORTLAND vs. ITHACA - SERIES RECORD
(Ithaca leads overall series 39-30-3 and Cortaca Jug series (1959-present) 34-21)


Year Winner......................... Score Site
1930 Cortland........................ 12-0 Cortland
1931 Ithaca.......................... 12-6 Ithaca
1932 Tie................................. 0-0 Ithaca
1933 Tie................................ 6-6 Cortland
1934 Ithaca............................ 7-0 Ithaca

1948 Cortland........................ 19-0 Cortland
1949 Cortland........................ 32-7 Ithaca

1950 Ithaca............................ 7-6 Cortland
1951 Ithaca.......................... 13-6 Ithaca
1952 Cortland........................ 39-6 Cortland
1953 Cortland........................ 32-0 Ithaca
1954 Tie................................ 13-13 Cortland
1955 Cortland........................ 28-0 Ithaca
1956 Cortland........................ 37-0 Cortland
1957 Cortland........................ 32-13 Ithaca
1958 Cortland........................ 16-6 Cortland
1959 Cortland........................ 13-7 Ithaca

1960 Ithaca........................... 12-6 Cortland
1961 Ithaca.......................... 34-0 Ithaca
1962 Ithaca........................... 24-12 Cortland
1963 Ithaca........................... 22-7 Ithaca
1964 Cortland....................... 16-0 Cortland
1965 Ithaca........................... 13-12 Ithaca
1966 Cortland........................ 24-11 Cortland
1967 Cortland........................ 11-7 Ithaca
1968 Cortland........................ 34-13 Cortland
1969 Ithaca........................... 36-28 Ithaca

1970 Cortland........................ 7-0 Cortland
1971 Ithaca........................... 21-13 Ithaca
1972 Cortland........................ 21-16 Cortland
1973 Ithaca........................... 41-33 Ithaca
1974 Ithaca............................ 34-33 Cortland
1975 Ithaca............................ 21-6 Ithaca
1976 Ithaca............................ 28-12 Cortland
1977 Ithaca........................... 38-17 Ithaca
1978 Ithaca............................ 27-13 Cortland
1979 Ithaca............................ 42-7 Ithaca

1980 Ithaca............................ 24-7 Cortland
1981 Ithaca........................... 42-0 Ithaca
1982 Cortland........................ 21-17 Cortland
1983 Ithaca............................ 49-26 Ithaca
1984 Ithaca............................ 42-6 Cortland
1985 Ithaca............................ 41-0 Ithaca
1986 Ithaca............................ 40-12 Cortland
1987 Ithaca............................ 37-15 Ithaca
1988 Cortland........................ 21-20 Cortland
1988 # Ithaca......................... 24-17 Ithaca
1989 Ithaca............................ 28-0 Ithaca

1990 Ithaca............................ 28-14 Cortland
1991 Ithaca........................... 23-14 Ithaca
1992 Cortland........................ 22-20 Cortland
1993 Ithaca............................ 32-14 Ithaca
1994 Ithaca............................ 15-13 Cortland
1995 Ithaca............................ 35-19 Ithaca
1996 Cortland........................ 41-13 Cortland
1997 Cortland........................ 33-28 Ithaca
1998 Ithaca............................ 37-29 Cortland
1999 Cortland........................ 26-21 Ithaca

2000 Ithaca............................ 19-14 Cortland
2001 Ithaca............................ 21-14 Ithaca
2002 Cortland......................... 16-12 Cortland
2003 Cortland......................... 16-15 Ithaca
2004 Ithaca............................. 47-22 Cortland
2005 Cortland......................... 37-30 (OT) Ithaca
2006 Cortland......................... 23-20 (OT) Cortland
2007 Ithaca............................. 40-17 Ithaca
2008 Ithaca............................. 35-13 Cortland
2009 Ithaca............................. 23-20 Ithaca

2010 Cortland......................... 20-17 Cortland
2011 Cortland........................ 27-3 Ithaca
2012 Cortland........................ 16-10 Cortland
2013 Cortland........................ 28-24 Ithaca

# NCAA quarterfinals