SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (6-0, 4-0 Empire 8) vs. St. John Fisher University Cardinals (3-3, 2-1 Empire 8)
Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024; 1 p.m.; Grady Field; Cortland, N.Y.
TICKETS: $6 adults, $5 students with ID, seniors (65+), children 13-17
SUNY Cortland students/faculty/staff FREE with ID; Children 12 and under FREE

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Spectators arriving from off campus are asked to park in the Park Center Northwest Lot and/or the Park Center Commuter East Lot
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THE MATCHUP: Nationally second-ranked Cortland returns home for the first time in three weeks as the Red Dragons host St. John Fisher in an Empire 8 contest. Cortland is perfect to start the season at 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the league. The Red Dragons bring an 18-game winning streak into the game. St. John Fisher has won its last two games to improve to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the league.
                                                   
THE SERIES: Cortland leads the series between the schools, 10-5. Cortland beat the Cardinals four straight times from 1988-91, with the win in 1988 completing the Red Dragons' 10-0 regular season. The teams did not meet again until 2003. Fisher beat Cortland at home twice in the ECAC Northwest Bowl (47-37 in 2003 and 34-20 in 2009) and in a non-league matchup in 2013 (33-25).
 
The series resumed in 2015 when Cortland joined the Empire 8 and the Red Dragons won at Fisher, 34-17, that season. The teams finished as Empire 8 co-champions, but Cortland earned the league's NCAA berth by virtue of the head-to-head victory. The Cardinals won in 2016 and 2017, while Cortland has been victorious in each of the last five meetings (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023).
 
Last season at St. John Fisher, Cortland won 42-14 as Zac Boyes completed 18-of-24 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns and ran 11 times for 92 yards and a score. JJ  Laap caught five passes for 67 yards and two scores and Jaden AlfanoStJohn ran for 70 yards and a TD. Jack Winey made 16 tackles and Junius Keys had 1.5 sacks. Mark  Noel and Sam Cotton each intercepted a pass. For Fisher, Aaron Chase was 21-of-26 passing for 197 yards and a score, Nate McGoldrick caught seven passes for 101 yards and a TD, and Peyton Nolan ran 14 times for 84 yards and a score. DeAndre Green and Joe Miscia finished with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.
 
CORTLAND CAPSULE: Ethan Gallo ran for four touchdowns and Zac Boyes completed 20-of-28 passes for 298 yards and four scores as Cortland won at Alfred University, 59-17, last Saturday. Gallo averaged 7.5 yards per carry and posted TD runs of 11, 3, 21 and 20 yards. He's the first Cortland player with four TD runs in a game since Bronson Greene in 2011 and was one short of the school record of five TD runs held by Mike Bowe (1980) and Dave Cook (1984).
 
Jaden AlfanoStJohn caught four passes for 128 yards, including 62-yard and 12-yard TD receptions. Nick Jordan and Joe Klein each caught their first college TD passes. Jack Winey led the Red Dragons with nine tackles, six solo. Ellis Einbinder had seven tackles and Max Llewellyn finished with two sacks and a forced fumble. Mike Baloga made a 27-yard field goal and all eight of his PAT kicks and averaged 40.5 yards on two punts.
 
Gallo has run for 672 yards (112 per game) with 15 touchdowns. He is tied for first nationally in Division III in scoring at 15 points per game. Boyes is 92-of-128 passing (71.9 percent) this fall for 1,362 yards and 14 touchdowns with no interceptions. He extended his school-record streak of pass attempts without an interception to 231, dating back to the second round of last year's NCAA playoffs. Jayson Zeva has caught 28 passes for 350 yards and three scores and AlfanoStJohn has 25 receptions for 559 yards and eight touchdowns.
 
Jaden Martinez leads Cortland with 46 tackles and three forced fumbles. Winey has 43 stops and Einbinder has 35 tackles and a team-high two interceptions. Baloga is 42-of-44 on PAT kicks and 4-for-4 on field goals and also averages 37.8 yards per punt. AlfanoStJohn averages 38 yards per kickoff return with one TD.

Curt Fitzpatrick was named SUNY Cortland's football head coach in February 2020 and is in his fifth year at the school and fourth season on the field in 2024. His record at Cortland is 40-4 (.909), highlighted by a 14-1 season and a storybook run to the 2023 NCAA Division III title. Fitzpatrick was named both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the D3football.com Division III National Coach of the Year, and the AFCA Region 1 and D3football.com Region 2 Coach of the Year. Fitzpatrick has led Cortland to three Empire 8 titles from 2021-23, each with a 6-0 regular-season record. He and his assistants were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year in each of those three seasons.
 
Fitzpatrick previously served as head coach at Morrisville for seven seasons from 2013-19 and guided the Mustangs to four winning seasons and three postseason ECAC bowl games. He served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utica College from 2008-12. A 2004 graduate of St. John Fisher, Fitzpatrick was a four-year letterman and a standout quarterback for the Cardinals who served as a team captain. In his final season, he earned Empire 8 all-conference honors and set school passing records in touchdowns (30) and yards (2,366) while leading the program to a 10-2 overall record and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. He returned to his hometown of Fulton, N.Y., to coach quarterbacks and wide receivers at Fulton High School in 2005 and he served as quarterbacks coach at St. John Fisher for two seasons from 2006-07. During those two years the Cardinals went a combined 23-4, won two Empire 8 crowns, and advanced to the NCAA semifinals (2006) and quarterfinals (2007).
 
A LOOK AT...ST. JOHN FISHER UNIVERSITY:  St. John Fisher scored all of its points in the first half in a 56-0 win over visiting Hartwick last Saturday in Empire 8 action. The Cardinals finished with 528 yards of total offense while limiting the Hawks to 125 yards. Ryan Whitney, Camden Chance and Peyton Nolan each ran for two touchdowns. Whitney also was 12-of-21 passing for 160 yards and two scores. Chance finished with 104 rushing yards on 18 carries, Whitney gained 70 yards on nine rushes and Nolan ended with 11 carries for 54 yards. Jackson Cusack and James Kennedy each caught TD passes. The St. John Fisher defense finished with three interceptions - one each by DeAndre Green, Trenton Sherman and Jaquan Davis.
 
Whitney has completed 83-of-142 passes (58.5 percent) this season for 1,242 yards and six touchdowns with six interceptions. He threw for two TDs each versus Keystone and Hilbert in addition to last weekend. Nolan has averaged 72.8 rushing yards per game in four contests and Chance is averaging 56.7 rushing yards per game in six games. Evan DeLutis is the team leader with 20 receptions, followed by Kennedy with 13 and Jaylen Brantley with 12.
 
Joe Miscia is the team leader with 38 tackles, followed by Timothy Vanderbrink with 34 and Davis with 30. Davis also has intercepted two passes. Kyle Farewell has made all 24 of his PAT kicks and he averages 41.5 yards on 16 punts.
 
One of New York's longest tenured and most successful football coaches, Paul Vosburgh is in his 34th year as head coach at St. John Fisher. He took over a program in 1991 that was only a few years removed from being a club program. Vosburgh's overall record of 188-153 (.551) includes a 150-78 (.658) record since the start of the 2003 season. He has led the Cardinals to five NCAA tournaments, with his 2006 squad advancing to the semifinals and his 2007, 2011 and 2013 teams losing in the quarterfinals. He's also 6-3 in ECAC bowl games. Vosburgh played at and graduated from William Penn University in Iowa in 1975 and was the head coach for the Statesmen for three years in the 1980s.
 
NOTEBOOK:
 
* Cortland's current 18-game winning streak is the longest active streak by teams on any NCAA football level. The next-longest streaks are 11 by both Army West Point (Division I FBS) and Marietta (Division III) and 10 by Ursinus (Division III). Cortland's 23-game Empire 8 win streak, dating back to 2019, is currently the fourth-longest in Division III behind Mount Union (63), Aurora (44) and North Central (38).
 
* Cortland's 18-game winning streak is now a school record for longest unbeaten streak. Cortland went 17 straight games without a loss between 1932-34. Cortland was 11-0-6 during that stretch, going 4-0-3 in 1932, 5-0-2 in 1933 and 2-0-1 in its first three games of 1934 before losing to Ithaca, 7-0.
 
* Cortland recorded 35 first downs at Alfred last week, matching the total the Red Dragons earned in a win at Morrisville last season. Prior to that, no other Cortland team dating back to at least 1972 (the last year records are easily accessible) had that many first downs in a game.
 
* Cortland has broken the school record for scoring average each of the last three years, averaging 41.4 points per game in 2021, 45.1 points per contest in 2022 and 46.2 points per game last fall. The Red Dragons are averaging 55.2 points per game this fall, including at least 40 in every game.
 
* Cortland is off to a 6-0 start for the 14th time in school history. The Red Dragons have opened with a 7-0 mark nine times (1964, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2006, 2008, 2019, 2021 and 2022).
 
* Zac Boyes has attempted 231 straight passes without an interception - his last 103 attempts a year ago plus his 128 attempts this fall. He has broken his previous school record of 194 straight pass attempts without an interception, set last season. After being picked in the 2023 season opener versus Delaware Valley, he wasn't intercepted again until throwing two picks at Ithaca and two in the NCAA second round versus Grove City.
 
* Cortland has been a member of the Empire 8 conference since 2015. The Red Dragons won the outright league title and NCAA automatic bid in both 2021, 2022 and 2023 and were co-champions in both 2015 and 2019, earning an NCAA bid in 2015. Cortland also finished second or tied for second in the league in 2017 and 2018. Cortland previously competed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) for 15 seasons from 2000-14 and finished in at least a tie for first place six times.
 
     Three current Empire 8 members - Cortland, Morrisville and Brockport - at one point played in the NJAC. Cortland and Morrisville are affiliate members of the E8 in football only. Brockport moved from affiliate to full-time status in the league in 2024. Alfred, Hartwick, St. John Fisher and Utica also are full conference members. Hilbert joined the Empire 8 as an affiliate football member in 2024 but will be moving to the Liberty League in 2025, and Alfred State will join the league as an affiliate football member in 2025.

* Cortland and St. John Fisher rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:
 
CORTLAND:
 
3rd, Scoring Offense, 55.2 pts./game
3rd, Third Down Conversion Percentage, 61.7 pct.
3rd, Third Down Conversion Percentage Defense, 21.0 pct.
3rd, First Downs Defense, 64
5th, Passes Had Intercepted, 1
6th, Team Passing Efficiency, 188.2 rating
6th, First Downs Offense, 170
6th, Punt Return Defense, minus 1.0 yds./return
7th, Total Offense, 516.8 yds./game
10th, Rushing Offense, 262.0 yds./game
12th, Scoring Defense, 11.5 pts./game
12th, Red Zone Offense, 92.9 pct.
13th, Total Defense, 218.3 yds./game
14th, Turnovers Lost, 5
19th, Completion Percentage, 68.7 pct.
20th, Passing Yards Allowed, 140.5 yds./game
26th, Tackles for Loss Allowed, 3.8/game
28th, Rushing Defense, 77.8 yds./game
28th, Kickoff Returns, 24.3 yds./return
28th, Blocked Punts, 1
30th, Passing Yards per Completion, 14.8 yds./completion
30th, Fumbles Recovered, 6
32nd, Turnover Margin, plus-1.0/game
36th, Team Passing Efficiency Defense, 106.1 opponent rating
(Cortland is one of 17 undefeated teams in Division III)
 
Ethan Gallo, 1st, Rushing TDs, 15
Ethan Gallo, 1st, Scoring, 15.0 pts./game
Ethan Gallo, 1st, Total TDs, 15
Jaden Martinez, 4th, Forced Fumbles, 0.5/game
Rav Dass Jr., 4th, Punt Return TDs, 1
Zac Boyes, 5th, Yards per Pass Attempt, 10.6 yds./attempt
Zac Boyes, 5th, Passing Efficiency, 197.4 rating
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 6th, Kickoff Return TDs, 1
Zac Boyes, 9th, Completion Percentage, 71.9 pct.
Max Llewellyn 9th, Fumbles Recovered, 2
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 11th, Total TDs, 11
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 12th, Yards per Reception, 22.4 yds./catch
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 12th, Scoring, 11.0 pts./game
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 14th, All Purpose Yards, 143.5 yds./game
Ethan Gallo, 16th, Rushing, 112.0 yds./game
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 19th, Receiving TDs, 8
Ravi Dass Jr., 21st, Punt Returns, 9.9 yds./return
Zac Boyes, 23rd, Total Offense, 279.8 yds./game
Zac Boyes, 24th, Passing Yards per Completion, 14.8 yds./completion
Zac Boyes, 32nd, Points Responsible For, 18.0 pts./game
Mike Baloga, 37th, Scoring, 9.0 pts./game
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 40th, Receiving Yards, 93.2 yds./game

ST. JOHN FISHER:
 
3rd, Time of Possession, 35:27/game
16th, Fourth Down Conversion Percentage Defense, 22.2 pct.
18th, Net Punting, 38.3 net yds./punt
22nd, Kickoff Return Defense, 14.6 yds./return
26th, Defensive TDs, 2
28th, Passing Yards per Completion, 15.1 yds./completion
29th, Fewest Penalty Yards, 36.5 yds./game
37th, Fumbles Lost, 2
 
Ryan Whitney, 20th, Passing Yards per Completion, 15.0 yds./completion
Camden Chance, 22nd, Rushing TDs, 8
 
 
2024 Cortland Weekly Award Winners (game date/opponent in parentheses)
 
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, Sr., Wide Receiver/Kick Returner
D3football.com National Team of the Week (kick returner) (Sept. 21 at Susquehanna)
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 21 at Susquehanna)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (wide receiver) (Oct. 5 vs. Morrisville)
 
Mike Baloga, Sr., Kicker/Punter
Empire 8 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 5 vs. Morrisville)
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 12 at Utica)
 
Zac Boyes, Sr., Quarterback
Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 14 vs. Lycoming)
 
Ravi Dass Jr., Kick/Punt Returner
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 7 at Hilbert)
 
Ellis Einbinder, Jr., Safety
Empire 8 Co-Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 12 at Utica)
 
Ethan Gallo, So., Running Back
Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 19 at Alfred)
 
Offensive Line (Kevin Whalen, Aidan Glynn, Ryan Bitka, Jayden Lont, Cody Aikey)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 14 vs. Lycoming)
 
Offensive Line (Nate Graser, Aidan Glynn, Ryan Bitka, Jayden Lont, Cody Aikey)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 19 at Alfred)


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (6-0, 4-0 Empire 8)

Sept. 7            * at Hilbert............................................... W 76-0
Sept. 14          LYCOMING (PA).................................... W 70-7
Sept. 21          at Susquehanna (PA)............................. W 40-38
Oct. 5             * MORRISVILLE...................................... W 41-0
Oct. 12            * at Utica..................................................W 45-7
Oct. 19           * at Alfred................................................ W 59-17
Oct. 26           * ST. JOHN FISHER................................ 1:00
Nov. 2            * HARTWICK........................................... 1:00
Nov. 9            * at Brockport........................................... 12:00
Nov. 16           ITHACA.................................................. 12:00

* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS

ST. JOHN FISHER (3-3, 2-1 Empire 8)

Sept. 7            MARIETTA (OH)..................................... L 0-55
Sept. 21          KEYSTONE (PA).................................... W 42-40
Sept. 28         at Wilkes (PA).......................................... L 21-28
Oct. 5             * at Brockport.......................................... L 0-35
Oct. 12            * at Hilbert.............................................. W 52-6
Oct. 19           * HARTWICK.......................................... W 56-0
Oct. 26           * at Cortland............................................ 1:00
Nov. 2            * at Alfred................................................. 1:00
Nov. 9            * MORRISVILLE...................................... 12:00
Nov. 16           * UTICA................................................... 1:00
 
* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS


CORTLAND vs. ST. JOHN FISHER – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 10-5)
 
Year        Winner.......................... Score             Site
1988        Cortland........................ 48-10              St. John Fisher
1989        Cortland........................ 37-0                Cortland

1990        Cortland........................ 61-0                St. John Fisher
1991        Cortland........................ 71-0                Cortland

2003        St. John Fisher ............ 47-37              St. John Fisher (ECAC Northwest Bowl)
2009        St. John Fisher.............. 34-20             St. John Fisher (ECAC Northwest Bowl)

2013        St. John Fisher.............. 33-25              St. John Fisher
2015        Cortland........................ 34-17              St. John Fisher
2016        St. John Fisher.............. 31-24              Cortland
2017        St. John Fisher.............. 35-28              St. John Fisher
2018        Cortland........................ 22-3                 Cortland
2019        Cortland........................ 42-37               St. John Fisher

2021        Cortland.........................55-3                 St. John Fisher
2022        Cortland.........................56-14               Cortland
2023        Cortland.........................42-14               St. John Fisher