SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (3-0, 1-0 Empire 8) vs. SUNY Morrisville Mustangs (1-2, 0-0 Empire 8)
Saturday, Oct. 5, 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

YOUTH FOOTBALL DAY - anyone 17 or under wearing a football jersey of any type (youth team, favorite NFL team, etc.) will be admitted free of charge, along with up to two accompanying adults.

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PARKING INFORMATION FOR FANS:
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: The nationally second-ranked Cortland football team returns after its bye week to host Morrisville in an Empire 8 contest. The Red Dragons are off to a 3-0 start this fall (1-0 Empire 8) and have won 15 straight games dating back to last September. Morrisville is 1-2, all in non-league games, and each of the three games has been decided by eight points or less.
 
THE SERIES: Cortland leads the series versus Morrisville, 16-2. The Red Dragons won the first nine meetings before two straight wins by the Mustangs in 2014 and 2015, each when current Cortland head coach Curt Fitzpatrick coached the Mustangs. Cortland regained the upper hand in the series with wins in each of the last six matchups.
 
The series began in 1930, with Cortland winning, 12-0 at home, and the teams did not meet again until the Red Dragons won 52-14 at Morrisville in 2006. Cortland and Morrisville both joined the Empire 8 in 2015 after being members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference from 2008-14.

Last season, Cortland broke away from a 7-7 tie after one quarter to win at Morrisville, 52-15. Zac Boyes completed 22-of-29 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns and Boyes and Ashton  Capone each rushed for more than 100 yards. The Red Dragons finished with a 659-281 advantage in total offensive yards. Jack Winey led the Red Dragons with seven tackles. Morrisville quarterback Steven Frerichs completed 19-of-32 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns and Evan Salvaggio made 13 tackles.
 
CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland avenged its only loss from the 2023 season with a 40-38 win at then 11th-ranked Susquehanna on Sept. 21. The Red Dragons rallied from an early 17-point deficit at 24-7, matching the school record for best single-game comeback in a victory originally set in a win over Buffalo State in 2007. Ethan Gallo rushed 28 times for 165 yards and three touchdowns. Zac Boyes ran 18 times for 97 yards and two scores and was 13-of-21 through the air for 182 yards. Jayson Zeva caught nine passes for 117 yards and Jaden AlfanoStJohn returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
 
Jaden Martinez led the Red Dragons with 13 tackles and Jack Winey and Ellis Einbinder each made eight stops. Nick Lardaro recorded a crucial sack/forced fumble with 3:20 remaining and Cortland leading by two to set up a late insurance touchdown. Susquehanna scored a TD with 31 seconds left but the ensuing onside kickoff went out of bounds and Cortland was able to run out the clock.
 
Boyes is 41-of-52 passing (78.9 percent) for 653 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions through three games. He's run 23 times for 158 yards and two scores. Gallo averages 94.3 rushing yards per game and has scored nine touchdowns - three each in the first three games. His nine rushing touchdowns are tied for second nationally in Division III, with the leader (Hope's Chance Strickland with 10) and the two players tied with him all having played four games to Gallo's three. Zeva leads the team with 17 receptions for 219 yards and has scored twice and AlfanoStJohn has 10 catches for 219 yards and three scores.
 
Martinez leads the Red Dragons with 24 tackles, 13 solo, and Winey has registered 19 tackles. Frankie Ciaramitaro and Ty Kolar each have interceptions and Nazair Jean-Lubin has totaled a team-high three pass breakups. Mike Baloga has made 23-of-25 PAT kicks and is averaging 37.8 yards per punt on five kicks. Baloga also has 11 touchbacks among his 26 kickoffs. AlfanoStJohn averages 38 yards per kickoff return and Ravi Dass Jr. averages 15.5 yards per punt return, including a 50-yard return for a TD in the season opener at Hilbert.

Curt Fitzpatrick was named SUNY Cortland's football head coach in February 2020 and entered his fifth year at the school and fourth season on the field in 2024. His record at Cortland is 37-4 (.902), 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...SUNY MORRISVILLE:  Morrisville lost at home to Moravian last Saturday, 14-6, to wrap up its non-league schedule. The Mustangs opened the season with a 7-0 home win versus Kean and lost at Catholic, 28-27, on Sept. 21. Morrisville scored at Catholic with 3:21 remaining to close within a point but failed to convert a potential go-ahead 2-point conversion play.
 
Last weekend versus Moravian, Morrisville fell behind 14-0 at halftime but closed to within 14-6 in the third on Anai Brake's 5-yard fumble return. The Mustangs, however, came up short on four fourth-quarter possessions. The Mustangs were limited to 111 yards of total offense in the loss. Evan Salvaggio led the team with 12 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. Omar Jarvis totaled nine tackles, a blocked kick and a pass breakup and Shane Cook had nine tackles and a forced fumble.
 
Quarterback Alek Britten is 34-of-71 passing (47.9 percent) this season for 440 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Isaac Sylvain has run for 220 yards (73.3 per game) and Alex McBurnie averages 42 yards per game on the ground. Quamel Jarvis has caught 14 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Camerin Camacho leads the Mustangs with 31 tackles, including four total tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Salvaggio has 23 tackles, 12 solo, and three pass breakups and Dillon English has made 22 tackles. Ed-Son Jean-Baptiste is averaging 40.4 yards per punt on 17 attempts and Owen Cole is 4-for-5 on PAT attempts.
 
Ed Raby, Jr. is in his fifth year overall and fourth on the sidelines as Morrisville's head coach. He served as interim head coach in 2020 (season canceled) and 2021 (2-8) and was named the head coach officially in the winter of 2021. In 2022 he led the Mustangs to a 7-4 record, including an appearance in the ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl, and he brings an overall record of 14-20 into Saturday's contest. Raby previously served as the Mustangs' defensive coordinator under current Cortland head coach Curt Fitzpatrick from 2017-19, helping the program qualify for two ECAC postseason bowl games (2018 and 2019). Prior to Morrisville, Raby served as an assistant for three seasons at Allegheny College from 2014-16 and one season at Alfred University in 2013. He is an alumnus of Alma College in Michigan, where he was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starting defensive lineman.
 
NOTEBOOK:
 
* Cortland brings a school-record 15-game winning streak into Saturday's contest. The Red Dragons won their final 12 games last season, capped by a win in the national title game, and are 3-0 this season. In addition, Cortland puts a 20-game Empire 8 winning streak on the line - the Red Dragons won their final E8 game in 2019 and, after the 2020 season was canceled, Cortland finished 6-0 in the league in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as well as being 1-0 this year.
 
* Cortland ranks third nationally in Division III in scoring at 62.0 points per game, trailing only Hardin-Simmons (67.0 ppg) and UMass Dartmouth (63.8 ppg). The Red Dragons have 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. Cortland's 186 points this season are the highest three-game total to start a season in school history. The previous bests were 177 points in 2022 and 169 points in 1991.
 
* Zac Boyes has attempted 155 straight passes without an interception - his last 103 attempts a year ago plus his 52 attempts this fall. Boyes set the school record last year with 194 straight pass attempts without an interception. 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 affiliated 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 Morrisville rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:
 
CORTLAND:
 
3rd, Scoring Offense, 62.0 pts./game
5th, Third Down Conversion Percentage Defense, 19.0 pct.
5th, First Downs Defense, 28
5th, Kickoff Returns, 31.5 yds./return
5th, Punt Return Defense, minus 1.0 yds./return
7th, Team Passing Efficiency, 204.6 rating
7th, Tackles for Loss Allowed, 2.7/game
10th, Completion Percentage, 73.2 pct.
10th, Blocked Punts, 1
11th, Total Offense, 527.7 yds./game
13th, Turnovers Lost, 2
14th, Total Defense, 210.0 yds./game
14th, Rushing Offense, 254.3 yds./game
15th, Fumbles Recovered, 4
16th, Passes Had Intercepted, 1
21st, First Downs Offense, 87
21st, Third Down Conversion Percentage, 52.0 pct.
22nd, Passing Yards per Completion, 15.8 yds./completion
23rd, Turnover Margin, plus 1.3/game
24th, Sacks Allowed, 0.7/game
25th, Rushing Defense, 67.3 yds./game
26th, Punt Returns, 15.5 yds./return
35th, Passing Yards Allowed, 142.7 yds./game
39th, Passing Offense, 273.3 yds./game
39th, Net Punting, 37.2 net yds./punt
40th, Fumbles Lost, 1
 
Ethan Gallo, 1st, Scoring, 18.0 pts./game
Ravi Dass Jr., 1st, Punt Return TDs, 1
Ethan Gallo, 2nd, Rushing TDs, 9
Ethan Gallo, 2nd, Total TDs, 9
Zac Boyes, 2nd, Yards per Pass Attempt, 12.6 yds./attempt
Zac Boyes, 3rd, Completion Percentage, 78.8 pct.
Zac Boyes, 3rd, Passing Efficiency, 222.4 rating
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 3rd, Kickoff Return TDs, 1
Max Llewellyn, 3rd, Fumbles Recovered, 2
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 4th, Kickoff Returns, 38.0 yds./return
Ravi Dass Jr., 11th, Punt Returns, 15.5 yds./return
Zac Boyes, 15th, Passing Yards per Completion, 15.9 yds./completion
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 21st, All-Purpose Yards, 152.3 yds./game
George Gjelaj, 22nd, Fumbles Recovered, 1
Junius Keys, 22nd, Fumbles Recovered, 1
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 30th, Yards per Reception, 21.9 yds./catch
Jaden AlfanoStJohn, 33rd, Scoring, 10.0 pts./game
Zac Boyes, 36th, Total Offense, 270.3 yds./game
 
MORRISVILLE:
 
15th, Fumbles Recovered, 4
15th, Red Zone Defense, 50.0 pct.
16th, Passes Had Intercepted, 1
16th, Turnover Margin, plus 1.7/game
18th, Third Down Conversion Percentage Defense, 23.8 pct.
20th, Turnovers Gained, 9
24th, Defensive TDs, 1
31st, Rushing Defense, 77.0 yds./game
36th, Kickoff Return Defense, 14.6 yds./return
36th, Scoring Defense, 14.0 pts./game
38th, Interceptions, 5
40th, First Downs Defense, 46
 
Scotty Howard, 18th, Interceptions, 0.7/game
Anai Brake, 22nd, Fumbles Recovered, 1
David Kelley, 22nd, Fumbles Recovered, 1
Evan Salvaggio, 22nd, Fumbles Recovered, 1
Joshua Williams, 22nd, Fumbles Recovered, 1
Ed-Son Jean-Baptiste, 26th, Punting, 40.4 yds./punt
Camerin Camacho, 27th, Tackles, 10.3/game
 
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)
 
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)
 
Offensive Line (Kevin Whalen, Aidan Glynn, Ryan Bitka, Jayden Lont, Cody Aikey)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 14 vs. Lycoming)


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (3-0, 1-0 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...................................... 1:00
Oct. 12            * at Utica..................................................1:00
Oct. 19           * at Alfred................................................ 1:00
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

MORRISVILLE (1-2, 0-0 Empire 8)

Sept. 7            KEAN (NJ)............................................ W 7-0
Sept. 21          at Catholic (DC)..................................... L 27-28
Sept. 28         MORAVIAN (PA).................................... L 6-14
Oct. 5             * at Cortland........................................... 1:00
Oct. 12            * ALFRED............................................. 12:00
Oct. 19           * UTICA................................................. 12:00
Oct. 26           * at Brockport......................................... 2:00
Nov. 2            * HILBERT.............................................. 1:00
Nov. 9            * at St. John Fisher................................. 1:00
Nov. 16           * HARTWICK....................................... 12:00
 
* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS

 
CORTLAND vs. MORRISVILLE – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 16-2)
 
Year           Winner......................... Score              Site
1930           Cortland........................ 12-0                 Cortland
2006           Cortland........................ 52-14               Morrisville
2007           Cortland........................ 71-7                 Cortland
2008           Cortland........................ 51-37               Morrisville
2009           Cortland........................ 26-17               Cortland
2010           Cortland........................ 42-6                 Morrisville
2011           Cortland........................ 55-14               Cortland
2012           Cortland........................ 56-14               Morrisville
2013           Cortland........................ 62-49               Cortland
2014           Morrisville..................... 38-31               Morrisville
2015           Morrisville..................... 42-28               Morrisville
2016           Cortland........................ 45-20               Cortland
2017           Cortland........................ 34-20               Morrisville
2018           Cortland........................ 51-14               Cortland
2019           Cortland........................ 42-28               Morrisville
2021           Cortland.........................58-7                 Morrisville
2022           Cortland........................ 28-7                 Cortland
2023           Cortland.........................52-15               Morrisville


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