ALFRED, N.Y. - Mike Rescigno (Arlington) tied a Cortland single-game record with five touchdown passes, and the Red Dragons' six total TD passes tied the program record, as the Red Dragons remained unbeaten in Empire 8 play with a 49-7 win at Alfred State College.
 
Cortland (7-1, 6-0 Empire 8), ranked 16th nationally by the AFCA and 20th by D3football.com, can clinch its fifth straight Empire 8 title with a win at home versus Brockport (4-1 Empire 8) next Saturday. The Red Dragons also have a path to the league title if they lose to Brockport if Brockport loses its season finale versus Utica on Nov. 15.
 
Rescigno completed 16-of-26 passes for 251 yards and his five touchdowns. Cortland quarterbacks have thrown five TD passes in a game seven times previously, the last by Zac Boyes versus North Central in Cortland's 2023 national championship game victory. Craig Galea (Cross River/John Jay) completed all four of his passes for 17 yards, including a touchdown - Cortland's six combined TD passes matches the school record set by Boyes (4) and Vin Mazzone (2) at home versus Hartwick last season.
 
Joe Iadevaio (Massapequa/Plainedge) caught five passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Jacque LaPrarie (Smithtown/Smithtown West) finished with three receptions for 99 yards, including an 80-yard TD grab. Sam Cotton (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley), Jayson Zeva (East Northport/St. John the Baptist) and Andrew Fiore (Carmel) each had TD catches; the junior Fiore scored his TD on first collegiate reception.
 
Rescigno led Cortland's rushing attack with six carries for 72 yards. Kymanni Dennis (Liberty) ran four times for 56 yards and Tyson Taylor (Middle Island/Longwood) carried nine times for 55 yards and a TD. Cortland finished with 524 yards of total offense - 268 passing and 256 rushing.
 
Matt Lotter (Fredonia), Anthony Luciano (Loudonville/Shaker) and Gavin Guers (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Blue Mountain) each finished with six tackles. Nazair Jean-Lubin (Freeport) recorded an interception, his fourth of the season, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery. Sonny Mayo (Mastic Beach/William Floyd) and Eli Alvarez (Patchogue/St. John the Baptist) each forced a fumble.
 
Alfred State (4-4, 2-3 Empire 8) was led by Noah Currier, who ran 26 times for 187 yards. He provided the Pioneers' lone points with a 67-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Justin Horvath completed 6-of-9 passes for 37 yards and Chase Shepanski was 4-for-11 for 50 yards. Matthew Mancuso and Elijah Georges each caught three passes. Of Alfred State's 299 total yards, 212 were on the ground.
 
Chris Bergman led the Pioneers with 11 tackles and Evan Bowen made six tackles, three for loss, and broke up three passes. Aaron Ellis registered an interception.
 
Cortland struck quickly with a game-opening, 4-play scoring drive that included an Iadevaio 42-yard catch, a Taylor 9-yard run and an Iadevaio 11-yard TD reception. Alfred State drove to the Cortland 26-yard line on its first possession. The Pioneers entered the game not having lost a fumble all season, but they coughed up the ball after a botched snap - one of two fumbles they gave away on the afternoon.
 
Later in the first quarter, Jean-Lubin's interception set up the Red Dragons on their own 44-yard line. The ensuing drive started with a Rescigno 10-yard run and Max Barone's (Wading River/Shoreham-Wading River) 18-yard rush. Iadevaio caught a 19-yard pass two plays later, and two plays after that he brought in a 4-yard TD reception to make it 14-0.
 
Cortland extended the lead to 21-0 on its next possession with a 4-play, 62-yard drive. Rescigno's 23-yard run and a 22-yard run by Cotton moved the ball to the Pioneers' 17-yard line, and two plays later Rescigno found Cotton for a 13-yard TD catch.
 
Alfred State drove from its own 26-yard line to the Cortland 14 before turning the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass on 4th-and-6 midway through the second. The game remained 21-0 until the 6:56 mark of the third quarter when Taylor ran in from four yards out.
 
Later in the third, Ellis intercepted a pass and returned the ball 67 yards to the Cortland 4-yard line. Rescigno, after throwing the pick, raced downfield to make a touchdown-saving tackle. Two plays later, Mayo forced a fumble on a Currier run that Jean-Lubin recovered for a touchback. On the next play, Rescigno threw deep to LaPrarie for an 80-yard TD and a 35-0 lead.
 
Currier's 67-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter made it 35-7. Cortland responded with an 8-play, 65-yard drive capped by a Zeva 14-yard TD catch. The Red Dragons closed out the scoring with 4:04 remaining when Galea hit Fiore for a 4-yard TD catch.