CORTLAND, N.Y. -
Jacque LaPrarie (Smithtown/Smithtown West) tied a school single-game record with three touchdown receptions, and Cortland held an opponent without an offensive touchdown for the third straight game, as the nationally ranked Red Dragons defeated Morrisville, 62-6, in front of a Family Weekend crowd of 7,500.
Cortland (4-0, 2-0 Empire 8), ranked 17th nationally by the AFCA and 18th by D3football.com, extended its Empire 8 winning streak to 35 games dating back to the 2019 season. The Red Dragons will travel to nationally ranked Utica next Saturday in a battle of 4-0 teams.
Cortland outgained Morrisville (1-3, 0-1 Empire 8) in total offense, 586-134, including a 314-34 rushing advantage. The Red Dragons had a 40:28-19:32 advantage in time of possession and held the Mustangs to 0-for-12 on third-down conversions and 0-for-1 on fourth down. Over its last three games, Cortland has shut out Union, 26-0, allowed a late field goal in a 55-3 win over Hartwick, and kept Morrisville's offense out of the end zone. The Mustangs' points came via a Bruce Wingate 32-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter.
LaPrarie is the 18th player in school history to catch three TD passes in a game. He finished with four receptions for 91 yards, including 11-yard and 39-yard TD grabs in the final 1:17 of the first half and a 12-yard TD catch with 8:22 left in the third.
Cortland played five quarterbacks in the contest, led by starter
Mike Rescigno's (Arlington) 19-of-30 passing for 227 yards and four scores.
Craig Galea (Cross River/John Jay) was 3-for-6 for 45 yards and a TD, and he ran for a 7-yard score.
Brady Ciano (Orchard Park) led Cortland with 91 rushing yards on five attempts, capped by a 47-yard TD run with 4:11 left for the Red Dragons' final points.
Steve Otremba (Buffalo/St. Francis) and
Nick DeVito (Smithtown/Smithtown West) also saw time at quarterback.
Josh Kama (Farmingdale) ran four times for 79 yards and
Ethan Gallo (Minisink/Minisink Valley) carried 10 times for 59 yards and a TD.
Jayson Zeva (East Northport/St. John the Baptist) caught six passes for 80 yards and a TD,
Joe Iadevaio (Massapequa/Plainedge) had a team-high eight receptions for 68 yards, and tight end
Zach Couch (Rochester/McQuaid Jesuit) caught a 5-yard TD pass in the first quarter on his first collegiate catch.
Cole Callard (Medina) made all eight of his PAT kicks and connected on 21-yard and 23-yard field goals.
Sonny Mayo (Mastic Beach/William Floyd) finished with an interception and a fumble recovery.
Wilkenson Joseph (New Hartford) forced a fumble, and
Aidan Lochner (Ravena/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) led the team with six tackles.
George Gjelaj (Bedford/Byram Hills) broke up two passes and Lochner had one pass breakup.
Wingate, in addition to his pick-6, finished with six tackles, a pass breakup, and 2.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks. Xavier Augustin, Carter Archibald and Israel Baker led Morrisville with seven tackles each. Starting quarterback Logan Watson was 3-for-6 passing for four yards. William Forte completed 10-of-24 passes for 96 yards, and Mason Ondreyko caught six passes for 94 yards.
Cortland led 14-0 after one quarter on Rescigno TD passes to Zeva and Couch. The lead grew to 17-0 on a Callard 21-yard field goal early in the second, and Gallo ran for a 6-yard TD with 6:01 left in the half. LaPrarie's first two TD receptions made it 38-0 at halftime, and his third scoring catch extended the lead to 45-0.
Wingate's interception return came with 5:54 left in the third. Galea ran for a 7-yard TD with 3:50 left in the third, and Cortland's fourth-quarter scoring included a Callard 23-yard field goal and Ciano's 47-yard TD run.
