By Fran Elia, Cortland Sports Information Director
The 2019 Cortaca Jug rivalry game between Cortland and Ithaca College will be played Nov. 16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., with the schools hoping to break the Division III football attendance record of 37,355 set by Minnesota schools St. Thomas and St. John’s at Target Field in Minneapolis in September 2017.
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Each game week as the big event nears we’ll be taking a look back at some of the top Cortland memories from past Cortaca Jug games.
Flashbacks from the entire series:
1988 Red Dragons Win "Upstate NY Game of the Century"
Botched Field Goal Turns Into Cortaca Jug’s Most Memorable Play in 2014 Red Dragon Victory
Red Dragons Beat Undefeated and Defending National Champ Bombers in Wild 1992 Contest
Cortland Wins Thriller at Ithaca in 1997 for First Road Win vs. Bombers in 30 Years
Cortland Pulls Off Two of Cortaca’s Largest Comebacks in 1999 and 2010
Red Dragons Work Overtime for Back-to-Back Wins in 2005 and 2006
Late Heroics Lead to Unexpected Road Wins in 2003 and 2013
Cortland's Three Largest Cortaca Jug Wins (1968, 1996, 2011)
Goal-Line Stands Lead Red Dragons to 2002 and 2012 Cortaca Victories
Cortland Wins Inaugural Cortaca Jug game in 1959
“Honorable Mentions” that almost made our list:
2015:
Cortland won 11-8 at Ithaca to clinch the Empire 8 crown
1982: Cortland rallied from a 17-7 deficit at home behind TD runs from Mike Bowe and Dave Cook to win 21-17 to end Ithaca’s nine-game Cortaca streak, prompting
one of the few photos ever of players celebrating with the Jug after the game
This week’s flashback:
Goal-Line Stands Lead Red Dragons to 2002 and 2012 Cortaca Victories
The 2002 Cortaca Jug game marked some “firsts” in the rivalry. Not only was it the first Cortaca Jug game in Cortland’s new stadium complex, but it was also the first one to have tickets sell out in advance. The Red Dragons rewarded their fans on a cold and pre-game snowy Nov. 16 afternoon (coincidentally the same date as the 2019 Cortaca game at MetLife) with two goal-line stands in the final seven minutes to preserve a 16-10 lead in an eventual 16-12 victory.
Ten years later, also at the stadium complex, the 2012 Cortaca game was taking an eerily similar turn. The Red Dragons were holding on to a 16-10 lead in the final two minutes and again had to keep Ithaca out of the end zone on four plays inside the 10-yard line to earn the victory.
Both games were followed up by Cortland postseason home games versus Massachusetts opponents. The 2002 squad finished the regular season with an 8-2 record and was hoping for an NCAA at-large berth, but instead settled for a victory over Westfield State in the ECAC Northwest Bowl. The 2012 team finished 8-1 in the regular season and was New Jersey Athletic Conference champion. The Red Dragons defeated Framingham State at home in the NCAA Division III opening round before losing at Wesley in the second round to finish 9-2.
2002 Cortaca Highlights
* Cortland fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter but took a 13-7 halftime lead on Chris Stalker’s 6-yard TD run and J.J. Tutwiler’s 13-yard TD pass to Neal Heaton, Jr. The lead grew to 16-7 in the third on George Oostmeyer’s 35-yard field goal – his then-career record 30th field goal for the Red Dragons (he still ranks first on Cortland’s career charts with 31 from 2000-03).
* Ithaca closed to within 16-10 on a field goal early in the fourth and had two chances to score the go-ahead touchdown stopped by goal-line stands. Cortland was unable to run out the clock and eventually took a safety with 21 seconds left, but Ithaca managed to run just one play after the ensuing free kick and was stopped for a short gain as time expired.
* Joe Marzullo caught nine passes for 111 yards and surpassed the career 100-reception mark. Tutwiler was 22-of-34 passing for 264 yards and Stalker ran for 83 yards on 18 carries. Eric Bramoff and Justin Hartman led the defense with 14 and 11 tackles, respectively, and Todd Goodwin made eight tackles and broke up two passes, the second of which stopped Ithaca second late red zone drive.
* “That’s the greatest game I’ve ever played in,” said Marzullo to the Syracuse Post-Standard after the game. “There’s no greater feeling than this. The emotion is nuts.”
* “I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t feel anything,” said Adam DiPietro to the Cortland Standard after contributing to the game’s final tackle. “I knew if we tackled him the game was over.”
2012 Cortaca Highlights
* Trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter, Cortland cut its deficit to four before halftime on two of Mike DeBole’s three field goals – a 30-yarder and 35-yarder. Mike Humphrey put the Red Dragons ahead on a 9-yard TD catch from Chris Rose less than a minute into the fourth quarter and DeBole added a 31-yard field goal with 4:34 remaining.
* Rose completed 26-of-36 passes for 212 yards and a score. Humphrey and Kordel McInnis each caught seven passes. In addition to his three field goals, DeBole averaged 43 yards per punt on six attempts. Andre Green finished with 10 tackles and Chris Bright had eight.
* “I’ve never been part of a defense like this one,” commented cornerback Pete Furey to the Cortland Standard afterwards. “We love each other. We’re all working together as one unit out there.”
* “We all read the play,” said cornerback Andrew Tolosi to the Cortland Standard of Cortland’s stop on 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 31 seconds left. “We knew they were going to run trey. He (Ithaca running back Clay Ardoin) bounced outside and me and my safety and my linebacker just gang-tackled him. It felt like I was about to have a heart attack. It was the greatest feeling of my life.”
* Tolosi and Matt Ambrose were officially credited with the fourth-down tackle, but it seemed that almost every Red Dragon contributed on the final play plugging holes and forcing the run attempt to the outside.
Coverage Links
2002 Box Score
2012 Box Score
2012 Game Recap
Radio Broadcast of 2012 Game (courtesy Bobby Comstock/WXHC) - final Ithaca series starts at around the 2-hour, 22-minute mark
and videos below of 2002 highlights, 2012 highlights, and 2002 halftime interview with Cortland president Dr. Judson H. Taylor
