SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
2011 Cortaca Jug Game
Cortland Red Dragons (7-2) vs. Ithaca College (4-5)
Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011; 12 p.m.; Butterfield Stadium; Ithaca, N.Y.
Game broadcast live on WXHC, Homer (101.5 FM and www.wxhc.com)
TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT

Follow the game online:
WXHC Radio Broadcast
Live Stats
Live Video (ICTV)
Twitter Updates (from Cortland PR Staff Writer Mike Bersani) (@SUNY_Cortland)

Other Broadcast Info

THE MATCHUP: Cortland concludes its regular-season schedule as it travels to Ithaca College for the annual Cortaca Jug rivalry game. The Red Dragons finished 7-2 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and will finish tied for second place in the 10-team league along with the loser of this Saturday's Montclair State-Kean game (both of those teams are 7-1 and the winner will be the league champion).


THE SERIES: This is the 53rd time that Cortland and Ithaca are playing for the Cortaca Jug. The schools actually started playing in 1930 and have met every year since 1948. Ithaca leads the overall series 39-27-3. In 1959, however, Cortland captain Tom Decker and Ithaca captain Dick Carmean originated the Cortaca Jug as the prize for the winner of the game between the schools located about 20 miles apart on Route 13. Each year, the game's result is printed on the Jug. The first Jug ran out of room for scores in the mid-1980's, necessitating a second Jug that sports the most recent results.

Ithaca leads the Jug series 34-18, which does not include the Bombers' 1988 NCAA playoff win over the Red Dragons. Cortland, however, is 8-7 versus the Bombers since 1996.

Last year in front of a sellout crowd of 10,300 in Cortland, the Red Dragons rallied from a 17-3 third-quarter deficit to edge Ithaca, 20-17. Justin Autera rushed for 232 yards – the most in Cortaca Jug history for either school – and scored twice. Marc Corrado made 26-yard and 32-yard field goals and Cody Allen made nine tackles. Ithaca scored its points on a 5-yard TD run by quarterback Rob Zappia, a 29-yard Andrew Rogowski field goal and a 33-yard pass from Zappia to Dan Higgins.

Ithaca won the three previous Cortaca Jug games prior to last year – a 23-20 decision in Ithaca in 2009, a 35-13 win in Cortland in 2008 that denied the Red Dragons a perfect 10-0 regular-season record, and a 40-17 win in Ithaca in 2007. Cortland won overtime games at home in 2006 and at Ithaca in 2005. Of the last 14 games in the series (1996-2010), 11 have been decided by eight points or less.


CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland scored 35 straight points in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter to break open a close game as the Red Dragons defeated host Brockport, 64-43, last Saturday. The combined 107 points are the most ever in a Cortland football game, breaking the record of 98 points set by Cortland and Brockport in 2009 (Cortland 56, Brockport 42).

Quarterback Dan Pitcher completed 18-of-23 passes for 221 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns. He also ran for two scores. Mike Humphrey caught seven passes for 71 yards and two scores and John Babin finished with seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Brian Haber and fullback Gary Beddoe each caught a TD pass. Dorian Myles rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries. Bill Smith led the defense with 15 tackles and one of Cortland's four interceptions. Pete Furey returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown. Vaughn Labor and D.J. Romano also picked off passes.

Cortland averages 37.9 points and 419.2 yards of total offense per game. Pitcher is 154-of-246 through the air (62.6 percent) for 2,162 yards and 26 touchdowns with four interceptions. Myles averages 91.4 yards per game on the ground. Babin leads the team with 63 receptions for 1,019 yards and 14 touchdowns and Humphrey has 33 catches for 469 yards and five scores. Haber has also caught five TD passes.

Linebackers Smith and Cody Allen lead Cortland with 70 and 60 tackles, respectively. Freshman linebacker Jesse Scanna has a team-high 6.5 sacks and Romano has intercepted three passes. Furey, the starting punter in addition to starting at cornerback, averages 34.9 yards per punt with eight “inside the 20” versus only one touchback. Marc Corrado is 5-of-8 on field goal attempts and 40-of-43 on point-after kicks.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 15th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 97-54 (.642) ranks him second at Cortland in career victories and first in winning percentage. He was the NJAC Coach of the Year and a finalist for Liberty Mutual National Div. III Coach of the Year honors in 2008 after leading the Red Dragons to the league title and the NCAA quarterfinals.

MacNeill has guided Cortland to the NCAA playoffs in 1997, 2005, 2008 and 2010. His 2008 squad was honored with the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy and the ECAC Div. III Team of the Year awards. MacNeill is a 1979 Cortland alumnus and played linebacker and defensive tackle from 1975-78. An assistant coach at Division I-AA Villanova University from 1984-1996, MacNeill is Cortland's 11th head coach since the school's modern era of football began in 1924. MacNeill served as linebackers coach at Villanova and was the team's defensive coordinator from 1988-96.


A LOOK AT...ITHACA COLLEGE: Ithaca enters the game with a 4-5 record overall (2-5 in the Empire 8), ending the Bombers' impressive streak of 40 consecutive winning seasons. Ithaca started the season 3-1 with wins over Brockport, Union and Hartwick, but is just 1-4 since.

Two weeks ago, the Bombers rallied for 10 points in the final 1:09, capped by Andrew Rogowski's 34-yard field goal on the game's final play, to beat visiting Frostburg State, 13-10. Last week, Ithaca dropped a 21-19 home decision to Alfred University when the Saxons were able to run out the final 3:50 following a Bombers' touchdown.

Phil Neumann and Jason Hendel have shared time at quarterback this season. Neumann is 77-of-149 (51.7 percent) for 860 yards and four TDs, while Hendel is 72-of-121 (59.5 percent) for 812 yards and five TDs. Each has been intercepted seven times. Joseph Ingrao has caught 45 passes for 599 yards and three scores and Dan Ruffrage has 40 receptions for 483 yards and three touchdowns.

Ruffrage is one of the nation's most dangerous kick returners. He ranks second nationally in Div. III in punt returns at 26.2 yards per return with two touchdowns and is 11th in kickoff returns at 28.5 yards per return with one score. Rogowski handles both kicking and punting duties. He is tied for fifth nationally with 1.5 field goals made per game and ranks 29th with 38.8 yards per punt.

Linebacker Joe Gilfedder leads Ithaca with 87 tackles, 48 solo, with nine tackles for losses. Safety Josh Leimer has made 54 tackles and is first on the team with four interceptions.

Head Coach Mike Welch is participating in his 31st Cortaca Jug game as head coach, assistant coach or player. He took over as Ithaca's head coach in 1994 and has an overall record of 138-55 (.715) in 18 seasons, including a 9-8 record against Cortland. As a player, Welch earned two letters as a running back after missing most of his sophomore season due to injury. Also a lacrosse player for the Bombers, he graduated from Ithaca in 1974 and returned to his alma mater as an assistant football coach in 1984.


NOTEBOOK:

* Quarterback Dan Pitcher enjoyed the best game of his career last week at Brockport as he played a role in seven touchdowns (five passing, two rushing). In the process, he tied a school single-game record with his five TD passes (the previous three to do it were current assistant coach Alex Smith vs. Kean in 2004, Rob Hale at Ithaca in 1997 and Steve Sanzo vs. Newport News Apprentice in 1994) and earned NJAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

* Pitcher is now Cortland's record-holder for TD passes in a season (26) and in a career (49). He also has thrown at least one TD pass in 11 straight games (all nine this season and two NCAA games last year), tying his own school record. As Cortland's starting quarterback, Pitcher has thrown a TD pass in 22 of 23 games – the only game in that stretch where he didn't throw a TD pass was in last year's 20-17 Cortaca Jug home win vs. Ithaca.

* Pitcher is on pace to record the best passing efficiency rating in one season at Cortland. His current rating is 168.1, and the school record (minimum 100 pass attempts) is 157.5 by current assistant coach Alex Smith in 2006. Next on the list is Ray Miles at 155.9 in 2008 and J.J. Tutwiler with ratings of 153.7 in 2001 and 137.7 in 2002. The rating, which has been calculated by the NCAA since 1979, weighs four statistics – completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns per attempt and interceptions per attempt.

* Through nine games, sophomore wide receiver John Babin has caught 63 passes for 1,019 yards and 14 touchdowns. The 14 TD catches are already a school single-season record, and he is the third player in school history to reach 1,000 yards in a season. Steve Ellis holds the record with 1,089 yards in 1994 (the figure doesn't include 38 yards in the ECAC playoffs since postseason stats have only counted in records since 2002, per NCAA rule). Zacc Guaragno finished with 1,053 receiving yards in 2008. In addition, Babin is five catches shy of Ellis' school-record 68 catches in 1994 (not counting four Ellis catches in the ECAC playoffs), and his five 100-yard receiving games this fall are one away from the Ellis record of six 100-yard games, also in 1994.

* Senior cornerback D.J. Romano has intercepted a pass each of the last two weeks and leads Cortland with three picks this season. Romano ranks second at Cortland with 14 career interceptions and is one shy of tying the school record of 15 set by cornerback Jeff Beck from 2004-07.

* Freshman tailback Bronson Greene has scored a team-high 10 rushing touchdowns this fall – the most by a freshman in school history – despite not starting any game and playing in only eight contests to date. Greene ran for four touchdowns vs. Morrisville – one TD rush shy of tying the school single-game record – and scored two touchdowns each in wins over Western Connecticut State and TCNJ.

* Cortland has scored more than 50 points in three games this season (55 vs. Morrisville, 56 at Western Connecticut St. and 64 last week at Brockport). Only one other Cortland team has reached the 50-point mark three times in a season – the 1991 squad opened the season with 71 points vs. St. John Fisher and 67 points at Wilkes, and later in the year scored 52 points at home vs. Brockport.

* Cortland has gained more than 400 yards in seven of its nine games this season, including a school-record streak of six straight games that ended in a win over TCNJ on Oct. 29. Cortland averages 419.2 yards per game (3,773 yards in nine games) – the school record is 448.1 yards per game in 1990 (4,481 yards in 10 games; regular season only).

* Cortland has allowed only eight sacks over a combined 272 pass plays (264 pass attempts plus eight sacks). That 2.9 percent “sack rate” is currently the lowest for Cortland since sacks were first officially tracked at Cortland in 1982. The school record for a season is 3.6 percent in 2002 (12 sacks allowed on 335 pass plays).

* Cortland and Ithaca rank in the top 30 nationally in Division III in the following categories:

CORTLAND:

8th, Passing Efficiency, 163.6 rating
15th, Rushing Defense, 88.9 yds./game
Tied 16th, Sacks, 3.2/game
22nd, Sacks Allowed, 0.9/game
25th, Scoring Offense, 37.9 pts./game
30th, Total Defense, 284.6 yds./game

Dan Pitcher, 6th, Passing Efficiency, 168.1 rating
John Babin, Tied 12th, Receiving, 113.2 yds./game
John Babin, Tied 22nd, Receptions, 7.0/game
John Babin, Tied 30th, Scoring, 9.3 pts./game


ITHACA:
1st, Punt Returns, 26.2 yds./return
8th, Net Punting, 36.2 yds./punt
23rd, Kickoff Returns, 22.6 yds./return

Dan Ruffrage, 2nd, Punt Returns, 26.2 yds./return
Andrew Rogowski, Tied 5th, Field Goals, 1.5/game
Dan Ruffrage, 11th, Kickoff Returns, 28.5 yds./return
Andrew Rogowski, 29th, Punting, 38.8 yds./punt


* Cortland's defense has recorded 29 sacks through nine games. Cortland has at least 30 sacks each of the last 10 seasons (2000-10), including 31 last year and 50 or more in both 2005 and 2006. Cortland's 50 sacks in 2006 were the best nationally in Division III. The Red Dragons set a school record with 52 sacks in 2005 (sacks have been officially tracked at Cortland since 1982).

* Cortland is in its 12th season as a football-only member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). The Red Dragons compete in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) in most of their other sports. Cortland was the first non-New Jersey school to join the NJAC for football, starting in the 2000 season, and has since been joined by Western Connecticut State, Buffalo State, Brockport and Morrisville. Cortland has finished at least tied for first in the NJAC five times since 2005 (2005-08, 2010).


Cortland's Weekly Award Winners (game date/opponent in parentheses)

Cody Allen, Sr., Linebacker
D3football.com Team of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)
D3football.com Team of the Week (Special Teams) (Oct. 1 vs. Morrisville St.)
D3football.com Team of the Week (Oct. 29 vs. The College of New Jersey)

John Babin, So., Wide Receiver
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Buffalo St.)

Pete Furey, Jr., Punter
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Buffalo St.)

Bronson Greene, Fr., Running Back
NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 1 vs. Morrisville St.)
NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 8 at Montclair St.)

Dan Pitcher, Gr., Quarterback
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 5 at Brockport)

D.J. Romano, Sr., Cornerback
D3football.com Team of the Week (Special Teams) (Oct. 29 vs. The College of New Jersey)

Jesse Scanna, Fr., Linebacker
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 15 at Western Conn. St.)

Bill Smith, Sr., Linebacker
D3football.com Team of the Week (Special Teams) (Oct. 29 vs. The College of New Jersey)

Andrew Tolosi, Fr., Cornerback
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (7-2)

Sept. 3      * BUFFALO ST.                         W 28-12
Sept. 17    * KEAN (NJ)                             L 16-21
Sept. 24    * at Rowan (NJ)                        W 31-28
Oct. 1        * MORRISVILLE ST.                   W 55-14
Oct. 8        * at Montclair St. (NJ)               L 33-34
Oct. 15      * at Western Connecticut St.      W 56-10
Oct. 22      * WILLIAM PATERSON (NJ)         W 35-7
Oct. 29      * THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY  W 23-20
Nov. 5        * at Brockport                           W 64-43
Nov. 12         at Ithaca                               12:00

* NJAC game (7-2)      HOME GAMES IN CAPS

ITHACA (4-5)

Sept. 3         BROCKPORT                          W 19-14
Sept. 10    * at Salisbury (MD)                    L 7-21
Sept. 17       at Union                                 W 37-18
Oct. 1        * at Hartwick                           W 27-13
Oct. 8        * ST. JOHN FISHER                   L 10-13 (OT)
Oct. 15      * at Springfield (MA)                 L 33-38
Oct. 22      * at Utica                                 L 15-20
Oct. 29      * FROSTBURG ST. (MD)            W 13-10
Nov. 5       * ALFRED                                  L 19-21
Nov. 12        CORTLAND                             12:00

* Empire 8 game (2-5)      HOME GAMES IN CAPS


CORTLAND vs. ITHACA – SERIES RECORD
(Ithaca leads overall series 39-27-3 and Cortaca Jug series 34-18)

Year                Winner               Score              Site
1930                Cortland              12-0                Cortland              
1931                Ithaca                 12-6                 Ithaca
1932                Tie                      0-0                   Ithaca
1933                Tie                      6-6                   Cortland              
1934                Ithaca                 7-0                   Ithaca

1948                Cortland             19-0                 Cortland
1949                Cortland             32-7                 Ithaca

1950                Ithaca                 7-6                   Cortland
1951                Ithaca                13-6                  Ithaca
1952                Cortland            39-6                  Cortland
1953                Cortland            32-0                  Ithaca
1954                Tie                     13-13                Cortland
1955                Cortland            28-0                  Ithaca
1956                Cortland            37-0                  Cortland
1957                Cortland            32-13                Ithaca
1958                Cortland            16-6                  Cortland
1959                Cortland            13-7                  Ithaca

1960                Ithaca               12-6                   Cortland
1961                Ithaca               34-0                   Ithaca
1962                Ithaca                24-12                Cortland
1963                Ithaca                22-7                  Ithaca
1964                Cortland            16-0                  Cortland
1965                Ithaca               13-12                 Ithaca
1966                Cortland            24-11                Cortland
1967                Cortland            11-7                  Ithaca
1968                Cortland            34-13                Cortland
1969                Ithaca               36-28                 Ithaca

1970                Cortland            7-0                    Cortland
1971                Ithaca                21-13                Ithaca
1972                Cortland            21-16                Cortland
1973                Ithaca                41-33                Ithaca
1974                Ithaca                34-33                Cortland
1975                Ithaca                21-6                  Ithaca
1976                Ithaca                28-12                Cortland
1977                Ithaca                38-17                Ithaca
1978                Ithaca                27-13                Cortland
1979                Ithaca                42-7                  Ithaca

1980                Ithaca                24-7                  Cortland
1981                Ithaca                42-0                  Ithaca
1982                Cortland            21-17                Cortland
1983                Ithaca                49-26                Ithaca
1984                Ithaca                42-6                  Cortland
1985                Ithaca                41-0                  Ithaca
1986                Ithaca                40-12                Cortland
1987                Ithaca                37-15                Ithaca
1988                Cortland            21-20                Cortland
1988                # Ithaca             24-17                Ithaca
1989                Ithaca                28-0                  Ithaca

1990                Ithaca                28-14                Cortland
1991                Ithaca                23-14                Ithaca
1992                Cortland            22-20                Cortland
1993                Ithaca                32-14                Ithaca
1994                Ithaca                15-13                Cortland
1995                Ithaca                35-19                Ithaca
1996                Cortland            41-13                Cortland
1997                Cortland            33-28                Ithaca
1998                Ithaca                37-29                Cortland
1999                Cortland            26-21                Ithaca

2000                Ithaca                19-14                Cortland
2001                Ithaca                21-14                Ithaca
2002                Cortland            16-12                Cortland
2003                Cortland            16-15                Ithaca
2004                Ithaca                47-22                Cortland
2005                Cortland            37-30 (OT)        Ithaca
2006                Cortland            23-20 (OT)        Cortland
2007                Ithaca                40-17                Ithaca
2008                Ithaca                35-13                Cortland
2009                Ithaca                23-20                Ithaca

2010                Cortland            20-17                Cortland

# NCAA quarterfinals