SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (5-0, 2-0 Empire 8) vs. Hartwick College Hawks (2-3, 0-2 Empire 8)
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022; 1 p.m.; SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex; Cortland, N.Y.
TICKETS: $6 adults, $5 students with ID
SUNY Cortland students/faculty/staff FREE with ID; Children 12 and under FREE

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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: Cortland hosts Hartwick in an Empire 8 matchup as the Red Dragons look to maintain their lead in the conference. Cortland is off to a 5-0 start (2-0 in the league) and is ranked 11th nationally by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and 13th by D3football.com.
 
THE SERIES: Cortland leads the overall series with Hartwick by a 16-0 count. Cortland won the first 10 meetings, nine by shutout, between 1929-50. Hartwick discontinued football after the 1950 season and reinstated its program in 1992. The schools rebooted the series in 2015 when the Red Dragons joined the Empire 8.
 
Four of the six meetings since the renewal have been nail-biters, with Cortland winning 48-45 in overtime at home in 2015, 50-47 at Hartwick in 2016, 31-30 at home in 2017, and 32-21 at Hartwick in 2019 after trailing by six entering the final quarter. Last season, Cortland won at Hartwick, 48-3, in a game played through a constant and chilling rain. The Red Dragons blocked two punts for touchdowns and ran for 252 yards and three scores. Cortland completed only 6-of-10 passes for 118 yards, with two of the completions going for touchdowns. Hartwick passed for 165 yards but was held to minus-13 yards on 31 rushes, including 45 lost yards on seven Cortland sacks.
 
Cortland scored twice in the first quarter on a Brees  Segala 20-yard TD run and a Mike  Pellittiere 10-yard return after a Stone  Murray blocked punt. Dylan Dubuque's blocked punt led to Tommy  Heuer's 20-yard TD return, and Segala connected with JJ Laap for a 41-yard TD pass to make it 28-0 at halftime. Mike Eglintine caught a 25-yard TD pass in the third quarter. Hartwick's lone score came early in the fourth on Kevin Roberts' 33-yard field goal. The Red Dragons finished the scoring on a Dom  Gombetto 1-yard TD run and a Zac Boyes 43-yard scoring rush. Dubuque finished with seven tackles, three for loss, and a forced fumble in addition to his blocked punt.
 
CORTLAND CAPSULE:  Cortland is coming off a 42-24 win at Brockport last Saturday. Jaden Alfanostjohn ran for 119 yards and three touchdowns, Joshua Cordero returned an interception for a touchdown, and Rashad Tucker, the Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week, returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score. Zac Boyes was 11-of-15 passing for 170 yards and ran for 30 yards and a touchdown. Ty Kolar led the Red Dragons with 10 tackles, eight solo. Zack Thuesen and Craig Ackerman made eight tackles each, and Anthony Dennison finished with seven tackles and an interception.
 
Cortland has outscored its opponents, 247-73, and is averaging 508.2 yards per game through its first five games. Alfanostjohn averages 114.6 yards per game on the ground with 10 touchdowns and Boyes is 73-of-97 passing (75.3 percent) for 1,318 yards and 11 touchdowns with two interceptions. Cole Burgess has caught 20 passes for 425 yards and six scores and JJ Laap has 19 receptions for 439 yards and three touchdowns.
 
Thuesen is the team leader with 40 tackles, followed by Kolar with 29 and Ackerman with 27. Nick Lardaro has recorded 3.5 sacks and Max Llewellyn has three sacks. Cordero has six of Cortland's 10 interceptions, three of which he's returned for touchdowns. Mike Baloga is 29-of-31 on PAT kicks and 4-of-5 on field goal attempts. Patrick Luby averages 36.1 yards per punt, and 18 of his 35 kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks. Tucker averages 28.3 yards per kickoff return.
 
Curt Fitzpatrick was named Cortland's head coach in February 2020 and enters the game with a 16-1 overall record. The 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, and in his first season on the field in 2021 he led the Red Dragons to an 11-1 season, the Empire 8 crown, and the NCAA second round. Fitzpatrick and his assistants were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Fitzpatrick previously served as head coach at Morrisville State for seven seasons from 2013-19 and guided the Mustangs to four winning seasons and three postseason ECAC bowl games. His 2014 squad finished 9-2 and claimed a share of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title, earning him NJAC Co-Coach of the Year and D3football.com East Region Coach of the Year honors.
 
Fitzpatrick served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utica College from 2008-12. He graduated from St. John Fisher College in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in management. A standout quarterback for the Cardinals, Fitzpatrick served as a team captain and was a four-year letterman. 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...HARTWICK COLLEGE:  Hartwick fell to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Empire 8 with a 21-6 loss at home to Alfred last weekend. The Hawks grabbed an early lead on Nick Andrade's 38-yard field goal and were within 7-6 at halftime after Andrade connected on a 22-yard field goal just before the break. Alfred, however, scored on a 3-yard TD pass with 13:45 left, followed by a 32-yard interception return for a score just 19 seconds later.
 
Kyle Szokoli completed 15-of-23 passes for 136 yards, including seven completions to Nate Rath for 95 yards. Bryan Grimes led the Hawks with 11 tackles and an interception. Nelon Priest finished with two interceptions and two pass breakups, Jeremy Gerdvil recorded 10 tackles, and Jake Ely totaled eight tackles, all solo.
 
Szokoli is 78-of-141 passing (55.3 percent) for 917 yards and four touchdowns through five games but has been intercepted 10 times. Carlvin McDonald is the team's leading rusher with 308 yards on 76 carries with six touchdowns. Rath has 22 receptions for 413 yards and two scores and Justin LoBasso has caught 21 passes for 168 yards and one score. Grimes and Gerdvil lead Hartwick with 48 and 47 tackles, respectively, while Gerdvil is the team leader with four sacks. Andrade is 9-for-9 on PAT kicks and 4-for-7 on field goals, and he also averages 38.5 yards per punt.
 
Mark Carr is in his 21st season as Hartwick's head coach (including the canceled 2020 season). He has an overall record of 69-120 (.365), and his 69 wins are the most in school history. He led the Hawks to a share of the Empire 8 title and the NCAA playoffs in 2007, as well as ECAC bowl games in 2002, 2008 and 2009. He spent nine years as Hartwick's offensive coordinator while an assistant from 1993-2001. Carr graduated in 1990 from the University of New Hampshire, where he set numerous passing records as the starting quarterback for the Wildcats. He served as UNH's quarterbacks coach when the program won the Yankee Conference title in 1991.
 
NOTEBOOK:
 
* Joshua Cordero leads Division III nationally with 1.2 interceptions per game (six in five games). He picked off a pass versus Wittenberg, had three interceptions versus TCNJ, and registered one pick each at Buffalo State and Brockport. He's returned three of his interceptions for touchdowns (TCNJ, Buffalo State and Brockport). The Cortland record for interceptions in a season is eight, held by both Joe Lopez in 2010 and Steve Daly in 1975.
 
     Cordero has tied a school record for defensive touchdowns scored in a season with three, set originally by Chuck Eich in 2003. Eich (pronounced IKE) had three interception returns for touchdowns that season, with one of them coming following a lateral after a teammate's interception.
 
* Zac Boyes leads Division III nationally with a 222.7 passing efficiency rating through five games. The rating reflects four statistics – completion percentage, passing yards per pass attempt, touchdown passes per pass attempt and interceptions per pass attempt. Boyes set a school single-game record (minimum 10 attempts) with his 330.3 rating versus TCNJ (10-for-13, 235 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions) on Sept. 10. The school single-season record is 177.0, set by Brees Segala last year. Boyes is first nationally in Division III in yards per pass attempt (13.6) and second nationally in completion percentage (75.3) and passing yards per completion (18.1).
 
* Cortland has won 15 straight regular-season games dating back to the start of last season. The school record for consecutive regular-season wins is 18 spanning the 1988 (10-0 regular) and 1989 (8-0 start) seasons. The Red Dragons have only had two other streaks of at least 10 regular-season wins – 11 straight in 2005 (last three) and 2006 (first eight), and 10 straight in 1935 (last five) and 1936 (first five).
 
* Cortland is off to a 5-0 start for the 18th time in school history. The Red Dragons have opened with a 6-0 mark 12 times (1896, 1899, 1902, 1964, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2006, 2008, 2019, 2021).
 
* Cortland is averaging 49.4 points per game through five games this fall. The Red Dragons set the school record last fall by averaging 41.4 points per game.
 
*  It was announced on Oct. 6 that the YES (Yankees Entertainment and Sports) Network will be broadcasting the Nov. 12 Cortaca Jug game between Cortland and Ithaca at Yankee Stadium. As a result, the kickoff time for the game has been moved up one hour to noon. Fans who are not YES subscribers will be able to watch the game for free on the YES app.
 
* Cortland has been a member of the Empire 8 conference since 2015. The Red Dragons won the league title in 2021 and were co-champion in both 2015 and 2019, earning an NCAA automatic berth in 2015. Cortland also finished second or tied for second in the league in 2018 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, Brockport and Morrisville State - at one point played in the NJAC and are affiliate members of the E8 in football only. The other league teams - Alfred, Hartwick, St. John Fisher and Utica - are full conference members. In late September of 2022, it was announced that Hilbert College will join the Empire 8 as an affiliate football member in the fall of 2024.


* Cortland and Hartwick rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:
 
CORTLAND:
 
2nd, Team Passing Efficiency, 203.5 rating
4th, Defensive Touchdowns, 3
5th, Fourth Down Conversion Percentage, 83.3 pct.
6th, Third Down Conversion Percentage, 58.2 pct.
8th, Scoring Offense, 49.4 pts./game
8th, Passing Yards per Completion, 17.1 yds./completion
9th, Completion Percentage, 70.5 pct.
10th, Turnover Margin, plus-1.8/game
12th, Total Offense, 508.2 yds./game
13th, Sacks, 3.6/game
15th, Interceptions, 10
16th, Passes Had Intercepted, 2
19th, Turnovers Gained, 14
25th, Passing Offense, 293.6 yds./game
25th, Rushing Offense, 214.6 yds./game
26th, Team Passing Efficiency Defense, 98.9 opponent rating
27th, Turnovers Lost, 5
31st, Sacks Allowed, 1.0/game
33rd, Red Zone Offense, 86.7 pct.
34th, Kickoff Returns, 23.1 yds./return
34th, Net Punting, 35.6 net yds./punt
34th, Punt Return Defense, 2.5 yds./return
36th, Scoring Defense, 14.6 pts./game
37th, Tackles for Loss Allowed, 4.4/game
 
(Cortland is one of 25 undefeated teams in Division III)
 
Joshua Cordero, 1st, Interceptions, 1.2/game
Zac Boyes, 1st, Passing Efficiency, 222.7 rating
Zac Boyes, 2nd, Completion Percentage, 75.3 pct.
Zac Boyes, 1st, Yards per Pass Attempt, 13.6 yds./attempt
Zac Boyes, 2nd, Passing Yards per Completion, 18.1 yds./completion
Rashad Tucker, 3rd, Kickoff Return Touchdowns, 1
Jaden Alfanostjohn, 5th, Scoring, 13.2 pts./game
Jaden Alfanostjohn, 6th, Rushing Touchdowns, 10
Jaden Alfanostjohn, 6th, Total Touchdowns, 11
Joe Ruggieri, 8th, Fumbles Recovered, 2
Joshua Cordero, 9th, Passes Defended (Interceptions plus Breakups), 1.8/game
Jaden Alfanostjohn, 12th, Rushing Yards, 114.6 yds./game
Cole Burgess, 13th, Receiving Touchdowns, 6
Zac Boyes, 17th, Total Offense, 292.2 yds./game
Rashad Tucker, 17th, Kickoff Returns, 28.3 yds./return
JJ Laap, 18th, Yards per Reception, 23.1 yds./catch
Mike Baloga, 19th, Field Goal Percentage, 80.0 pct.
Zac Boyes, 21st, Passing Yards, 263.6 yds./game
Jaden Alfanostjohn, 26th, All Purpose Yards, 147.2 yds./game
Cole Burgess, 33rd, Yards per Reception, 21.3 yds./catch
 
HARTWICK:
 
20th, Interceptions, 9
 
Nick Andrade, 17th, Field Goals, 1.0/game
Nelon Priest, 17th, Interceptions, 0.6/game
Jeremy Gerdvil, 19th, Solo Tackles, 6.2/game
Bryan Grimes, 19th, Solo Tackles, 6.2/game
Owen Lawler, 28th, Passes Defended (Interceptions plus Breakups), 1.4/game
Nelon Priest, 28th, Passes Defended (Interceptions plus Breakups), 1.4/game
Carlvin McDonald, 30th, Total Touchdowns, 7
Carlvin McDonald, 35th, Scoring, 8.4 pts./game
Carlvin McDonald, 38th, Rushing Touchdowns, 6
 
 
2022 Cortland Weekly Award Winners (game date/opponent in parentheses)
 
Jaden Alfanostjohn, Running Back
Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 1 vs. Morrisville)
 
Zac Boyes, Quarterback
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Wittenberg)
Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 17 at Buffalo State)
 
Cole Burgess, Wide Receiver
Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10 vs. TCNJ)
 
Joshua Cordero, Defensive Back
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 10 vs. TCNJ)
Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10 vs. TCNJ)
 
JJ Laap, Wide Receiver
Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Wittenberg)
 
Rashad Tucker, Wide Receiver/Kick Returner
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 8 at Brockport)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Returner) (Oct. 8 at Brockport)
 

SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (5-0, 2-0 Empire 8)

Sept. 3            WITTENBERG (OH)............................. W 48-28
Sept. 10          THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY......... W 63-7
Sept. 17          at Buffalo State...................................... W 66-7
Oct. 1              * MORRISVILLE.................................... W 28-7
Oct. 8             * at Brockport.......................................... W 42-24
Oct. 15            * HARTWICK.......................................... 1:00
Oct. 22           * at Utica.................................................. 1:00
Oct. 29           * at Alfred................................................ 1:00
Nov. 5            * ST. JOHN FISHER................................ 1:00
Nov. 12           Ithaca (Yankee Stadium)....................... 12:00
 
* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS
 
HARTWICK (2-3, 0-2 Empire 8)

Sept. 3            MARITIME.............................................. W 31-10
Sept. 10          KING'S (PA)............................................ L 10-17
Sept. 24         NICHOLS (MA)........................................ W 28-20
Oct. 1              * at Utica.................................................. L 7-57
Oct. 8             * ALFRED................................................ L 6-21
Oct. 15            * at Cortland........................................... 1:00
Oct. 22           * BROCKPORT....................................... 1:30
Oct. 29           * at St. John Fisher................................. 1:00
Nov. 5            at Rochester............................................ 12:00
Nov. 12           * at Morrisville........................................ 1:00
 
* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS

CORTLAND vs. HARTWICK – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 16-0)

Year      Winner......................... Score                   Site
1929     Cortland........................ 53-0                      Cortland
1930     Cortland........................ 67-0                      Hartwick
1932     Cortland........................ 24-0                      Cortland
1933      Cortland....................... 40-0                      Cortland
1942     Cortland........................ 47-0                      Cortland
1946     Cortland........................ 28-0                      Cortland
1947     Cortland........................ 10-0                      Hartwick
1948     Cortland........................ 14-7                      Hartwick
1949     Cortland........................ 39-0                      Cortland
1950     Cortland........................ 37-0                      Hartwick
2015     Cortland........................ 48-45 (OT)            Cortland
2016     Cortland.........................50-47                    Hartwick
2017     Cortland.........................31-30                    Cortland
2018     Cortland.........................56-3                      Hartwick
2019     Cortland.........................32-21                    Hartwick
2021     Cortland.........................48-3                      Hartwick