SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (3-0, 1-0 Empire 8) vs. Morrisville Mustangs (1-2, 0-0 Empire 8)
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026; 1 p.m.; Grady Field; Cortland, N.Y.

TICKETS SOLD ONLINE ONLY AT:  www.cortlandreddragons.com/tickets
($6 Adults; $5 Senior citizens (65+), Youth ages 5-17 and Veterans;
Free for SUNY Cortland students/faculty/staff with college ID)


PDF version (includes 2-deep; will be updated Friday with projected dress roster)

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THE MATCHUP: Cortland, ranked 17th nationally by the AFCA and 18th by D3football.com, hosts Morrisville in an Empire 8 matchup. Cortland, the five-time defending Empire 8 champion, opened league play last weekend with a 55-3 home win over Hartwick to improve to 3-0 overall. Morrisville is playing its first conference game; the Mustangs are 1-2 in three non-league contests.
 
THE SERIES: Cortland leads the series versus Morrisville, 18-2. The Red Dragons won the first nine meetings before two straight wins by the Mustangs in 2014 and 2015. Cortland regained the upper hand in the series with wins in each of the last eight matchups, including a 48-3 road win last fall when the Red Dragons outgained the Mustangs in total offense, 447-95. Mike Rescigno ran for 141 yards and threw four touchdown passes in that victory.
 
The series began in 1930, with Cortland winning, 12-0 at home, and the teams did not meet again until the Red Dragons won 52-14 at Morrisville in 2006. Cortland and Morrisville both joined the Empire 8 in 2015 after being members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference from 2008-14.
 
CORTLAND CAPSULE: Mike Rescigno ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries and completed 14-of-22 passes for 241 yards and two scores in Cortland's 55-3 win over visiting Hartwick last Saturday. Rescigno's 179 rushing yards are the second-highest single-game total by a quarterback in school history (Tyler Hughes, 203 yards vs. William Paterson in 2013).
 
Cortland outgained the Hawks in total offense, 547-96, including a 300-10 rushing advantage. Ethan Gallo carried 12 times for 61 yards and two touchdowns and Lucas Singleton ran for a TD and caught a TD pass. Jayson Zeva and Josh Kama also scored touchdowns in the win. Memphis Ferguson led the defense with six tackles, five solo, and Aidan Lochner had five tackles. Shane Reilly and Joe Galea each registered an interception, and Galea, Joe Russo and James Davenport each posted a sack. Gavin Dandrea averaged 48.5 yards on two punts.
 
Rescigno has rushed for 366 yards and four touchdowns this season, while Gallo has 222 rushing yards with five scores. Rescigno is 39-of-66 passing (59.1 percent) for 558 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Joe Iadevaio has a team-high 12 receptions, followed by Zeva and Sam Cotton with seven catches apiece.
 
Lochner paces the Red Dragons with 16 tackles, followed by Galea with 14 and Ferguson with 13. Galea has 5.5 tackles for loss, including 3.5 sacks, and Ferguson has broken up three passes. Dandrea pushed his season punting average to 40.3 yards per kick. Cole Callard has made 13-of-15 PAT kicks and two of his three field goal attempts.
 
Cortland is averaging 36.3 points and 433 yards of total offense per game and is holding its opponents to just seven points and 194.7 total offensive yards per contest. The Red Dragons rank seventh nationally in Division III in scoring defense, 13th in total defense, and 14th in rushing defense (41.3 yards/game).

Tom Blumenauer is in his second season as Cortland's head coach and is currently 11-3 (.786) with the Red Dragons. He and his assistants were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year in 2025. Blumenauer came to Cortland from Franklin & Marshall, where he led the program to a combined 21-11 record, including an 11-8 mark in the competitive Centennial Conference, from 2022-24. The Diplomats won postseason bowl games versus Delaware Valley in 2024 and King's (Pa.) in 2023. Prior to F&M, "Coach Blu" served as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Williams College for six years from 2016-21, and his prior coaching stops include Bowdoin in 2015, Endicott in 2014 and St. Lawrence from 2010-13.
 
A 2007 Ithaca College graduate, Blumenauer played outside linebacker and free safety for the Bombers for two seasons from 2005-06. He was a two-time All-Empire 8 selection and was named to the 2006 Football Gazette All-East Region team. He's a native of Brentwood, N.Y., and was a football and wrestling standout at Brentwood High School.
 
A LOOK AT...SUNY MORRISVILLE:  Morrisville led defending Liberty League champion Union, 17-7, late in the third quarter before the Garnet Chargers fought back to scored 31 straight points to defeat the Mustangs, 38-17. Logan Watson completed 25-of-36 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted three times. Isaac Sylvain ran for 70 yards and a score, and Lawrence Duncan IV caught eight passes. Israel Baker finished with 10 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup, and Kahlil Terry recorded nine tackles.
 
Through three games, Watson is 57-of-88 passing (64.8 percent) for 587 yards and four touchdowns with five interceptions. He passed for 295 yards and two scores in Morrisville's season-opening 33-30 win at Kean. Sylvain averages 65.3 rushing yards per game and Mason Ondreyko has a team-high 13 receptions for 158 yards and two scores.
 
Baker paces the Mustangs' defense with 21 tackles, followed by Terry with 20 stops and two forced fumbles. Zavion Daniels has team highs of three interceptions and four pass breakups. Two of his three picks and three of his four breakups came in the win at Kean. Bran'Dale Lester averages 38.4 yards per punt. Christ Augustin is 3-for-4 on PAT kicks, and Jesus Cediel has made both of his field goals along with 1-of-2 PAT kicks.
 
Former Cortland offensive lineman Eric Jendryaszek is currently in his second season as Morrisville's head coach. Prior to Morrisville, he coached eight seasons at The College of New Jersey, including interim head coaching duties in 2024. During that season he led the Lions to a 6-4 overall record and 3-3 mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Jendryaszek also spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at King's College (Pa.). He played at Cortland from 2002-05, earning Football Gazette All-America, second team All-East and first team All-NJAC honors as a senior, and he was an assistant coach for the Red Dragons in 2008 and 2009.
 
Cortland alumnus and former assistant coach Jake Orlando is Morrisville's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, and former Cortland assistant coach Colin Schaeffer is the team's defensive coordinator. Former Red Dragon running back Matt Hull is also a coach on Morrisville's staff.
 
NOTEBOOK:
 
* Mike Rescigno ranks 21st nationally in Division III in rushing at 122 yards per game. He's second among quarterbacks, behind only Merchant Marine Academy's Bubba Mustain (150.5 yds./game), and he's second among all Empire 8 rushers - Alfred State's Noah Currier leads Division III nationally with 203.7 yards per contest.

* Cortland has a 34-game Empire 8 winning streak dating back to late in the 2019 season. The Red Dragons have been a member of the Empire 8 since 2015. The Red Dragons won the outright league title and NCAA automatic bid in 2021 (6-0), 2022 (6-0), 2023 (6-0), 2024 (7-0) and 2025 (7-0) and were co-champions in both 2015 and 2019, earning an NCAA bid in 2015. Cortland also finished second or tied for second in the league in 2017 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, Morrisville and Brockport - at one point played in the NJAC. Cortland, Morrisville and Alfred State are affiliate members of the E8 in football only. Brockport moved from affiliate to full-time status in the league in 2024. Alfred University, Hartwick, St. John Fisher and Utica also are full conference members.
 
* Cortland's 2001 NCAA Division III champion field hockey team will be honored at halftime, as well as at halftime of Cortland's home field hockey game versus New Paltz. The Red Dragons, under head coach Cynthia Wetmore, finished the season 19-2, capped by a 1-0 win over Messiah in the national title game in Springfield, Mass., for the program's third national crown. Cortland's other national titles came back-to-back in 1993 and 1994.
 
* Cortland is 6-5 all-time in overtime games, with the last a 32-26 home loss to Brockport in 2019. All 11 games were decided in the first extra session.
 
* Cortland and Morrisville rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:
 
CORTLAND:
 
7th, Scoring Defense, 7.0 pts./game
13th, Total Defense, 194.7 yds./game
14th, Rushing Defense, 41.3 yds./game
15th, Team Passing Efficiency Defense, 84.1 opponent rating
23rd, Rushing Offense, 245.0 yds./game
29th, First Downs Offense, 67
30th, Turnovers Lost, 2
31st, Passes Had Intercepted, 1
35th, Sacks Allowed, 0.7/game
 
Cortland is one of undefeated 55 Division III teams (31 of those are 3-0)
 
Mike Rescigno, 7th, Rush Yards per Carry, 8.3 yds/attempt
Ethan Gallo, 8th, Rushing Touchdowns, 5
Chris Carter Jr., 14th, Fumbles Recovered, 1
Mike Rescigno, 18th, Total Offense, 308.0 yds./game
Ethan Gallo, 18th, Total Touchdowns, 5
Mike Rescigno, 19th, Rushing Touchdowns, 4
Mike Rescigno, 21st, Rushing, 122.0 yds./game
Joe Galea, 26th, Sacks, 1.2/game
Cole Callard, 34th, Field Goal Percentage, 66.7 pct.
Joe Galea, 38th, Tackles for Loss, 1.8/game
Ravi Dass Jr., 38th, Punt Returns, 10.0 yds./return
Mike Rescigno, 40th, Total Touchdowns, 4
 
MORRISVILLE:

3rd, Blocked Kicks, 3
8th, Fumbles Recovered, 4
10th, Punt Return Defense, minus-0.75 yds./return
15th, Turnovers Gained, 8
35th, Red Zone Defense, 57.1 pct.
37th, Interceptions, 4
 
Dom Dorman, 3rd, Fumbles Recovered, 2
Ja'Mar Harvey, 5th, Blocked Kicks, 2
Zavion Daniels, 7th, Interceptions, 1.0/game
Zavion Daniels, 8th, Passes Defended (Interceptions + Breakups), 2.3/game
Kahlil Terry, 9th, Forced Fumbles, 0.7/game
Ja'Mar Harvey and Kahlil Terry, each 14th, Fumbles Recovered, 1
 
2026 Cortland Weekly Award Winners (game date/opponent in parentheses)
 
Joe Galea, Sr., Linebacker
Empire 8 Co-Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12 at Union)
 
Mike Rescigno, Jr., Quarterback
Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 19 vs. Hartwick)

SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (3-0, 0-0 Empire 8)
 
Sept. 5            at Grove City (PA)................................. W 28-18
Sept. 12          at Union................................................. W 26-0
Sept. 19          * HARTWICK......................................... W 55-3
Sept. 26         * MORRISVILLE...................................... 1:00
Oct. 3             * at Utica.................................................. 1:00
Oct. 17            * at Alfred Univ. .................................... 12:00
Oct. 24           * ST. JOHN FISHER................................ 1:00
Oct. 31            * ALFRED ST. ....................................... 1:00
Nov. 7             * at Brockport.......................................... 12:00
Nov. 14           Ithaca (Yankee Stadium)........................ 1:00
 
* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS
 
MORRISVILLE (1-2, 0-0 Empire 8)

Sept. 5            at Kean (NJ)........................................... W 33-30
Sept. 12          at Rochester............................................ L 10-21
Sept. 19          UNION..................................................... L 17-38
Sept. 26         * at Cortland............................................. 1:00
Oct. 3             * ALFRED STATE.................................... 12:00
Oct. 10           * UTICA..................................................... 12:00
Oct. 24           * at Brockport............................................ 1:00
Oct. 31            * HARTWICK........................................... 1:00
Nov. 7            * at St. John Fisher.................................... 1:00
Nov. 14           * ALFRED UNIV. ..................................... 1:00

* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS


CORTLAND vs. MORRISVILLE – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 18-2)
 
Year           Winner......................... Score              Site
1930           Cortland........................ 12-0                 Cortland
2006           Cortland........................ 52-14               Morrisville
2007           Cortland........................ 71-7                 Cortland
2008           Cortland........................ 51-37               Morrisville
2009           Cortland........................ 26-17               Cortland
2010           Cortland........................ 42-6                 Morrisville
2011           Cortland........................ 55-14               Cortland
2012           Cortland........................ 56-14               Morrisville
2013           Cortland........................ 62-49               Cortland
2014           Morrisville..................... 38-31               Morrisville
2015           Morrisville..................... 42-28               Morrisville
2016           Cortland........................ 45-20               Cortland
2017           Cortland........................ 34-20               Morrisville
2018           Cortland........................ 51-14               Cortland
2019           Cortland........................ 42-28               Morrisville
2021           Cortland.........................58-7                 Morrisville
2022           Cortland........................ 28-7                 Cortland
2023           Cortland.........................52-15               Morrisville
2024           Cortland.........................41-0                 Cortland
2025           Cortland.........................48-3                 Morrisville


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