Rivals have last laugh
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There were two big upsets and maybe a third depending upon whom you talk to, as Ithaca, RPI, and Rowan fell. Using last week’s regional NCAA poll, the shake-ups vaulted No. 14 Montclair State (8-1) up to the No. 2 seed from No. 5 in the Springfield bracket of the NCAA Playoffs. The weekend games moved No. 21 Ithaca (8-2) out of the two spot down to No. 6 and RPI (8-1) slid from No. 4 to No. 5 in the bracket.
Meanwhile strategic miscues against Montclair bounce Rowan (7-3) out of the Top 25 and out of the Playoffs for the first time since 2000, in what was probably the pick-em game of the week in the East.
No. 8 Springfield (10-0) grabs the No. 1 seed and the bye, while No. 13 Brockport (9-1) remains No. 3. This sets up a big rematch between Ithaca and Brockport State at Brockport. No. 21 Ithaca won the regular season matchup 31-10 in Ithaca in October. No. 7 Allegheny slides into the bracket and travels to No. 2 Montclair. No. 4 Curry must travel to No. 5 RPI because Curry’s home field doesn’t meet NCAA requirements for hosting.
Red Dragons topple Ithaca for Cortaca Jug
Junior Ryan DeCamp kicked a 26-yard field goal on the final play of the game as visiting Cortland (5-4) upset Ithaca (8-2) 16-15 in front of 11,743 fans at Ithaca’s Butterfield Stadium. DeCamp’s field goal — his third of the game — gave the Red Dragons possession of the Cortaca Jug, the rivalry’s traveling trophy, for the second year in a row. The loss was Ithaca’s first at home in 13 games, dating back to Oct. 6, 2001.
Ithaca had taken a 15-13 lead with 3:28 remaining on a 24-yard field goal by freshman Brett Kitenplon. That’s when Cortland coach Dan MacNeill approached his quarterback J.J. Tutwiler.
“I said, ‘You know J.J., you’ve been here for four years, and three years as a starter and this is the drive you’re going to remember for the rest of your life,’ “ MacNeill said in The Ithaca Journal. “This is the moment for J.J. Tutwiler.”
After taking the kickoff to their own 33-yard line, the Red Dragons drove 58 yards on 10 plays to set up the winning field goal. The drive’s biggest play was a 37-yard completion on third-and-five from Tutwiler to senior wide receiver Neal Heaton, Jr. that put the ball on the Bomber 25. Tutwiler was nearly sacked on the play but recovered to find Heaton, who had fallen down but got up to make the reception. Junior tailback Steven Davis gained 15 yards on four carries to set up DeCamp’s field goal.
“It’s a very tough loss,” Ithaca coach Mike Welch said. “We fought hard and overcame a lot of adversity over the year and won some big games. You’d like to finish (strong). This is a tough loss, but we’ll move forward.”
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster ride with the end of (Saturday’s) game and then (Sunday),” Welch said after learning of the NCAA berth. “It worked out and now we’re moving forward.”
DeCamp kicked a 28-yard field goal on the last play of the first quarter to put Cortland up 3-0 and a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to give the Red Dragons a 13-12 lead. The Bombers took their final lead on Kitenplon’s field goal, following an eight-play, 63-yard drive. On the play preceding the field goal, Cortland freshman free safety Stef Sair knocked a pass away from junior receiver Jeff Welch at the goal line.
Ithaca took its first lead on a 12-yard run by sophomore quarterback Josh Felicetti with 8:48 left in the second quarter. The touchdown was set up by a 46-yard punt return by junior Matt Tosh and 15-yard personal foul penalty on Cortland that set the Bombers up at the Red Dragon 14. Cortland’s Will Groff returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards to the Ithaca 2 (Welch caught him from behind to save the touchdown) and the Red Dragons scored two plays later on a 2-yard run by senior fullback Chris Stalker.
Ithaca went back in front early in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by junior fullback Jamie Free. The Bombers did not convert an extra point on either touchdown; on their first attempt a high snap led to the holder running for the end zone (he was stopped just short) and the Bombers missed the kick after their second touchdown.
Felicetti threw for 179 yards, completing 12 of 26 passes. He became the fifth Bomber quarterback to go over 2,000 passing yards in a season and the fourth to reach 3,000 career yards. Welch caught five passes for 79 yards.
The Red Dragons ran for 202 yards, with Tutwiler and Davis gaining 63 each. Senior strong safety Jon Edgcomb led Ithaca with a career-best 15 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Dustin Ross recorded 14 tackles and senior linebacker Brett Campbell added a career-best 11 tackles. Senior defensive end Bryan Steele had two tackles for loss and a pass break-up. Freshman linebacker Matt Montpetit led Cortland with 10 tackles. Sair recorded five tackles and broke up two passes.
Statesmen stun Engineers in fourth quarter
Hobart scored four fourth-quarter touchdowns, including two long scoring passes in 38 seconds, to come back for a 43-25 victory over No. 25 RPI at ‘86 Field in Troy, N.Y. The Statesmen, who won in Troy for the first time since 1983, conclude the regular season with a 5-4 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association, winning the league title for the second consecutive season. Rensselaer fell to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the league and could have fallen out of the playoffs if not for losses by Ithaca and Washington & Jefferson.
“The fourth quarter was scary,” said Engineers head coach Joe King in The Troy Record.
Trailing 18-15 after three quarters, Hobart took a commanding 29-18 lead with two touchdown passes early in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Craig Swanson hit Rick Piniero on a fourth-down play from 42 yards out at 10:19 and the senior righthander connected with Dan Suozzi from 45 yards away just 38 seconds later for a 29-18 lead. A 3-yard touchdown run by Ty Godinho at 4:08 and a 2-yard run by Jack Holleran at 3:43 sealed the win.
“We were playing this game for pride,” Swanson added. “Our playoff hopes ended with our second loss earlier, so we wanted to win for ourselves.”
Hobart was rewarded with an ECAC bid on Monday afternoon.
Godhino (23 carries, 133 yards, two TDs) and Holleran (26-128-2) each had over 100 yards rushing to lead the Statesmen, who outgained Rensselaer 431 to 373. Swanson completed eight of 13 passes for 183 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while Suozzi caught five passes for 114 yards and one touchdown. Tony Clemente had a team-high eight tackles, including two solos and 1˝ for 6 lost yards.
The Engineers broke out first when senior quarterback Dan Cole hit junior Dan Stephens in the back of the end zone from 21 yards out with 1:21 left in the first quarter. The kick attempt failed and Rensselaer led 6-0 after the first quarter.
It didn’t take Hobart long to take the lead as they drove 69 yards on 11 plays on the ensuing drive, capped by a seven-yard run by Godinho. Eric Ampuja’s extra point gave the visitors a one-point lead. Rensselaer took a 15-7 lead into the locker room for halftime as senior kicker Matt Verenini kicked three second quarter field goals, including two in the final 1:15 of the stanza. His first, a 23-yard effort, came at 6:05, his second (33 yards) at 1:15 and his third (35 yards) as the horn sounded.
The Statesmen tied the score at 4:32 of the third quarter when Holleran scored from two yards out and Hobart converted on a two-point conversion. The highlight of the play was a 36-yard pass from Swanson to Suozzi. A 38-yard field goal by Verenini, his school-record fourth of the game, with just 35 seconds left put the Engineers back out in front 18-15 and that is how the quarter ended.
Cole, who completed 22 of 45 passes for 265 yards and an interception, hit Flynn Cochran from 14 yards with 1:36 to play in the fourth quarter to end the scoring. Cochran finished with a game-high ten catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, junior linebacker Sean Doran had a game-high 12 tackles, including six unassisted.
On Sunday about 20 players gathered at Dan Cole’s apartment to watch the playoff seedings on ESPNews.
“The football gods were smiling on us today,” Engineers wide receiver Flynn Cochran said. “We had no idea if we were going to make it, because we really played a poor game against Hobart. Our pride was hurt (on Saturday), but now we get a second chance.”
“This has been a rollercoaster weekend of emotions,” Cochran added.
“It’s unbelievable,” Cole said about the announcement. “The whole room erupted when it was broadcast that RPI made the field and that we would get a home game.”
Miscues cost Profs
Freshman kicker Vinnie Doffont nailed a 35-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to win the game for No. 18 Montclair State who claimed the 2003 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship with a 21-20 victory against Rowan on Saturday afternoon.
Doffont registered the game-winner with 5:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. The field goal capped a nine-play, 53-yard drive spanning 4:21.
Montclair State recorded a perfect 5-0 record in the NJAC and now has an 8-1 overall record. It’s the 17th conference championship for the Red Hawks and the first since 2000. The Red Hawks now lead the series 24-19, snapping a two-game Rowan win streak against MSU.
Rowan’s last opportunity of the game started on the MSU 34-yard line with 1:10 remaining. Cornerback Shaun Murray halted the drive with an interception at the 15-yard line with 17 seconds left. Murray also scored on a 39-yard punt return earlier in the fourth quarter.
In the first quarter, Pat Thompson put Rowan on the scoreboard with a 3-yard touchdown run at 4:58.Thompson also had a 40 yard carry in the drive which gave the Profs a first down on the Montclair State 2-yard line. The drive started after Kelvin Bellamy recovered a MSU fumble. Damian Shaddow kicked the extra point. With 1:12 left in the second stanza, John DiGirolamo tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Chris Becker. Domenic Tomeo blocked the kick. The Profs fumbled on their next drive and cornerback Derrick Morrison recovered the fumble and had a 24-yard return for a touchdown with 13 seconds left. The two-point conversion failed. MSU had the lead at the half, 12-7.
“I thought the snap was a little to the side, but I still should have got it,” said Prof freshman quarterback Mike Orihel in the Gloucester County Times. “It was a bad mesh with me and the center, and the ball popped up in the air and hit Pat in the shoulder, then it popped up in the air again and I knew bad things were going to happen then.”
Said Rowan coach Accorsi: “I told them to just eat it, and I should have said ‘go under center and eat it’. We were running the trap, hoping Pat can break something. We didn’t want to go too conservative.
“We had two critical errors — one where we shouldn’t have kicked it to them, and the turnover. You’re usually not going to win when you do that, but we almost still did. That’s the crazy part.”
I second-guessed myself,” admitted Montclair coach Rick Giancola. “I was going for one, and the emotion and sideline talked me out of it. My card said one, my own thought said one. I’ve never been someone to chase a two-point conversion. They’re difficult to make. In retrospect, I learned a lesson too.”
In the third quarter, Shaddow kicked two straight field goals for the Profs. His first was 32 yards at 12:21. The drive started when Tomeo had an interception at the MSU 34-yard line. The second field goal of 36 yards put Rowan back on top, 13-12 with 9:35 left. The drive started on the Red Hawks’ 32 yard line after tackle Robert Godrey recovered a fumble. Rowan ended the quarter with Orihel’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Pat Silva at 2:34.
DiGirolamo completed eight passes in 27 attempts for 82 yards and one touchdown. Jasper Hankins led all Red Hawk receivers with five catches for 56 yards.
For Rowan, Orihel passed for 169 yards (20-for-35) and one touchdown. Silva finished the game with eight receptions for 83 yards.
The Red Hawk defense was led by free safety Troy Bishop with 11 total tackles. Ray Meyer recorded a sack for a loss of 10 yards. Meyer now leads the team with 9˝ sacks this season.
The Prof defense was led by Tomeo, with an extra point block, an interception, and seven tackles. Junior linebacker Mike McClain contributed 11 tackles, while sophomore safety David Smith had nine.
Games of the Week
NCAA playoffs
No. 6 seed Ithaca at No. 3 seed Brockport, Brockport, N.Y., 12 p.m.: On Oct. 18 Ithaca (8-2) beat Brockport (9-1) in Ithaca 31-10. The Bombers held the Golden Eagles to 162 yards of total offense. If Brockport can take a page from Cortland and run on Ithaca, Brockport could move on. Otherwise expect Ithaca to go after Darnley again, and come out on top.
No. 7 seed Allegheny at No. 2 seed Montclair, Montclair, N.J., 12 p.m.: Allegheny (7-3) lost to Washington & Jefferson who lost to Buffalo State. Montclair (8-1) beat Buffalo State 34-26. Montclair should move on.
No. 4 seed Curry at No. 5 seed RPI, Troy, N.Y., 12 p.m.: SOS is almost even for these two teams. RPI did beat one quality opponent in St. John Fisher. RPI (8-1) should win at home.
ECAC bowl games
Cortland State (5-4) at St. John Fisher (7-3), Pittsford, N.Y., 12 p.m.: If Cortland can get recover from their upset of Ithaca, the Red Dragons show how tough the NJAC is by beating the Cardinals.
New Jersey (6-3) at Delaware Valley (8-2), Doylestown, Pa., 12 p.m.: The NJAC completes the sweep this week. The Lions beat the Aggies.
Norwich (6-4) at Hobart (5-4), Geneva, N.Y., 12 p.m. Norwich hasn’t been beyond the regular season since 1984, while Hobart is in its second consecutive ECAC game. The two square off for just the third time, and the first time in 64 years. Norwich beat Hobart in 1938 and 1939, winning 20-0 and 25-13, respectively.