Cortland Strikes Quickly in 56-14 Win at Morrisville
MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – Senior tailback Dorian Myles (Lackawanna/Hamburg) rushed for 153 of his game-high 155 yards in the first half, including a 79-yard touchdown run, as Cortland (2-1, 2-0 NJAC) defeated host Morrisville State, 56-14, under the lights at Drake Field.
Myles averaged 11.1 yards per rush on his 14 carries and caught two passes. Senior Chris Rose (Victor) completed 8-of-15 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, both to sophomore Kordel McInnis (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township), and junior tailback Justin Autera (Mahopac) ran for 80 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns.
Earl Snead led Morrisville (0-4, 0-2 NJAC) with 17 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Jory Tanner ran for a score. Tanner was held to just 13-of-38 passing for 74 yards.
Cortland sophomore linebacker Jesse Scanna (Holbrook/Sachem North) recorded a game-high 11 tackles and two pass breakups and junior defensive lineman Gabe Ostrow (Nanuet) made 10 tackles. Senior linebacker Chris Bright (East Meadow), freshman safety Andre Green (Philadelphia/Indian River) and senior cornerback Pete Furey (Niskayuna) each intercepted a pass.
Cortland's defense forced four Morrisville turnovers, all of which led to touchdowns. On the game's first play of scrimmage, Bright stripped the ball from a Morrisville running back and ran 27 yards for a score. Green returned an interception 37 yards to the Morrisville 20-yard line on the Mustangs' next possession. Two plays later, Rose hit McInnis on a 24-yard touchdown pass and Cortland led 14-0 just over two minutes into the contest.
Morrisville responded with a 75-yard drive, capped by a Snead 8-yard touchdown run with 7:47 left in the first quarter. Cortland, however, drove 64 yards on four plays – three runs by Myles and a 33-yard touchdown pass from Rose to McInnis – to lead 21-7 less than two minutes later.
Early in the second quarter, Myles broke loose for his 79-yard scoring run – tied for the sixth-longest run in school history. Morrisville missed a field goal on its next possession, and on Cortland's first play from its own 20-yard line, Rose faked a handoff to Myles and ran untouched 80 yards to the end zone. A holding call, however, negated the score and reduced the run to officially 61 yards. Four plays later, sophomore Bronson Greene (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) ran for a 1-yard touchdown and Cortland led 35-7 at halftime.
The lead grew to 49-7 on Autera's 3-yard and 4-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter. Morrisville's second score came on a Tanner 1-yard run that concluded a 12-play, 82-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Cortland finished the scoring on sophomore Tyler Hughes' (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) 46-yard touchdown run with 5:50 remaining.
Cortland finished the game with 343 net rushing yards and 464 yards of total offense. Morrisville gained 350 yards, 257 on the ground.
Brian Doyle led Morrisville with eight tackles and Travis French made seven stops.
Cortland will host Montclair State in a NJAC game next Saturday at 1 p.m.
