CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland football team clinched the Empire 8 title and an NCAA Division III tournament automatic berth with a 47-3 victory over visiting Alfred University.
Cortland, ranked 16th nationally, improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in league play with one conference game remaining. Alfred had its four-game winning streak snapped and is now 4-4 overall and 3-1 in the league. Alfred is tied with Brockport for second place in the conference, but Cortland has head-to-head tiebreakers over both teams.
The Red Dragons will be making their 10th NCAA playoff appearance and first since 2015. Cortland joined the Empire 8 that season and was the league co-champion and NCAA representative. The Red Dragons also were league co-champion in 2019, but Brockport earned the league's NCAA bid that year after beating Cortland. The NCAA tournament begins Nov. 20 – Cortland will conclude league play at St. John Fisher next Saturday and will host non-league foe Ithaca in the annual Cortaca Jug rivalry game Nov. 13.
Cortland's defense extended its streak of not allowing a touchdown to 11 quarters. The last team to score a touchdown versus the Red Dragons was Brockport in the first quarter of Cortland's 31-10 win over the Golden Eagles on Oct. 9. Cortland finished with a 483-245 advantage in total offense versus the Saxons.
Justin Wheeler (Binghamton/Susquehanna Valley) led Cortland with 10 tackles. Christian Legagneur (Brentwood/St. John the Baptist) finished with eight tackles, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery, John Manganella (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) had seven tackles, and Paul Imperiale (East Meadow) and Dylan Dubuque (East Greenbush/Columbia) tallied six tackles each. Dubuque also forced a fumble and blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown.
Offensively, Brees Segala (Webster/Webster Schroeder) completed 14-of-23 passes for 217 yards and two scores and ran 10 times for 62 yards and a touchdown. Jaden Alfanostjohn (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) led the ground attack with 17 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Derek Cruz (Oceanside) caught seven passes for 132 yards and a score, JJ Laap (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) also caught a TD pass, and backup quarterback Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) ran for a touchdown.
Joe Copp paced Alfred's defense with 15 tackles and two pass breakups. Christopher Cox finished with 11 tackles, a forced fumbles and two breakups and Nicholas McLetchie-Goldman added 10 tackles. Jeremiah Young forced a fumble and blocked a field goal.
Alfred's points came on a Dustin McCaslin 22-yard field goal with 2:06 left in the third quarter. Zuke Smith was 13-of-37 passing for 133 yards, Darviae Gray caught five passes for 41 yards, and Alezandro Aponte ran 10 times for 51 yards.
Cortland led 12-0 after the first quarter on an Alfanostjohn 12-yard TD run and a 20-yard scoring pass from Segala to Laap. Alfred drove to Cortland 18-yard line on its next possession before Dubuque forced a fumble after a short reception that Legagneur recovered and returned seven yards to the 21-yard line.
The lead grew to 19-0 less than three minutes into the second quarter when Dubuque blocked a punt that DJ Trent (Bellport) recovered in the end zone. Cortland has returned four blocked punts for touchdowns this year, breaking the previous school record of three set in 2019.
The hosts extended their lead to 26-0 with 16 seconds left before halftime on an Alfanostjohn 2-yard run that capped a 29-yard scoring drive set up by a short punt. Segala's 4-yard TD run and 20-yard scoring pass to Cruz in the third quarter made it 40-0. Alfred drove from its 25-yard line to the Cortland 5-yard line later in the period before settling for McCaslin's field goal. The Saxons' final drive of the game last more than eight minutes but stalled on downs at the Red Dragon 27-yard line with 1:24 on the clock.
Cortland Defeats Alfred to Claim Empire 8 Crown
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211030_o1lc.xml
2021
Alfred
3
Cortland
47
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred (4-4) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 13 Cortland (8-0) | 12 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 47 |
Oct 30, 2021