CORTLAND, N.Y. – Joshua Cordero (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) intercepted three passes and Cole Burgess (Greenwich) caught three touchdown passes, each tying a school single-game record in the process, as the nationally 15th-ranked Cortland football team defeated The College of New Jersey, 63-7, in a non-league game at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.
Cortland (2-0) led 20-0 after one quarter and 44-0 at halftime on the way to the victory. The Red Dragons have scored 111 points over their first two games. TCNJ dropped to 1-1 with the loss.
Cordero became the fourth player in school history to pick off three passes in a game, and the first since Darin Strong at home versus Rowan in 1995. The other two occurrences were by Peter Warner at Alfred in 1965 and Ken Fougnier at home against Alfred in 1966. Burgess's three touchdown receptions marks the 14th time that a Red Dragon has accomplished that feat. The last time was by Jake Smith at Hartwick in 2018.
Cordero's first interception set up a 34-yard touchdown drive for the Red Dragons in the first quarter. Cordero returned a pick 47 yards for a score early in the second quarter, and his record-tying interception gave Cortland the ball at the TCNJ 30-yard line midway through the second quarter and led to a field goal.
Burgess finished with four catches for 140 yards. He scored on a 28-yard TD pass on the game's first series, added a 65-yard TD reception late in the first, and caught a 29-yard TD pass with 1:06 left before halftime. Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) completed 10-of-13 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns before being pulled in the third quarter. In addition to his three TD tosses to Burgess, he also connected for a 12-yard TD pass to JJ Laap (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) in the second quarter.
Cortland finished with 298 yards rushing on 41 carries (7.3 yards per attempt). Ashton Capone (Saratoga Springs) ran 11 times for 123 yards, including a 38-yard TD run in the third quarter. Jaden Alfanostjohn (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) ran 13 times for 49 yards and a score and backup QB Vin Mazzone (Staten Island/St. Peter's) ran five times for 46 yards. Mazzone also was 3-for-9 passing for 29 yards. Kyle Stracher (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) added a 15-yard TD run midway through the third quarter.
Craig Ackerman (Seaford) led the Red Dragons with 10 tackles, six solo, including a sack. Christian Legagneur (Brentwood/St. John the Baptist), Ty Kolar (Sayville) and Devin McArthur (Saratoga Springs) had seven tackels apiece, with Kolar also intercepting a pass. Cortland made all three of its field goal attempts – a 38-yarder by Mike Baloga (Cornwall/Marian Catholic (PA)) in the second quarter and 44-yard and 22-yard kicks by Nick Guglielmo (Staten Island/St. Peter's) in the second half. Patrick Luby (Ridgewood, NJ) averaged 48.7 yards per punt on three kicks, and nine of Luby's 12 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.
Malin Jasinski scored TCNJ's lone points with a 6-yard TD run with 4:23 left in the third quarter. The Lions gained 190 yards on the ground, led by Jayson Schmidt's 51 yards on 15 carries and Ryan McKinney's 49 yards on 10 attempts. Thomas Burke caught seven passes for 58 yards. Starting QB Stephen Begen completed 13-of-26 passes for 81 yards and Trevor Bopp was 8-of-16 for 46 yards. Cole Groschel led the Lions with seven tackles.
Cortland will travel to Buffalo State next Saturday for a noon non-league matchup.
Cordero and Burgess Tie School Single-Game Records in #15 Cortland's 63-7 Win vs. TCNJ
/seasons/2022/boxscores/20220910_fimm.xml
2022
TCNJ
7
Cortland
63
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCNJ (1-1) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 17 Cortland (2-0) | 20 | 24 | 16 | 3 | 63 |
Sep 10, 2022