Saturday October 1, 2005

The Cortland State Red Dragons got back on track with a 39-14 victory over NJAC rival Montclair State Red Hawks. Cortland rallied from a 14-13 second quarter deficit to score the game's final 26 points. Both sides of the ball came to play today, with the defense shutting out Montclair in the second half, while the offense rolled up 461 yards in its best showing of the season.

Montclair struck first driving 70 yards in only 6 plays on its first possession of the game. Running back Billy Williams finished the drive with a 9 yard touchdown run, and Montclair took a 7-0 lead. Cortland answered near the end of the first quarter with a 13 play 69 yard drive. Two key plays aided the Red Dragon effort. On 4th and 2 from the Montclair 29 yard line, running back Dustin Bowser rushed over left end for 4 yards. Two plays later quarterback Alex Smith eluded a sack and found fullback Mike Sveda for a 19 yard completion down to the Red Hawks 10 yard line. Dustin Bowser pounded up the center of the line for an 8 yard run, then took the ball around left end for a 2 yard touchdown run. The game was tied 7-7.

Early in the second quarter the Red Dragon defense held Montclair in the shadow of their own goal line. This forced a punt and gave the Red Dragon offense a short field at the Montclair 38 yard line. Two runs by Alex Smith, one a 10 yard keeper by design, and the other a 10 yard scramble away from pressure, gave Cortland 1st and goal at the Montclair 4 yard line. Freshman running back Andrew Giuliano ran the ball into the end zone to give Cortland a 13-7 lead. The Derek Ziders extra point was wide.

Josh Jablonski blocks a Ryan Stocker punt near the goal line

But Montclair answered immediately. On their first play from scrimmage after the Red Dragon score, quarterback Eric Ferriol hit Fred Carter on the right side 36 yards down field. Carter slashed between two Cortland defenders and raced untouched for an 80 yard touchdown. Montclair took a 14-13 lead.

With 1:26 remaining in the first half and Cortland starting a drive from their own 35 yard line, quarterback Alex Smith engineered a brilliant drive. Smith completed a 9 yard pass to Sveda, a 10 yard pass to wide receiver Drew Lascari, then went deep down field. Lascari made a spectacular catch on the sideline for 32 yards down to the Montclair 11 yard line. On the very next play Dustin Bowser ran up the middle for 11 yards into the endzone. Ziders added the extra point and Cortland took a 20-14 lead into half-time.

Dustin Bowser finishes the two-minute drill with a touchdown run

The Red Dragon defense suffocated Montclair in the second half, limiting the Red Hawks to only 14 yards of total offense. Rich Coyne sacked the quarterback twice, with Montclair the victim of 6 sacks in the second half alone.

Cortland's offense continued to roll up the yardage against Montclair. In the third quarter Smith completed a 23 yard pass to wide receiver Anthony Morat, who was tackled at the Montclair 15 yard line. On the next play Smith found Morat again cutting across the middle for a 15 yard touchdown. Cortland failed on the two-point conversion attempt and led 26-14.

With Cortland ahead 29-14 after a Ziders field goal, Smith hooked up with wide receiver Keith Greene on consecutive pass plays. First Greene caught a 10 yard pass along the sideline, then Smith hit Greene in stride for a 45 yard deep out to the Montclair 4 yard line. The Red Hawks defense stiffened, but Ziders added another short field goal to put Cortland ahead 32-14.

Keith Greene catches a deep out for 45 yards along the Montclair sideline

Midway through the fourth quarter Cortland cemented its lead behind the arm of Alex Smith. Facing 3rd down and 19 yards to go from the Montclair 29 yard line, Smith went deep for wide receiver Zak Carter. Carter snagged the ball for 26 yards down to the Montclair 3 yard line. A Montclair personal foul moved the ball to the 1 yard line, where Alex Smith ran a keeper for the game's final score.

Drew Lascari with an all-out dive to haul in the Smith pass

Smith completed 16 of 31 pass attempts for 269 yards, a touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Smith also ran for 47 yards and a touchdown. Drew Lascari had a breakout game with 5 receptions for 98 yards. Two of Lascari's receptions were spectacular. Anthony Morat caught 4 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. Six Red Dragons caught passes from Smith who spread the ball well. On the ground Cortland controlled the ball effectively despite missing injured Matt Rickert for the second straight week. The Red Dragons rushed 50 times for 211 yards, while sophomore Dustin Bowser and freshman Andrew Giuliano combined for 36 rushes and 163 yards.

Another great catch by Lascari who manages to land in bounds

Defensively Cortland held the Montclair tailback combination of Billy Williams and Ryan McCoach to 32 yards on 15 carries. Rich Coyne had 3 tackles for losses, defensive backs Jeff Beck and Greg Steward each had interceptions, and 6 Dragons were in on sacks. Cortland's only complaint will be their 6 offensive fumbles (3 lost) and 5 turnovers. Otherwise it was a tremendous effort on both sides of the ball against a quality opponent. Montclair upset #10 nationally ranked Salisbury last week 31-27. Cortland moves to 3-0 in the NJAC and 4-1 overall. Montclair falls to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the NJAC.

First place in the NJAC will be on the line in two weeks when defending Eastern Region champion Rowan University visits Cortland on October 15.

Friends and family were on hand to honor the late Roger Robinson at half-time. Surviving wife Helen accepts a plaque as part of the ceremony.