Saturday October 22, 2005

Cortland improved to 4-1 in the NJAC and 5-2 overall with a 31-0 victory at William Paterson. The Cortland State Red Dragons limited the William Paterson Pioneers to only 68 yards of total offense on 62 plays. Matt Rickert rushed for 127 yards on 21 carries, and junior safety Stef Sair scored 2 touchdowns.

William Paterson was completely negated by Cortland's brutal defensive effort. Red Dragon defenders sacked Pioneer passers 9 times on the day and forced 3 interceptions. Offensively Cortland controlled the ball with the running game, while the coaching staff found new ways to utilize all-NJAC safety Sair. Sair lined up at wide receiver for several plays where he caught 1 pass for 15 yards, and scored a touchdown on a reverse. Sair also returned a punt 40 yards for a touchdown.

Stef Sair lines up at wide receiver for the Red Dragons against William Paterson

Cortland got the scoring started in the first quarter. The Red Dragons put together a 14-play 54 yard drive on their first possession. The drive stalled at the Pioneer 8 yard line, where Matthew Mintz kicked a 25 yard field goal to put Cortland ontop 3-0. The defense continued to force Pioneer punts, and dictated field position. Late in the first quarter Cortland started with a short field from the William Paterson 39 yard line. Alex Smith rushed for 20 yards on first down, then hit Zak Carter for a 19 yard touchdown pass on the very next play. Mintz added the extra point to give Cortland a 10-0 lead.

Stef Sair catches a 15 yard pass, and Eric Czachor sacks Pioneers Sean Ryan

 

Late in the second quarter Cortland faced a fourth and goal from the William Paterson 1 yard line. Alex Smith ran a keeper which appeared to cross the goal line, but the officials ruled him down inside the 1. William Paterson took over on downs, yet would gain only 4 yards on the next 3 plays. The Pioneers were forced to punt from the shadow of their own goal line with less than 2 minutes remaining before half-time. Stef Sair took the punt at the Pioneers 40 yard line, sprinted outside down the left sideline, and went all the way for a touchdown. Cortland took a 17-0 lead into half-time.

Adam Haas rushes in to sack Sean Ryan, and Stef Sair celebrates a 40 yard punt return for a touchdown

Late in the third quarter the Cortland defense struck again. Adam Haas put a rush on Pioneers quarterback Juan Garcia and forced a poor throw. Matt Montpetit intercepted the ball at the William Paterson 37 and ran the ball down to the 27 yard line. After a 17 yard rush by Rickert gave Cortland a first and goal at the Pioneers 10, Stef Sair took a reverse untouched around the right end for his second touchdown of the game. Cortland increased its lead to 24-0.

With less than 5 minutes to play in the game Alex Smith found Anthony Morat for a 26 yard touchdown pass. The score cemented the victory for Cortland. The Red Dragons defense pitched its first shutout of the season, 31-0.

Numerous positives were apparent from this game. First and foremost, there was no hint of a letdown after the Rowan game. Adam Haas and the Red Dragon defense terrorized William Paterson quarterbacks with 9 sacks in all. Dave D'Aurelio has 2 sacks, Adam Haas and Charles Johnson were in on 1.5 sacks each, Matt Montpetit had 11 tackles and an interception, and Cortland defenders intercepted 3 passes and defended 8 more. What more can be said of an effort which yielded less than 70 yards of total offense?

Cortland showed new wrinkles offensively getting Stef Sair involved. Sair is one of the best athletes to ever don a Red Dragon uniform, and the more he can touch the football the better Cortland will be for it. Matt Rickert appeared to be at full strength for the first time since being injured against Kean. Rickert averaged 6 yards per carry while consistently churning out positive yardage. Not only was Rickert never stopped for a loss, but his 127 yard effort came with a long run of only 17 yards. This shows the difficulty a solid William Paterson defense had trying to stop him, and the ability of the Red Dragon offensive line to control scrimmage.

Matthew Mintz got his first start as place kicker. Mintz successfully converted a 25 yard field goal (his only attempt of the day), and made all 4 of his extra points.

Second place in the NJAC is on the line next week when Western Connecticut State visits Cortland.