October 21, 2006. The Cortland State Red Dragons remained undefeated after crushing Montclair 41-3 on the road Saturday. The Red Dragons defense held the Montclair Red Hawks to 184 yards of offense, delivered 7 sacks, and intercepted 5 passes. Sophomore quarterback Ray Miles had his first ever collegiate start and threw for 223 yards and 3 touchdowns. The offensive line did not yield a single sack to the Red Hawks.

The Cortland defense had the game's first big play. On Montclair's first possession Bill Hauser stepped in front of Red Hawks' quarterback Mike Jump's pass. The Cortland linebacker grabbed the ball at the Montclair 37-yard line and returned the football 6 yards. Matt Rickert pounded the ball into the end zone 6 plays later to put Cortland ahead 7-0. Both defenses played well in the first quarter and held the offenses off the board for the remainder of the quarter.

After a Montclair field goal cut the score to 7-3 early in the second quarter, Miles and the offense went back to work for Cortland. Miles completed a 17-yard pass to Dave Freglette to move the ball to mid field. Two plays later Miles found fullback Matt Sveda on the sideline for a pass completion. Sveda raced 44 yards into the Red Hawks' endzone to put Cortland ahead 14-3. On Montclair's next drive Red Dragon corner Jeff Beck intercepted Jump at the Montclair 35-yard line and returned the ball to the 26. Miles connected with Paul Caughell two plays later. Caughell caught the short pass over the middle, broke a tackle, and ran for a 20-yard score. Cortland built a commanding 21-3 lead.

Miles impressed on the two-minute drill late in the half. Cortland took possession at its own 40-yard line with only 1:24 to play. On a key third down and 6 play Drew Lascari got open deep in the Montclair secondary. Miles delivered the pass and Lascari made a spectacular 30-yard reception. An additional 13 yards was tacked on due to a Montclair personal foul. The drive stalled at the Montclair 6-yard line, where Matthew Mintz kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half. Cortland took a 24-3 lead into the locker room.

Any hopes Montclair had for rallying in the second half were quickly squelched. An Adam Haas sack forced a Montclair punt to open the third quarter. The Cortland offense marched the football 67 yards on 7 plays while consuming 4:24 of clock time. Jeffrey Lang caught a 22-yard pass to move the football into Montclair territory. Caughell had a huge 38-yard catch and run to put the football on the Montclair 5-yard line. Matt Rickert took a second down handoff 4 yards for Cortland's fourth touchdown. The Red Dragons increased their lead to 31-3.

Montclair's next drive was short lived. After a short completion by Jump, Beck intercepted Jump for the second time on the day. Beck grabbed the ball at the 36-yard line and raced down the left side line 29 yards. On Cortland's first play from scrimmage Miles lofted a pass for Dustin Bowser, who made the catch in the end zone to balloon Cortland's lead to 38-3.

The Cortland defense dominated the remainder of the third quarter yielding a total of 2 first downs over the 15 minute frame. The quarter ended as miserably as it had started for Montclair, with new quarterback Mark Poore intercepted by Red Dragon Ronny Rodriguez. The Cortland offense converted the turnover into 3 more points in the fourth quarter when Matthew Mintz booted a 24-yard field goal. Cortland was hammering Montclair 41-3. The scoreboard did not change and Cortland won going away.

After Montclair's field goal early in the second quarter, Cortland went on to outscore Montclair 34-0. Ray Miles had another strong showing and spread the football to several different receivers.

Paul Caughell had his best game of the season. The tight end caught 3 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. The Cortland defense yielded only 184 total yards. Bill Hauser and Adam Haas combined for 5 tackles for losses, with Haas leading the way with 2 sacks. Jeff Beck had 2 interceptions. Hauser added an interception and a pass breakup. Greg Steward broke up a pass and grabbed an interception. Ronny Rodriguez had an interception and 4 tackles.

Cortland is now 5-0 in the NJAC and 7-0 overall. Montclair was effectively eliminated from championship contention, and it appears the NJAC will come down to Cortland and Rowan. First Cortland must take care of business with the College of New Jersey Lions. New Jersey stunned Cortland 17-14 at Cortland 2 seasons ago. The Red Dragons host the Lions at 1 PM next Saturday.