September 8, 2007. The Cortland State Red Dragons survived the elements to destroy Morrisville 71-7. In a game which saw approximately 3 hours of delays due to lightning in the area, Cortland dominated the Morrisville Mustangs in front of a soaked crowd.

Junior Andrew Giuliano rushed for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 16 carries. Quarterback Ray Miles completed 9 of 20 passes for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns, filling in for injured Alex Smith. Brian Bert caught 2 touchdown passes. Freshman Cory Russell added 2 touchdowns, carrying the ball 6 times for 42 yards. Cortland's defense held Morrisville to 135 yards of total offense, and caused 4 turnovers.

Lightning delayed the start of the game until 8:10 p.m., after originally being set for 7 p.m. With the score tied 7-7 late in the second quarter, the game was once again delayed by lightning. Storms in the area kept the teams from taking the field until 11:15 p.m. The contest continued until nearly 1 a.m. Sunday. NCAA rules prohibit teams from being on the field until at least 30 minutes after lightning is last sighted.

Cortland opened the scoring early the game. After holding Morrisville to 3 downs and out, the Red Dragons marched 69 yards on 9 plays for a touchdown. Dustin Bowser broke a key 27-yard run over right tackle to the Morrisville 31-yard line. Andrew Giuliano followed up with an 18-yard run. Alex Smith found Brian Bert in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown completion. Matthew Mintz added the extra point to put Cortland on top 7-0.

On Cortland's second possession Alex Smith converted a third down and 10 yard situation into a first down, scrambling up the middle for 11 yards. But the senior quarterback injured himself on the play and was helped to the sidelines by his teammates. The Cortland offense struggled to find its footing without Smith and the game entered the second quarter with Cortland still holding a 7-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter Morrisville's Keith Oquendo blocked a punt from Cortland punter Kyle Peterson. Mustang Mike Kingston recovered the football at the Cortland 10-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown to tie the score 7-7.

The Cortland offensive situation went from bad to worse midway through the second quarter, when starting running back Dustin Bowser injured himself. Bowser would not return to the football game. But the offensive line began to open up holes, and Andrew Giuliano did the rest. A key 7-yard run by Giuliano got Cortland down to the Morrisville 2-yard line before lightning caused another long delay. Two hours later, the drive resumed. Approximately 45 minutes before midnight, Ray Miles threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Brian Bert to put Cortland ahead 14-7.

As rain poured down from above, the flood gates opened on Morrisville. With just 1:12 remaining before the half, Andrew Giuliano struck on special teams. Giuliano blocked Mustang Derek Mulson's punt at the Morrisville 23-yard line. Michael Zielinski grabbed the football for Cortland and ran it into the end zone to increase the lead to 21-7. Morrisville came out throwing on its next possession, opting not to run the clock out. A series of incompletions gave Cortland the football back at their own 36-yard line with 43 seconds remaining before the half. Ray Miles completed a key pass to Giuliano for 23 yards. With 1 second remaining, Matthew Mintz kicked a 40-yard field goal to give Cortland a 24-7 lead.

The third quarter would not be kind to Morrisville. On the second play of the half, Giuliano broke a 73-yard run for a touchdown. On Cortland's next possession Giuliano followed a 12-yard run with a 58-yard touchdown run over left end. Suddenly Cortland had broken the game wide open at 38-7. A fumble on Morrisville's next possession gave Cortland the football at the Mustangs 14-yard line. Giuliano scored on a 14-yard run on Cortland's first play from scrimmage. The Mintz extra point opened up Cortland's lead to 45-7.

Cortland continued to roll through the second half. Defensive back Ricky Case picked off a pass from Morrisville quarterback Bill Poling, and returned the ball 62 yards for a touchdown. Cory Russell added a couple of scores on the ground. When all was said and done, Cortland had pounded Morrisville 71-7.

Morrisville hung tough for 25 minutes of game time before being over matched by the Red Dragons. Cortland dominated the line play, out-rushing Morrisville 362-58. The Red Dragons averaged better than 10 yards per rush. Ricky Case added 4 tackles and a pass breakup to his interception for a touchdown. Jim Smith had 10 tackles for the defense. Rich Rollo and Bryan Wiley each sacked Poling.

Cortland travels to Brockport next week for a difficult test with the Golden Eagles. Last year Cortland survived 17-10 against Brockport with a last minute goal line stand.