EWING, N.J. – Cortland's defense held The College of
New Jersey to 91 yards of total offense and quarterback Dan Pitcher
(Cortland) threw a career-best four touchdown passes, including
three to senior Anthony Giuliano (Thornwood/Westlake), as the Red
Dragons defeated the Lions, 37-0.
Cortland, ranked 21st nationally in Div. III by the AFCA, is 4-0
both overall and in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Red
Dragons have posted back-to-back shutouts, the first time
they've accomplished the feat since the 1989 squad shut out
four straight opponents during an NCAA-record six shutout
season.
Senior defensive tackle Lou Crispo (Eastchester) led the defense
with eight tackles and junior defensive end Connor Tompkins
(Ossining/Sleepy Hollow) finished with seven tackles, six solo. Two
of Tompkins' tackles resulted for losses of a combined 10
yards, while Crispo made one tackle for lost yardage. Junior
linebacker Tom Lewis (Elma/Iroquois) intercepted a pass in the
fourth quarter.
Sophomore running back Justin Autera (Mahopac) scored
Cortland's first two touchdowns and has 10 touchdowns in four
games. He ran for a 27-yard score midway through the first quarter,
followed by a 14-yard TD catch on Cortland's next possession
after the Red Dragons recovered a fumble at the TCNJ 15-yard line.
Autera ran for 93 yards on 15 carries.
Pitcher completed 13-of-21 passes for 224 yards and Giuliano caught
four passes for a career-high 139 yards. Pitcher's 18-yard TD
pass to Giuliano on the second play of the second quarter extended
the Cortland lead to 20-0. They connected again on a 10-yard
scoring pass with just six seconds left in the half and Cortland
led 27-0 at the break.
Junior Marc Corrado (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy) made a 26-yard
field goal with 9:49 left in the third quarter, and the Red Dragons
closed the scoring on a 56-yard connection between Pitcher and
Giuliano with 6:02 remaining in the third. Giuliano tied a school
single-game record with his three touchdown catches. The feat was
accomplished by numerous people, most recently Eric Hajnos last
season at Brockport.
TCNJ (1-3, 1-2 NJAC) moved into Cortland territory only twice. The
Lions reached the Cortland 45-yard line briefly in the second
quarter, then on their next possession had their best scoring
chance with a 1st-and-10 at the Red Dragon 18-yard line. However, a
false start penalty and a James Lenhart (Ticonderoga) sack helped
lead to a missed 37-yard field goal.
Cortland finished the day with 465 yards of total offense and
averaged 6.7 yards per play. The Red Dragons converted on 9-of-15
third downs compared to 2-of-12 for the Lions.
Gregory Burns led TCNJ with eight tackles and a blocked point-after
kick. Shawn Brown and Daniel DeCongelio made seven tackles each and
William Haduch intercepted a pass.
Cortland Posts Second Straight Shutout, Pitcher Throws Four TD Passes in 37-0 Win at TCNJ
Oct 02, 2010