CORTLAND, N.Y. – The College at Brockport football team moved to 5-0 on the season with a come from behind 52-38 victory over SUNY Cortland on Saturday afternoon. QB Joe Germinerio threw and ran for 360 yards, racking up six total touchdowns between the air and the ground.
After trailing going into halftime for the first time this season, Brockport came alive in the second half of play, outscoring Cortland 35-10 to secure the victory. The half included a 28-0 run that saw the Green and Gold find the end zone on four consecutive drives.
The opening half was a shootout, with the teams combining for 45 points and 516 yards of total offense. The Golden Eagle defense showed their first sign of weakness, as the Red Dragon passing game was nearly unstoppable in the first half, with QB Steven Ferreira going 20-23 for 259 yards and three scores.
The first score came on the opening drive of the game, when the Red Dragons grabbed an early lead after a 15-yard score with 09:01 left in the quarter, but Brockport was quick to answer. After a drive put the ball on the Cortland side of the field, Justin Morrison took his first carry of the game and broke it 40 yards to the house to tie the game at 7-7.
Cortland re-extended their lead on the next two drives, scoring twice to take a 21-7 advantage early in the second quarter. With their backs against the wall, Germinerio put Brockport right back in the game on the first play of the drive with a 54 yard touchdown pass. It was Tyree Brown with the reception, who found himself wide open down the middle of the field for the easy score.
After a three and out gave Brockport the ball back, they were able to close the gap yet again after Brett Renzi knocked in a 33-yard field goal, putting Brockport within four points at 21-17. Cortland tacked on another touchdown late in the half however, putting them up 28-17 at the break.
Brockport received the ball to start the second half, and marched straight down the field for a score that once again had them trailing by four at 28-24. It was the deep connection of Germinerio to Brown that provided the spark again in this drive, as a 44 yard reception put the offense at the Cortland 15. Germinerio showed off his legs a few plays later, rushing into the end zone for the five yard score.
A Red Dragon field goal extended their lead to 31-24, but the Brockport offense had an answer yet again, this time rattling off 28 consecutive points to take a commanding lead. A huge moment in the contest came during the game-tying drive, when Brockport had a third and six deep in Cortland territory. Germinerio threw a screen pass to Morrison over the top of the line, and after a few bobbles, the running back came down with it and took it all the way to the one yard line, where Germinerio ran it in on the next play, tying the game at 31-31.
The defense came up with a huge play on the ensuing Cortland drive, with Julius Mizro picking off a pass from Ferreira and returning it 37 yards to the Cortland 33, where Brockport took over looking for their first lead of the game.
On the fifth play after the pick, Germinerio connected with Joseph Ortiz on a nine-yard touchdown reception, his first of the season. The sophomore snagged the ball near the sideline and dove over the pile-on for the score that put the Golden Eagles on top 38-31.
Ortiz' catch was the second of four straight touchdown drives for Brockport, showing just how dominant they can be. Casey Goldberg got in the action with his first career touchdown reception, a four-yarder that put Brockport up 45-31 before Germinerio scored the last of his six touchdowns on a three yard draw to put the Golden Eagles at their 52-point total.
The Red Dragons added another score late in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as Brockport held on for the 14-point victory.
Brown finished the day with a career-high 179 receiving yards and a touchdown, and was aided by Ortiz,DaQuan Hubbard, Morrison, Dalton Cooley, and Goldberg who all had receptions as well. Morrison and Germinerio were both disruptive in the rushing game, combining for 212 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Mizro, Matt Szymanski, and Nathaniel Keith were all tied for a team-high eight tackles, and each recorded one of the six team sacks. Jake O'Connell had eight tackles as well, while Alex West, Terry McDonald, and John Tucci all recorded sacks. West, who was named to the d3football.com Team of the Week last week, also forced and recovered a fumble in this outing.
The Green and Gold will have a bye next week before two straight home games against Morrisville State and Hartwick College.
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Brockport Slays Red Dragons With Second Half Comeback
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20170930_031m.xml
2017
Brockport
52
Cortland
38
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Brockport (5-0) | 7 | 10 | 14 | 21 | 52 |
| Cortland (2-2) | 14 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 38 |
Sep 30, 2017