Oct 26, 2019
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Cortland overcame a nine-point halftime deficit – the first time its trailed at the half this fall – and the nationally 19th-ranked Red Dragons held on late for a 42-37 win at St. John Fisher. Cortland improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Empire 8 play with the victory.
Cortland extended a 39-37 lead to 42-37 on Nick Mongelli's (Marlboro) 26-yard field goal with 26 seconds left. Fisher (4-4, 1-3 Empire 8), however, returned a short kickoff to the beyond its 30-yard line, and a late hit call on Cortland moved the ball just shy of midfield. Fisher quarterback Hunter Walsh completed three sideline passes to Will Blake covering 15, 12 and 11 yards to advance the ball to the Cortland 13-yard line with 10 seconds left. Cortland's Ben Tietjen (Bethlehem), however, broke up a pass at the 5-yard line with five seconds left. Fisher's final pass into the end zone was broken up by Joshua Cordero (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) and a holding call on the Cardinals was declined to end the game.
Brett Segala (Webster/Webster Schroeder) completed 17-of-31 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns (NOTE: He was originally credited with 409 passing yards, but a 10-yard touchdown pass was changed to a rush after a review showed it was a backward pass). Segala has now thrown for more than 300 yards a school-record nine times in his career, breaking the record he previously held with Steven Ferreira (2015-17). Segala moved into a tie for second on Cortland's charts with 54 career TD passes and is now fourth with 5,622 career passing yards.
Segala averaged more than 23 yards per completion with six passes of at least 25 yards, including 64-yard and 50-yard TD throws to Cole Burgess (Greeenwich) in the second quarter. Burgess also had a big 36-yard catch on 3rd-and-10 from midfield with less than three minutes left to lead to Cortland's final score and he finished with eight catches for a career-high 187 yards – the seventh-highest single-game total in school history.
Jason Carlock (Babylon) also surpassed the receiving yardage century mark with four catches for 111 yards. His 67-yard reception set up Cortland's first touchdown. Zach Tripodi (New Fairfield, CT) rushed 29 times for 155 yards for his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season.
Cortland outgained the Cardinals, 574-494, in total offense. Walsh completed 30-of-52 passes for 397 yards and a touchdown for Fisher and, like Cortland, the Cardinals had two receivers eclipse the 100-yard mark. Blake caught 12 passes for 119 yards and a TD and Pat Galer had eight receptions for 131 yards. TySean Sizer added six catches for 91 yards and Dahmir Pross rushed for three touchdowns, all of two yards or less.
The Red Dragons trailed 30-21 at halftime and Fisher missed a 40-yard field goal on its first possession of the third quarter. Fisher got the ball back at its own 46-yard line, but lost eight yards on a second-down rush after a Devin Smith (Utica/Utica Notre Dame) tackle and another four yards on third down on Dylan Dubuque's (East Greenbush/Columbia) sack. Dubuque came up big again when he blocked a punt on fourth down. Marc Anthony Dalce (Queens Village/St. Francis Prep) scooped up the loose ball in traffic and ran in for a 20-yard TD to pull Cortland within 30-28. The play was Cortland's second blocked punt return for a TD in as many weeks and the third this season, with Dalce scoring on two of those plays (the first coming during the opening week of the season versus Fitchburg State).
Cortland drove 71 yards on its next possession to take the lead. On 3rd-and-7 at the Fisher 28-yard line, Segala threw a pass into the end zone and Burgess was unable to make a leaping catch. However, tight end Ricky Chenard (Ardsley) was nearby and made a diving catch in the back of the end zone for his first career touchdown. Segala's 2-point conversion pass to Angelo Foster (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy) put Cortland on top 36-30.
The hosts missed a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Cortland drove 79 yards in 11 plays, but had to settle for a Mongelli 18-yard field goal after being stopped on three straight plays from the 2-yard line or closer. Fisher proceeded to march 73 yards, sparked by Galer's 30-yard reception, and scored on a Pross 1-yard run with 4:18 left to cut Cortland's lead to 39-37.
Fisher entered the game ranked first nationally in Division III with 15 interceptions and increased that total quickly when Jason Rodriguez registered his seventh pick of the season on the game's second play from scrimmage. Four plays later Walsh ran for an 11-yard score. Derek Cruz's (Oceanside) 10-yard TD run less than a minute later tied the game, and Fisher took a 10-7 lead on its next possession when Joe Dotterweich hit a 38-yard field goal.
Burgess' long TD receptions – a 50-yarder with 14:17 left in the second and a 64-yarder about four minutes later – gave Cortland a 21-10 lead. Walsh hit Blake on a 12-yard TD pass to cut the deficit to four, and the kicker Dotterweich forced a fumble on the ensuing kick return that Kyle Vachon recovered at the Cortland 47-yard line. Fisher executed a flea flicker for a 46-yard pass to Galer to the 1-yard line and Pross scored on the next play to give Fisher a 23-21 lead.
Cortland appeared to get a long kickoff return for a TD to regain the lead, but a penalty negated the run. After a punt, Fisher drove 65 yards for a TD, highlighted by a 42-yard pass from Walsh to Chris Park to the 3-yard line and Pross' 2-yard scoring run, to give Fisher its 30-21 halftime lead.
Gregory Alfieri (Hawthorne/Westlake) led Cortland with 10 tackles, 1.5 for loss, and a forced fumble. Paul Imperiale (East Meadow), making his first career start, finished with nine tackles. Smith, Dalce and Evans Riviere (Woodberry Forest, VA) each had eight tackles. Cortland broke up 12 passes, including four by Cordero and two each by Riviere, Dalce and Dubuque.
Cameron Bellino totaled 14 tackles and a pass breakup for Fisher. Evan Strassberger and LeMar Peters each had seven tackles and Anthony Manna broke up two passes.
Cortland will host Brockport next Saturday at 2 p.m., and the Red Dragons can clinch at least a share of the league title and the conference's NCAA automatic berth with a victory over the two-time defending E8 champion Golden Eagles (6-1, 3-0 Empire 8). If Brockport wins, the league crown will not be determined until later in the season.