CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland raced out to a 44-point halftime lead, including both defensive and special teams touchdowns, and the Red Dragons defeated visiting Buffalo State, 58-9, in Cortland's home opener.
Brees Segala (Webster/Webster Schroeder) completed 15-of-21 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns before being replaced late in the third quarter. Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) was 4-for-5 through the air for 98 yards as the Red Dragons finished with 331 passing yards. JJ Laap (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) caught five passes for 102 yards and a score, with Trevor Ash (Auburn) and Jake Quosig (Half Moon Bay, CA) also catching touchdown passes, while Segala, Ashton Capone (Saratoga Springs) and Dom Gombetto (Fairport) ran for scores.
Cortland's other scores came via a Stone Murray (Latham/Shaker) 61-yard interception return, a Joshua Cordero (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) blocked punt that Carl Greene (East Greenwich, RI/Bishop Hendricken) returned five yards for a score, and a Nick Guglielmo (Staten Island/St. Peter's) 24-yard field goal.
Cortland (3-0) outgained the Bengals 456-218 in total offense, including a 282-59 margin in the first half as the Red Dragons took a 44-0 halftime lead.
The hosts scored touchdowns on their first three possessions in the first quarter to take a 20-0 lead. Segala ran in from six yards to cap an opening 78-yard drive, Capone scored on a 1-yard run, and Segala hit Quosig for a 38-yard TD pass.
On the first play of the second quarter, Cordero deflected a pass that Murray intercepted at the Red Dragon 39-yard line. Murray raced down the right sideline, hurdled a possible tackler and went in for a touchdown to put Cortland up 27-0. The score was Cortland's fourth defensive touchdown of the season; the Red Dragons entered the day tied for first nationally in defensive touchdowns.
Guglielmo's field goal with 6:02 left in the half extended the lead to 30-0. On Buffalo State's next possession, Cordero blocked a punt and Greene fielded the ball at the Buffalo State 5-yard line and took it in for a score. Cortland's defense held Buffalo State without a first down until the Bengals' ensuing drive with less than four minutes left in the half. Cortland started its next drive at the Bengals' 46-yard line and Segala completed three straight passes. Ash caught the last of those passes, eluded a tackler and raced in for a 16-yard score to give the Dragons their 44-0 halftime lead.
The lead grew to 51-0 on a Laap 26-yard TD catch midway through the third. Buffalo State scored its points in the third quarter on Omar Robinson's 15-yard run and a Nick Sciandra 29-yard field goal. Gombetto finished the scoring for the day with a 1-yard run less than five minutes into the fourth quarter, capping a drive that featured Boyes connecting with CJ Messina (Sayville) for 24 yards and Jeff Halusic (Niskayuna) for 41 yards.
Cortland's defense finished with nine tackles for loss, with Nick Lardaro (Smithtown/Smithtown East) registering 2.5 and Justin Wheeler (Binghamton/Susquehanna Valley) and Paul Imperiale (East Meadow) each with two. Imperiale had 1.5 sacks. Eight different Red Dragons recorded one pass breakup each. Zack Thuesen (New Fairfield, CT) led the team with seven tackles and Wheeler had six stops.
Buffalo State (0-2) was led by Robinson's 69 rushing yards. Cam Sionko was 17-of-30 through the air for 122 yards and Cam Crosier caught six passes for 48 yards. Ethan Biscaro and Mike Drywa finished with nine and eight tackles, respectively.
Cortland converted 8-of-11 third down situations while holding the Bengals to 4-of-15 on third down. The Red Dragons scored on 5-of-6 trips into the red zone, with their only "failure" coming when they took a knee at the Bengals' 11-yard line to end the game. Cortland entered the game 6-for-6 on the season in scoring success in the red zone.
Cortland is idle next week and will begin Empire 8 play on Oct. 2 at Morrisville State in the return for Red Dragon head coach Curt Fitzpatrick to his former stomping grounds. Fitzpatrick was the Mustangs' head coach from 2013-19.
Cortland Shines in All Phases to Defeat Buffalo St., 58-9, in Home Opener
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20210918_ijvl.xml
2021
Buffalo State
9
Cortland
58
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo State (0-2) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| No. 13 Cortland (3-0) | 20 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 58 |
Sep 18, 2021