CORTLAND, N.Y. - Cortland scored touchdowns on its first eight possessions, including three times in the game's opening eight minutes, and the nationally 17th-ranked Red Dragons defeated visiting Alfred University, 59-21, in an Empire 8 contest.
Cortland (5-1, 3-0 Empire 8) surpassed the 50-point mark for the third straight week and has scored at least 35 points in every game this fall. Alfred suffered its first league loss and is now 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) completed 19-of-22 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns and ran three times for 20 yards and a score. He played just the first half plus the opening drive of the second half. Rashad Tucker (Freeport) caught seven passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Jaden AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) ran nine times for 81 yards and a score, all in the first half, and Ashton Capone (Saratoga Springs) also rushed for a touchdown. In addition, Ravi Dass Jr. (Somers) scored on a 63-yard first-quarter punt return.
Omari Kendrick (Greenburgh/Woodlands) and Connor Mooney (Brentwood) each caught a TD pass. Vin Mazzone (Staten Island/St. Peter's) connected on 5-of-8 passes for 36 yards and a score. Sam Cotton (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley) led the defense with eight tackles, six solo, and JC Mertz (Wanaque, NJ/Lakeland Regional) finished with six tackles and an interception. Alex DeRosa (Webster/Webster Schroeder) and Jack Winey (Lindenhurst) each made five tackles. Will Ruckert (Lindenhurst) recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks. Cortland's defense ended with 11 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups.
Alfred quarterback Derek Johnson completed 13-of-26 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns and ran 11 times for 22 yards and a score. Max Freeman IV rushed 14 times for 53 yards and caught six passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. Dion Anderson had five catches for 43 yards and a score.
Cortland finished with a 462-196 advantage in total offensive yardage.
After holding Alfred on its first possession, Dass returned a punt 26 yards to the Saxons' 33-yard line. Five plays later, Boyes ran in from four yards out to give Cortland the lead. Dass made it 14-0 with 9:55 left in the first on his 63-yard punt return for a score - Cortland's first punt return touchdown (excluding blocked punt returns) since Justin Autera returned a punt 59 yards for a score versus Western Connecticut State on Oct. 17, 2009.
Cortland started its next drive on its 48-yard line after Andrew Tarpey's (Sparkill/Tappan Zee) partial block resulted in a 16-yard punt. AlfanoStJohn ran for 38 yards to the Alfred 14, and Boyes hit Tucker on 10-yard and 4-yard completions, the latter for a touchdown with 7:17 left in the quarter.
Alfred scored eight seconds into the second quarter on a 34-yard pass from Johnson to Anderson. Cortland, however, scored three times to take a 42-7 halftime lead. Capone ran for a 1-yard score with 9:30 left, AlfanoStJohn scored from two yards out with 1:07 left and, after a Mertz interception, Tucker caught a 5-yard TD pass from Boyes to complete a five-play scoring drive with four seconds remaining.
Kendrick caught a TD pass from Boyes and Mooney hauled in TD toss from Mazzone, both from seven yards out, to extend the lead to 56-7 with 6:41 left in the third. Freeman caught a 28-yard TD pass for the Saxons with 2:54 left in the period. Cortland's final score came when Alex Roca (Queensbury) connected on a 26-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the quarter. Johnson's 1-yard QB sneak with 7:10 left in the contest gave Alfred its final points.
Cortland travels to St. John Fisher next Saturday at noon for a league game.
#17 Cortland Strikes Early and Often in 59-21 Win vs. Alfred
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231014_1lvg.xml
2023
Alfred
21
Cortland
59
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred (3-3) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| No. 11 Cortland (5-1) | 21 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 59 |
Oct 14, 2023