/seasons/2023/contrib/20231222ev57ll

Four Cortland Players Named to AP All-America Team

More news about: Cortland

Four members of the national champion SUNY Cortland football team have been selected to the 2023 Associated Press (AP) Division III All-America team. Junior quarterback Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West), senior wide receiver Cole Burgess (Greenwich) and junior offensive lineman Cody Aikey (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Academy) were named to AP first team and junior linebacker Jack Winey (Lindenhurst) was chosen to the second team. 
 
Boyes completed 271-of-375 passes (72.3 percent) for 4,020 yards and 44 touchdowns with five interceptions and rushed 144 times for 774 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 starts. Over his final three games, in the national quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, he was a combined 73-of-97 passing (75.3 percent) for 1,028 yards and 13 touchdowns with no interceptions. He threw for 349 yards and five scores and ran for 123 yards in the Red Dragons' 38-37 win over North Central in the national finals. Boyes set school single-season records for completions, passing yard, passing touchdowns, passing efficiency rating (198.4) and total offense (4,794 yards), and he's Cortland career leader, through three seasons, with 7,071 passing yards, 73 passing TDs and 8,347 total offensive yards. 
 
Burgess, in 14 games this fall, caught 87 passes for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns. He set school single-season records for receptions and receiving yards and tied the school mark for receiving touchdowns. Burgess recorded six 100-yard receiving games, including each of Cortland's final three NCAA contests. He caught three TD passes in the national semifinals and two in the finals. Burgess is Cortland's career leader with 3,133 receiving yards and 35 receiving touchdowns and ranks second with 178 receptions. 
 
Aikey started all 15 games at right tackle for the Red Dragons this fall. The team's highest graded lineman, he helped Cortland set school records with 46.2 points and 509.2 total offensive yards per game. Cortland gained more than 600 yards on three occasions, including 648 yards in the national quarterfinals at Alma, and the Red Dragons went over 500 yards in four other games, capped by a 503-yard effort versus North Central in the national finals. 
 
Winey started all 15 games and set a school single-season record with 141 tackles, including 53 solo stops. He also totaled two sacks, seven total tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. Winey posted six double-figure tackle games, including NCAA wins over Grove City (16), Alma (13) and Randolph-Macon (10). 
 
Cortland finished the season with a school-record 14 victories. The Red Dragons (14-1) went 9-1 in the regular season, including a 6-0 mark to win their third straight Empire 8 title. Cortland's run to its first-ever national title began with a 23-17 win at Endicott, following by a 25-24 home win against Grove City. The Red Dragons won 58-41 at Alma in the quarterfinals, 49-14 at Randolph-Macon in the semifinals, and 38-37 against top-ranked and 2022 national champion North Central in the finals, snapping the Cardinals' 29-game winning streak. Cortland's last four wins came versus previously undefeated teams. 

Dec. 15: All times Eastern
Final
Cortland 38, at North Central (Ill.) 37
@ Salem, Virginia
Video Box Score Recap Photos
Dec. 9: All times Eastern
Final
North Central (Ill.) 34, at Wartburg 27
Box Score Recap
Final
Cortland 49, at Randolph-Macon 14
Box Score Recap Recap Recap Photos
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