Brockport, NY – The SUNY Brockport football team nearly upset the No. 2 Cortland Red Dragons on Senior Day at Bob Boozer Field. A field goal in the final minute gave Cortland the 29-28 win to claim the Empire 8 Championship. Brockport moves to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play.
The Golden Eagles came out and scored 14 quick points in the first six minutes of the game. Ben Gocella connected with Nolan Slywka for a 28-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game to go up 7-0 early. Just minutes later, freshman Liam Nealy blocked a Cortland punt which was recovered by Kai Tran in the endzone for a touchdown. Brockport led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second, the Red Dragons pulled some trickery to get on the board. On a double-reverse, flea-flicker type play, Zac Boyes hit Jayson Zeva for a 47-yard touchdown. The score was at 14-7 in favor of Brockport with 10:55 left in the second.
Brockport's offense responded on the next drive. A 41-yard return on the kickoff from Daniel Manneh set the offense up near midfield. Gocella would find Slywka for two big plays on the drive. The first was a 24-yard play on 3rd and 18, which moved the chains on a crucial play. A few plays later, Slywka came down with a 29-yard touchdown catch on fourth down. The Green and Gold held a 21-7 lead on the defending national champs with 7:40 left until halftime.
The next Cortland drive saw another big play for Brockport. Marquis Wright intercepted Boyes (1st INT of 2024) to give the Brockport offense a chance at extending the lead. However, this time the Red Dragon defense was able to get a stop on third down to force a punt. They added to their strong series by blocking the Brockport punt, which set the Cortland offense up with great field position.
Starting the drive with 5:37 remaining before the half, Cortland would cut further into the deficit. A 49 yard pass from Boyes to Sam Cotton set up a 6-yard rushing score for Ethan Gallo which made it a 21-14 score.
The Golden Eagles took over offensively and began to move the ball down the field on the ensuing drive. They executed chunk plays to Slywka for 22 yards and Manneh for 12 yards. Pushing into Cortland territory, the Green and Gold looked to take a shot at the endzone before halftime. Gocella was picked off by Naza Jean-Lubinwith, giving the Red Dragons another chance to score before the break.
Cortland saw some a string of nice throws from Boyes to march down the field and get into field goal range. The Brockport defense held up on third down in the redzone to make sure the Red Dragons didn't find the endzone. The 28-yard kick was good for Cortland to end the first half. The tally on the board showed a Brockport lead, 21-17, going into halftime.
The opening kickoff of the second half went to Cortland, as the Red Dragons trailed by four after 30 minutes of action. They would put together an impressive drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. Brockport's defense again held up in the redzone, forcing another field goal. A make from 25 yards out this time around put the score at 21-20 in the third.
The rest of the third quarter was still on the scoreboard, with both defenses getting stops. Brockport's fourth down conversion resulted in an incomplete pass and turnover on downs. This gave Cortland the ball again, which saw the Red Dragons march down the field once again. The Golden Eagle defense forced yet another field goal try, and this time the Mike Baloga kick was no good from 35 yards out. Brockport maintained its 21-20 lead heading into the fourth.
Getting aggressive with another fourth down attempt, Gocella found Brian Caldwell Jr. in the endzone for a 37-yard touchdown early in the fourth frame. The Sal Montaperto extra point (4-for-4 on the day) pushed the Brockport advantage to 28-20.
The Red Dragons pulled out another reverse play to start the next series. Jaden AlfanoStJohn broke loose for a 26-yard run. Boyes then would come up big with a 21 yard rush and a 19-yard touchdown pass to make it a tight game at 28-26. The Brockport defense got the stop on the two-point try to hold a 2-point lead in the fourth.
With a slim lead and the ball, Brockport began to bleed the clock. Handing off to Isaiah Simmons, Brockport picked up a couple first downs before having to punt. Dan Giangrasso kicked a beauty just 34 yards to pin Cortland down at its own eight yard line. The Red Dragons wouldn't have the ball long, thanks to a 3-and-out forced by the Golden Eagle defense.
More feeds to Simmons in the ground game became the norm as Brockport tried to kill the clock. He was able to pick up another pair of first downs, moving the offense into the redzone. The Cortland defense stepped up late in the drive to get stops on third and fourth down. With 1:54 on the clock, the Red Dragons took possession down 28-26.
Boyes led an excellent 2-minute drive down the field for Cortland to get into Brockport territory. The visiting Red Dragons converted on two third downs and one fourth down on the drive. With 27 seconds left in regulation, Mike Baloga hit the go-ahead field goal for Cortland to take a 29-28 lead.
In need of a miracle, the Golden Eagles special teams provided a glimpse of hope. Daniel Manneh broke free for a 57-yard return to put the offense at the Cortland 33-yard line with 16 seconds and one timeout remaining. However, Anthony Vino's pass was intercepted by Cortland's Naza Jean-Lubin to end the game. The defending national champion Red Dragons escaped Bob Boozer Field with a 1-point win.
Ben Gocella threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns on the day before coming out late in the fourth with an injury. He found Nolan Slywka five times for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Daniel Manneh also caught five passes for 68 yards, while Brian Caldwell Jr.'s one catch was a 37-yard score.
Isaiah Simmons rushed for over 100 yards for the fourth straight week and the sixth time this season on Saturday. He totaled 101 rushing yards on 26 carries and added three catches for three yards.
The Golden Eagle defense put forth an incredible effort against a Cortland offense averaging 56.0 points per game heading into the week. They held their E8 rival to a season-low 29 points and forced Boyes' first interception since last year.
Ben Robinson (15), Kyle Haettich (11), Dawin Fanor (10), and Mike Talbert Jr. (10) all had double-digit tackles in the contest. Fanor had the lone sack on the day for Brockport, while Andre Marianetti (1.5), Marqwan Fluitt (1.0), Talbert (1.0), and Haettich (0.5) all had tackles for loss.
The defensive unit made plenty of plays in the passing game as well. Luca Friedman and Marquis Wright were both credited with two pass breakups. Wright added the defensive highlight of the day with his interception. Fanor is joined by Jahmere Clarke, Elijah Grooms, and Jayson Thomas with one pass breakup each.
The Golden Eagles will now look to bounce back in the regular season finale against the Alfred University Saxons. They hit the road on Saturday, November 16th for a 1pm kickoff.
Brockport Comes Up Short, 29-28, Against #2 Cortland in E8 Championship Game
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241109_9biz.xml
2024
Cortland
29
Brockport
28
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Cortland (9-0) | 0 | 17 | 3 | 9 | 29 |
| Brockport (7-2) | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Nov 09, 2024