Cortland State had ups and downs, but found a way to slow Salisbury's offense and extend the 2015 season for another week. Cortland State athletics photo by Darl Zehr Photography

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

Dan MacNeill was asked if playing in the Empire 8 prepared his Cortland State team for the postseason.

This was the Red Dragons' first year in the conference and they ended up winning the title, although it didn't come easy as five of their eight league games were decided by less than 10 points. Cortland won four of them, including two in overtime.

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"No question our schedule got us ready for the playoffs," MacNeill said during a phone interview Sunday night. "We played a very tough schedule and our guys went into the playoffs battle-tested, not battle-weary."

Senior offensive lineman Vin Juliano, a team captain, agrees with his coach.

"From top to bottom, the league is insanely tough," Juliano said. "We were in almost every type of situation this year and that definitely can't hurt us for the playoffs. I think our experiences in the conference made us a better team."

It's hard to argue that point. Cortland State, ranked No. 25 in the country, is one of 16 teams still playing football in NCAA Division III after defeating Salisbury 45-21 Saturday in the opening round of the playoffs.

Interestingly enough, the matchup pitted the Red Dragons against the champion of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, which is the league Cortland was a part of from 2000 until 2014. Salisbury, meanwhile, moved from the Empire 8 to the NJAC this past fall.

Steven Ferreira led the way for the Red Dragons (9-2) in their playoff win over the Sea Gulls, throwing for 447 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a pair of scores.

It was a wild game early as the two teams were tied at 14-14 after one quarter. Cortland scored the next 17 points to pull away and set up a date with No. 2 Linfield on the road.

"It was a beautiful thing to win that game," MacNeill said. "I thought we played a complete game and now we get to fly to Oregon for a game. It's exciting for our players. We can't wait to play."

Juliano said winning that playoff game came down to just getting back to playing Cortland football.

"It's all about being tough-minded and embracing the grind," Juliano said. "We went out there and focused on what we had to to to be successful."

That same toughness helped the Red Dragons overcome the two losses they suffered during the regular season. They were beaten 29-21 by Buffalo State on Oct. 10 and lost 42-28 to Morrisville on Halloween. The second loss stung a little more because it came so late in the year. Plus, the Red Dragons had a bye the following week, meaning they couldn't immediately bounce back from the loss. But they handled the situation well and closed with an 11-8 win over Ithaca.

"It was definitely tough losing that game (to Morrisville) because we had two weeks to think about it," Juliano said. "The good thing for us is that we put it out of our minds and just focused on winning the bye week. We felt like we did that and then found a way to beat Ithaca."

MacNeill, who has won more than 100 games, will be the first to tell you that losing isn't any fun. Yet, he thought his team learned from the losses and used the experiences to their advantage.

"There is nothing good about losing a game," MacNeill said. "But when you get punched in the nose, you can either retreat or find a way to not let it happen again. "Our guys are tough and they grew from the losses and moved forward. No one ever hit a panic button. We continued playing hard and played with energy."

It didn't surprise MacNeill at all because the success of this team goes beyond what shows up on the stat sheet.

"We have always had high character teams here and this one is no different," MacNeill said. "They set a high standard for themselves and play with a lot of focus and a lot of energy. It's just a great group to be around."

The Red Dragons hope to stick around in the postseason for awhile but face a daunting challenge in traveling to play the No. 2 team in the nation. MacNeill said his players are ready.

"Thursday is going to be a long day. We'll have practice and then head to the airport," MacNeill said. "Once we get settled into our hotel, we'll try to find some time to have a Thanksgiving dinner. The good thing is we have an extra day to get acclimated to everything and we plan to come out ready to go on Saturday."

Juliano can't wait. He was able to experience the thrill of playing in the postseason as a freshman and is thankful he gets an opportunity to extend his senior season at least one more week.

"It's awesome to still be playing football," Juliano said. "It's special. It means a lot to have a chance to be in the playoffs as a senior. It's been a great season and hopefully we can keep it going for as long as possible."