Nov 09, 2019
ONEONTA, N.Y. – Zach Tripodi (New Fairfield, CT) rushed for 205 yards and a touchdown and Brett Segala (Webster/Webster Schroeder) completed 22-of-35 passes for 249 yards and two scores as Cortland rallied from a 14-0 deficit to win at Hartwick, 32-21.
Cortland improves to 8-1 overall and closes out its Empire 8 schedule with a 5-1 record. The Red Dragons kept their hopes alive for an NCAA tournament at-large berth as they head into their Cortaca Jug showdown with Ithaca next Saturday at MetLife Stadium. If Cortland does not earn an NCAA berth, it is guaranteed the Empire 8's spot in the New York Bowl. Brockport clinched the Empire 8's NCAA bid with a 16-7 win over Alfred. Cortland could still be league co-champions if Brockport loses at Morrisville next weekend, but the Golden Eagles would have the tiebreaker over the Red Dragons in that scenario.
Tripodi averaged 7.1 yards per carry on 29 attempts and became the ninth player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season (1,098). Segala set a school record for career touchdown passes with 58, one better than Steven Ferreira's total from 2015-17, and Segala is now second at Cortland with 6,164 career passing yards (Ferreira had 6,271).
Cole Burgess (Greenwich) caught a career-high 10 passes for 109 yards and a score. Burgess registered his sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season, one away from John Babin's school-record seven in 2013. Nick Mongelli (Marlboro) made 3-of-5 field goals, including a 46-yarder for the second straight week, and his two misses were from at least 40 yards out.
Dylan Dubuque (East Greenbush/Columbia) led the Red Dragons with nine tackles, all solo, including two sacks, along with a blocked kick. Paul Imperiale (East Meadow) finished with seven tackles. Angelo Foster (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy) recorded the other block as the Red Dragons have now blocked a school single-season record 10 kicks through nine games. Foster blocked a field goal in the second quarter, and Dubuque blocked a field goal with less than six minutes left and Cortland clinging to a 22-21 lead.
Hartwick quarterback Grant Harman finished 18-of-26 passing for 225 yards and two scores. Jack Steinman caught eight passes for 109 yards, while Corey Sachs and Kishaun Bell each notched TD receptions. Davien Kuinlan carried the ball 30 times for 136 yards and a score. Cameron Conrad and Tommy Kurs each made five tackles and Stephen Junjulas intercepted a pass.
Hartwick (1-8, 0-5 Empire 8) looked poised for an upset bid as it took a 14-0 lead on two second-quarter touchdowns. Bell caught a 19-yard TD pass from Harman one play after the Hawks recovered a Cortland fumble, and Kuinlan's 5-yard run capped an 88-yard drive with 4:08 left in the half. Cortland pieced together a 15-play, 90-yard drive over the final 1:43 of the period, capped by a Mongelli 20-yard field goal at the horn to bring Cortland within 14-3.
Foster's 48-yard TD catch from Segala 3:20 into the third quarter made it 14-10, and the Red Dragons added a safety on Hartwick's ensuing possession when the Hawks' punter leapt to field a high snap in the end zone and landed out of bounds. Mongelli's 46-yard field goal on Cortland's following series gave the Red Dragons a 15-14 lead.
The hosts marched 76 yards on just eight plays to regain the lead. The big play in the drive was a 31-yard run by Kuinlan, and Harman's 8-yard scoring pass to Sachs with 44 seconds left gave Hartwick a 21-15 lead entering the final quarter.
Three Tripodi runs for a combined 26 yards and Segala completions to Burgess and Jason Carlock (Babylon), combined with a face mask penalty, moved the ball quickly to the Hartwick 7-yard line. Two plays later Tripodi turned a backwards pass into a 7-yard TD run, and Mongelli's PAT kick put Cortland on top, 22-21.
Hartwick covered 71 yards on 13 plays and took more than eight minutes off the clock on its next possession. On 3rd-and-goal from the Cortland 3-yard line Kuinlan was stopped for a 1-yard loss by Stone Murray (Latham/Shaker), and the Hawks' 21-yard field goal attempt to take the lead was blocked by Dubuque.
Starting at its own 6-yard line, Cortland quickly struck for another score. Tripodi ran 66 yards on the first play to the Hartwick 28-yard line. A penalty on the Hawks pushed the ball to the 14, and Segala hit Burgess in the back right corner of the end zone on the next play for a TD pass and a 29-21 lead. Cortland forced a turnover on downs during Hartwick's next drive, and Mongelli sealed the win with a 30-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining.
Cortland finished with a 489-358 edge in total offense that featured 249 passing yards and 240 on the ground.