BROCKPORT, N.Y. - Mike Baloga (New Windsor/Cornwall) made a 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds left to give Cortland its lone lead of the day and the nationally second-ranked Red Dragons clinched their fourth straight Empire 8 football title with a 29-28 victory at Brockport.
Cortland (9-0, 7-0 Empire 8), the defending Division III national champion, earned an automatic berth into the 40-team NCAA tournament with the win. Brockport suffered its first league loss and is now 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The game was a winner-take-all game for the league crown; Cortland hosts non-league foe Ithaca next Saturday in the annual Cortaca Jug rivalry game, while Brockport closes the regular season next Saturday at Alfred.
Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) completed 33-of-52 passes for 414 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The interception, which came in the second quarter, ended Boyes' streak of pass attempts without a pick at 291.
Sam Cotton (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley), in his first game of the season after coming back from a preseason injury, caught 10 passes for 140 yards and a TD. Cotton was the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year last season as a safety and made the move to receiver this season. Jayson Zeva (East Northport/St. John the Baptist) caught nine passes for 121 yards and a score. Ethan Gallo (Slate Hill/Minisink Valley) ran 18 times for 102 yards and a score.
Baloga made three of his four field goal attempts and is now 7-for-8 for the season. He connected on a 28-yarder on the final play of the first half to draw Cortland to within 21-17 after the Red Dragons fell behind 14-0, and his 25-yarder on the opening drive of the third quarter cut Brockport's lead to 21-20. His miss came from 35 yards away late in the third quarter with Brockport still up by one.
Brockport led 28-26 and had the ball with 7:08 remaining. The Golden Eagles drove to the Cortland 17-yard line but lost yardage on the next two plays and threw incomplete passes on third and fourth down, giving the Red Dragons the ball at their own 23-yard line with 1:54 remaining.
Boyes completed four of his first six passes, then ran for 10 yards on 3rd-and-2 to move the ball to the Brockport 34-yard line. A 6-yard completion to Cotton advanced the ball to the 28 and Brockport called timeout with 58 seconds left. After two incomplete passes, Cortland faced 4th-and-4 and Boyes hit CJ Messina (Sayville) on a 7-yard completion to keep the drive alive. After spiking the ball and two incompletions, the latter on a Jayson Thomas breakup at the line, Baloga came out and hit the go-ahead 38-yarder to put Cortland up 29-28.
On the ensuing kickoff, Daniel Manneh broke free down the right sideline and returned the ball 57 yards to the Cortland 33-yard line. With 16 seconds remaining, however, Brockport's first play from scrimmage resulted in Nazair Jean-Lubin (Freeport) recording his second interception of the day at the Cortland 12-yard line to secure the victory.
Brockport scored to open the game on a 28-yard TD pass from Ben Gocella to Nolan Slywka, and the Golden Eagles quickly pushed the lead to 14-0 when Liam Nealy blocked a punt and Kai Tran fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Early in the second quarter Cortland ran a reverse/flea-flicker and Boyes found Zeva wide open for a 47-yard TD pass to cut the hosts' lead to 14-7.
Gocella connected with Slywka for another TD pass, this time for 29 yards on 4th-and-1, to give Brockport a 21-7 lead on the next possession. Later in the second, Boyes threw a 49-yard pass to Cotton to the Brockport 6-yard line and Gallo ran in two plays later to make it 21-14.
Brockport took a 28-20 lead 15 seconds into the fourth quarter when Gocella connected with Brian Caldwell Jr. for a 37-yard TD pass on 4th-and-7. Cortland answered with a 7-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a 19-yard Cotton TD catch, but Brockport stopped Cortland's 2-point conversion run and led 28-26.
Gocella was 15-of-32 passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns but left late due to an injury. Isaiah Simmons ran 26 times for 101 yards and Slywka caught five passes for 125 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Cortland was led by Jaden Martinez (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) with 12 tackles and a pass breakup, Ellis Einbinder (Brighton) had eight tackles and Nick Lardaro (St. James/Smithtown East) finished with six tackles and two tackles for loss, including a sack, along with a breakup. Aidan Lochner (Ravena/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) blocked a punt.
Four Brockport players recorded double-figure tackles, led by Ben Robinson's 15 stops. Kyle Haettich made 11 tackles and Dawin Fanor and Mike Talbert Jr. each had 10 tackles. Marquis Wright finished with an interception and two breakups.
Cortland finished the day with 30 first downs and 593 yards of total offense - 414 passing and 179 rushing. Brockport ended the day with 15 first downs and 332 total offensive yards (236 passing, 96 rushing). Cortland was penalized 10 times for 85 yards compared to Brockport's three penalties for 15 yards.