CORTLAND, N.Y. - Johnnie Akins (Roosevelt) rushed for 218 yards and William Holscher (Commack) kicked what held up as the winning 25-yard field goal with six minutes, 14 seconds remaining as Cortland opened Empire 8 play with a 31-30 win over visiting Hartwick.
Cortland improved to 2-1 overall, while Hartwick fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The Hawks' two losses this season have each been by one point.
Akins carried the ball 25 times for his 218 yards to average 8.7 yards per attempt. His performance is the seventh-highest rushing total in school history, and he's the first Cortland player to reach the 200-yard rushing mark in a game since quarterback Tyler Hughes ran for 203 yards versus William Paterson in 2013.
The teams combined for 884 yards of total offense - 452 by Cortland and 432 by Hartwick. The Red Dragons ran for 314 yards and passed for 138, while the Hawks threw for 269 yards and ran for 163. Cortland quarterback Steven Ferreira (West Sayville/Sayville) completed 14-of-20 passes for 138 yards and two scores and ran 19 times for 86 net yards, while Alex Wasserman (Closter, NJ/Northern Valley Demarest) and Josh Ramirez (Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) each registered first-half TD catches.
Hartwick signalcaller Billy Pine was 17-of-35 through the air for 269 yards and three touchdowns and Tito Pichardo ran 19 times for 143 yards and a score. Koree Reed caught four passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Brad Garcia caught six passes for 80 yards and one score.
The game featured nine lead changes as the two squads alternated scores over the final three quarters. Hartwick led 27-21 on Pine's 20-yard TD pass to Garcia with one second left before halftime. Cortland regained the lead at 28-27 on Zach Tripodi's (New Fairfield, CT) second 1-yard TD run of the game with 8:10 left in the third.
Cortland looked to extend the lead on its next possession when Akins broke free for an apparent TD run on 4th-and-1 from midfield, but David Van Alstine was able to catch him from behind and force a fumble near the 10-yard line and the ball went through the end zone for a touchback. The Hawks re-took the lead on their next possession when Brian McGovern hit a 36-yard field goal with 11:20 remaining in the fourth.
Cortland answered with a 12-play, 59-yard drive. The Red Dragons converted on 4th-and-8 at the Hartwick 31-yard line when Ferreira found Angelo Foster (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy) on a 14-yard completion. The drive eventually stalled at the Hartwick 8-yard line and Holscher hit his field goal to put Cortland ahead for good.
Hartwick's ensuing drive was stopped on a Taj Anderson (New Rochelle) interception at the Cortland 31-yard line with 4:27 left. Hartwick forced a Cortland punt and got the ball back with 2:14 left, but turned the ball over on downs with 1:08 left. Cortland sealed the win when Ferreira ran three yards for a first down on 4th-and-2 at the Hawks' 31-yard line with less than 50 seconds left.
The difference in the score proved to be a blocked extra point by Dan Appley (Herkimer) after Hartwick's first TD early in the first quarter.
Isaac Hicks (Staten Island/Curtis) led Cortland's defense with eight tackles, all solo, and an interception. Brandon Lewis (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) recorded six tackles and D'monte Woody (Freeport) broke up two passes. Josh Wilcox paced Hartwick with 10 tackles, all solo, and Nick Richard made eight stops.
Cortland is off next week and will host Brockport on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m.
Akins Runs for 218 Yards in Cortland's 31-30 Win vs. Hartwick
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20170916_pd9n.xml
2017
Hartwick
30
Cortland
31
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartwick (1-2) | 13 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 30 |
| Cortland (2-1) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
Sep 16, 2017