CORTLAND, N.Y. - Cortland jumped out to a three-touchdown lead in the first quarter and the nationally 17th-ranked Red Dragons defeated the 10th-ranked visiting Delaware Valley Aggies, 42-13, at Cortland's Grady Field in the season opener for both teams.
Cortland, the two-time defending Empire 8 champion, won its season opener for the eighth straight time, while in the process snapping Delaware Valley's 28-game regular-season winning streak that dated back to Sept. 2019.
Cortland outgained DelVal in total offense, 414-253, including a 279-57 advantage on the ground. The 279 rushing yards are the most against Delaware Valley in a game since 2013. The Aggies allowed 65.8 rushing yards per game last season.
Jaden AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) led Cortland with 169 rushing yards on 27 carries with a touchdown. Ashton Capone (Saratoga Springs) ran for two scores and finished with 11 carries for 56 yards and freshman Tyson Taylor (Middle Island/Longwood) carried the ball 10 times in the fourth quarter for 57 yards and a touchdown. Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) completed 12-of-22 passes for 135 yards and two scores. Cole Burgess (Greenwich) caught six passes for 62 yards and JJ Laap (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) had three receptions for 43 yards and a score.
Ryan Isom (Levittown/MacArthur) and Jack Winey (Lindenhurst) led the defense with seven tackles apiece. Luke Winslow (Lansing) added an interception, a pass breakup and five tackles.
Delaware Valley's Jay White rushed nine times for 49 yards. Louie Barrios was 11-of-19 through the air for 85 yards. Nick Arcaroli was 4-for-4 passing for 72 yards and a touchdown and Rob McConnell completed his only pass attempt for a 39-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Cortland forced DelVal to go three-and-out on its first three possessions, each time leading to Red Dragon touchdown drives of 55 yards or less. Laap caught a 19-yard TD pass with 11:27 left in the first, followed by Burgess with a 12-yard TD catch at the 7:24 mark and Capone with a 1-yard run with 1:14 remaining to give Cortland a 21-0 lead.
Cortland's next possession ended when Micah Bootman intercepted a pass in the end zone early in the second quarter. The Aggies proceeded to march 80 yards on just five plays, including a 24-yard pass from Barrios to Dillon Shamanow and McConnell's 39-yard pass to Ryan Loughlin. The extra point failed and DelVal was within 21-6.
Cortland took control on the ground in the second half. The Red Dragons has 22 carries for 85 yards in the first half before running 32 times for 194 yards over the final 30 minutes. AlfanoStJohn's 6-yard TD run extended the lead to 28-6 with 11:25 in the third quarter. Cortland added a 3-yard Capone run with 12:46 left in the game and a Taylor 6-yard run with 5:20 remaining. DelVal closed the scoring on a 52-yard TD toss from Arcaroli to Shamanow with 2:31 left.
Cortland did not punt in the game. The Red Dragons' 12 possessions included six touchdowns, one interception in the end zone, three turnovers on downs inside the DelVal 35-yard line, and two shortened possessions at the end of each half.
Cortland travels to Lycoming College next Saturday at 1 p.m. for a non-league game. The game is part of a scheduling agreement between the Empire 8 and the Landmark Conference that will also have Cortland hosting Susquehanna University on Sept. 16.