BEVERLY, MASS. - The nationally 11th-ranked Cortland football team held Endicott College on the game's final play and defeated the nationally 14th-ranked Gulls, 23-17, in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Division III playoffs at Endicott's Hempstead Stadium.
The Red Dragons (10-1) will face 18th-ranked Grove City College of Pennsylvania in the second round on Saturday, Nov. 25, at a site to be announced - expected by many to be at Cortland since Cortland is ranked third and Grove City is fourth in the NCAA's Region Two rankings. Grove City (11-0) won at ninth-ranked Susquehanna, 21-20, in the opening round on a touchdown pass with seven seconds remaining.
Jaden AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) led Cortland with 157 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) ran for 67 yards and a score and completed 14-of-24 passes for 162 yards. Mike Baloga (New Windsor/Cornwall) made all three of his field goals - a 28-yarder in the second quarter, a 27-yarder in the third quarter and a 37-yarder with 3:12 remaining that gave Cortland its final six-point cushion.
Jack Winey (Lindenhurst) led the Cortland defense with six tackles. Naz Jean-Lubin (Brooklyn/Freeport) finished with five tackles and a pass breakup, Ryan Isom (Levittown/MacArthur) ended with an interception and four tackles, and David Romer (East Greenbush/Columbia) finished with four tackles and a forced fumble.
Endicott quarterback Clayton Marengi completed 17-of-28 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Shane Aylward caught five passes for 119 yards and two scores. Ismar Kandic finished with 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup and Jackson DeAngelo had nine tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.
After Baloga's field goal put Cortland up by six, Endicott turned the ball over on its next play from scrimmage when Alex DeRosa (Webster/Webster Schroeder) forced a fumble after a short reception and Kaleb Paul (Baldwinsville/C.W Baker) made the recovery. Endicott, however, held Cortland on the ensuing series, using its last two timeouts and stopping the Red Dragons on 4th-and-2 at the Endicott 39-yard line.
The Gulls began their final drive on their own 42-yard line with 1:53 left and, with the help of a pass interference call, advanced to the Cortland 11-yard line with four seconds left. On the final play, however, a pass to the end zone sailed high and the Red Dragons escaped with the victory.
The teams were tied 7-7 after one quarter, Cortland scoring on a Boyes 8-yard run on the game's opening drive and Endicott answering on the next possession with a 23-yard TD pass from Marengi to Aylward. Cortland went up 17-7 in the second on Baloga's 28-yard field goal and a 6-yard AlfanoStJohn TD run, but Ryan Smith made a 42-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 17-10.
Baloga's 27-yard field goal with 2:41 left in the third pushed Cortland's lead to 20-10, but less than a minute later Aylward caught a 69-yard TD pass and cut Cortland's advantage to three. The Red Dragons capped a five-plus minute drive midway through the fourth with Baloga's 37-yard field goal.
Cortland outgained Endicott, 417-347, in total offense, and converted 10-of-17 third downs to help build a 40:41-19:19 advantage in time of possession. Endicott, however, averaged 6.8 yards per play compared to Cortland's 5.3 per snap. Cortland was flagged for nine penalties for 87 yards, while the Gulls only suffered two penalties for 20 yards.
Cortland Holds Off Endicott, 23-17, in NCAA Opener
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2023
Nov 18, 2023