ONEONTA, N.Y. - Shane Cronin (West Nyack/Clarkstown South) made a 34-yard tiebreaking field goal with 26 seconds remaining as Cortland rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to defeat host Hartwick, 50-47, in an Empire 8 game.
Cortland improved to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference with the victory. Hartwick dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in league play. Last season, Cortland defeated Hartwick at home in overtime, 48-45.
The teams combined for 1,263 yards in total offense - 684 for Hartwick and 579 for Cortland - to tie a Cortland school single-game record for combined total offense. The mark was originally set versus Morrisville State in 2013. Cortland scored on its final six possessions to overcome a 30-14 halftime lead. The 16-point margin is the second-largest overcome by Cortland for a victory in school history, one point shy of the 17-point deficit erased versus Buffalo State in a home victory in 2007.
Cortland quarterback DeAngelo Walker (Buffalo/Kenmore West) completed 19-of-30 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed 11 times for 77 yards. Donny Davis (New City/Nyack) carried the ball 15 times for 107 yards and two scores, and Jake Smith (Albany/Guilderland) caught four passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Walker's 74-yard TD pass to Smith with 3:12 left tied the game at 47-47, just 26 seconds after Hartwick quarterback Billy Pine connected with Ron Richards on a 54-yard TD pass to give Hartwick the lead.
Pine finished 33-of-47 passing for 521 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted three times. Koree Reed caught nine passes for 202 yards and a score, Richards made 11 catches for 134 yards and a TD, and Brad Garcia finished with 10 catches for 166 yards and a TD.
Carson Lassiter (Madison, NJ), Ike Schannauer (West Lawn, PA/Wilson) and Rich Lagano (Watertown/General Brown) led Cortland with 10 tackles apiece. Isaac Hicks (Staten Island/Curtis) intercepted two passes, and wide receiver Jon Mannix (Easat Northport/John H. Glenn) was inserted as a defensive back on the game's final play and intercepted a long desperation pass as time expired. Mike Simone and Mark Hackett led Hartwick with nine and eight tackles, respectively.
Cortland took a brief 7-3 lead on an Alex Wasserman (Closter, NJ/Northern Valley Demarest) 5-yard TD run late in the first quarter, but Hartwick outscored the Red Dragons 27-7 in the second quarter. A 14-yard TD pass from Pine to Garcia and a Pichardo 1-yard TD run capped off 71 and 72-yard scoring drives to put the Hawks up 17-7, and lead grew to 23-7 on Pine's 36-yard TD pass to Reed with six minutes left in the half.
Cortland closed to within 23-14 on a 63-yard TD pass from Walker to Smith with 1:16 left in the second, but Hartwick quickly mounted an eight-play, 69-yard drive. With 6.6 seconds left and 1st-and-goal at the Cortland 1-yard line, Pichardo ran in for a score and Hartwick led 30-14 at halftime.
Cortland's first drive of the third quarter was stopped on downs, but the Red Dragons scored all six of their possessions after that. Zach Tripodi (New Fairfield, CT) ran for a 31-yard TD, followed by a Walker two-point run, to pull the Red Dragons within 30-22. Hartwick answered with a Pichardo 39-yard TD run, but Cortland came back with a 75-yard drive that was capped by a Davis 7-yard scoring run and Cortland trailed 37-29 with 2:23 left in the third.
A defensive stop resulted in a Hartwick punt, with Brandon Lewis' (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) 12-yard return setting up Cortland at the Hartwick 26-yard line. The Red Dragons eventually settled for a Cronin 39-yard field goal and were within 37-32 with 13:36 left in regulation. Hartwick drove to the Cortland 5-yard line on its next possession, but the defense eventually held and Brian McGovern made a 23-yard field goal to reestablish an eight-point lead for the hosts.
Cortland's next drive featured a Davis 37-yard run to the Hartwick 35-yard line, and five plays later Davis found paydirt from four yards out. Walker successfully ran in for the two-point conversion and the game was tied at 40-40 with 5:13 left.
That tie didn't last long. Hartwick needed only four plays, the last Pine's 54-yard pass to Richards, to re-take the lead at 47-40 with 3:38 left. But Cortland struck quickly as well when, on its second play of the ensuing drive, Walker found a streaking Smith down the left sideline for a 74-yard bomb and the game was tied at 47-47 with 3:12 left.
Cortland's defense forced a three-and-out, and Lewis' 14-yard punt return put the Red Dragons on the Hartwick 44-yard line. The ensuing drive was highlighted by a Walker 23-yard run on 3rd-and-5 at the Hartwick 39, and four plays later Cronin nailed the winning field goal. In addition to Cronin's two field goals, he was 4-for-4 on PAT kicks and averaged 42.8 yards per punt on four attempts.
Hartwick worked the ball its own 44-yard line to set up one final play with three seconds left. Pine heaved a ball toward the goal line that was intercepted by Mannix, and a penalty for ineligible receiver downfield against the Hawks was declined.
Cortland will host Buffalo State on Saturday, October 8, at 1 p.m.