CORTLAND, N.Y. - Jaden AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) ran for a 1-yard touchdown and Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) completed a 2-point conversion pass to Omari Kendrick (Greenburgh/Woodlands) with 1:23 remaining to lift nationally 11th-ranked Cortland past visiting 18th-ranked Grove City, 25-24, in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. Grove City missed a potential game-winning 37-yard field goal with six seconds remaining.
Cortland (11-1) will face Alma College of Michigan in the national quarterfinals on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Alma. Cortland will be making its third NCAA quarterfinal appearance overall; the previous two came in 2008 (in a 32-team tournament) and 1988 (in a 16-team tournament). Alma (12-0), ranked 13th nationally, upset second-ranked Mount Union on the road, 24-20, with 24 fourth-quarter points, including a TD with 10 seconds left.
Grove City closes its season with an 11-1 record. The Presidents' Athletic Conference champion Wolverines were making their first-ever NCAA appearance.
Leading 24-17, Grove City's Trevor Beck intercepted a pass to give the Wolverines the ball at their own 44-yard line with 7:17 remaining. On the next play, however, Cortland's Matt Ferrer (South Salem/John Jay) forced a fumble that Luke Winslow (Lansing) recovered at the Red Dragon 43-yard line.
Cortland converted two fourth-down situations on its winning drive. Boyes ran for six yards on 4th-and-5 from the Cortland 48-yard line. Three plays later Ben Bladel sacked Boyes, setting up a 4th-and-15 from the Cortland 49-yard line, but Boyes hit Cole Burgess (Greenwich) for a 24-yard completion. Andrew Tarpey (Sparkill/Tappan Zee) followed with a 19-yard catch to the 8-yard line and AlfanoStJohn had a 6-yard reception to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, on 3rd-and-goal, AlfanoStJohn ran in for the touchdown. On the 2-point conversion, Boyes rolled out right and found Kendrick just over the goal line to give the Red Dragons the lead.
Grove City began its final possession on its 35-yard line. A few plays into the drive the Wolverines faced 3rd-and-10 but quarterback Logan Pfeuffer hit Ryan Heckathorn for a 12-yard completion to the Cortland 42-yard line with 30 seconds left. A Pfeuffer 9-yard run and a Clayton Parrish 5-yard run advanced the ball to the 28-yard line, and Grove City spiked the ball with 13 seconds remaining. Pfeuffer then hit Scott Fraser for an 8-yard completion to the 20-yard line and Grove City called its final timeout with nine seconds left. Caleb Kuechly's ensuing 37-yard field goal attempt just missed wide left, and Cortland took a knee on the next play to end the game.
Cortland led 14-0 in the first half. Boyes hit JJ Laap (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) on a 6-yard TD pass with 5:28 left in the first quarter, and Boyes ran for a 14-yard score four seconds into the second quarter. Grove City, however, tied the game at 14-14 heading into halftime. Heckathorn caught a 14-yard TD pass from Pfeuffer with 8:50 left in the period, and Pfeuffer found Ryan Lenhart for a 4-yard TD pass with seven seconds remaining.
Grove City received the second-half kickoff and mounted a 16-play, 72-yard drive that consumed 8:21 off the clock. The Wolverines, however, had to settle for a Kuechly 20-yard field goal to take a 17-14 lead. Cortland then answered with a nine-play, 57-yard drive, capped by Mike Baloga's (New Windsor/Cornwall) 27-yard field goal to tie the game.
The guests fashioned their second long drive of the half, covering 67 yards on 15 plays in 7:58. Fraser grabbed a 7-yard TD pass to finish that possession and Grove City led 24-17 with 8:27 left.
Boyes finished 19-of-28 passing for 263 yards and a touchdown and ran for 50 yards and a score on 12 carries. Laap caught eight passes for 111 yards and a score and Burgess had five receptions for 89 yards. Jack Winey (Lindenhurst) led the Red Dragons with 16 tackles - his fourth game this season with at least 15 stops - and Cotton had 10 tackles. Jaden Martinez (Comsewogue) and Eli Alvarez (Patchogue/St. John the Baptist) each recorded nine tackles, while Naz Jean-Lubin (Brooklyn/Freeport) and Mark Noel (Staten Island/Port Richmond) each intercepted a pass.
For Grove City, Pfeuffer went 18-of-30 through the air for 197 yards and three touchdowns and Nico Flati ran 25 times for 116 yards. Heckathorn caught eight passes for 96 yards and Fraser had seven receptions for 75 yards. Gabe Dunlap and Jack Jollie led the Wolverines with 11 tackles each and Bladel ended with two sacks and three total tackles for loss among his six stops.
Grove City outgained Cortland in total offense, 381-352. The Wolverines had a 184-83 advantage on the ground, whiel Cortland held a 269-197 advantage through the air. Grove City held the ball for 34:28, bolstered by 10-of-15 success on third down. Cortland was 4-of-9 on third down but was 2-for-2 on fourth down, but on the decisive drive.
Cortland Wins 25-24 Thriller vs. Grove City to Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231125_e133.xml
2023
Grove City
24
Cortland
25
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 18 Grove City (11-1) | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| No. 11 Cortland (11-1) | 7 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 25 |
Nov 25, 2023