CORTLAND, N.Y. - Senior quarterbacks Zac Boyes (Buffalo/Kenmore West) and Vin Mazzone (Staten Island/St. Peter's) combined to throw a school single-game record six touchdown passes as nationally second-ranked Cortland remained unbeaten with a 68-10 Empire 8 win over visiting Hartwick on Senior Day. The Red Dragons honored 35 seniors prior to the game.
With the win, Cortland (8-0, 6-0 Empire 8) extended its overall winning streak to 20 games and its Empire 8 win streak to 25 games. Cortland travels to Brockport (7-1, 5-0 E8) next Saturday, with the winner earning the Empire 8 title and an NCAA automatic berth. Cortland is the three-time defending league champion.
Boyes, playing in just the first half, completed 18-of-22 passes for 291 yards and four touchdowns. Mazzone threw all but one of his pass attempts in the second half and finished 9-of-12 for 150 yards and two scores. The previous Cortland team record for combined TD passes in a game was five, accomplished on numerous occasions. Senior Troy Churney (Auburn) finished 2-for-4 through the air for 23 yards. The Red Dragons used four quarterbacks in the contest who were a combined 29-of-39 for 464 yards - the third-highest passing total in school history behind a 543-yard effort versus Wittenberg in 2022 and a 487-yard performance at Buffalo State in 2014.
Cortland led 42-0 at halftime and played most of its starters for just the opening 30 minutes. In addition to Boyes, offensive standouts who posted all of their stats in the first half included Jaden AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) with seven catches for 88 yards and a TD, Jayson Zeva (East Northport/St. John the Baptist) with four receptions for 61 yards, Joey Muscarella (Smithtown/Smithtown East) with three catches for 80 yards, including his first two career touchdowns, Ethan Gallo (Slate Hill/Minisink Valley) with seven rushes for 46 yards and two touchdowns, and Tyson Taylor (Middle Island/Longwood) with 11 carries for 68 yards.
Other Red Dragon offensive leaders included JT Thuesen (New Fairfield, CT) with three receptions for 67 yards and his first career TD, Andrew Tarpey (Sparkill/Tappan Zee) with three receptions for 73 yards, Max Barone (Wading River/Shoreham-Wading River) with seven rushes for 47 yards, and CJ Messina (Sayville) and Joe Klein (Westwood, NJ/Westwood Regional) each with a TD catch. Churney and Kyle Stracher (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) each ran for a score. Mike Baloga (New Windsor/Cornwall) made all six of his PAT kicks in the first half and Bryce Carroll (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley) made two PATs in the second half.
Cortland finished the game with a 658-274 advantage in total offensive yards, highlighted by a 194-14 advantage on the ground. Cortland reached the 600-yard mark for the second time this year, the first being a 663-yard effort versus Lycoming on Sept. 14. Cortland converted 8-of-12 third downs and its lone fourth-down conversion attempt and held the Hawks to 1-for-13 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down.
Dan Becker (Camillus/West Genesee) led Cortland with nine tackles and Ryan Costello (Port Jervis) finished with five tackles and two pass breakups. Aidan Lochner (Ravena/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) and Nazair Jean-Lubin (Freeport) each intercepted a pass. Lochner and Nick Lardaro (St. James/Smithtown East) each finished with four tackles.
For Hartwick (2-6, 1-4 E8), Braden Moreau completed 16-of-35 passes for 260 yards and a TD with two interceptions. Connor Cosgrove caught six passes for 121 yards, including a 66-yard TD reception in the final seconds of the third quarter, and Ransome Turner-Rush made a 23-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. Ben Kirkland ended with eight tackles and a pass breakup and Justice Darling, Robert Kennedy, Marquis Jones-McKinney and Randall Dennis had seven tackles each. Joshua Titus and Colby Phraner each recorded sacks.
#2 Cortland Wins 68-10 vs. Hartwick on Senior Day
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241102_bjit.xml
2024
Hartwick
10
Cortland
68
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartwick (2-6) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| No. 2 Cortland (8-0) | 21 | 21 | 20 | 6 | 68 |
Nov 02, 2024