Cortland Red Dragons vs. Rowan 2009

The Red Dragons with their season over are beginning to prepare for what is being talked about as a National Championship year. The team with a returning defense and offense that is settling in, maybe what these Dragons have been looking forward to. Winter break is closing soon and the workout booklets are handed out, and now all to look forward to is the tough months ahead. Football is no easy sport and it takes tough mental and physical determination to achieve greatness and we are going to have to see if they have what it takes. Go Red Dragons!

The Cortland Red Dragons are unable to bring the Cortaca Jugs back to Cortland this year. The Dragons faced a tough Bombers offense and a strong defense to lost the game with the final score 23-20. With 9,700 people in the stadium to witness this great battle of athletes they surely got their moneys worth. One of the major components to the Cortland team this year was senior wide receiver Wayne Wheeler. He finished his day in his last Cortaca game with 4 receptions with 2 of them for touchdowns. The Dragons had the ball with a minute left to play and with them only down 3 points, it looked for a moment that the dragons would pull out a termendous upset. However, quaterback Alex Smith threw an interceptions to seal the Dragon fait for this years game. The game will be held next year in Cortland for the now said "upcoming national champs" to take back what belongs in Cortland.


The Cortland Red Dragons will face St. John The Fisher in an ECAC bowl game this weekend for the final game of the season. This game will be the last for the seniors on this Cortland team and they all have high hopes to end their college football careers with a win. This being the last game that these players will play in puts it in to persepective how little time we really have. I've spoken with many of the seniors on this years team and they all basically relay the same message to appreciate everything that you have when you have it, and never let a day go by when you dont realize this. These words that are filled with emotion simply go to show the love that is needed to play this amazing game. Go Red Dragons.

2009 Cortland Red Dragons
(Click helmet to watch video)

The Cortland Red Dragons pull out a big win in there last home game of the season. This being the seniors last game at home added a little extra meaning to this one. The Dragons put up an enormous defensive display leading the now 6-2 Dragons to a 30-7 win over The College of New Jersey. This familiar story of the outstanding defense has really made an impact on every team that they play. TCNJ finally broke their scoreless game in the 4th quarter with a 10 yard touchdown run with 7:18 left in the game. The Cortland Defense only allowed a total of 190 yards on offense and forces a huge 4 turnovers against TCNJ. The new "prodigy" Justin Autera is becoming a serious threat to the oppents special teams as he almost broke a couple punts for touchdowns. He is going to be a very dominant player for Cortland in years to come. Sophmore kicker Marc Corrado hit a career high 40 yard field goal to put the Dragons up 16-0 in the second quarter.


The Dragons are facing another tough oppented as they travel to Brockport to face the Golden Eagles at 1pm. The Dragons will hope to increase their record to 7-2 next week.

D3Football.com National Team of the Week:

Bryan Wiley recorded a team high 9 total tackles, six solo tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass break up to help lead the Cortland Dragons to a win over Western Connecticut.

Justin Autera also a member of the National Team of the week with 2 returns for a touchdown. He had one kickoff return for 79 yards and a punt return for 59 yards.

The Dragons had a well earned win against the Western Connecticut Colonials on October 17th. This was a big game for now starting quarter back Alex Smith who is coming back after not playing since 2007. He had completed 3 for 7 passes with a total of 51 yards including a 15 yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Anthony Giuliano in the second quarter. Big running back Dom Sair had a dominant running game with a total of 163. The star of the special teams was freshman running back Justin Autera who had a dominant roll in the returning game. He had returned the opening kickoff of the 2nd half for a 79 yard touchdown, and also a punt return 59 yards for a score in the 4th quarter. The Dragons went on to win this game 35-6 and they have high hopes in the game next week against William Paterson in Wayne, N.J.

Without a doubt the Cortland Red Dragons have faced many tough opponents this season. In a tough game at Montclair State University in New Jersey the Dragons had their second loss of the season. This was a key game that the Dragons had to win to keep their playoff dreams alive. The Dragons finished trailing the New Jersey team 17-6 at the end of regulation. The Cortland defense put up a good fight to the Montclair offense, but the dragon offense was on the other hand falling short of accomplishing anything. They had a tough time establishing the run and were not ever successful in throwing the ball either. The Dragons will face Western Connecticut State in another conference game at home on October 17, 2009.

The Red Dragons got a big win as they were on the road for the first time last week. This was a big win after coming off the loss from Kean University the week before. Leading the Cortland offense with an amazing athletic display was junior full back Dom Sair. He had 4 rushing touchdowns to lead Cortland to the 42-13 win over the Bengals. Sair led the team with 17 carries for 64 yards and brought the win back to Cortland State. Bobby Somerville came up big for the defense with one fumble recovery for a touchdown and 9 tackles (carrer best) with 3.5 for lost yardage. Somerville was elected to the D3football.com National Team of the week. Cortland plays a tough game next week against Montclair.

Can't make it to the game? Listen live game day at WXHC

Cortland heads up to Buffalo St. for the first road game of the season. This will the the first of 2 away games and hope to come home with a win. The Buff State Bengals enter the game with a record of 1-1 in NJAC play, and the Red Dragons enter with a 2-1 record. This should be a key win after coming off a loss to Kean if everything goes according to the way its planned.

The Cortland Red Dragons lose their first conference game in 2 years in a 24-10 upset. In the 14 games that the Cortland Red Dragons have never been beat by Kean. This game yet upsetting must be put behind the Dragons if they wish to finish positive in conference play.

Cortland Football plays Kean University today at 1pm. This is another conference play as the Cortland Red Dragons enter with a record of 2-0 and have high hopes to continue this undefeated season. Hope to see everyone there.

D3 Football National Rankings

The Cortland Football team pulls out a huge win in conference play this past weekend with the final score 24-14. The team was held together by the outstanding defensive plays that took place all game. Senior captain Bryan Wiley led the defensive unit with a game high 15 tackles with 3 for a loss. The key component to the win was the time of possession that took place on the offense. The Red Dragons held the ball for most of the game which led to this big win. However, in the process the team lost a big player as starting captain quarterback Dan Pitcher fell as he scrambled and torn his achilles. This season ending injury called for the back up Hudson Woodward stepped in. Woodward would take the Red Dragons to a victory over this tough opponent to becoming undefeated in conference play. Cortland this weekend faces a tough Kean University to finish this home game stretch.

Game time is growing near as the week of hard work, film, and preparation comes to an end. Offensive strategy and defensive game plans are set and ready for action. This game will be a key beginning season showdown with two NJAC powers and will set a tone for the rest of the season. The Cortland Red Dragons are on an 11 straight league game winning streak dating back to 2007 and have high hopes to continue this impressive steak. In 2009, Rowan was selected to win the NJAC this year by the league coaches, but the dragons have something to say about this. The game time is 1pm on Saturday September 19th. Hope to see you there.

Can't make it to the game? Listen live Saturday September 19th at 1pm on WXHC

D3 Football National Rankings

Cortland Football started their season with a 26-17 win on Saturday September 12th. Starting junior quarterback Dan Pitcher and the 12th nationally ranked Red Dragons punished the Mustangs both with the run and in the passing game. Dan Pitcher threw for 233 yards with two touchdowns, and was the teams leading rusher with 98 yards and one touchdown on eight carries. Evan Wyler let the defense with a team high 12 tackles (2.5 for a loss), including 1.5 sacks, and also had a forced fumble. This is a great kick-off to the Dragons 2009 season and hopefully it continues.
Cortland is preparing for a tough 2 games that are coming up in the next couple of weeks. The first tough team that Cortland is facing is Rowan University at 1pm on Saturday September 19th. Rowan is coming off an impressive win against Lycoming College who made it to the first round in the NCAA playoffs. This will surely be a true test for the now 9th nationally ranked Cortland Red Dragons.

We start off the season on September 12 at 1pm against Morrisville at Cortland