Football Drops Heartbreaker
to #17 Cortland, 32-28
UNION, N.J. (9/27/08) - Freshman quarterback
Thomas D'Ambrisi (Eatontown, N.J.) completed a
school record 34 passes and senior Durell Dukes (Elizabeth,
N.J.) had a school-record 14 receptions, however the Kean
University football team dropped a heartbreaker to 17th
ranked SUNY Cortland, 32-28, in New Jersey Athletic Conference
action on Saturday afternoon.
Cortland sophomore Anthony Giuliano (Thornwood, N.Y.)
blocked a key fourth-quarter punt in Kean territory and would catch
a 24-yard touchdown pass with less than two minutes 
remaining in what proved to be the game-winning score, as Cortland
scored 22 fourth-quarter points to escape with the victory.
After forcing a pair of Cortland turnovers in the third quarter,
the Cougars finally capitalized and took their only lead of the
game on an eight-yard touchdown pass from D'Ambrisi to Dukes
(pictured right), capping a 10-play, 45-yard drive for the 14-10
lead with 2:29 remaining in the quarter.
Kean forced the Red Dragons to punt early in the fourth quarter
and had the ball at midfield before a fumble pushed the Cougars
back into their own territory. After an incomplete pass led
to fourth down, Giuliano blocked the Cougar punt and recovered the
ball at the Kean 23-yard line, setting up the eventual 11-yard
touchdown pass from senior quarterback Ray Miles (Port Byron,
N.Y.) to senior Jeffrey Lang (Dryden, N.Y.) for the
go-ahead touchdown three plays later, giving the Red Dragons the
17-14 lead with just under 11 minutes to go.
On Kean's next possession, the Cougars managed one first down
before punting the ball down inside the Cortland 20-yard
line. However, the Red Dragons struck on the first play of
the drive as Miles found senior wide receiver Eric Hajnos
(Grand Island, N.Y.) across the middle and Hajnos broke away
from the Cougar defense for the 81-yard touchdown reception.
On the extra point attempt, holder Wayne Wheeler (Memphis,
N.Y.) could not cleanly get the snap down, picked up the ball
and found Lang, the Red Dragon kicker, who bounced off a few Kean
defenders to score the two-point conversion and give the Red
Dragons the 25-14 lead.
The Cougars answered right back on their next possession, as
D'Ambrisi completed all three of his pass attempts, including a
31-yard touchdown reception to Dukes, and added the two-point
conversion to junior Alex Cade (Galloway, N.J.) to
pull within three points at 25-22 with 6:44 remaining.
Kean had a chance to get the ball back without allowing a score, as
Cortland faced a pair of long yardage situations on the ensuing
drive. After converting a third and 12, the Red Dragons then
found themselves facing a fourth and 10 at the Kean 24 that
resulted in the 24-yard touchdown reception by Giuliano for the
10-point lead with just 1:35 remaining. That touchdown proved
to be the game-winner, as the Cougars marched the ball back down
field, scoring on a three-yard touchdown catch by senior
James Felton (Plainfield, N.J.) (pictured left) as
time expired. On the drive, D'Ambrisi connected on 6-of-9
passes for 60-yards.
In the opening half, Cortland took a 10-0 lead on a one-yard
touchdown run by senior Andrew Giuliano (Thornwood, N.Y.)
and 34-yard field goal by Lang. Kean cut the lead to 10-7
when Felton scored on a five-yard touchdown run with 6:46 left in
the second quarter.
Cortland threatened on its next possession, however Kean
sophomore Chris Lauda (Staten Island, N.Y.)
intercepted the Miles pass at the nine-yard line to keep the Red
Dragons off the board on the drive.
The Cougars had a chance to add points to the board in the
closing minutes of the half after four complete passes and a
roughing the passer penalty gave the Cougars a first and ten at the
Cortland 12-yard line. However, a pair of bad snaps over
D'Ambrisi's head forced the Cougars back to the 41-yard line and
out of field goal range.
Both teams came in with the top two rushers in the nation in
Cortland's Andrew Giuliano and Kean junior Jared
Chunn (Tinton Falls, N.J.), however both defenses kept the
two in check, as Andrew Giuliano had just 80 yards on 27 carries,
while Chunn finished with just 13 carries and 27 yards
rushing.
D'Ambrisi completed 34-of-48 passes for 352 yards and three
touchdowns. In addition to the school-record completions, his
352 yards ranks second in single-game history and 48 attempts are
fourth.
For the third straight game, Dukes had more than 150 yards
receiving, as he finished with 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns
to move into second place in program history with 2,174 career
receiving yards and 129 career receptions. His 14 receptions
broke the mark of 13 set by Mike Tharp against Rowan in 1999.
Felton had 52 yards receiving on a career-best 10 catches, tied
for the fifth most catches in single-game history.
Defensively, rookie Joseph Laguna (Keansburg,
N.J.) (pictured right) had a team-high nine tackles, while
sophomore Victor D'Arrigo (Staten Island, N.Y.)
added eight tackles and senior Matt Ali (Keasbey,
N.J.) had seven tackles, including a sack. The
Cougar defense also forced four turnovers, including a pair of
interceptions and two fumbles.
Miles finished with 304 yards and three touchdowns, completing
15-of-24 passes, while Lang and Hajnos each had over 100-yards
receiving.
The Red Dragon defense was led by sophomore defensive back
Chris Hanlon (Patchogue, N.Y.) with a game-high 12
tackles. Senior Matt Berman (Scarsdale, N.Y.) added
seven tackles, one forced fumble and one interception, while
sophomore Brian Haas (East Aurora, N.Y.) added nine
tackles and one forced fumble.
Kean has a short week, returning to action on Friday, October 3,
when they travel to The College of New Jersey for a conference
match-up at 7 p.m.
