Union, N.J. (10/27/12) – The SUNY Cortland Red Dragons scored 23 straight points to push past the Kean University football team, 31-17, Saturday afternoon in NJAC action.
With the win, the Red Dragons (7-1, 7-0 NJAC) share at least a share of the conference crown and earn the NJAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which starts on Saturday, November 17th. The crown is the third for Cortland as an affiliate member of the NJAC.
The Cougars (5-3, 5-1 NJAC) got things started in their opening drive as senior Darius Kinney picked up a 37 yard gain, putting Kean into red zone territory. Senior Deandre Fowlkes (pictured left) wrapped up the drive with an eight yard rush on third-and-three to put the score at 6-0. The ensuing extra point from junior Bill Cullen gave Kean an early 7-0 advantage.
Cortland was stripped on their initial kickoff return (Nick Graff), but the Red Dragons recovered close to midfield. Later in the drive, facing a fourth-and-seven from the Kean 25 yard line, senior Chris Rose found an open Kordel McInnis for an eight yard gain to keep the drive alive. The Cougar defense held, forcing the Red Dragons into a field-goal situation, which they converted, a 26 yard try, to put the score at 7-3.
Kean started their next possession with good field position, thanks to a Cortland face mask penalty. Fowlkes quickly put Kean into Cortland territory with an 18 yard reception. The Cougar drive then stalled, forcing a field goal try from Cullen. He converted the 35 yard attempt, giving Kean a 10-3 lead, still in the first quarter.
Graff stepped up again on special teams, forcing another fumble, this time recovered by the Cougars (Donald Porzio), setting up the drive deep in Cortland territory. Back-to-back rushes from Kinney and junior Chris Johnson put the Cougars just inches from the goal line. Tight end Jim Dennis sealed the touchdown with a one yard grab and a successful kick from Cullen gave Kean a 17-3 lead early in the second quarter.
That would be the last time Kean would score, however, as Cortland slowly chipped away at the lead. Both teams would wind up trading interceptions on their next drives, as Cortland's Andrew Tolosi picked off a pass from junior Christian Bailoni near midfield, and returned the ball 29 yards to the Kean 23 yard line. The drive would stall, forcing a 28 yard field goal from junior Mike DeBole, inching the Red Dragons closer at 17-6. Cortland added one more field goal late in the second quarter, a 27 yarder from DeBole, to put the score at 17-9 entering the break.
After both teams went four-and-out on their opening drives of the third quarter, Cortland used a 52 yard breakaway from sophomore Bronson Greene to score their first touchdown of the afternoon. Their attempt at a two-point conversion failed, keeping Kean in the lead, with the score at 17-15.
After a four-and-out on Kean's first drive of the fourth quarter, senior Chris VanFechtmann (pictured right) seemed to quickly turn things around with an interception at midfield. The Red Dragons quickly turned things back into their favor, intercepting Bailoni's first pass of the drive, taking the ball all the way to the end zone on a 75 yard run by senior Pete Furey, giving Cortland their first lead of the day, 21-17. A two-point conversion pass from Rose to senior Mike Humphrey was good, to give Cortland a 23-17 advantage.
Cortland sealed the win with a pick-six interception late in the fourth quarter. On third-and-eight inside the Kean five yard line, Cortland's Vaughn Labor intercepted the ball, returning it for eight yards and the score to put the Red Dragons ahead, 29-17. Again, Cortland would try for two, and another Rose to Humphrey conversion was successful for the final of 31-17.
Bailoni was 29-45 for 236 yards with three interceptions for the Cougars while Fowlkes finished the day with 96 receiving yards, eight rushing yards and a touchdown. Kinney rushed 116 yards on 21 carries. VanFechtmann led the defense with six tackles and two interceptions.
For the Red Dragons, Rose was 17-31 with four interceptions and 127 yards. Greene gained 108 yards on 10 carries, teammate Andre Green tallied 12 tackles to lead the defense.
