Cortland, N.Y. (10/5/13) – Cortland scored 10 points in the final nine minutes to break a seven-all tie and win by the final of 17-7 over the Kean University football team on Saturday in NJAC action.
Cortland is 2-0 in the league and 2-2 overall while the Cougars drop to 1-3 overall, playing their conference opener.
Cortland gained possession on the Kean 10-yard line with 10:36 remaining when sophomore Troy Beddoe stripped the ball away from quarterback Robert Meade III on a sack. A run and a penalty gave Cortland first-and-goal at the 3-yard line, but the Cougars defense held and senior Nick Daley kicked a 25-yard field goal to put Cortland up 10-7.
The Red Dragons forced a punt on Kean's next possession, then drove 47 yards for an insurance score. Quarterback Tyler Augliano kept the drive alive with a 9-yard run on 3rd-and-5 at the Kean 28. A personal foul on the next play moved the ball to the 10, and two plays later freshman wide receiver Joel Nunez ran for a 9-yard TD on a reverse to give Cortland a 17-7 advantage.
Cortland led 7-0 at halftime on the strength of a 12-yard TD pass from Augliano to John Babin with 2:24 left in the first quarter. The Cougars tied it on their first possession of the second half with an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive. Starting quarterback Christian Bailoni was knocked out of the game after being hit at the end of a 8-yard run on the drive's first play. Meade (pictured left) entered the game and led the Cougars down the field. Senior Sean McKee ran 17 yards on the first play after Meade entered, and he eventually capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run with 6:36 left in the quarter.
Both teams had other scoring chances thwarted deep in opponent's territory. Augliano was intercepted in the end zone by Darren Dixon with 1:04 left in the first half after Cortland had driven to the 22-yard line. The Red Dragons also started a drive at the Kean 28-yard line after a fumbled punt early in the fourth quarter, but lost six yards and had to punt. Kean's final drive of the game went from its own 22-yard line to the Cortland 27 before Andrew Tolosi intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Senior Matt Clerk (pictured right) and rookie Stephan Lewis led Kean with eight tackles each. Joe Drossel and Dwayne Brown each broke up two passes.
Sophomore safety Andre Green led Cortland with 14 tackles, 11 solo, along with a fumble recovery and pass breakup. Freshman linebacker Tristan Laurore made 10 tackles, including a sack, and sophomore linebacker Matt Ambrose finished with eight tackles. Tolosi had five tackles and two pass breakups to go along with his interception.
Cortland finished with 271 yards of total offense to Kean's 248. Augliano and Tyler Hughes shared time at quarterback throughout the game. Augliano completed 8-of-18 passes for 116 yards and Hughes was 10-of-12 for 70 yards. Babin caught five passes for 67 yards, and has caught at least one TD pass in 11 of his last 12 games. Nate Burgo made five catches for 60 yards.
McKee ran for 74 yards on 15 carries for Kean. Bailoni completed 5-of-10 passes for 42 yards before being knocked out. Meade went 5-of-9 through the air for 73 yards. Senior Prince Stewart made four catches for 54 yards.
Kean will host The College of New Jersey next Friday night at 7 p.m. while Cortland will travel to Montclair State next Saturday at 2 p.m.
