Bruzzese and Hagan Named to D3football.com Team of the Week
SUNY Cortland senior defensive end
Tom Hagan (Hopewell Junction/John Jay-East Fishkill) and Utica College senior defensive lineman
Nicholas Bruzzese (Utica, NY/Proctor) were named to the
D3football.com national "Team of the Week," presented by Scoutware, for the week ending November 13. The national "Team of the Week" consists of the best performers by position among all Div. III schools during the week.
Hagan recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, including two of Cortland's eight sacks, in the Red Dragons' 28-16 win over visiting Ithaca in the annual Cortaca Jug rivalry game. He finished the game with four tackles and two quarterback hurries, and he also blocked an extra point after Ithaca's first touchdown. Hagan's second sack came on fourth down during Ithaca's final possession with less than three minutes remaining.
Through the end of the regular season, Hagan has 45 tackles, 25 solo, and a team-high 6.5 sacks for minus-44 yards in 10 games. He also leads the Red Dragons with 14 quarterback hurries.
Cortland (5-5) will compete in the ECAC D3 Football Fest and will face Kean University of New Jersey in the Clayton Chapman Bowl Friday, November 18, at 3 p.m. at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The Red Dragons will be making their 12th ECAC bowl appearance and 21st overall postseason showing.
Bruzzese was also honored this week as the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week after he set a new school-record with 4.5 sacks in the Pioneers 52-40 win over Hartwick College on Saturday. He finished the regular season ranked first in the Empire 8 with eight sacks. He also leads all Utica defensive lineman with a career-high 36 tackles this season.
He now ranks fourth on the College's all-time list with 14.0 career sacks. He has played in 31 career games and has 101 tackles to go along with 21.5 tackles for a loss of 104 yards.
On Monday afternoon, the Utica College football team was selected to participate in an ECAC Bowl game for just the second time in program-history. The Pioneers will travel to historic Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania to take on Westminster College (PA) in the James Lynah Bowl this coming Saturday at 11 a.m.
Utica (7-3) tied a program-record with seven victories during the regular season. The last time Utica won seven games was back in 2014 when the Pioneers earned their first ECAC Bowl bid in program-history.