Football | 10/31/2019 10:23:35 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – Empire 8 football conference play hits its crescendo this weekend, as SUNY Cortland hosts The College at Brockport at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 in a battle of Empire 8 unbeatens. The Red Dragons would clinch the Empire 8 title with a win, while a Brockport victort would vault them into the top spot. Cortland is the lone Empire 8 unbeaten at 7-0 and is ranked No. 18 in both the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association national polls. Brockport, who is 3-0 in league play and 6-1 overall, is also receiving votes in both polls. The Golden Eagles have won six straight games.
Cortland has outscored its opponents, 312-126 and is coming off a 42-37 win at Empire 8 foe St. John Fisher on Saturday. Brett Segala, the reigning E8 Offensive Player of the Week, threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns, while Cole Burgess, a D3football.com Team of the Week recipient, caught eight passes for 187 yards and two scores.
Segala leads all E8 quarterbacks with a 159.3 effiency rating go along with 1,820 yards and 17 touchdowns. Zach Tripodi leads the Red Dragons with 822 yards rushing on 149 carries and six touchdowns, while Burgess is second in the Empire 8 with 617 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 2019. He also has a kickoff return for a score. Defensively, Gregory Alfieri leads Cortland with 62 tackles. Devin Smith has a team-high five sacks, while Evans Riviere leads the squad with three interceptions.
Brockport has won six straight contests, including a 41-14 win over E8 foe Utica last Saturday. The Golden Eagles have allowed just 42 points over their last six games and lead the country, allowing just 20.6 yards rushing per game. Overall, Brockport is allowing just 188.1 total yards per game, which is fourth nationally. Brockport is out-scoring its opponents, 227-75 in 2019.
First-year quarterback Freddy June has thrown for five touchdowns and rushed for four more. Running back Jala Coad leads the Golden Eagles with 440 yards rushing and an Empire 8 best 10 scores. Imhotep Cromer has a team-best 387 yards receiving, while Joseph Ortiz has 21 catches. Senior linebacker Alex West leads Brockport with 38 tackles, including a league-best 15 for a loss and 7.5 sacks. Kenny Hernandez, the reigning Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week and D3football weekly honoree, has four interceptions.
The Golden Eagles defeated Cortland last season in Brockport, 21-16.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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