Football | 11/27/2021 7:50:00 PM
CORTLAND, N.Y. – Running back Dylan Burnett rushed for 155 yards and the RPI defense forced three turnovers as the 18th-ranked Engineers defeated host and 13th-ranked Cortland, 21-14, in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament. With the victory, RPI (11-1) advances to the quarterfinals next Saturday at nationally top-ranked and defending (2019) champion North Central (Ill.). Cortland finishes the season at 11-1, tying a school single-season record for wins, and tied for ninth in the 32-team NCAA tournament.
Burnett averaged 4.8 yards per carry on 32 rushes, and RPI quarterback George Marinopolous completed 15-of-18 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Peter Lombardi caught six passes for 44 yards, including a tie-breaking 4-yard TD reception late in the third quarter, and Vinnie McDonald had six receptions for 61 yards.
Nate Sicard led RPI with nine tackles and recorded two of the Engineers' three sacks. Conor Ahern and C.J. Lyons each forced fumbles that resulted in turnovers, and Francis Perry intercepted a pass with 1:29 remaining to seal the victory.
Cortland quarterback Brees Segala (Webster/Webster Schroeder) connected on 23-of-30 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score. Derek Cruz (Oceanside) caught 10 passes for 98 yards, while Jaden Alfanostjohn (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) ran 15 times for 66 yards and caught five passes for 34 yards. Paul Imperiale (East Meadow) led the Red Dragons with 12 tackles, Justin Wheeler (Binghamton/Susquehanna Valley) made 11 tackles, Joshua Cordero (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) added nine tackles and a forced fumble, and Anthony Dennison (South Huntington/Walt Whitman) finished with eight tackles, including a sack, along with a pass breakup.
Cortland finished with a slight 317-306 advantage in total offense, but RPI converted 8-of-14 third downs and one fourth down and controlled the ball for 36:08 to the Red Dragons' 23:52.
Cortland started its first drive of the game at the RPI 46-yard line after forcing a three-and-out on the Engineers' opening possession. The Red Dragons' ensuing eight-play scoring drive opened with an Alfanostjohn 15-yard run and was eventually capped by Segala's 3-yard TD run, and Cortland led 7-0.
RPI responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock. The Engineers faced only one third down during the drive, which came on 3rd-and-2 at the Cortland 8-yard line and resulted in Marinopoulous' 8-yard TD pass to Sterling Walker-Sutton to tie the game at 7-7.
Both teams missed field goals in the final minute of the half - RPI from 40 yards and Cortland from 39 - and the teams were tied at halftime. Cortland got the ball first to start the second half and quickly moved from its own 30-yard line to the RPI 46. On the next play Cruz caught a pass and ran to about the RPI 27-yard line before Lyons stripped the ball from him, and Cole McGrath recovered for RPI at the 13-yard line.
Later in the third, the guests faced 3rd-and-9 at their own 30 when Marinopoulos hit Lombardi for a 23-yard completion. Three plays later on 3rd-and-2, Marinopoulos found McDonald for a 30-yard completion down the left sideline to the Red Dragon 9-yard line. McDonald then had a 5-yard reception to the 4-yard line, and Lombardi's TD catch on the next play gave RPI a 14-7 lead.
RPI forced a fumble and turnover on the final play of the third quarter, and the Engineers had a chance to extend the lead early in the fourth but missed a 26-yard field goal. Cortland then marched from its 20-yard line to the Engineers' 37 on the next series, but the Red Dragons turned the ball over on downs after a Josh Cohen sack on 4th-and-11. During RPI's next drive, Burnett broke free on a 3rd-and-7 rush for a 42-yard TD and RPI led 21-7.
Cortland, however, made things interesting down the stretch. The Red Dragons' next drive started with 2:49 left from their own 22-yard line. Two short passes advanced the ball to the 33, followed two plays later by a 28-yard completion from Segala to JJ Laap (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) to the RPI 39. After a 7-yard pass to Laap and a 3-yard pass interference penalty, Segala found Laap in the back left part of the end zone for a 29-yard TD catch and Cortland trailed 21-14 with 1:40 remaining.
With just one timeout remaining, Cortland attempted an onside kickoff and Cordero recovered the ball at the RPI 42-yard line. But on the ensuing play, Segala's pass to the middle of the field was intercepted by Perry at the RPI 25-yard line. Burnett ran for seven and five yards on the next two plays to seal the win and send RPI to the quarterfinals.
CORTLAND RECORD BOOK WATCH:
* Cortland set a school record for scoring average at 41.4 points per game; the previous record was 39.3 points per game in 2018
* Segala's TD pass in the fourth quarter was his 31st of the season, tying the school single-season record set by Dan Pitcher in 2011 (Segala threw at least one TD pass in each of Cortland's 12 games this fall; the school record for consecutive games with a TD pass is 13 by Steven Ferreira (all 11 games in which he appeared in 2015 and two games in 2016) and Dan Pitcher (last two games of 2010, all 11 games in 2011))
* Segala set a school single-season record with a 176.9 pass efficiency rating; the previous record was 169.1 by Ferreira in 2015
* Nick Guglielmo's PAT kick in the fourth quarter was his school-record 50th of the season, breaking the record he held a share of with Jeffrey Lang (2008)
Game Highlights (from Red Dragon Sports Network; compiled by RPI Athletics Communications):
Cortland Post-Game Press Conference:
RPI Post-Game Press Conference: