Football | 8/28/2023 9:58:58 AM
Nationally-ranked SUNY Cortland will look to earn its third straight Empire 8 Championship, as the 2023 season begins on Thursday, Aug. 31 and Sept, 1-2, with all seven teams in action. League play starts on Sept. 30. The regular season Empire 8 Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division III Football Championship.
Fans can watch the action all season long, free of charge on the
Empire 8 Network.
Players to Watch (Sorted Alphabetically by Player)
Raylens Boutin, Brockport, Sr., DB, Nyack, NY/Nyack – Boutin enters this season as a D3football.com First Team Preseason All-American. Boutin, a four-time preseason All-American, was the 2019 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year and has 121 tackles, 44 passes defended and 12 interception in three seasons.
Zac Boyes, Cortland, Jr., QB, Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West – Boyes, a 2022 Empire 8 All-Empire 8 first team selection, was third nationally in passing efficiency (194.2) and second in yards per completion (17.02). He recorded a 67.8 completion percentage with 2,826 yards and 28 touchdowns, while rushing for 376 yards and two scores.
Joe Copp, Alfred, Sr., LB, Minoa, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa – Copp earned All-Empire 8 first team accolades last season after making a league-high 121 tackles (75 solo, 46 assisted) to go along with 17.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks. He was also an All-E8 third team pick in 2021.
Steven Frerichs, Morrisville, Sr., QB, Wilson, NY/Wilson – Frerichs earned All-Empire 8 third team accolades in 2022 after throwing for 1,502 yards and 12 touchdowns, while rushing for 567 yards and seven scores.
Joe Howard, St. John Fisher, Gr., OL, Utica, NY/Utica Notre Dame – Howard earned All-Empire 8 second team accolades in 2022 and third team honors in 2021. A two-year E8 Player to Watch, Howard, a team captain, will serve as the leader on the St. John Fisher offensive line this season.
Nelon Priest, Hartwick, Sr., DB, Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons – Priest was an All-Empire 8 second team pick in 2022 after tying for the Empire 8 lead with six interceptions. He has 92 tackles and nine interceptions in three seasons.
John Stroughn, Utica, Gr., DL, Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity – Stroughn, who was recently named to the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, earned All-Empire 8 second team accolades in 2022 after recording 59 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks.
Team Capsules (sorted by 2022 Standings)
Cortland
The Red Dragons enjoyed a tremendous 2022 season, winning their second straight Empire 8 Championship, while advancing to the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Cortland finished the season 9-2, while earning a national ranking as high as 11th. Cortland was well rounded in all facets of the game last season, ranked third overall in points per game (45.1), while allowing just 17.5 points per game. The Red Dragons were fifth nationally, averaging 499.6 yards of offense per game and led the national in fourth down conversion percentage (79 percent) passing yards allowed (127.1 per game) and total yards allowed per game (213.8). This season, the Red Dragons open the season ranked No. 17 in the D3football.com Preseason Poll. Quarterback Zac Boyes, a 2022 Empire 8 All-Empire 8 first team selection, was third nationally in passing efficiency (194.2) and second in yards per completion (17.02). He recorded a 67.8 completion percentage with 2,826 yards and 28 touchdowns, while rushing for 376 yards and two scores. Junior defensive end Nick Lardaro, the 2021 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, was also an All-Empire 8 first team selection for the second straight season. Boyes, senior linebacker Zack Thuesen , junior offensive lineman Ryan Bitka and junior defensive lineman Max Llewellyn will serve as team captains for the Red Dragons this season. Several all-Empire 8 members return for Cortland, including running back Jaden AlfanoStJohn, wide receivers JJ Laap and Cole Burgess, defensive back Mark Noel and kicker Patrick Luby among several others. Cortland will play four NCAA Tournament teams from 2022 (Delaware Valley, Susquehanna, Utica and Ithaca)
Utica
The Pioneers are coming off their best season in program history, finishing 10-2, while earning a victory in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship. Utica enters the receiving just outside the top-25 in the D3football.com Division III Preseason Poll. While Utica will need to replace Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist, AFCA First Team All-American wide receiver Nate Palmer (75 catches, 1291 receiving yards, and 20 total touchdowns) and E8 Co-Defensive Player of the Year Jimmie Warren (17.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks), a strong group of veterans with championship experience return. Graduate student John Stroughn (59 tackles and 6.5 sacks) and defensive back Terrance Toussaint garnered All-Empire 8 second team honors in 2022. Stroughn was also named to the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Fellow All-Empire 8 third team selections Matt Brantley and John Aliberti, along with wide receiver Travis Decker will help solidify an offense that averaged 31.3 points per game in 2022, while linebacker Anthony Novello, an All-E8 third team pick, will help lead the defensive unit. Transfers Peyton Ausfield (wide receiver) and Marco Baez will also be counted on to make an immediate impact.
Brockport
Brockport will look to get back to the top of the Empire 8 standings after finishing 7-3 overall and 4-2 in league play in 2022. The Golden Eagles allowed just 36 points in their seven wins last season and will be expected to be one of the top teams in the region. Head Coach Jason Mangone enters his 11th season at Brockport and guided the Golden Eagles to a 50-11 record since the start of 2017. The Golden Eagles defense is one of the fiercest in Division III and last season was no exception, as they finished second nationally, allowing just 194.8 yards per game. Brockport’s rushing defense finished fourth in the country, allowing an average of 55.1 yards rushing per game and also ranked in the top-15 nationally in fewest passing yards allowed per game. Brockport returns four-time D3football.com Preseason All-American, defensive back Raylens Boutin. Boutin, a first team Preseason All-American, enters this season with 12 career interceptions and 44 passes defended. Eight former All-Empire 8 selections return, including offensive linemen Scott Oschner and Nicholas Kalke, tight end James Altenburger, punter Dan Giangrasso, cornerback Malik Kelly (2022 E8 Rookie of the Year) and running backs Jala Coad and Gino Fontanarosa. Giangrasso was also named a D3football.com third team Preseason All-American.
Morrisville
Morrisville returns 24 starters from last season’s team that won seven games and advanced to the ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl. While the Mustangs will look to replace D3football.com All-American and E8 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Ernesto Mitchell, the Mustangs will be strong on both sides of the ball in 2023. Senior quarterback Steven Frerichs was an All-E8 third team selection in 2022, after throwing for 1,502 yards and 12 touchdowns, while rushing for 567 yards and seven scores. Junior tight end Quamel Jarvis, an All-Empire 8 first team selection a year ago, will serve as a valuable receiver in the passing game and top blocker in the run game. Defensive backs Evan Salvaggio and Dante McGowan, both third team selections in 2022, along with senior defensive lineman David Kelley, will all play a key role for the Mustangs in 2023. All-E8 second team place kicker Owen Cole is also back to help lead the special teams unit. This is the largest roster Morrisville will have since the 2017 season. There’s a good mix of experienced upperclassman and a talented group of first-years that will be representing the Mustangs this fall, with competition at all positions for a spot in the two-deep this year.
St. John Fisher
St. John Fisher is looking to get back into the top of the Empire 8 standings in 2023. Fisher won 124 games over a 14-year span from 2003 to 2016, with five NCAA Tournament appearances. St. John Fisher returns several letter winners and starters from last season, with captains Andrew Casanova, Aaron Chase, Joe Howard, Joe Martinucci, Joe Miscia and Kyle Vachon set to lead the way on and off the field. Howard, an All-Empire 8 second team pick in 2022 and third team selection in 2021, will lead the offensive line, while Chase made great strides as the starting quarterback in 2022 and will lead the offense with All-E8 second team selection Gabe Maloni (54 receptions, 693 yards and six touchdowns) serving as the top target. On the defensive side, linebacker Joe Miscia is back after garnering his second All-E8 accolade in 2022 and will team with Casanova, an All-E8 third team pick as a defensive lineman and fellow third team selection, defensive back Deorion Moore.
Alfred
The Saxons will look to get back to the top half of the E8 standings in 2023, as 75 players return. Senior linebacker and co-captain Joe Copp will wear No. 32 this year in honor of Trooper Nicholas F. Clark ’11. Joe Copp earned All-Empire 8 first team accolades last season after making 121 tackles (75 solo, 46 assisted) to go along with 17.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks. He was also a two-time D3football.com Team of the Week selection. Four all-conference selections return in addition to Copp, including first team running back Max Freeman IV, wide receiver Jacob Kelsey, on the offensive side, defensive standouts Danny Quinones and punter Zach Johnson. Freeman finished second in the league with 931 rushing yards and added nine touchdowns. Kelsey added 43 catches for 600 yards receiving, while Quinones added 10 tackles for a loss and three sacks.
Hartwick
The Hawks return 63 players and 12 starters from last season’s team, including senior defensive back Nelon Priest, who earned All-Empire 8 second team accolades after tying for the league lead with six interceptions in 2022. Fellow senior defensive back Owen Lawler will look to solidify a strong secondary. Offensively, Hartwick returns a pair of All-Empire 8 performers from 2022, including junior running back Carlvin McDonald and senior wide receiver Naquan Bradshaw, both of whom were third team picks. McDonald had nearly 700 yards of total offense, while Bradshaw had 427 yards. Senior wide receiver Nate Rath is back after catching 39 passes for 652 yards and five touchdowns. Newcomers Cole Roos and Dan Morgan will also look to make an immediate impact. Head coach Mark Carr enters his 21st season with the Hawks in 2023.
Final 2022 Empire 8 Men’s Football Standings
SUNY Cortland (9-2, 6-0 E8) – Empire 8 Champions
Utica (10-2, 5-1 E8)
SUNY Brockport (7-3, 4-2 E8)
SUNY Morrisville (7-4, 3-3 E8)
St. John Fisher (4-6, 2-4 E8)
Alfred (2-7, 1-5 E8)
Hartwick (2-8, 0-6 E8)
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 and
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