Football | 1/2/2024 1:51:25 PM
Cody Aikey, Zac Boyes, Cole Burgess and Jack Winey of NCAA Division III Champion SUNY Cortland and Raylens Boutin of SUNY Brockport were named to the 2023 Associated Press Division III Football All-America Team. Aikey, Boyes and Burgess were first team selections, while Boutin and Winey garnered second team honors.
Aikey, a junior offensive lineman from Canandaigua, NY, started all 15 games at right tackle for the Red Dragons this fall. The team's highest graded lineman, he helped Cortland set school records with 46.2 points and 509.2 total offensive yards per game. Cortland gained more than 600 yards on three occasions, including 648 yards in the national quarterfinals at Alma, and the Red Dragons went over 500 yards in four other games, capped by a 503-yard effort versus North Central in the national finals.
Boyes, a junior quarteback, finished 271-of-375 passing (72.3 percent) for 4.020 yards and 44 touchdowns with just five interceptions and ran 144 times for 774 yards and eight scores. He recorded five 300-yard passing games and threw two or more TD passes in 13 of 15 games. He also earned D3football.com Third Team All-America accolades.
Boyes excelled in the postseason, throwing for 400 yards and five touchdowns in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alma, 279 yards and three scores in the NCAA semifinals at Randolph-Macon and saved his best for last, going 26-of-34 for 349 yards passing and five touchdowns in addition to rushing 16 times for 123 yards in Cortland's 38-37 win over North Central in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Dec. 15. Boyes became just the second quarterback in Cortland history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game, as that performances earned him Stagg Bowl Most Outstanding Player of the game honors, as Cortland won its first NCAA National Championship.
Boyes is Cortland's single-season leader in passing yardage, TD passes and total offense (4,796) and the Red Dragons' career leader in passing yards (7,071), TD passes (73) and total offense (8,347).
Burgess, a senior wide receiver, finished the 2023 season with 87 receptions for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns, including six 100-yard receiving games. He saved his best for last, catching 11 passes for 134 yards and two TDs, including the eventual game-winning score with just under two minutes left in regulation in Cortland's 38-37 win over North Central in the 50th Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Dec. 15. In addition, Burgess caught 12 passes for 145 yards and three TDs in the NCAA semifinals at Randolph-Macon, had five catches for 116 yards and a TD in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alma, and caught nine passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns versus Brockport in a win that clinched the Empire 8 title. His 14 TD receptions are the second-highest total in a season at Cortland, as are his 1,241 receiving yards.
Burgess is Cortland's career leader with 35 TD catches and 3,133 career receiving yards and is second all-time at Cortland with 178 receptions. He was also named a D3football.com Second Team All-American.
Boutin, a senior defensive back, earned AFCA first team All-American accolades on Dec. 11 and D3football.com first team All-America honors on Dec. 15. Earlier this season, Boutin was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, while earning his third All-Empire 8 first team selection and third D3football.com All-Region accolade. He led a Brockport defensive unit that is third in Division III, allowing just 212.2 total yards per game. In addition, the Brockport defense is 11th in DIII, allowing just 140.4 passing yards per contest and ninth, allowing just 12.3 points per game. Boutin, a native of Nyack, NY, finished the year with 51 tackles, including 35 solo stops to go along with 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, a pair of interceptions and nine passes defended. In addition, Boutin earned All-region second team honors as a return specialist. He averaged 16.3 yards per punt return, which is fifth-best nationally with five returns over 30 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Throughout his career, Boutin has made plays all over the secondary for Brockport's nationally recognized defensive unit. In total he has racked up 172 tackles (127 solo), 14 interceptions, 39 pass breakups, two blocked kicks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He has found the endzone for the Golden Eagles on six different occasions throughout his career. This includes four interceptions returned for a touchdown, with two coming in the same game against Framingham State back in 2019.
Winey, a junior linebacker from Lindenhurst, NY started all 15 games for Cortlandn and set a school single-season record with 141 tackles, including 53 solo stops. He also totaled two sacks, seven total tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. Winey posted six double-figure tackle games, including NCAA wins over Grove City (16), Alma (13) and Randolph-Macon (10).
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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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