Football | 10/17/2026 4:44:00 PM
ALFRED, NY - Cortland scored 31 straight points over the game's final 32 minutes and the nationally ranked Red Dragons remained unbeaten with a 45-7 win at Alfred University.
Cortland (6-0, 4-0 Empire 8) is ranked 13th nationally by the AFCA and 14th by D3football. The Red Dragons registered their 37th straight conference victory, dating back to 2019. Alfred dropped to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the conference. Cortland returns home for the first time since Sept. 26 when it hosts St. John Fisher (5-1, 2-1 Empire 8) next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Cortland recorded 29 first downs to nine by the Saxons, and the Red Dragons outgained Alfred in total offense, 429-145, including a 241-42 advantage through the air.
Mike Rescigno (Arlington) completed a career-high 25 passes in 33 attempts for 241 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran 13 times for a team-high 81 yards. Lucas Singleton (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem North) carried eight times for 58 yards and a score, and Ethan Gallo (Minisink/Minisink Valley) ran for two scores. Gallo tied the Cortland school record for career rushing touchdowns at 45, matching the mark set by Jaden AlfanoStJohn from 2021-24.
Jacque LaPrarie (Smithtown/Smithtown West) caught two touchdown passes among his four total receptions, and Jayson Zeva (East Northport/St. John the Baptist) also caught four passes, one for a score. Sam Cotton (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley) ended with a team-high seven receptions, and Gallo had five catches.
Aidan Lochner (Ravena/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) led Cortland with eight tackles, seven solo. George Gjelaj (Bedford/Byram Hills) and Memphis Ferguson (Whitesboro) each recorded six stops, and Nazair Jean-Lubin (Freeport) posted his third interception of the season. Cole Callard (Medina) made a 32-yard field goal and all six of his PAT kicks, and Gavin Dandrea (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) averaged 38 yards on two punts.
For Alfred, Tommy Nyquist ran 23 times for 67 yards and a touchdowns and Steven Bidwell gained 39 yards on four rushes. Ian Harpster completed 5-of-12 passes for 42 yards. Jack Bestpitch totaled 13 tackles, 11 solo, Auben Marcus Jr. had 10 tackles, nine solo, along with two pass breakups, and Domanik Clark finished with eight tackles.
Jean-Lubin intercepted a pass on the game's first play from scrimmage, setting up Cortland at the Saxons' 37-yard line. The Red Dragons scored in five plays, capped by Gallo's 3-yard TD run. Cortland's next drive started on its own 16-yard line, and the guests drove 84 yards on 10 plays for another TD. Rescigno had runs of 19 and 18 yards during the drive, and his 18-yard TD pass to Zeva put the Red Dragons up 14-0 with 3:46 left in the quarter.
Alfred mounted a 9-play, 69-yard scoring drive in the second quarter to cut Cortland's lead in half. Bidwell opened the series with a 39-yard run to the Red Dragons' 30, and Harpster's 19-yard pass to Dan Mucica on 3rd-and-11 six plays later pushed the ball to the 1-yard line. Nyquist was stopped on first down, but he pushed his way into the end zone on the next play to make it 14-7. It was the first rushing touchdown allowed by Cortland this season.
Cortland answered with a drive from its own 35-yard line to the Alfred 16 over the next 4:46. The Red Dragons converted two third downs during the series before eventually getting points on Callard's 32-yard field goal with 1:01 left in the half.
Cortland scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the second half to pull away. The Red Dragons' opening drive covered 62 yards on 15 plays, ending with a Gallo 3-yard scoring run. Cortland converted on 3rd-and-8, 3rd-and-9 and 3rd-and-2 during the series, and the Red Dragons finished the game 7-of-10 on third down conversions. Cotton caught a pair of 16-yard passes during Cortland's next drive, and LaPrarie covered the final yardage on a 6-yard grab and an 18-yard TD catch to make it 31-7.
Ravi Dass Jr.'s (Newburgh/Somers) 36-yard punt return set up the Red Dragons at the Alfred 41 early in the fourth, and on second down Rescigno hit LaPrarie on a 41-yard bomb to push the score to 38-7. Cortland's final points came via a Singleton 1-yard TD run with 55 seconds remaining.