Cortland, NY – The Alfred State football team traveled to nationally-ranked Cortland on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Red Dragons in Empire 8 action at Grady Field. The Pioneers move to 5-3 on the season and 2-3 against Empire 8 foes.
Despite the final score, the Pioneers continued to battle throughout the contest and found the end zone in the third quarter against one of the top programs in Division III football. Alfred State moved the ball effectively at times, converting three fourth-down and totaling 248 yards of offense.
The Pioneers opened the game with an impressive 10-play, 45-yard drive that marched deep into Cortland territory before turning the ball over on downs inside the Red Dragon 25-yard line.
Quarterback
Maddox Isaac completed 17-of-39 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown while adding 14 rushing yards. His favorite targets were
Elijah Georges, who hauled in five receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown, and
Bretton Blecha, who added four catches for 66 yards.
Jordan Jackson contributed five receptions for 33 yards.
Alfred State broke through midway through the third quarter with its best drive of the afternoon. Starting at its own 38-yard line, the Pioneers engineered an 11-play, 62-yard drive that lasted 3:33. Facing fourth down inside the red zone, Isaac connected with Georges on a six-yard touchdown pass to put Alfred State on the board.
Matthew Perry converted the extra point.
On the ground,
Xzaiver Patrick led the rushing attack with 52 yards on 16 carries, while
Ryan Joseph added 21 yards on six attempts.
Defensively,
Chris Bergman and
Aaron Ellis paced the Pioneers with eight tackles apiece. Bergman recorded five solo tackles, while Ellis added 1.5 tackles for loss.
Kyle Lecceardone finished with seven tackles and a tackle for loss, while freshman linebacker
Demarii Thompson recorded six tackles.
The Alfred State defensive front also registered a sack in the second quarter when
Dominic Marasco and
Ceon Miles III combined to bring down the Cortland quarterback for a four-yard loss.
The Pioneers will now turn their attention to next week's Alfred Cup matchup game against Alfred University. The Pioneers won the first ever game between the two schools last season, 35-28 to raise the Stoplight Trophy. Kickoff for this game is at 1 pm on Saturday the 7
th.
