Montclair, NJ (10/02/04) – Freshman defensive lineman Steve Longinott forced a fumble on the final play at the one-yard line as Cortland scored the final 16 points and upset eighth-ranked Montclair State, 16-12, in New Jersey Athletic Conference football action at Sprague Field on Saturday afternoon.
Cortland (3-2, 2-1 NJAC) took a 16-12 lead with 2:53 to play as Steve Davis ran in untouched from two yards out. That play came after Alex Smith connected with Jon Frechette on a 42-yard pass play to the two-yard line.
Montclair State would get the ball back as
ERIC FERRIOL returned the kickoff 27 yards to the MSU 41. The Red Hawks moved nine yards and faced a 4th-and-1 from midfield with 1:51 remaining, but converted as
EUGENE VICK ran 10 yards to keep the drive alive. Mike Passero then hit
STEVE ARMSTRONG for 19 yards before completing a 25-yard pass to Ferriol down to the one with 1:08 to go. With four chances from a yard out, Passero's two sneaks were thwarted and
EUGENE VICK was stopped one third down. Cortland then appeared to come up with the final stop, but the Red Dragons were flagged for offside giving MSU one final chance with 13 ticks left.
On the final play, Longinott broke through the line and busted up the handoff causing a fumble and sending the Cortland sideline into a frenzy.
Cortland trailed 12-0 at halftime, but got on the board as Ryan DeCamp booted a career-best 46-yard field goal with 3:14 left in the third. A quick change of possession gave Cortland the ball back and it moved 61 yards in six plays capped off by a 15-yard run by Smith with 54 seconds left in the third to slice the lead to 12-10.
The game was scoreless for the first 28 minutes before Montclair State scored nine consecutive points. Special-teamer
MICHAEL WORTHINGTON blocked a punt that rolled into the end zone and covered up by Red Dragon punter Matt Librock for a safety with 70 seconds to go before half. The Red Hawks got the free kick and added to the lead as Passero hit
FRED CARTER on a 54-yard catch and run giving MSU a 9-0 lead into intermission.
In the third quarter, linebacker
MORGAN BURKLOW forced a fumble on a rush and
SAL FAMA pounced on it at the Cortland 27. The Montclair State drive stalled and Vin Doffont kicked a 47-yard field goal making the score, 12-0 with 5:32 to play.
Davis finished with 79 yards on 20 carries while Smith completd 17-of-31 passes for 188 yards. Neal Heaton, Jr. had six catches for 38 yards while tight end Tony Romano had four catches for 54 yards.
Passero was 16-of-33 for 224 yards with Ferriol hauling in seven passes for 84 yards. Vick, the NJAC's leading rusher, was held to 60 yards on 23 carries.
Cortland outgained the Red Hawks, 384-241, as the Red Dragons held MSU to just 50 yards over the final 30 minutes.
