Montclair, NJ (10/21/06) – SUNY Cortland turned three of five interceptions into touchdowns and sophomore quarterback Ray Miles (Port Byron, NY/Dana L. West) threw for 223 yards and three scores in his first career start as the sixth-ranked Red Dragons rolled to a 41-3 victory over Montclair State in New Jersey Athletic Conference football action at Sprague Field on Saturday afternoon.

Running back Matt Rickert (Holbrook, NY/Sachem) ran for a pair of scores as Cortland remained unbeaten as it improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the NJAC. The Red Dragons are also off to their best start since 1990 when it went 9-2 and reached the NCAA Division III Playoffs. Cortland also improved to 13-9-1 overall against Montclair State with its third straight triumph over the Red Hawks, their longest winning streak in the series since it won four in a row from 1993-1997.

The Red Dragon defense was dominating as they also recorded seven sacks in the game and held Montclair State to 184 yards of offense. Cornerback Jeff Beck ( Middlehope , NY /Marlboro) picked off a pair of passes while defensive lineman Adam Haas ( East Aurora , NY /St. Francis) recorded two sacks.

Cortland 's first touchdown was set up by an interception as Bill Hauser ( Lancaster , NY /Lancaster) pulled in a tipped pass at the Montclair State 37 and returned it six yards to start the Red Dragons second drive of the game. Drew Lascari ( Pequannock , NJ /Pequannock) ran for nine yards on an end-around and then caught a nine-yard pass from Miles, who made the start for the injured Alex Smith (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara-Wheatfield), to bring the ball to the MSU 10. Rickert would collect the final 10 yards with the touchdown coming on a 4-yard run with 8:24 to play in the quarter.

Montclair State would get on the board in the second as kicker Vin Doffont (North Arlington, NJ/St. Mary's) connected from 47 yards out to make the score 7-3 with 13:25 left. The Red Hawks began the drive at their own five, but RYAN MCCOACH (Rockaway, NJ/ Morris Hills )  ripped off a 40-yard run and a 15-yard personal foul penalty tacked on got the ball to the Cortland 41. McCoach would add an 11-yard rush and a 14-yard pass from MICHAEL JUMP ( Toms River , NJ/ Toms River South) to A.J. LETIZIA ( Dumont , NJ / Dumont ) moved the ball to the Cortland 16. A sack by Hauser put the ball back at the 30, but Doffont drilled the kick inside the left upright for what would the only MSU score in the game.

Cortland answered right back going 71 yards in four plays as Miles found fullback Mike Sveda (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) down the season for a 44-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 10:43 remaining before halftime. Beck's first interception set up the third touchdown as Miles hit Paul Caughell ( Niagara Falls , NY / Niagara –Wheatfield) on a 20-yard pass as Cortland extended the lead to 21-3. Matthew Mintz (Lawrence, NY/Lawrence) capped off the first half for the Red Dragons with the first of his two field goals – a 23-yard at the horn as Cortland took a 24-3 lead into halftime.

Rickert would add his second touchdown with 8:38 to play in the third as the lead grew to 31-3 and on the ensuing possession, Beck picked off his second pass of the game and returned it 29 yards to the Montclair State 7. On the first play following the turnover Miles connected with Dustin Bowser ( Jamestown , NY /Southwestern) in the end zone for a 38-3 lead with 7:29 left in the third. Mintz added the final points on a 24-yard field in the fourth quarter.

Miles was 14-of-22 on the day with Caughell (68 yards) and Sveda (48 yards) each registering three catches. Rickert finished with 39 yards on 13 carries as Cortland had 297 yards of total offense. Defensively for the Red Dragons, Haas and Hauser each had five tackles with Hauser also recording a sack.

For Montclair State , Just was 10-of-27 for 131 yards with FRED CARTER ( Bloomfield , NJ /Bloomfield) pulling down three receptions for 48 yards. McCoach finished with 98 all-purpose yards, 63 coming on the ground on 10 carries. Linebacker CORNELL HUNT ( North Brunswick , NJ / North Brunswick ) led the Red Hawk defense with seven tackles while SAL FAMA ( Milltown , NJ /Spotswood) and MIKE AJADI ( Bloomfield , NJ /Bloomfield) each adding six tackles.

Both teams return to action this week as Cortland returns home to the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex to host The College of New Jersey at 1:00 pm. Montclair State will play host to Rowan at Sprague Field at the same time.