ONEONTA, N.Y. - Cortland sophomore quarterback Mike Rescigno (Arlington) completed 16-of-22 passes for 243 yards and ran 13 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns to lead nationally 24th-ranked Cortland past host Hartwick, 59-9, in the Empire 8 opener for both teams.
Ethan Gallo (Minisink/Minisink Valley) ran 11 times for 68 yards and three touchdowns for the Red Dragons, who improved to 2-1 overall. Jayson Zeva (East Northport/St. John the Baptist) caught five passes for 71 yards and ran three times for 41 yards. Aidan Lochner (Ravena/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) led Cortland with seven tackles and Nazair Jean-Lubin (Freeport) and George Gjelaj (Bedford/Byram Hills) each intercepted a pass.
For Hartwick (2-1, 0-1 Empire 8), Dennis Riordan finished 16-of-36 passing for 184 yards and a touchdown and Akil Williams ran for 87 yards on 18 carries. Miles Perry caught four passes for 95 yards. Christopher Acompora-Miller led the Hawks with 10 tackles, John Acompora-Miller made nine tackles and Michael Vurchio had an interception.
Cortland finished with 543 yards of total offense - 284 passing and 259 rushing - and Hartwick ended with 291 yards, including 184 through the air.
The game was scoreless after one quarter, but Cortland exploded for 31 second-quarter points to take a 31-0 halftime lead. Gallo's 36-yard TD run gave the Red Dragons the lead, and Gjelaj's interception on the first play of the next series set up Cortland at the Hartwick 12-yard line. On that interception, Sonny Mayo (Mastic Beach/William Floyd) delivered a hit on a receiver to force an incompletion and the ball popped up into the air and was caught by Gjelaj. Rescigno ran in from seven yards out two plays later to make it 14-0.
After Cortland forced a 3-and-out, Rescigno broke loose for a 64-yard scoring run on the Red Dragons' first play to up the score to 21-0. Following another 3-and-out, Ravi Dass Jr. (Somers) returned a punt 46 yards to the Hartwick 23-yard line. Dass finished the game with three punt returns for 89 yards. Tyson Taylor (Middle Island/Longwood) ran for 12 yards on first down, followed by three straight Gallo carries, the last covering three yards to paydirt to push the lead to 28-0.
Cortland got the ball back on its own 23-yard line with 1:07 left in the half after a Jean-Lubin interception. Sam Cotton (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley) caught a 37-yard pass to the Hartwick 40, and the Red Dragons eventually moved the ball to the 20-yard line before Cole Callard's (Medina) 37-yard field goal on the final play completed the 31-point quarter. Callard finished the game 8-for-8 on PAT kicks in addition to his field goal.
Hartwick mounted a 70-yard drive to start the third quarter but was held to Matteo Broun's 28-yard field goal. Gallo ran for a 3-yard TD later in the quarter to give Cortland a 38-3 lead and Rescigno's 14-yard scoring run made it 45-3 early in the fourth. On the ensuing kickoff, Mayo forced a fumble that was scooped up by Carson Glover (Hoosick Falls), who returned the ball 15 yards for a touchdown and Cortland led 52-3.
Craig Galea (Cross River/John Jay) entered at quarterback on Cortland's next series, and on the Red Dragons' following possession he ran for a 9-yard TD to complete Cortland's scoring. Galea finished 4-for-4 passing for 41 yards. Hartwick closed the scoring with a 16-play, 78-yard drive that culminated in a 9-yard TD pass from Riordan to Connor Dempsey with nine seconds remaining.
Cortland travels to Morrisville next Saturday at noon for a league contest.
#24 Cortland Opens Empire 8 Schedule with 59-9 Rout at Hartwick
/seasons/2025/boxscores/20250920_3awh.xml
2025
Cortland
59
Hartwick
9
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland (2-1) | 0 | 31 | 7 | 21 | 59 |
| Hartwick (2-1) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
Sep 20, 2025