Defending National Champion Red Dragons Best No. 10/11 Endicott, 17-9

POSTGAME INTERVIEW

CORTLAND, N.Y. – The No. 10/11 Endicott football team fell to No. 2/2 SUNY Cortland, 17-9, in NCAA Tournament Second Round action on a snowy and windy Saturday afternoon at Grady Field.

Cortland led 14-0 at halftime as the Red Dragons scored on the game's opening drive (6:44, 1-yard rush TD) and once again to begin the second quarter (13:38, 8-yard TD catch).

Endicott countered with back-to-back scores in the third via a 39-yard rushing touchdown by Clayton Marengi (Lynnfield, Mass.) and a 31-yard field goal from Ryan Smith (Glastonbury, Conn.) to cut the deficit to 14-9 with 7:29 remaining in the quarter.

Jake Trahan (Merrimack, N.H.) set up the 31-yard field goal by rushing the ball 30 yards to Cortland's 17-yard line on a fake punt (first career rushing attempt).

From there, both teams' defenses dug in, but a 33-yard Red Dragons' field goal at the 11:05 mark of the fourth proved to be enough insurance for the defending national champions.

Marengi finished the contest 12-for-25 passing for 111 yards (one interception) alongside 54 rushing yards and his 39-yard TD score.

Shane Aylward (Tewksbury, Mass.) caught four passes for 48 yards (12.0 average), while Bryan Metayer (Norwood, Mass.) rushed the ball 14 times for 49 yards to highlight the rest of the offense.

Defensively, the Gulls held SUNY Cortland to season-lows for points (previous 28), total yards (316, first time under 400 all season), receptions (9), and receiving yards (103).

Zachariah Twardosky (Merrimack, N.H.) paced the defensive unit with a career-high 14 tackles (eight solo) and his first career field goal block (24-yard attempt, 20 seconds left in 2Q).

Joe Tirrell (Franklin, Mass.) also added nine stops (four solo), while Matthew Whelan (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) had eight (two solo).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Hector Johnson (Worcester, Mass.) compiled seven tackles (five solo), one solo sack (7 yards), and 1.5 tackles for a loss – he now ranks second all-time in career sacks with 24.5.
• Johnson surpassed Endicott Hall of Famer Kevin Eagan '12 (West Hartford, Conn.) for sole possession of second place all-time.
• The senior defensive lineman was also credited with a fourth and goal solo stop from Endicott's 4-yard line late in the first quarter to keep the game 7-0, at the time.
• Aylward wraps up his career as the program's all-time receiving yards (2,467) and receptions (180) leader.
• Cortland extended its winning streak to 23 straight games (dates back to 9/30/23).
• The Red Dragons are 3-0 all-time against Endicott (all in NCAA Tournament play).

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 2/2 Cortland (11-0) will host No. 20/23 Springfield in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, December 7 at 12 PM.

No. 10/11 Endicott sees its historic 2024 season come to a close at 10-2 overall.

The Gulls advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time in program history following their 44-0 victory over Alfred State last weekend.

Endicott also became the second NCAA Division III New England-based team ever to crack the top-10 of either national poll earlier this season and climbed as high as No. 9 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll (program-best national ranking). 

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(Photo Credit - Erin Locascio)