DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – NCAA Division III football playoff implications in week one? Early September? It may sound crazy, but that could be the case this Saturday when the 10th ranked Delaware Valley University football team travels to Cortland, New York to take on the 17th ranked SUNY-Cortland Red Dragons.
The result of this game will weigh heavily on postseason seeding for a pair of teams that have their eyes on a return to the NCAA Division III Playoffs come November.
Kickoff for the 2023 season opener is set for 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 2 at Grady Field inside SUNY Cortland Stadium.
If you cannot make the trip, click here to watch the game. Or, click here for DelVal's own Gordon Mann on the radio broadcast live from the game.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $5 for students with ID, and free for children 12 and under.
This will be the first ever meeting between DelVal football and Cortland. The teams were lined up to meet in last year's NCAA Playoffs, but the Red Dragons fell at Randolph-Macon in the opening round, 35-28. The Aggies defeated Gallaudet in their round one match, and then beat the Yellow Jackets in an epic round two showdown at home, 39-32.
In the D3football.com preseason top 25 poll, the Green and Gold were picked 10th while Cortland came in at number 17.
DelVal Head Coach Duke Greco '03 is 82-13 in eight seasons and his .863 winning-percentage is tops in all of Division III, among coaches that qualify. He and his staff have elevated the Aggies into one of the elite programs in all of Division III with five straight Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championships, three elite eight appearances in five seasons, a league-record 44-straight conference wins, and 28-striaght regular season victories.
On the other side, Curt Fitzpatrick enters his third season at the helm of the Red Dragons and is 20-3 overall with two consecutive Empire 8 championship titles. In 2021, he led Cortland to an 11-1 mark and an appearance in the NCAA second round. In 2022, he went 9-2 and reached the first round of the playoffs.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
DelVal football will be tasked with replacing 12 starters from a year ago including seven on the defensive side of the ball and five on offense.
The 2022 Aggies were anchored once again by one of the top defensive units in all of Division III. They surrendered just 9.15 points per game and less than 200 yards per showing including. The stubborn run defense permitted just 65.8 yards per game and opponents were held to only 127.3 yards per game. Nick Brady's unit forced 25 turnovers including 15 fumbles, and got to the quarterback for 32 sacks in 12 games.
The offense played to a balanced attack that posted 198.5 yards per game through the air and 186.3 via the run while racking up 30 points per game. They turned the ball over 16 times with an even number of interceptions and fumbles lost.
Junior signal-caller Louie Barrios IV returns for his second year under center for the Aggies. He earned first team all-MAC honors last season after completing 55.4% (153-of-276) passes for 2,392 yards and 20 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. A dual threat, Barrios was the squads second leading rusher with 472 yards on 577 attempts and a team-best 14 rushing touchdowns including a long scamper of 60 yards. He averaged 184 yards per game through the air and 36.3 yards on the ground. Expectations are high for Barrios in his second season working with Greco who also serves as the team's offensive coordinator and play-caller.
Fellow junior and reigning first team all-MAC honoree Jay White returns to the backfield after a breakout sophomore season. White finished with a team-high 1,233 yards to go with 11 touchdowns as he averaged 6.2 yards per carry and 94.9 yards per game on 200 attempts. Senior Kyle Powell and transfer running back Jack Fallon are also expected to be featured in the ground attack.
The wide receiver group lost its two top producers from a year ago, but return four players that also saw significant time. Seniors Dez Austin and Ryan Loughlin lead the group of returners after combining for 25 receptions, 561 yards, and three touchdowns. Austin and Loughlin shined in the biggest moment last season as they each came up with pivotal catches late in regulation that helped the Aggies to a come-from-behind victory over Randolph-Macon in the second round of the Playoffs. Loughlin hauled in a diving catch that went for 41 yards to the Yellow Jackets two yard line to setup the tying touchdown, and on the next drive, Austin got open for a 28-yard reception to convert a 3rd-and-14 and put the ball inside the red zone to setup the game winning score.
Junior Luan Avdijaj and sophomores Dillon Shamanow and Karmi Hicks, along with sophomore tight end Tre Smith, are back and expected to play bigger roles in this year's passing attack. They will be bolstered by newcomer Jasiah Davis, a 6-foot-2, 200 pound sophomore wide out.
The offense line returns the lone senior Matt Christoff at left guard along with all-conference left tackle Justin Roman. They are joined by junior Will Brandes at right guard and sophomores Dave Casas and A.J. Snowden who will handle right tackle and center duties, respectively.
Defensively, Brady's unit has big shoes to fill as the nation's top defensive line that included the Nobile twins, Yusuf Aladinov, and Kelvin Brown have all graduated, along with the team's top-two safety's, Blaine Netterman and Cole Kitchen.
Juniors Shawn Balkcom, Sebastian Montlouis, Brandon Perot, and Jacquez Mabin all have experience along the line and are eager to show what they can do for the team in a full-time role. They will be backed up by an experience linebacker group that is led by seniors Ahmad Jones, Anthony Puntolillo, and Nick Chapman who finished 1-2-3 in tackles last season. Chapman paced the group with 77 tackles and earned second team all-conference while Jones and Puntolillo finished with 74 and 71 tackles, respectively, en route to first team all-MAC honors. Junior linebacker Notti Jones is also expected to fill a bigger role this season.
Cornerbacks Micah Bootman and Rafael Torres, and senior safety Damion Smith are back after seeing significant playing time last year. Bootman led the team with seven pass breakups as a first-year and added an interception and two fumble recoveries.
On special teams, junior Jack Hughes is slated to handle the kicking duties while rookie Joey Marten does the punting. Senior Kyle Powell and junior Luan Avdijaj will be the primary returners for week one.
SCOUTING THE RED DRAGONS
Cortland begins its quest for a third straight Empire 8 title and NCAA berth with a roster featuring a number of key returners. The offense is led by quarterback Zac Boyes, who completed 166-of-245 passes (67.8 percent) for 2,826 yards and 28 touchdowns last fall. Tailback Jaden AlfanoStJohn rushed for 1,024 yards (5.3 per carry) with 17 touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 216 yards and a score.
Four receivers return who each registered more than 30 catches last fall - JJ Laap (41 rec., 907 yds., 6 TD), Cole Burgess (37 rec., 816 yds., 11 TD), CJ Messina (35 rec., 443 yds., 4 TD) and Rashad Tucker (32 rec., 415 yds., 6 TD). AlfanoStJohn, Boyes and Burgess each earned D3football.com all-region honors last fall.
Cortland's projected starting offensive line includes two returning starters - right tackle Cody Aikey and center Ryan Bitka, who played at left guard last fall - along with left tackle Kevin Whalen, left guard Aidan Glynn and right guard Jack McGrath. Jeff Halusic is slated to move up to the starting tight end role.
Cortland's projected defensive front four all started at least four games last season. Defensive end Nick Lardaro totaled 5.5 sacks and 24 total tackles in seven games before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. End Max Llewellyn started the final four games and ended the year with 26 tackles, including 4.5 sacks. Tackle Sam Maddi made 21 tackles in 11 starts and tackle Matt Ferrer registered 3.5 sacks and 20 total tackles in 11 games, four as a starter.
The Red Dragons' current projected starting linebacker corps includes Matt Lotter, who made 10 tackles in eight games last fall, along with Jack Winey and Jaden Martinez, who were first and second last year with 50 and 49 tackles, respectively, at Nassau Community College. Cornerback Mark Noel is the lone returning starter in the secondary. He finished with 24 tackles and an interception last fall and picked off four passes in 2021. Cornerback Shane Patterson made 18 tackles and broke up three passes in 11 games last season. The expected starters at the safety positions are freshman Sam Cotton and grad student Luke Winslow, who transferred from Division II Franklin Pierce.
Patrick Luby earned D3football.com first team special teams All-America honors and was the Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Year in his role as Cortland's kickoff specialist. His 77 kickoffs last year featured 36 touchbacks. Luby also averaged 36.7 yards per punt on 23 kicks. Mike Baloga made a school single-season record 59 PAT kicks in 62 attempts and was 6-of-9 on field-goal attempts. Tucker averaged 26.9 yards per kickoff return, including a 94-yard TD return at Brockport, and 9.4 yards per punt return. Dennis DeBellis returns for his third year as the team's long snapper.
