CORTLAND, NY - The Pioneers traveled down to Cortland on Saturday afternoon to engage in a high-stakes Empire 8 battle against the reigning champion Red Dragons. In the box score, the game was nearly a completely even affair, with both teams' total yardage separated by just a single yard. However, three turnovers and a couple of mishaps at the goal line would cost the Pioneers, as they would eventually fall in enemy territory by a 28-13 final. The Pioneers fell to 3-2 (1-1 Empire 8), while their opponents, the Red Dragons, would move to 4-1 (3-0 Empire 8)
 
Saturday Spotlight: The Pioneers, despite only producing 13 points in the matchup, had great offensive success at points during the contest. The team managed to rack up 339 passing yards, with a significant chunk of that going to their top-tier tight end, Logan Frederick (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls).
 
The senior standout hauled in nine passes for 135 yards and the Pioneers' first touchdown of the game, receiving high praise from the Cortland broadcasters who constantly remarked about his reliability at all different spots at the line of scrimmage. Frederick, who made the move to tight end this season after slotting in at wide receiver in years' past, got it done all over the place, catching deep balls, short looks, converting clutch third downs, and proving effective out wide, in the slot, and attached to the line, becoming a truly versatile weapon against the Red Dragons.
 
Frederick's 135-yard total was a game high and certainly was among the best tight end performances in all of Division III on Saturday. His powerful play allowed the team to convert eight of 13 third downs in the game and helped them venture deep into Red Dragon territory on numerous occasions.
 
Ultimately, Frederick's solid play wasn't enough to solve the Pioneers' redzone puzzle, as the team went one for three when in the opposing area during the game, with those two scores proving to be the difference in an extremely close and competitive tilt.
 
Scoring Summary:
 
1st Quarter
7:56 | 7-0 COR | Sam Cotton - 12-yard pass from Mike Rescigno (Cole Callard XP) - 6 plays, 28 yards (3:57)
3:35 | 7-7 | Logan Frederick (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) - 17-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) (Nico Duarte (Kearny, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) XP) - 7 plays, 80 yards (4:15)
 
2nd Quarter
1:46 | 14-7 COR | Mike Rescigno - 15-yard rush (Cole Callard XP) - 8 plays, 79 yards (2:57)
 
3rd Quarter
5:15 | 21-7 COR | Jacque LaPrarie - 41-yard pass from Mike Rescigno (Cole Callard XP) - 2 plays, 53 yards
0:59 | 21-13 COR | Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) - 50-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) - 9 plays, 84 yards (4:10)
 
4th Quarter
10:00 | 28-13 COR | Mike Rescigno - 8-yard rush (Cole Callard XP) - 10 plays, 72 yards (5:52)
 
Offensive Highlights: Even with the 13-point total, the Pioneers still had a solid offensive outing, racking up 393 yards of total offense and producing 21 first downs. As noted above, it wasn't the general offensive play that hurt the team, but rather the inefficient redzone trips and a few costly turnovers.
 
Even against an extremely rushing-dominant team in Cortland, the Pioneers only lost the possession battle by a few minutes, holding the rock for over 28 minutes in the bout. The team posted four drives of over three and a half minutes in length and put together solid possessions, having five drives of seven or more plays and three drives of 70 yards or more.
 
The Pioneers' passing attack was up to the challenge once again, as Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) continued to pile up yards with a 339-yard outing. The signal caller also threw for two touchdowns on the day, but picked up two interceptions as well - one on the first drive, and one to close out the game with seconds remaining.
 
Frederick and Cianfarani caught the two scores, with the former hauling in the aforementioned game-highs of nine catches and 135 yards, while the latter wasn't far behind with seven catches for 112 yards.
 
Eze Frazier (Garnerville, NY/North Rockland) also supplied some juice on the ground, rushing 13 times for 63 yards, including a 40-yard run to help the team get some momentum right after halftime.
 
Defensive Highlights: On defense, the Pioneers were able to stop the Red Dragons on many occasions, but were unable to halt the hosts' momentum after a few turnovers set Cortland up with prime field position. Another factor that helped the hosts secure victory was their ball control, as a quick and disruptive Pioneer defense was unable to force any turnovers in the game, something they had excelled at throughout the season so far.
 
Nonetheless, the Pioneers held star running back Ethan Gallo to just 55 yards on his 14 attempts, slowing down one of the nation's premier threats as they forced the junior back to rush for just 3.5 yards per attempt. Leading the charge against the Red Dragon rush was a strong quartet of Isaiah Thomas (Kingston, NY/Kingston), Joseph Gentile (Utica, NY/Proctor), Nicholas DeForrest (Rome, NY/Holland Patent), and Mason Mascari (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder).
 
Thomas, Gentile, and Mascari each had a team-high four solo tackles, with Thomas leading the way thanks to a game-high 10 total takedowns. The sophomore linebacker also added a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry in the game.
 
Gentile and Mascari added seven and six tackles, respectively, while DeForrest added six tackles and caught the Red Dragons in the backfield for a key tackle for loss in the latter stages of the matchup. Gentile also forced a fumble, but the Red Dragons would recover to maintain possession.
 
Other notable defensive performances:

Luke Sheldon (Lake George, NY/Lake George Central) - five tackles (two solo) and a tackle for loss.
Ceejay Netwon - Four tackles and 0.5 sacks.
Jah-Kobiah Cancer (Albany, NY/Kingston) - four tackles (three solo) and a pass breakup on a deep ball.
 
The Specialists: Devin Taylor (New Port Richey, FL/Wendell Krinn Technical) sent the ball soaring during his three punts on Saturday, racking up 139 yards for an average of 46.3 yards per punt. He also launched a punt of over 50 yards, pinning the Red Dragons deep in their own territory.
 
Who's Next?: The Pioneers will host Morrisville in their final game before the bye week, welcoming the Mustangs for this season's GKG, Sullivan Contracting, and Strategic Financial Breast Cancer Awareness Game. That matchup will begin at 12:00 PM next Saturday at Geatano Stadium.