Gameday Week 11/4/2006 - Game #8 Cortland

Profs Ain't Dead Yet... Down Red Dragons 14-7 in OT Photo slideshow 26 pictures, 78 seconds. By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com Game Story to follow.

Do Or Die For Rowan By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com Despite losing to Montclair State last week, the Rowan football team is still in control of its own destiny. Beat Cortland this Saturday and William Paterson on Friday night November 10th and the Profs are NJAC Champions for the third year in a row. Lose, and the Red Dragons capture their first NJAC title, making Cortland the first non-New Jersey team grab the conference crown outright. As the conference champion, the Red Dragons will earn the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. Rowan would also be virtually eliminated from NCAA playoff consideration with two DIII losses. Cortland came from 12 point down in the second half to beat the College of New Jersey 26-14 last week. Mike Orihel tripled his touchdown pass output last week by throwing three touchdowns against Montclair completing 13 of 31 passes for 178 yards. Orihel will be battling the best pass defense in the NJAC the weekend. Rowan needs to be able to move the football offensively. The Prof football team must win the field position battle. The offense, defense, and special teams must force Cortland to drive a long field for scores. This is the key to victory. Limit the big plays and short field scoring opportunities. Freshman Cortland quarterback Ray Miles has replaced the third year starter Alex Smith who suffered a season ending knee injury against Western Connecticut. In five games, Miles has thrown for 506 yards and six touchdowns on 38 of 69 attempts, and is averaging 13.3 yards per completion. Running back Matt Rickert is one of the Red Dragon's main offensive weapons rushing for 597 yards and nine touchdowns on 131 carries for 4.6 yards per carry. Anthony Morat and Drew Lascari lead Cortland receivers, each scoring four touchdowns on 409 and 386 yards respectively. Morat has 29 receptions while Lascari has 24 grabs. Each is averaging more than 14 yards per reception. All-American defensive tackle Adam Haas, linebackers Bill Hauser and Matt Montpetit, and safety Stef Sair lead the Cortland defense. Hauser leads the team with 49 tackles. He also has 6.0 tackles for a loss (-27), 2.5 sacks (-22) and two interceptions. Montpetit and Haas are tied for first on the team with 10.5 tackles for a loss. Montpetit has posted 44 tackles, 5.0 sacks (-34), two interceptions and one forced fumble. Haas has 41 stops and 5.5 sacks (-33). Sair has added 34 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble. This is the best DIII defensive front that Rowan has faced this year. It will be critical that the offensive line give Orihel time in the pocket. The Profs allowed eight of their 16 total sacks against D1-AA Robert Morris. It hard to compare apples to apples, but outside of the RMU game Rowan has given up about a sack per game. Less than three sacks would a success against Cortland. The Prof defense has totaled 75 tackles for a loss of 358 yards. Leading the way for the Profs is linebacker Chris Pinto with 12.5 tackles for a loss (-52 yards). Defensive end Randy Tosh follows with 10.0 (-49 yards) and line-backer Robert Niszczak has 9.5 (-58 yards). Defensive end Keith Heimerl has contributed 8.5 tackles for a loss of 33 yards. Rowan has only given up 75 total net rushing yards this season. Historically, the Profs rebound from tough losses. Now is the time to reach down and do it again. It is the first time in a long time that Rowan is an underdog in a NJAC contest. Saturday is a playoff game. A win will take a total team effort. It is must win. See you on Saturday.