Q: The Red Dragons bounced back from last weeks lose against Montclair State with a much-needed victory over the lowly Colonials. The Red Dragons defense gave up nine of sixteen points verse the Red Hawks two weeks ago and gave up only six points last week. Cortland defense held Western Connecticut to 157 yards of total offense and nine net yards of rushing on thirty-one attempts. What were your feelings on the victory over Western Connecticut and the play of the Red Dragons defense?A: Our football is very fortunate to have the ability to switch players at certain skills positions. We were able to benefit from the switch of Dom Sair to tailback and that is great for our team. Sair averaged 8 yards per rush last week. He is an awfully good performer and a great playmaker on the field. The coaching staff felt that he was the best option at tailback and the move has worked out so far. Bill Smith has now moved up into the starting fullback position. We now have a very strong and quick backfield on offense with both backs averaging 230 pounds apiece. As for Alex Smith it really speaks where we are at in regards to the quarterback position that we have to call on him to start. Alex has done a good job in catching at the quarterback position after being away from the game for two years. Alex is still working hard to improve his pass game. He didn’t get a ton of practice time before the Montclair State game. It was unfortunate that Alex went down with a separated shoulder in that game when he did see some game action. Alex bounced back from the separated shoulder to start last week. That was a great thing in itself. Alex Smith will continue to improve each week this season along with the rest of the offense. Our offensive line has done great job to help protect Alex along with the great efforts of Dom Sair.
Q: The injury bug has hit the Red Dragons severely this season particularly on the offense side of the ball. Cortland has lost former starting quarterback Dan Pitcher for the season with an Achilles tendon tear in week two verses Rowan. Hudson Woodward the number two quarterback on the depth chart separated his shoulder in Cortland’s loss to Montclair State, 16-7 in week five versus Montclair State. What is the current injury status on Hudson Woodward from last week? How does the depth chart look for the Red Dragons at quarterback moving forward for the rest of the season?
A: Hudson Woodward suffered a severely sprain shoulder in week five versus Montclair State. Hudson will most likely be out for the rest of the season. Alex Smith is our starting quarterback. The freshmen Rob Von Bargen is our number two quarterback on the depth chart. Rob has already been forced to see some game action due to the injury situation at the quarterback position. Justin Fredenberg a catcher for the baseball team is now our current number three quarterback. Fredenberg was added last week. Justin was an All-State quarterback when he played his high school football at Saugerties. Justin is doing everything he can to get up to speed with our offense, but he is still very behind.
Q: Senior wide out Eric Hajnos was out with a knee injury in week five verses Montclair State, but came back last week to become only the 14th Red Dragon to have 100 career catches. How is Eric Hajnos’s knee feeling after this week and what is the exact extent of the injury?
A: Eric Hajnos is truly a great competitor for our football team. Hajnos has achieved an elite status in our program. After the game last week Eric’s knee seemed to be fine and he should be back to 100%.
Q: Freshmen tailback Justin Autera seemed to steal the show on Saturday. Autera had a 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Autera also had a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown. Do you think Autera brings a new dimension to the Red Dragons special teams unit that was lacking a bit of explosiveness from the returner position?
A: Justin Autera is very dynamic player who is destined to have a great future with our team. Autera brings a new dimension to our special team and I can’t argue with that. We had returning starter Brian Davey depart from the team a few weeks ago and Justin Autera stepped up into his role. It is truly amazing when it seems like one door closes and another one opens right up for our team. Who would have thought that Autera would have had such a great impact after stepping right into the returner position? Justin had two great runs, but the special teams paved the way with great blocking. Our special teams have gotten even stronger as the season has gone on.
Q: Cortland defeated William Paterson, 38-0 at home in week seven last season. The Red Dragons had a 17-0 lead after one quarter and led 31-0 at halftime. This season William Paterson is 3-3 overall and 2-3 in New Jersey Athletic Conference. William Paterson is coming off a 43-28-homecoming victory over The College of New Jersey last Saturday. What are the keys to victory in the Red Dragons third road game of the season? How do you rate-starting tailback Marcus McKinney, who has 651 yards rushing this season and seven touchdowns for the Pioneers compared to some of the other skilled tailbacks you have seen this season?
A: Marcus McKinney is really comparable to Dom Sair in many ways. McKinney is a big back with quick feet. Our defense will be tested. We have our work cut out for us this week.Our rushing defense has played very well this season and we take great pride in stopping the run. The biggest key to victory this week will be stopping the run. If our defense can shut down the running game it helps control the battle of field position. If our defense/special teams team can win the battle of field position, we feel that it well help propel our offense that is just trying to stay healthy as the season goes on.
The Cortland Gridiron Report can be heard in its entirety every Monday from 6-8 on “Into the Fire” on WSUC 90.5 FM (Cortland.edu/wsuc) and also seen at www.cortlandfootball.com.
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