FB: Empire 8

[Ice Bear]

Cortland fighting. The Red Dragons don't quit. Win or lose this is a Res Dragon team that has had an incredible run of success recently and is all heart.

[unionpalooza]

Wow, what a victory for Springfield.  Gritty effort.

And what a classy ending for both teams at the very end there - real grace on both sides.  A nice change from last week's nonsense at the FBS level.

[Ice Bear]

Congrats to both teams on a great game. Cortland did something last season that the entire former East Region has been dying for, win a national championship. I will forever be grateful.

The Pride get a program defining win today. I think they'll get absolutely worked over next week BUT still an amazing season and W for the Pride.

[XREDDRAGON77]

Better team won today. Cortland just didn't have it in them.

[Ice Bear]

I agree Palooza. First class acts by the Cortland D at the end congratulating the Pride offensive players before the kneel down. Absolute class act and it continued through the hand shake. 

[Bartman]

Great game by Springfield , a very powerful team. Springfield has a chance in the next round. Cortland was just not strong enough on defense to stop the Pride. Good season by Cortland and tip of the hat for last year's Championship and qualifying for the tourney.

[XREDDRAGON77]

Sussy with the last second FG to win.

[IC798891]

Putting a cap on the Boyes era, we really should appreciate everything that went into that National Title.

In 1994, Ithaca decides to hire Mike Welch instead of Jerry Boyes. Does Zac make a different decision if the Bombers go in the other direction?

COVID happens, which leads to the Cole Burgess suspension situation. Which puts him and Laap in their final year of eligibility a year further in Boyes' development.

Flags Fly Forever though, and Cortland should be proud about what they accomplished for the region

It's going to be very interesting to see what happens with Cortland next year. They had a marquee game in Yankee Stadium, and followed it up with a national title. Is that going to lead to a substantial recruiting upgrade that can keep them at that a national contender level? We've already seen a guy like Zeva emerge as a high quality player whose biggest games came against tougher opponents.

The flip side is, we could see how Cortland struggled against better teams this year — and this isn't just armchair quarterbacking their loss yesterday when Boyes was clearly playing hurt.

They snuck by Brockport by the skin of their teeth. Ironically, despite flipping the result from a loss to a win, their game against Susquehanna was a much tougher 60-minute battle, whereas last year's game just saw the last 7 minutes turn into an abject disaster. Even Cortaca; last year the Bombers never lead and Cortland moved the ball at will. This year, Cortland didn't take their first lead until the second half.

The cynical take would be, losing Boyes and Alfano St.John will hurt them again. The other two QBs on the roster who saw game action are listed as seniors, though I never know anymore who has eligibility and who does. Unfortunately though, anyone who takes snaps for Cortland will have had zero significant in-game reps.

[XREDDRAGON77]

Kid we have moving up the ranks was a stud in HS. Still have 2 more years of Gallo in the backfield!  Im sure they will pull some recruits and transfers, but only time will tell! I'd love to see the Dragons maintain some level of dominance, but we could also see Cortland fall back to where they were. 8-2 or 7-3 type teams! Most would say that's not awful, but these last 4 seasons have spoiled us alums! I think Coach Fitz has done a great job and will gear the schemes to the personnel he has. I hope he sticks around and doesn't look for bigger things!

[Bucabear73]

I know Coach Fitz has denied this, but with Boyes graduating is it time for the HC to make a move to bigger and better things?

I certainly hope not but I can't say I'd blame him if he did

[IC798891]

I know Coach Fitz has denied this, but with Boyes graduating is it time for the HC to make a move to bigger and better things?

I certainly hope not but I can't say I'd blame him if he did

It's hard to know what makes guys tick. Fitpatrick has state benefits, and probably has a job for life at Cortland if he wants it. The stability provided by that, especially if you have kids, is amazing, if that's your thing.

[Pat Coleman]

Gagliardi Trophy Finalists Show going live at the top of the hour:
https://www.d3football.com/notables/2024/12/gagliardi-finalists-show

[NEd3ALUM]

Curt Fitzpatrick headed to Colgate. Was a historic run for him at CState.

[IC798891]

Good for him.

[XREDDRAGON77]

I posted the rumor earlier, but  then quickly deleted as I didn't see anything in print. Words out...We had a great run. Fitz and the Dragons had 2x 10-0 regular seasons and 2x 9-1 regular seasons. Post season record was 7-3 with the Stag Bowl win!

Hope we can find another gem!