The 67th Cortaca Jug rivalry football game between Cortland and Ithaca was set for Saturday at Yankee Stadium, bringing one of Division III’s oldest arguments to a stage that still feels rare. It is only the second time the rivalry has been played there, and it lands with both teams carrying a season that has already sharpened the stakes.
For the first time in years, the matchup also put 50 Long Island players on the same field across the two rosters. Cortland had 42 of them and Ithaca had eight, a local thread that ran through a game with a bigger backdrop than most Division III contests ever get. Tom Blumenauer called the chance to compete at Yankee Stadium “really special,” and that fit the moment: this was not just another Saturday game, but a rivalry that dates to 1930 and has been awarded every year since 1959 except 2020, when COVID interrupted the tradition.
The numbers around the game only made the setting feel heavier. Ithaca led the all-time series 39-27 in 66 all-time Jug games, and it had won the previous Yankee Stadium meeting 34-17 in 2022. It also entered this one at 7-2 and 6-1 in Liberty play, while Cortland arrived unbeaten at 9-0 and 7-0 in Empire 8 competition, which gave the day a familiar tug: one team trying to defend a recent edge, the other bringing the cleaner record and the louder momentum.
That split was reflected in the players who drew the most attention. On Ithaca’s roster, Davin Foote, a junior from Hicksville, had played every game and totaled 31 tackles, 13 solo tackles and 1½ sacks. Carson Ciancuielli, a senior from Oakdale, had returned after missing four games earlier in the season and produced 18 total tackles and two sacks in five games. On the other side, Hayden Lovinsky, a sophomore from Deer Park, had 20 tackles, a forced fumble and eight pass breakups for Cortland, while Nazair Jean-Lubin, a senior from Freeport, had three interceptions, seven pass breakups and 19 tackles.
Brandon Maguire said Ciancuielli’s return gave the group more freedom in its substitutions and brought fire and passion to the field, while Blumenauer said both Foote and Ciancuielli were having great seasons because of their practice habits. That is what made the game feel like more than a ceremonial stop in the Bronx. Even with the shine of Yankee Stadium and the weight of the Cortaca Jug, it still came down to the kind of players who can make a rivalry feel bigger than its record. The only thing left unanswered in the moment was the result itself, because the contest had yet to be decided when the focus turned to the stage, the history and the 50 Long Islanders spread across it.
