The Cornwall Dragons snapped a two-game skid in emphatic fashion Friday, routing the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders 49-7 on the road behind a four-touchdown performance from junior quarterback Sage Caesar.

Cornwall (1-2) got two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns from Caesar, who found senior receiver Gabe Colsant and junior receiver Jayon Robinson each once downfield. Junior running back Michael Cooper and junior running back Derek Scott each added a rushing score, with Scott’s coming late in the fourth quarter for his first of the season. Junior free safety Colin Greene closed the scoring with a pick-six.

Cornwall’s offensive line set the tone up front, according to offensive line coach Spencer Lupo, whose five starters helped the Dragons pull out of an 0-2 start.

“I’m just extremely proud of these guys,” Lupo said. “We’ve had to move a lot of pieces around, and I’ve told these five kids every single day for weeks that I’m extremely proud of them.”
Lupo said the win didn’t stop him from looking for areas to improve.

“When you’re playing a game like this where you’re up a lot, it’s sometimes hard to look at the things we need to fix, but that’s what great teams do,” he said.

Head coach Kevin Arduino pointed to a scheme change up front as one factor in the turnaround.

“We were running a gap scheme since I got here three years ago, and we went to all zone scheme, which is much harder on those guys,” Arduino said. “They’re doing a great job with it.”

Arduino said the win followed a difficult start to the season that included a lopsided loss to Rye and a narrow defeat to Middletown.

“We haven’t battled this much adversity since I’ve been here,” Arduino said. “We were in a hole and we had to dig out, and we used each other to get out of that hole.”

Cornwall’s passing game was slow to get going, with Caesar’s only first-quarter completion going to senior receiver Billy Sidoti. Monroe-Woodbury’s secondary limited Colsant early and broke up a target intended for junior receiver TJ Muhlfeld on third down. Cornwall failed to convert a fourth-and-17 attempt near midfield on its opening drive.

The Dragons’ defense set the tone early, with junior defensive end and captain Quadir Truluck recording a tackle for loss on the Crusaders’ first possession. A bobbled snap on a Monroe-Woodbury punt gave Cornwall the ball at the goal line, and Caesar scored on a designed run to make it 7-0 after Jack Baloga’s extra point.

Playing without senior tight end Matthew Breheny, who is recovering from an injury sustained against Middletown, Robinson took on a larger role and delivered a fourth-down catch in the second quarter in which he dragged both feet to secure the ball. After a pass interference penalty against the Crusaders in the end zone, Cooper punched in a touchdown on the ensuing series, his second rushing score and third overall of the season.

“It’s just the way that we push each other in practice every day and just getting better,” Cooper said. “I feel like we have a great running back room this year.”

Cooper credited the offensive line for the team’s turnaround. “This is just a big step for them. I give credit to all those guys. They are the reason we put up this amount of points today,” he said.
Robinson later hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass, the first of his career, after the Dragons forced another punt.

“I’ve been waiting for this my whole life, since eighth grade,” Robinson said. “I love C (Caesar), just my guy. I’m so happy he got me the ball.”

Junior cornerback Lekeaka Fonkem, in his second season on varsity after switching from safety to corner in Week 1, intercepted a pass late in the second quarter — a play he said made up for missed opportunities earlier in the year.

“My coaches told me if the ball is in the air, it is mine,” Fonkem said. Fonkem did not allow a catch to Crusaders receiver Braylon Shillingford.

Cornwall continued to control the game in the second half. Caesar connected with Colsant for a touchdown in the third quarter to extend the lead to 27-7; Caesar has thrown four touchdown passes and rushed for five more through his first three career starts.

“I’m really proud of my team and coaches who brought us together in the beginning of the week and reestablished what we needed to do,” Caesar said.

Muhlfeld contributed a 1 carry on an end-around and a goal-line catch that set up a touchdown, pushing the lead to 34-7. Junior outside linebacker Zion Felix and Truluck combined for a sack in the third quarter. Scott scored on the ground after junior running back Zaire Owens was injured on a carry, making it 41-7. Greene’s interception return for a touchdown made it 48-7, and Baloga’s sixth extra point of the night set the final margin at 49-7.

Cornwall plays at Newburgh Free Academy on Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.