ITHACA, N.Y. – After the 2011 campaign ended with a thrilling high note thanks to a tight victory against Mansfield at home, the Big Red sprint football team will look to use that win as momentum heading into the 2012 season. The team's first contest is on Friday night against Penn at 7 p.m.
 
Cornell was 3-4 over last season with losses to league champion Army, Navy, Penn and Post. But the team scored plenty of points in their three victories, topping Princeton by a 49-7 margin and defeating Mansfield twice on the year.
 
With plenty of top-quality returners, this season should be a successful one for Cornell's sprint team as the Collegiate Sprint Football League welcomes an eighth member in Franklin Pierce.
 
Returning to the Big Red in 2012 will be starting quarterback Brendan Miller, who threw for 1,409 yards and 13 touchdowns, numbers that put him in third in both categories in the league last year. He was also a Second Team All-CSFL member.
 
Cornell's excellent receiving tandem of Spenser Gruenenfelder and Abe Mellinger – who had 12 touchdowns between them in 2011 – also return for another run. Gruenenfelder was a Second Team All-CSFL receiver while Mellinger was one of Cornell's six players to make the First Team. Curran Reddy is also back for his senior year after making six catches for 60 yards last season.
 
Top running back Doug Famularo – with the fifth-highest total of rushing yards last year – will not be back, so the team will be looking for a new leader at running back. The team currently has 10 players on the roster listed as running backs, and seniors Daniel Sussman, Joseph Eltahawy and Chase Funderburk might get the first chances to become the team's top running back. Jensen Cheong is the 2012 team's only running back who had a carry last season.
 
The offensive line also loses one of its best players as senior tri-captain George Gomez graduated last season along with Michael Porta. Gomez, a First Team All-CSFL player, and Porta an Honorable Mention lineman, leave behind a group that includes seniors Alexander Erdmann, John DeSantis and Zachary Semenetz. The O-line also is home to one junior, five sophomores and a freshman.
 
On defense, Cornell gave up 292 yards per game last, good for third in the league. Leading tacklers Colin Lounsberry and Timothy Dooley – both First-Team All-CSFLers -- have graduated, so John Kelder (43 tackles in 2011) and William Edmonds (38) may have to step into larger roles on the defense.
 
Edmonds, a Second-Team All-CSFL selection, anchors a defensive line that should be fairly experienced. Besides those two, seniors Christopher Leyen (20 tackles in 2011), Jack Drillich (four), and Anthony Capria (four) are all back along with Erick Stazi and Kyle Higgins.
 
The linebacker corps lost a team captain in Dooley, and this year's squad has just one senior in Patrick Sipple (three tackles in 2011). But with Kelder as well to help lead the unit and sophomore Noah Shepherd back after his 28 tackles last season and Michael Monahan returning with 36 tackles, the linebackers should be solid again in 2012.
 
The defensive backs for the Big Red this season are a huge group of 14 players that includes seniors Chris Sitko and Jim Barger. Barger had 29 tackle and an interception of his own. With plenty of depth, the secondary should be a strong part of the Big Red's team this year.
 
On special teams, Cornell returns John Rodriguez as the league's First Teamer from last year. He hit all 24 extra points he attempted last year while nailing six of 11 field goal attempts. Joseph Martin, who punted for much of last year and averaged 27.5 yards per kick, returns to the team as a punter and backup quarterback.
 
Cornell's schedule in 2012 features five home games and just one on the road. In addition to the six teams from last year's schedule, Cornell will travel to new league member Franklin Pierce in late September. Cornell hosts Penn, Princeton, league-champion Navy, Post and Mansfield during the season while hitting the road for a game against Army.