ITHACA, N.Y. - Senior wide receiver Keith Ferguson set the Cornell career receiving yards record and the Big Red held off a late Dartmouth charge in a 21-19 win on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The win improved Cornell's win streak over the Big Green to three games and moved the squad's record to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in Ivy League play, while Dartmouth ends the contest with identical records.

Ferguson caught 11 balls for 175 yards, but it was his first grab, an 11-yarder in the first quarter, that pushed him past Joe Splendorio for the career yardage record, ending the evening with 2,502 yards.

Senior Nathan Archer ran for a pair of short touchdowns for the Big Red, while classmate Mick Razzano ended the afternoon 20-of-33 for 302 yards and a touchdown. He was also intercepted once. John Kellner added three catches for 55 yards and the lone score in the air, a 9-yard strike at the end of the first quarter. Senior Brian Ulbricht ran for a game-high 51 yards on 10 carries in the win.

Quarterback Brian Mann led the Dartmouth charge with a 37-of-58 performance with 369 yards and three touchdowns in the air. He was also intercepted once on the team's final drive. Scott Wedum caught 14 passes for 111 yards, while Jay Barnard had 10 catches for 80 yards and Casey Cramer hauled in eight tosses for 114 yards and a score.

The first quarter saw the two teams combine for 249 yards of offense and just one punt in four possessions as Cornell ended the first 15 minutes of play with a 14-6 edge. Dartmouth methodically moved the ball down the field on its first possession, including converting a pair of third-and-long opportunities to go ahead 6-0 on a 4-yard toss from Mann to Cramer after Tyler Lavin missed the extra point attempt. Mann was 7-of-9 for 51 yards on the first drive and his 26th career scoring strike moved him into a tie for third on the school's career list.

Cornell answered with a long drive of its own, highlighted by an 11-yard reception by Ferguson that gave him the Cornell career receiving yardage record, giving him 2,338 yards, one more than former teammate Joe Splendorio. Cornell's offense converted on a fourth-and-one from the 25, just the team's fifth conversion in 14 opportunities on the season. Two plays later, Ferguson caught a pass at the 20, broke two tackles and made it all the way to the 5, and Nathan Archer rambled in two plays later. Trevor MacMeekin's conversion kick was straight and true, giving the Big Red a 7-6 lead.

The Big Red defense forced a quick three-and-out, and Ferguson caught a 33-yard bomb on Cornell's first play of the drive and Kellner picked up 18 more yards in an obvious swing of momentum. On a long third-and-eight, Razzanno found no open receivers and took off on his own, picking up the first down to keep the drive alive, and two plays later he connected with Kellner on a 9-yard pass to go ahead 14-6 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Both defenses picked it up after the break, with the teams stalling on each of the first four possessions, including the Big Green turning the ball over on downs four minutes in.

After Dartmouth got the ball back at midfield with five minutes remaining, Dartmouth attempted a little razzle-dazzle on offense, but the pitch back to Mann from Giles for a flea-flicker pass was fumbled, and Cornell's Paul Pardi hopped on the ball for the first turnover of the contest. The Big Red converted a third-and-long when Razzano scrambled around and finally found Kellner for a 30-yard completion. Kellner was held on the preceding third-and-long to draw a flag and bring the Big Red inside the red zone at the 10, but Razzano's shot into the end zone was tipped and intercepted by Brian Skeffington to snuff out the drive.

The Big Green quickly marched down the field and in nine plays, got in range for a 28-yard field goal that Lavin pushed wide left and the Big Red went into the break with its 14-6 lead intact.

After opening the half with four successive scoreless drives, Cornell embarked on a seven-play, 58-yard drive culminated in a 3-yard scoring plunge by Archer to put the Big Red comfortably ahead at 21-6 with less than three minutes left in the quarter.

Dartmouth took the kickoff and drove 77 yards on eight plays for a score, cutting the deficit to eight with 13:32 on a 12-yard pass from Mann to Wedum.

Cornell gave the ball right back after forcing a Dartmouth punt after giving the ball bacon a mental error. With a swarm of Dartmouth players around the ball readying to down a punt, a Big Red player went tot pick up the football nd return it in hopes the defense wasn't paying attention, but the pickup was muffed and the Big Green jumped on it to recover near midfield. The Big Green wasted little time marching straight down the field and scoring on a three-yard pass from Mann to Barnard to cut the lead to two. Dartmouth lined up for the two-point conversion, but the Big Red defense held when Wedum was tackled short of the goal line by Jamie Moriarty to keep Cornell in the lead. The teams punted away possessions with Cornell forcing the Big Green into giving the ball away with 4:30, and the offense ran the clock down to two minutes before giving it back to the Big Green. Cornell downed the ball on the five, giving Dartmouth a 95-yard field to cover, but after recording a pair of first downs, a fourth-down pass with 49 seconds was intercepted by Jordan Hase and the Big Red ran out the clock for the victory.

Cornell will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12:30 p.m. when the Big Red visits Columbia.