ITHACA, N.Y. – It was a bittersweet victory for the Cornell sprint football team on a very mild Halloween. The team received a scare from a much improved visiting Mansfield University, but still held on to win, 38-28. The end of the game also meant it was time to say goodbye to the many seniors that have helped make the Big Red into a sprint football powerhouse.

           

The seniors were crucial in the victory. Senior quarterback, Zak Dentes, Cornell's all-time leading passer, went 17-for-23 and threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, his favorite target throughout his career, Michael Brennan, led Cornell with eight catches, 105 yards, and two touchdowns en route to becoming Cornell's all-time leader in reception yards. Cornell had total 343 yards on offense and earned 17 first downs.

           

The defense was not as dominating as it was in the first match up between these two teams, but was still clutch when necessary to preserve the win. John Parke, also playing in his final game, had a team-high 13 tackles. Matt Malleo and Ted Alexander both had interceptions, and Matt Ferrari and Mike Zambrana led the team with one sack each. Malleo also had 10 tackles and broke up three passes.

           

Cornell's 21 seniors went to midfield to join the captains and referees for the coin toss and right off the bat things went the Big Red was as Cornell won the coin toss and deferred.

On Mansfield's first possession the Mounties were unable to score despite earning a first down on the drive.

           

After a solid punt from Mansfield, Cornell struck early on its first possession. Dentes went 3-for-3 to led the Big Red down the field 85 yards for the touchdown. The biggest play was a 61 yard pass to Chris Lebarge, who ran the ball all the way down to the 8-yard line. Lebarge would later be found wide open in the end zone for the first Big Red touchdown. A Mitch Ottinger extra point gave the Big Red the early 7-0 lead.

           

Later in the first quarter, after forcing Mansfield to go three-and-out, the Big Red recovered the ball. This time, it was Ryan Smith who had the big plays. Smith had a big 13-yard rush that was extended an extra 15 yards by a facemask penalty. The drive ended with Ottinger kicking the ball through the uprights for the 34-yard field goal, and Cornell led 10-0.

           

Mansfield retaliated quickly. Quarterback Danny Moss was able to connect with his offense to drive down the field, highlighted by a 28-yard option to Tyler Floyd. Floyd later ran for a touchdown from outside the 8-yard line. Michael Steele kicked the extra point to cut the Cornell lead to 10-7 as time ran out in the first quarter.

           

Cornell got the ball back to begin the second quarter but on the second play from scrimmage the ball was stripped out of Dentes' hands and Mansfield recovered deep in Cornell territory. On the first play, Moss threw a perfect pass down the sideline that went through Floyd's arms in the endzone, but the Cornell defense couldn't hold off the Mounties as Moss ran up the middle on the next play for the 33-yard touchdown. The extra point gave Mansfield a 14-10 lead.

           

The Big Red used some solid defense on the next possession and Mike Zambrana sacked the Moss on third down for a loss of 10 yards, setting Mansfield back to its 13-yard line. Cornell received the ball on a weak punt and the Big Red replaced Dentes with sophomore Elliot Corey. Corey ran for 17 yards and threw for 24 more on a drive that resulted in a Brennan touchdown reception. Ottinger kicked the extra point, as the Big Red recovered the lead, 17-14.

           

After taking the slim three-point advantage into the intermission, the Big Red received the opening kickoff of the second half and Matt Malleo ran the ball down the sidelines untouched until he was finally stopped at the Mansfield 15-yard line. The return was a 57-yard return, the longest of the season for Cornell. Unfortunately, Cornell was not able to complete the drive, and Corey was stopped on a fourth and one at the Mansfield six-yard line.

           

Later in the third quarter, Mansfield showed its determination to make up for the 35-0 loss to Cornell in the team's first game of its CSFL history. The Mountaineers started at its own 18-yard line and was able to convert two third downs and a fourth down on a fake punt. Fortunately, with the Mounties threatening deep in Cornell territory, the long drive was thwarted by a Ted Alexander interception.

           

The Big Red offense went three-and-out, and Mansfield got the ball again. On Mansfield's first play from scrimmage, Moss threw a strike to Floyd, who sprinted down the sidelines for the 72-yard score. The Mountaineers extra point gave Mansfield a 21-17 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Dentes returned to the game, knowing what he had to do. On the Big Red's second possession of the fourth quarter, Dentes completed four straight passes, two to Brennan and two to Upal Sarker for a total of 42 yards. Cornell again obtained the lead when Dentes connected with Sarker from five yards out for the touchdown. After a completed extra point, the Big Red was up 24-21 with just under 11 minutes left.

           

At the 7:04 mark though, Mansfield again prevailed, and the lead was now in the Mountaineers' favor, 28-24. Although Moss struggled to complete a pass on the 60-yard drive, he made a big 10-yard pass to Sam O'Conner for a touchdown.

           

The game was left in the hands of the Ithaca natives, Dentes and Brennan. Dentes completed four straight passes for the second straight drive. This time, Brennan had 50 receiving yards and three receptions on the drive. His second reception made him the Cornell all-time receiving receiver and his third reception gave Cornell the lead. Ottinger remained perfect on the day and Cornell again led 31-28.

           

With Mansfield driving again, the defense again was clutch in the fourth quarter. This time Daniel Kubis returned an interception for 50 yards for the touchdown. Ottinger added another point for insurance and Cornell led 38-28 with just under four minutes remaining.

           

The defense would hold onto to win as the Big Red won a very close game against the rising Mansfield program, 38-28.

           

Cornell (5-2, 3-1) ends the season on a four game winning streak and ranks second in the CSFL behind undefeated Navy.