Box Score * Box Score
* Video of postgame press conference

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Trey Peacock hauled in a 78-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Wornham with 6:22 left, the second time the duo connected for a score in the game, to lift Princeton to a 17-13 triumph over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Princeton Stadium. The loss extended Cornell's skid to five games (2-5, 1-3 Ivy), while the Tigers improved to 2-5 (1-3 Ivy).



The Big Red held decisive advantages in total yards (400-305), first downs (23-14) and rushing yardage (219-107), but a pair of turnovers, two missed field goals and a pair of failed fourth down conversions sent the visitors to the loss.

The Big Red were led by senior Bryan Walters' three catches for 62 yards and sophomore tight end Ryan Houska's career-high six catches for 50 yards, as well as 76 rushing yards on 11 carries by Marcus Hendren. Senior Randy Barbour added 47 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Defensively, senior Chris Costello and junior Brandon Lainhart each had 13 tackles and Dempsey Quinn chipped in with 11. Junior Brad Greenway hit a pair of field goals in the loss.

Peacock led the Tigers with three catches for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Wornham completed 16-of-27 passes for 198 yards and two scores without turning the ball over. Steven Cody made 15 stops on the defensive side of the ball. Meko McCray led the rushing attack with 44 yards on 12 carries.

The Big Red lost the coin toss, but received the kickoff and marched on a 13-play, 51-yard drive that ended with Cornell leading 3-0. A 15-yard personal foul penaty on the Big Red in the red zone cost the team a touchdown chance, and the Big Red had to settle for a 31-yard Greenway chip shot to put the Big Red into the lead less than six minutes in.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, the offense gave it back to the Tigers on an interception by John Callahan. The pick led to a game-tying 40-yard kick by Ben Bologna, a career-long field goal effort with 5:44 left in the quarter to knot the score.

The rest of the first quarter and much of the second quarter was a game of field position, with Cornell having the best chance. The Big Red defense forced a three-and-out to end the first quarter, and took over at the Princeton 34 following an 8-yard return by Bryan Walters. Three plays later, Greenway lined up for a 49-yard effort that went just to the right less than two minutes into the quarter.

After back-to-back punts, the Tigers took their first lead on a 17-yard strike from Wornham to Peacock with 6:39 left before the half. The drive also featured a 24-yard completion from Wornham to Harris Daniels to get the home team inside the 20.

Cornell took the ball over on the next possession after a great return by Rashad Campbell on a short kickoff as the Tigers continued to avoid putting the ball in the hands of Walters. A 14-yard run by Ben Ganter took the ball to mdifield, where the visitors stalled. Facing a fourth-and-10 at the 50, Cornell attempted a fake punt, but Shane Savage's pass to a wide-open Randy Barbour was off the mark and the Tigers took over on downs. The teams were silent the remainder of the half and Princeton went into the locker room with a 10-3 edge.

After forcing a punt to open the second half, Cornell used its run game to pound down the door, knotting the score at 10-10 on a 1-yard run by Babrour with 7:48 left. Junior Marcus Hendren did most of the heavy lifting on the 12-play, 76-yard drive, rushing for 35 yards on five carries. Three of Cornell's 10 third-down conversions came on the drive, which also featured completions of 18 yards to Ryan Houska and 14 yards to Nick Zerante.

Cornell's defense forced yet another Tiger punt on the following possession and took its second consecutive long drive, running 13 plays for 71 yards before Greenway punched home a 23-yard kick to make it 13-10, putting the visitors back in the lead with 27 seconds remaining in the third.

To open the fourth quarter, the Big Red stopped a fourth down attempt by the Tigers to take the ball over at its own 33 and methodically marched downfield again. The 10-play, 58-yard drive featured a beautiful 36-yard completion from Ganter to Walters down to the Princeton 29, but the offense stalled again. Greenway's 28-yard effort to build the lead went wide left and the Tigers took over with 7:48 remaining.

This time, Princeton capitalized. Facing a second-and-4, Wornham fumbled the snap, but was able to grab the loose ball for a loss of four. The very next play, he put the home team in the lead. Peacock beat one defender, slipped behind the defense and raced untouched 78 yards to the end zone, the sixth score
of 48 yards or more allowed in the last three games by the Big Red defense.

Cornell got one more good chance, picking up a first down after taking the ball back with 6:13 left. Facing a third-and-1, Cornell misfired on two opportunities to pick up a first down, with Barbour being stopped on fourth down at the Cornell 49 to give Princeton the ball back.

The TIgers picked up two first downs in attempting to run out the clock, finally being stopped on a fourth-and-3 with 20 seconds left at the Cornell 20, but with no timeouts, the Big Red couldn't move the ball over midfield as Princeton snapped its four-game losing skid.

The Big Red will stay on the road next weekend to face Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 12:30 p.m. in Hanover, N.H. Cornell won last year's meeting 37-14 behind 306 passing yards from Nathan Ford, including a 96-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Walters, the second-longest pass in Big Red history.