GAME #4: Cornell vs. Princeton
GAMETIME: Friday, Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m.
SITE: Schoellkopf Field, Ithaca, NY
2009 RECORDS: Cornell (1-2, 1-1 CSFL); Princeton (0-3, 0-1 CSFL)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 55-27-4
LAST MEETING: Cornell defeated Princeton, 40-14, October 20, 2008 (Princeton, N.J.)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: www.CornellBigRed.com
THE HEAD COACH: Coach Terry Cullen's record moved to 150-124-7 (.547) after last weekend's loss to Navy. Cullen has been a member of the coaching staff since 1964 and officially became the Terry Cullen Head Coach of Sprint Football in 2001.
THE CO-HEAD COACH: In August, 2008, it was announced that Bart Guccia would assume a majority of the on-field coaching and gameday decisions for the Big Red. Guccia is in his fifth year with the sprint football team and has posted a 6-4 record (.600) in his new role.
THE MATCH UP: Both Cornell and the Tigers are coming off disappointing losses last weekend. The Big Red fell to Navy, 18-13, while Princeton was blanked in its home opener with Army, 57-0. The Big Red holds the 55-27-4 advantage in the series with the Tigers, and Princeton has not won a CSFL game this decade.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Princeton has not won a game since 2005, a 19-7 non-conference victory over VMI, and has not had a winning season since 1989. The Tigers' last CSFL victory was against Cornell in 1998, when they edged the Big Red, 22-21. The Tigers have had trouble putting points on the board this season, being outscored 147-7. Quarterback Ned Moffat registered the team's only touchdown, a 39-yard score against Mansfield in the team's first quarter of play. Moffat also leads the team with 152 yards in the air. Before last weekend's loss to Army, running back Kevin Infante was having a nice season, and could be a dangerous weapon out of the backfield. On defense, watch out for Mike Howard and Andrew Gabriele. Both players are involved in nearly every defensive stop and are second and third, respectively, in the CSFL in tackles.
LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON: Sophomore quarterback Elliot Corey accounted for five of Cornell's six touchdowns as the Big Red defeated Princeton, 40-14, at Power Field at Princeton, N.J. Corey went 5-of-13 for 100 yards and three touchdowns in the air, while leading the Big Red rushing attack with 104 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Receiver Mike Brennan caught three passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns while Upal Sarker snagged two passes for 30 yards and one touchdown. Senior tight end Jack Rossman also registered a touchdown on his lone catch of the day. The defense was led by Nick Indovina with eight tackles, three for a loss of 20 yards, and two sacks. Indovina also forced a fumble and returned it 34 yards. Clay Hemminger registered seven tackles, including two for a loss and a sack. Joseph Bright and Chris Lamont each had an interception and Evan Levy forced and recovered a fumble. The Big Red racked up 341 yards of total offense and held Princeton to just 160 yards overall, including just seven yards on the ground.
THE TIGER'S LAST GAME: Princeton lost in its home opener, 57-0, to Army. The Black Knights ran over the Princeton defense, rushing for 316 yards, while defensively holding the Tigers to just three yards of total offense, thanks to -55 yards rushing. Army built a 9-0 less than five minutes into the game as it rolled to the 57-point victory. Princeton offense was highlighted by the 58 yards in the air from quarterback Ned Moffat. Reid Fritz led the team with 15 yards on the ground and Kees Thompson had a team-high three receptions. Andrew Gabriele led the defense with 12 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss.
CORNELL'S LAST GAME: The Big Red played in another thriller against Navy, but unfortunate for Cornell, the team was unable to pull off the victory in a 18-13 loss. It was a defensive battle, with both offenses struggling to find the end zone. Navy started the scoring with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Terronez as time expired in the first quarter. After a failed extra point attempt, Navy led, 6-0. In the second half, Terronez connected for another touchdown pass. After a safety, Cornell found itself down 15-0 late in the quarter. The Big Red would not give up so easily. Nick Indovina started the scoring by intercepting a Terronez pass and returning the ball 57 yards to give the Big Red a much needed boost and a score. The Alex Perilstein extra-point brought Cornell within eight points and later, Perilstein connected on a 49-yard field goal to make it a 15-10 game early in the fourth quarter, but that would be as close as Cornell would get as both teams would trade field goals down the stretch. Quarterback Elliot Corey threw for 115 yards and ran for 41 more, while running back D.J. Sciavetta also rushed for 41 yards.
JUST FOR KICKS: Alex Perilstein's 49-yard field goal at Nazwas the longest field goal on record in Cornell sprint football history. It was the first field goal of over 40 yards since Chris Garnic '05 connected on a 42-yard attempt against Navy on Oct. 10, 2003.
TAMING THE TIGERS: When Cornell defeated Princeton last season, 40-17, it extended Cornell's dominance over the Tigers. Cornell is 55-27-4 against Princeton all-time and the Big Red is currently riding a 16-game winning streak. The longest winning streak Cornell has ever had against an opponent was 19 games against Columbia, starting in 1958 and lasting until 1976 when the team disbanded. The longest streak Cornell has against the current teams in the CSFL is 17 victories against Penn from 1974-1988.
PRINCETON REVIEW: Cornell is 15-0 against Princeton this decade. Four of those wins were shutouts and in four of those wins Cornell scored at least 40 points. The Big Red has only allowed more than 10 points to the Tigers in seven of those games, and the Big Red has an average margin of victory of 21 points.
UP NEXT: The Big Red travels to Philadelphia to take on Penn on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7:00 p.m.
