Box Score Box Score
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Junior tight end Ryan Houska scored twice, once on the ground and once in the air, but Brown's running attack and several key Big Red mistakes gave the Bears a 27-14 victory over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Brown Stadium. The win kept Brown (4-2, 3-0 Ivy) unbeaten and tied for first place in the Ancient Eight, while the Big Red slipped to 1-5 (0-3 Ivy).
Houska made an acrobatic 21-yard touchdown pass from freshman Jeff Mathews in the first quarter to give Cornell the lead, then hit paydirt again from 2-yards out in the fourth. Mathews directed an offense that didn't surrender a turnover and completed 18-of-34 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target was junior Shane Savage, who hauled in eight passes for 104 yards for his first 100-yard game. Sophomore Luke Tasker also caught six passes for 70 yards. Freshman Grant Gellatly led the rushing attack with 43 yards on 15 carries.
Defensively, Zach Imhoff led the way with 12 tackles, while Dempsey Quinn chipped in nine. Cody Roberts, making his first college start at linebacker, posted five tackles, including two for a loss, and a pass breakup. Drew Alston had a solid day punting the football, averaging 39.0 yards and pinning three of his eight kicks inside the Brown 20.
Joe Springer completed 20-of-33 passes for 287 yards and two scores, both to Alexander Tounkara. Mark Kachmer ran for a game-high 81 yards and a touchdown (recovering a fumble in the end zone). Alexander Norocea booted a pair of field goals to round out the scoring for the Bears. Brown's defense posted five sacks and 10 total tackles for a loss. Andrew Serrano had eight tackles, a sack and two pass breakups to lead the way.
Brown opened the scoring with a 45-yard field goal by Norocea at the 8:35 mark of the first quarter, but the Big Red came right back down the field with arguably its best offensive drive of the season. The Big Red went five plays for 70 yards and ended with a picture-perfect 21-yard pass from Mathews to a diving Houska for six. Mathews earlier threaded the needle for a 31-yard gain to Savage, getting a pass in between three defenders for a first down. Gellatly added 23 yards on two carries to soften up the Bears' defense during the drive.
The Bears used a little luck to score the go-ahead points. A botched hand-off turned right for the Bears, as Springer tried to pass off the football, but his fumble from the 4-yard line squirted into the end zone. Kachmer was the most alert, getting right on the football for a score. The extra-point made it 10-7 with 2:26 left in the first quarter.
The Big Red looked to have scored on a 62-yard pass play after Mathews found a streaking Tasker, but a clipping call negated the score. With new life, the Brown defense forced a Big Red punt three plays later. The two teams exchanged punts with Brown ending up with the football with 10:25 left in the half after a booming 51-yard punt by Alston. The ensuing 11-play, 57-yard drive saw Brown earn a first-and-goal from the 9. Cornell's defense held, forcing a 24-yard Norocea field goal attempt. He split the uprights with the effort, extending the lead to 13-7.
Two consecUtive Cornell offensive drives moved the ball a total of two yards, and after the second punt, Brown went back to work. A pair of passes picked up 37 yards for the Bears, and a breakdown in the secondary allowed Tounkara to roam free and get into the end zone from 20 yards out with 34 seconds left to make it 20-7 at the break.
The punters stayed busy in the third, combining for five punts on six drives, with only a Big Red defensive stand on a four-and-1 from midfield that turned the ball over on downs ruining a perfect 6-for-6. Mike Spooner broke through the line for a six-yard loss to give the Big Red the ball back.
The backbreaking score came early in the fourth, when Tounkara hauled in a 13-yard scoring pass from Springer to make it 27-7 after the extra-point. A key conversion on third-and-10 that went for 33 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter extended the Bears' drive.
Cornell answered with a nine-play, 67-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard run by Houska out of the wildcat formation. Mathews converted a pair of third downs, one with a pass to Savage and a second with his feet. A pass interference call in the end zone on an attempted pass to Savage was a key play, as the junior nearly made an unbelievable catch despite two defenders tackling him early. One play later, Houska barreled in for the score.
A three-and-out by Brown gave Cornell's offense the ball back with momentum and trailing 27-14 with 9:24 left. The Big Red marched to the Brown 39 after a fourth-and-2 conversion, but an incomplete pass and a sack put Cornell into a third-and-21 hole. Mathews picked up 12 on his next play, but a last-ditch fourth-and-9 pass to Tasker went incomplete. Brown took over on downs, posted a first down and essentially ran out the clock on the win.
The Big Red will play three of its final four games at home starting next weekend when Princeton will head to Schoellkopf Field for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff.
