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ITHACA, N.Y. -- Senior Emani Fenton broke up a two-point conversion pass and then intercepted a pass in the end zone with 23 seconds remaining to seal Cornell's 21-19 win over Princeton on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field, another wild ending between the Big Red and the Tigers in a series full of them. Cornell improved to 2-5 (1-3 Ivy), while Princeton slipped to 1-6 (0-4 Ivy).

Fenton made five tackles and broke up three passes to go along with his interception to spearhead a defense that limited the Tigers to 158 yards on 47 plays over the first three quarters. Princeton stormed back from a 21-6 deficit entering the fourth to get within 21-19 with under six minutes to play, but Fenton broke up a pass when the Tigers went for two to tie, then beat All-Ivy wide receiver Trey Peacock as Princeton went for the win with under 30 seconds to play to give Cornell the ball back as the Tigers were driving for the winning score.

Freshmen played a huge role in Cornell's win on both sides of the ball. On offense, Jeff Mathews completed 28-of-44 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, while classmate Grant Gellatly tallied 139 all-purpose yards, including a career-best 97 yards on the ground. Defensively, Kevin Laird had a team-high nine tackles, while Justin Harris added four. Kevin Marchand had a huge day, posting three tackles, including 1.5 for a loss and recovering a fumble for a touchdown. Tre' Minor (three tackles) and Brett Buehler (two tackles, tackle for loss) also saw significant snaps on the defense as Cornell's talented freshman class continued to pay dividends.

Also having a big day on the defensive side of the ball was Cody Roberts with six tackles, a sack and the forced fumble that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Michael Hernandez posted five tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception and Emmitt Terrell had a sack.

Offensively, both Kurt Ondash and Luke Tasker caught their first career collegiate touchdowns, with Tasker ending the day with 68 yards on seven catches and the score. Shane Savage also had five grabs for 75 yards. Drew Alston put each of his final four punts of the game inside the 40-yard line and averaged 34.8 net yards per punt.

Peacock, Princeton's All-America receiver, caught seven passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns, including a 92-yard play from scrimmage on a post route that electrified the Princeton fans in attendance with under six minutes to play and got the visitors within two points. He also caught a 16-yard pass from Andrew Dixon in the second quarter, but the extra-point kick was missed. That miss would haunt the Tigers, as the ensuing two-point conversion to tie the game would fail. Dixon finished the game 19-of-38 passing for 215 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers rushed for 189 yards overall, with Matt Zimmerman leading the way with 76 yards on 11 carries. Defensively, Jon Olofsson had a game-high 15 tackles, while Mandela Sheaffer made 10.

A series that has now seen 17 of the last 21 meetings decided by a touchdown or less would not disappoint, as the game came down to a nailbiting final Princeton drive. With the Big Red going in for a score, Matt Wakulchik of the Tigers got a helmet on the ball and forced a Tasker fumble on the Tigers' own 3 and Tim Kingsbury recovered with 3:08 left. That started a 13-play drive that lasted under Dixon's attempt for Peacock was intercepted in the end zone on a second-and-7 from the Cornell 24. Needing a field goal to win it, but driving into the wind, the Tigers looked for the home run to take the lead. Fenton won a jousting battle with Peacock and snared his fourth pick of the year, allowing Cornell to run out the clock by taking a knee twice.

The win was not only the first Ivy win under head coach Kent Austin, but also his first at historic Schoellkopf Field.

Cornell got on the board first thanks to an impressive 11-play, 85-yard drive capped off by Mathews' 2-yard pass to Ondash to get on the board on the final play from scrimmage of the first quarter. That came after an earlier 11-play drive ended with Mathews' tipped pass being intercepted by Dan Fitzsimmons at the Princeton 24 with Cornell looking for its first points. The home team controlled the ball for more than 11 minutes in the first quarter alone and set the tone with its constant pressure on the Tiger defense.

Michael Hernandez ended Princeton's 12-play drive by intercepting a Connor Kelly pass at the Cornell own 6 to stall out a potential game-tying drive, but the Tigers finally got on the board on its final drive of the first half. After a three-and-out gave the visitors a short field at the Cornell 41, four straight positive plays set up a Dixon touchdown toss to Peacock. Dixon was flushed out of the pocket and was patient enough to find Peacock alone in the end zone with a rainbow pass to make it 7-6 with 1:24 left. Patrick Jacob's extra-point kick went wide and Cornell went into the locker room with the one-point lead.

The third quarter was, again, all Cornell. The Big Red held the pigskin for nearly 11 minutes and held an 8-0 lead in first downs and a 140-0 edge in total yards from scrimmage in extending the lead to 21-6. The Tigers were held to three plays or less on all four of its possessions in the quarter, while the Big Red opened the half with the ball and an attitude to put the game away. Cornell zipped right down the field in eight plays, with Ryan Houska running for 13 yards on one play and Tasker making a 14-yard reception two
 plays later to highlight the drive. It ended with Mathews finding Tasker on the quick-hitter for six just four minutes into the second half. Greenway's conversion kick made it 14-6.

Less than five minutes later, Cornell looked to have put the game away. After an excellent punt by Alston pinned the Tigers at their own 10, Dixon completed an innocent 5-yard pass to Peacock on first down. On second down, Dixon dropped back and never saw a blitzing Roberts, who sacked the quarterback and jarred the football loose at the 7. The ball rolled to the 2, where Marchand scooped up the loose ball and went the rest of the way to make it 21-6 after Greenway's conversion with 6:48 remaining.

After the defense forced another three-and-out, the Big Red offense went back to work, marchign 47 yards on nine plays before setting up for a 43-yard field goal attempt by Greeway. The senior place-kicker had plenty of leg despite kicking into a stiff wind, but the ball curved just wide right to keep the score where it sat with 1:50 left in the quarter.

On its second possession of the fourth quarter, Dixon used the short passing game and the running game behind Zimmerman to carve out some yards. A pass interference call in the end zone gave the Tigers a new set of downs on the Cornell 2, and Brian Mills went over for the score with 8:04 remaining in regulation.

A three-and-out by the Big Red offense gave Princeton a chance, and it took it when Dixon's deep attempt lofted over a Cornell defender and into the hands of a streaking Peacock, who slipped one diving tackle on the way to a 92-yard touchdown. Fenton broke up the two-point conversion on a crossing pass attempt, and the score remained 21-19 with six minutes to play.

Cornell attempted to get back on the scoreboard and marched downfield. Four straight Mathews' completions, three to Gellatly, and a 6-yard run by the freshman moved the ball to the Princeton 8. The freshman then hit Tasker, but Princeton caused the turnover, giving it a final opportunity to win the game with 2:44 remaining.

The Tigers looked wlel on their way to getting in position to attempt a game-winning field goal, but the 13-play, 73-yard drive that featured 4-of-6 passing by Dixon ended with Fenton's game-sealing INT instead.

Cornell returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 6 when it faces Dartmouth at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.