Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell's sprint football team kicked off its season with a 37-23 at Mansfield, dominating the fourth quarter in a CSFL game that puts the Big Red atop the early-season standings.

Cornell outscored Mansfield 17-0 in the final frame, getting a 31-yard field goal from John Rodriguez – his third of the afternoon – an offensive touchdown and a defensive touchdown to seal the game. With 7:43 left in the contest and the Big Red trailing 23-20, quarterback Brendan Miller connected with Abe Mellinger for a 50-yard touchdown pass to give the lead back to Cornell.

After Rodriguez's 31-yarder put Cornell ahead by a touchdown with 3:50 to play, Michael Monahan intercepted a Mansfield pass and returned it 45 yards for the game-icing score.

Cornell (1-0) has never lost a game to the Mounties (0-1) and now holds a 7-0 lifetime record against Mansfield.

Early on, it looked like the Mounties might have a chance to break that streak. Though Miller and Mellinger hooked up early to give Cornell a 7-0 lead at the 10:31 mark of the first quarter, Mansfield scored the next 16 points and looked dangerous at the end of the first 15 minutes. A 29-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Mike Maniscalco, a safety and a touchdown pass from Maniscalco to Pat Mackewicz put the Mounties up 16-7 at home with all the momentum on their side.

That's when Rodriguez got in his groove, nailing field goals from 27 and 29 yards out to bring Cornell within 3 points at halftime.

After the break, the Big Red came out strong and Miller finished a drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Spenser Gruenenfelder – the CSFL's leader in receiving yards last season – to give Cornell a 20-16 advantage and its first lead since 7-0.

But Mansfield did not lie down after losing the lead. The Mounties battled back to retake the lead with just under three minutes left in the third quarter on a three-yard rush by Josh Harrison, putting them ahead 23-20 with 18 minutes left in the game.

That's when Cornell took over. The final 17 points of the game all went to the Big Red, and Cornell got its first win of the season.

Cornell out-passed Mansfield by a commanding 288-80 margin, though the Big Red was out-rushed 111-21. Cornell held a 17-11 advantage in first downs and also intercepted three passes to Mansfield's one.

Cornell hosts Post University on Friday night at 7 p.m. in another CSFL game. The Big Red and Mounties will meet again in the season finale on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in Ithaca.