FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The two-time defending Northeast Conference champion Sacred Heart Pioneers limited Cornell to 280 yards of offense and used a handful of big plays on both sides of the ball to top the Big Red 31-6 on Saturday afternoon at Campus Field. The Pioneers improved to 4-2, while Cornell slipped to 0-5.
RJ Noel was 15-of-22 passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns, with most of his looks going to Tyler Dube. Dube hauled in nine passes for 202 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 1-yard scoring pass. Nate Chavious ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries to lead a balanced offense, but it was the Pioneers' defense that made the difference.
After forcing eight turnovers a week ago in a win over Robert Morris, Sacred Heart was able to keep Cornell's offense off schedule all day, posting 11 tackles for a loss of 64 yards to go along with five key penalties for 50 yards, to keep the Big Red at bay. Sacred Heart's James Rentz posted 11 tackles, including 2.5 sacks, and Connor Candito had 10 stops with 3.5 for a loss. Cornell controlled time of possession, but big plays proved to be the difference.
Cornell dropped its fifth straight to open the season despite a career-high 80 rushing yards and a touchdown from
Josh Sweet, in relief of senior
Luke Hagy. Hagy did become the seventh player in school history to surpass the 2,000-yard mark in his career with his lone carry in the first quarter.
Notes to Know• Senior
Luke Hagy's one carry went for three yards, making him the seventh player in school history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards (2,001).
• Sophomore running back
Josh Sweet had a career-high 80 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
• The 3-yard scoring run in the second quarter was the first of Sweet's varsity career.
• Junior wide receiver
Marshall Deutz caught four passes for 74 yards.
• Junior
Chris Fraser had another banner day punting the ball, averaging 45.3 yards on six punts with one pinned at the 2 yard line.
• Sophomore
Geno DeMarco had a team-best and career-high eight tackles.
• Senior
Julian Gallo had a career-long 40-yard reception in the first half.
• Junior running back
Dane Brown earned his first varsity carry in the first half.
Turning Point• Trailing 17-6 coming out of the half, Cornell's defense earned a quick three-and-out to get the ball back.
• The Big Red offense went to work, with Sweet picking up 6 yards and
Robert Somborn hitting
Marshall Deutz for 31 yards down to the Sacred Heart 15.
• Sweet took his second carry of the drive down to the 1 and looked to be down heading into the end zone, but he lost the ball and it was ruled a fumble.
• Sacred Heart recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
• After the Pioneers drove down to the Cornell 27 and facing third-and-6, an apparent deflected pass bounced four yards back into the hands of Moses Webb for a drive-sustaining first down.
• Two plays later, Sacred Heart scored to build its lead to 24-6, completing a 14-point swing.
New Opposition• Sacred Heart became the 89th different opponent in the school's 128-yard history and the seventh active school it has played just once.
• Cornell is 1-0 all-time against Albany, Michigan State, New Hampshire and Virginia Tech.
• The Big Red is 0-1 vs. Cincinnati and Stanford.
Next Up• Cornell returns home to face Brown on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Bears lead the all-time series 35-26-1 dating back to the first meeting between the teams in 1895.
• Brown has won 12 of the last 14 meetings, with Cornell's last win coming in 2007, a 38-31 overtime win in Ithaca.
• The Bears topped the Big Red 42-16 last season in Providence, R.I.
