ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Coming off a home win over Princeton, Cornell sprint football will be faced with the challenge of playing Navy at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., this weekend. Typically in competition for the top spot in the league with fellow service academy Army West Point, the Midshipmen were upset earlier in the season by Franklin Pierce, leaving Navy (3-1 CSFL) in third place behind Penn (4-1 CSFL). A Navy win would keep the Midshipmen in contention for the league crown while a Big Red win would allow Cornell to take over at least the third place spot and push Navy further down the standings as the end of the season draws near.
 
GAME INFORMATION
GAME #6: Cornell Big Red at United States Naval Academy Midshipmen
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 23, 2015, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium — Annapolis, Md.
2015 RECORDS: Cornell 3-2 (3-2 CSFL), Navy 4-1 (3-1 CSFL)
LIVE STATS: NavySports.com
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
The Big Red once again has a winning record after rattling Princeton, 52-18, on Friday night at Schoellkopf Field. … After starting the season 2-0, the Big Red dropped two straight, falling to Army, 33-0, and Penn, 29-12. Cornell was down 26-6 at the break against the Quakers on Friday, but outscored Penn, 6-3, in the second half. … The week before, Cornell held the Black Knights 27 points under the 60-point scoring average Army West Point had entering the contest. The Big Red also held the Black Knights to their lowest total yardage on the season. … Cornell's 2-0 start to the season was its best since 2012 and its first back-to-back wins in the same span. The team also scored more than 30 points in each of its first two contests for the first time since 1995, picking up wins over Mansfield (33-7) and Franklin Pierce (36-15). In the season opener, Cornell maintained its perfect 12-0 record over the Mounties. Against Franklin Pierce, the Big Red was down early, with the Ravens leading 15-7 at the half, but Cornell mounted a comeback and held Franklin Pierce scoreless in the second half. … Senior Trevor Marrero has emerged as the Big Red's leading receiver with 11 catches for 220 yards and three touchdowns.
 
PRODUCTIVE PANNULLO
Junior quarterback Rob Pannullo has picked up right where he left off last season. Through five games, he has passed for 453 yards and thrown three touchdown passes while rushing for 372 yards and a career-high five touchdown runs.  In 2014, his first season as the Big Red's starting quarterback, Pannullo made an impression, notching 408 rushing yards and 982 passing yards, averaging just under 200 total yards per game. He also threw 12 touchdown passes and ran for four touchdowns on the ground.
 
D'AMBROSIO'S DEFENSE
Junior linebacker Christopher D'Ambrosio has consistently led the defense this season, posting 22 solo tackles, 11 assisted and two sacks through five games. He was named CSFL Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 29 for his instrumental role in the Big Red's comeback win against Franklin Pierce. He scored Cornell's first touchdown of the game, recovering a fumble 32 yards, and allowed the Big Red to take control of the game, helping the defense hold Franklin Pierce scoreless in the second half. He posted eight assisted tackles and six solo hits in the win, including two sacks for a loss of 10 yards.
 
FLOURISHING FRESHMEN
Freshman Connor Ostrander has stepped in at quarterback in relief of Rob Pannullo several times this season, scoring his first collegiate touchdown in the Big Red's 36-15 win over Franklin Pierce. In Cornell's 52-18 victory over Princeton, he came in late in the game and posted a 71.4 completion percentage, passing for 84 yards. Classmate JD Donahey III ran for 83 yards against Princeton, including an impressive 39-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. On defense, Conrad McCarthy recorded six solo tackles against Penn, including a sack for a loss of seven yards.
 
IT'S GOOD
With Michael Zazzara's pair of field goals against Penn and Eric Brown's good kick against Princeton, the Big Red is the only team in CSFL that has made 100 percent of its field goals.
 
BIG RED ZONE
Cornell is ranked first in CSFL in red zone offense through five weeks, converting on 88.2 percent of its trips to the red zone. The Big Red has scored 12 touchdowns and kicked three field goals on 17 appearances in the red zone.
 
HIT THE ROAD
The Big Red is unbeaten on the road so far this season, with the team's two losses coming on home soil at Schoellkopf Field.
 
CAPTAIN QUARTET
Cornell will be led by four captains this season, two offensive and two defensive. Seniors Benjamin Herrera and Trevor Marrero have been tabbed to lead the offense, as both return playing experience and leadership skills to the Big Red's roster. On the other side of the ball, seniors Evan Zittel and Jared Meichner will head the defense.
 
ABOUT HEAD COACH TERRY CULLEN
Cullen, The Terry Cullen Head Coach of Sprint Football, has been the patriarch of the program at Cornell for over half a century after joining his father, former head coach Bob Cullen, in 1964. In his 51-year tenure, Terry Cullen has posted a 173-145-7 record, including two undefeated seasons and six league championships. His title was endowed in 2001 and, in 2008, he requested to relinquish some everyday coaching duties to co-head coach Bart Guccia.
 
ABOUT CO-HEAD COACH BART GUCCIA
Now in his eleventh season on the Cornell sprint football coaching staff and his eighth as co-head coach, Guccia's teams have amassed a 39-29 record since he joined the program in 2005. Typically offensive-minded, Guccia has developed the Big Red's balanced offensive attack.
 
ABOUT NAVY
The Midshipmen have been dominant as usual, outscoring opponents 185-35 en route to a 4-1 overall record so far this season. Franklin Pierce, however, pulled off a major upset, downing Navy, 18-16, on Oct. 9 in Annapolis, Md., and becoming the first team in the CSFL other than Army West Point to defeat the Midshipmen since the third week of the 2010 season. Navy has won its other games handily, opening the season with a 68-3 throttling of non-league Longwood before blanking Mansfield, 51-0. The contest with Penn was closer, with the Midshipmen taking a 29-14 win. And most recently, Navy topped Post, 21-0. … The Midshipmen excel on the ground, posting a rushing total that is nearly double their passing yardage. … Last season's CSFL Most Valuable Player, senior Eric Wellmon, leads the team in rushing with 357 yards on 83 carries, while senior Matthew Hite has caught 15 passes for 313 yards. … Junior quarterback Nick Deterding has completed just over 50 percent of his passes and has thrown for five touchdowns. … Senior Hardy Davis leads the defense with 43 total tackles, including eight for a loss.

THE SERIES WITH NAVY
The service academies have always been powerful forces in sprint football, and Navy has a 55-13-2 edge over the Big Red all-time. The last time Cornell beat the Midshipmen was Oct. 6, 2006, when the Big Red rallied from a seven-point deficit with 56 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, where Cornell scored on the very first play for the 16-10 win. That year, the Big Red beat both Navy and Army West Point en route to a perfect 6-0 season . In 2014, Cornell played the Midshipmen closely, with Rob Pannullo and Trevor Marrero teaming up for a pair of touchdowns, but Navy came away with a 42-30 win.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red plays its final game of the season at Post at noon on Oct. 31.