ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell and Penn sprint football were both handed their first losses of the season this past weekend — and both came at the hands of a service academy. Army West Point spoiled the Big Red's home opener by beating Cornell, 33-0, while Navy took down Penn, 29-14, in Annapolis. The two Ivies now boast identical 2-1 records and will fight to stay over .500 on Friday night at Schoellkopf Field, the second of Cornell's three consecutive home games.   
 
GAME INFORMATION
GAME #4: Cornell Big Red vs. University of Pennsylvania Quakers
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Schoellkopf Field — Ithaca, N.Y.
2015 RECORDS: Cornell 2-1, Penn 2-1
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
STREAMING VIDEO ($): Ivy League Digital Network
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell saw its first loss of the season Saturday when Army West Point blanked the Big Red, 33-0, in the home opener at Schoellkopf Field. 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 averaged 23.3 yards per catch against Army West Point, a CSFL single-game high this 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 nine catches for 204 yards and three touchdowns. … Junior Christopher D'Ambrosio leads the team on defense with 13 solo tackles and eight assisted, including two sacks.
 
PRODUCTIVE PANNULLO
Junior quarterback Rob Pannullo has picked up right where he left off last season through the first three games of 2015. He has passed for 310 yards and thrown three touchdown passes while rushing for 223 yards and two touchdown runs. At Mansfield, he posted a 68.4 pass completion percentage, a league single-game high for this season. 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 all-purpose yards per game. He also threw 12 touchdown passes and ran for four touchdowns on the ground.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior linebacker Christopher D'Ambrosio 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.
 
FRESH FACES
Cornell boasts one of the largest incoming classes the team has had in recent years this season. Co-head coach Bart Guccia has noted that this young group is one of the best he's seen in terms of athletic ability. Two members of the incoming class, quarterback Connor Ostrander and defensive back Conrad McCarthy come to Cornell from Longmeadow High School, where they played for the Massachusetts state championship. Ostrander scored his first collegiate touchdown when he replaced Rob Pannullo late in the fourth quarter in the Big Red's 36-15 win over Franklin Pierce. In addition, the group includes two athletes who are natural centers and played the position in high school, something Guccia notes is difficult to find in an incoming sprint football class.
 
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 PENN
The Quakers are the only other team in the CSFL with a 2-1 record entering this weekend. Penn served Franklin Pierce a 51-7 defeat to open the season before beating Post, 34-18. The Quakers' only loss also came from a service academy, as they dropped a 29-14 decision to Navy this past weekend. … Penn leads the league in pass offense, averaging 244 yards a game. Quarterback Mike McCurdy has a pass completion rating of 52.4 and has thrown for 729 yards and eight touchdowns. He leads the league in total offense with 795 all-purpose yards.  … Max Jones leads the Quakers in rushing with 229 yards. … Henry Mason is the team's top receiver with a CSFL-leading six receptions per game and 117.7 receiving yards per game. His five touchdown catches are also a league best. … On defense, Juliano James leads the Quakers with 14 solo hits and 10 assisted, including three for a loss.
 
THE SERIES WITH PENN
The Big Red holds a 59-37-0 advantage over Penn since Cornell introduced the program in 1937. The Quakers, however, have won six of the past seven meetings between the teams. The Big Red's last victory over Penn came in 2012, a five-hour, six-overtime thriller that concluded with Cornell on top, 42-34. Last season, the Quakers took a 36-19 win over the Big Red. Cornell got on the board first when Benjamin Herrera ran two yards for a touchdown and the Big Red completed a two-point conversion before Penn went on a 29-3 scoring run. Trevor Marrero brought Cornell within 10 when he caught a 21 yard pass from Rob Pannullo in the fourth quarter, but the Quakers staved off the Big Red's rally and came away with the win.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red concludes its three-game home stand when it hosts winless Princeton at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.