ITHACA, N.Y. — The sprint football team will look to bounce back this weekend when it welcomes Franklin Pierce to Schoellkopf Field on Friday night for the final game of the 2016 season.
 
GAME INFORMATION
GAME #7: Cornell Big Red vs. Franklin Pierce Ravens
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 4, 2016, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Schoellkopf Field – Ithaca, N.Y.
2016 RECORDS: Cornell 2-4, Franklin Pierce 3-3
VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is coming off of a tough overtime loss to Penn on Friday night in Philadelphia. The Big Red led for most of the game until the Quakers tied it with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and then went on to win in overtime to save their perfect record. … Cornell earned its first home win of the season on Oct. 21, topping Post, 27-13. Cornell opened the season up at home against a tough Navy team on Sept. 17, losing 40-7, before hitting the road and heading to Mansfield where it got its first win of the season, 30-12, on Sept. 24. A week later, Cornell fought back from a 16-point deficit against Chestnut Hill and took a one point lead in the fourth quarter only to see the Griffins score a touchdown in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. The Big Red then played a third straight game on the road, losing to defending CSFL champion Army Wes Point, 43-12. … Senior quarterback Rob Pannullo continues to be Cornell's engine on offense, passing for 656 yards and seven touchdowns and also rushing for 300 yards and four touchdowns.
 
ABOUT ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH TERRY CULLEN
Terry Cullen, The Terry Cullen Head Coach of Sprint Football, has been the patriarch of the program at Cornell for 53 years after joining his father, former head coach Bob Cullen, in 1964. In his 53-year tenure, Terry Cullen has an overall record of 235-217-11 and his record as head coach is 176-152-7. Cullen has had two undefeated seasons (2006 and 1982) and won six league championships. His title was endowed in 2001 and, in 2008, he requested to relinquish some of his everyday coaching duties to co-head coach Bart Guccia.
 
ABOUT CO-HEAD COACH BART GUCCIA
This is Guccia's 12th season as a member of the sprint football staff and his eighth as a co-head coach. Since Guccia joined the Big Red staff in 2005, the team is a combined 45-36. As co-head coaches, Guccia and Cullen have amassed a 32-30 record.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Senior quarterback Rob Pannullo was named the CSFL Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 25 for his instrumental role in Cornell's 27-13 win over Post Schoellkopf Field and freshman placekicker Ben Finkelstein was named the CSFL Special Teams Player of the Week on Nov. 1 for his productive game against Penn. Pannullo had a hand in three of the Big Red's four touchdowns. He was 7-of-14 for 88 yards and a touchdown through the air and also showed off his legs, running for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Pannullo, who racked up 228 yards of total offense, led scoring drives of 40, 64, 69 and 73 yards. … Finkelstein converted field goal attempts of 34 and 36 yards against the Quakers and also had two successful point-after attempts for a total of eight points. Finkelstein also kicked off three times, averaging 56.7 yards per kick.
 
THE LEADING RUSH
Freshman Will Griffen currently holds the title of longest rush of the CSFL season with a 69-yard burst against Chestnut Hill on Sept. 30. That rush helped bring Griffen's yards per play average in that game to 18.5, which is a single-game high for total offensive yards per play in a CSFL game this year.
 
HOME AGAIN
Prior to the home game against Post on Oct. 21, Cornell had played three straight games away from Schoellkopf Field. It was just the third time in 22 years that the program played three straight away games. The last came during 2014 season when the Big Red lost to Penn and Army before taking on and beating Princeton, 55-0. In 1994, the team had to travel in consecutive weeks to take on Penn, Princeton, and Army. 
 
ON OUR SIDE
Cornell remains the only team this year to attempt and successfully recover an on-side kick. The Big Red has attempted three on-side kicks and came up with the ball on two occasions – one each against Army and Penn.
 
LEG IT OUT
After sevens weeks of CSFL play, senior punter Ryan Jackson sits second overall in the league in punting. Jackson has punted 21 times for 744 yards, and his resulting 35.4 yards per punt average is tied for second best. His 49-yard boot in the third quarter against Chestnut Hill is the fifth-longest punt in the league this year. Meanwhile, freshman placekicker Ben Finkelstein holds the second-longest field goal in the league with a 36 yard conversion against Penn.
 
CAPTAIN QUINTUPLE
Cornell is led this year by five senior captains. The offense is represented by quarterback Rob Pannullo, running back Kevin Nathanson and lineman Caleb Minsky. On the other side of the ball, defensive back Ryan Jackson and linebacker Chris D'Ambrosio lead the defensive charge. All five players have been members of the sprint football team every year since their arrival at Cornell in the fall of 2013.
 
FRESH FACES
The sprint football program may have graduated 23 seniors after last season, but they also added 25 new faces to the roster this fall. Co-head coach Bart Guccia says that the 14 freshmen, five sophomores, five juniors and one senior will be critical in filling out the depth chart behind the plethora of returning starters.
 
BIG RED REWIND
Cornell finished the 2015 season with a 4-3 record, its first season over .500 since 2012, and finished fourth overall in the CSFL standings. … Rob Pannullo returns at the quarterback position for Cornell and will look to build off of his junior year when he accounted for 1,045 yards, throwing for 605 and  running for another 440. He was fourth overall in the CSFL for total offense in 2015. … On defense, Cornell returns nine starters from 2015. Seven of the top 10 tacklers are back, including 2015 All-CSFL second team honoree linebacker Chris D'Ambrosio, whose 40 tackles and three sacks both led the Big Red last year, is back for his senior season.
 
ABOUT FRANKLIN PIERCE
The Ravens come into the game against the Big Red with the sixth-ranked overall offense and the third-ranked overall defense in the CSFL. The Franklin Pierce rushing defense is also third in the league, allowing only 76.0 yards per game. … The Ravens have three different rushers with over 200 yards in Tyler Zech (298), Kobie Smith (218), and Ahzir Turner (204). Jose Melo has taken the majority of snaps at quarterback, going 44-of-126 for 642 yards and five touchdowns. … Bailee Johns has three interceptions on the defensive side of the ball for the Ravens and is second on the team in total tackles with 37. Josh Castro has 40 total tackles, including 2.5 sacks, and two blocked kicks.
 
THE SERIES WITH FRANKLIN PIERCE
Cornell has gone 3-1 against Franklin Pierce since their first meeting in 2012, including last year's 36-15 victory. The Big Red went into halftime with an eight-point deficit but the defense held the Ravens scoreless in the second half and quarterback Rob Pannullo rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown and threw for 54 yards and a touchdown in the comeback win.