ITHACA, N.Y. -- After trailing 21-3 in the first quarter, the Cornell sprint football team fought its way back to win an offensive shootout over Chestnut Hill 49-41 on Saturday at Schoellkopf Field. The win put the Big Red at 2-1 on the season and dropped the Griffins to 2-2.
 
Connor Ostrander led the team in both rushing and passing. The senior quarterback gathered 161 yards on the ground and threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Ostrander also rushed for the game-winning touchdown, punching it in from three yards out with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter.
 
The Big Red came up with a crucial stop on defense in the waning minutes of the game to secure the victory. With the Griffins in Cornell territory, Matthew Luebke jarred the ball free from Chestnut Hill quarterback Michael Marino and Harold Green came up with the fumble recovery.
 
This is the most points the Big Red has scored in a game since 2015, when the Big Red put up 52 on Princeton.
 
Though things appeared grim for the Big Red early on. On the first play from scrimmage, Marino connected with Raevon Floyd-Bennett for a 65-yard touchdown pass. And after the Big Red marched down the field to set up a Ben Finkelstein, 20-yard field goal, the Griffins took the ensuing kickoff back 82 yards to the endzone to go up 14-3. The Griffins extended their lead 18 on a one-yard touchdown run just past the halfway point of the first quarter.
 
Cornell scored its first touchdown of the afternoon with 3:47 left in the first quarter on a Connor Young one-yard run, but had the point after attempt blocked and returned back for two points to make the score 23-9. Despite the failed PAT attempt the drive marked a turning point for the Big Red's offense as it scored a touchdown on the following four drives.
 
The Big Red put up 26 unanswered points in the second quarter to take the 35-23 lead heading into halftime.  All three of Connor Ostrander's touchdown passes coming in the second quarter.
 
The first of Ostrander's touchdowns was a 27-yard connection with Colton Kotecki, which capped off a four-play 71-yard drive.
 
Aneesh Agrawal stepped in as the signal caller and evened the score with a four-yard touchdown pass to Connor Young on the Big Red's next drive. Agrawal finished the game 4-of-4 passing for a total 48 yards.
 
Ostrander stepped back in the next two drives and found Will Griffen and Brooks Panhans in the endzone, respectively.
 
However, Chestnut Hill would not go away scoring 10 points in the third quarter to make the score 35-33 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Just 46 seconds into the fourth quarter Brooks Panhans found Kotecki for his second touchdown reception of the afternoon that put the Big Red up 41-33. Though, the Griffins marched down the field the next drive and evened the score with 11:09 left to play.
 
Cornell started the following drive, which proved to be the game-winning drive at its own 25-yardline and was able to march to the endzone in 10 plays. On the fifth play of the drive the Big Red faced 3rd and 8 from its own 48 yardline, but Ostrander found Griffen for a 15-yard pick up to keep the drive alive. After a personal foul on Chestnut Hill was called, the Big Red entered the redzone. Three plays later Ostrander scored his fourth touchdown of the day.
 
Cornell returns to action when it travels down to Sparkill, New York, to take on Saint Thomas Aquinas at 4 p.m. next Saturday.