ITHACA, N.Y. - The Cornell sprint football team goes back on the road to face St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, October 5 for a 4 p.m. match-up.
 

Game Information

Cornell at St. Thomas Aquinas
DATE: Saturday, October 5
TIME: 4:00 PM
SITE: Torne Valley Sports Complex
RECORDS: Cornell 1-2; St. Thomas Aquinas 0-3
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 1-0
STREAMING: Spartan Sports Network
 

About the Big Red

• Cornell enters Friday's matchup with a mark of 1-2, after beating Alderson Broaddus on Sept. 14 and falling to Penn on Sept. 20 and Army on Sept. 27.
• Senior captain Will Griffen ran in four of five touchdowns for a total of 24 points earned against Alderson Broaddus.
• In addition to the lone touchdown against Penn, freshman Jacob Wynkoop scored one touchdown in the 38-21 win against Alderson Broaddus.
• Junior Ben Finkelstein successfully kicked each of the PATs and one field goal for a total of nine individual points in the first two games of the season.
• Sophomore Seth Henks and senior Peter Sanchez lead the team in solo tackles with 13 each. Henks also leads the team with 20 total tackles, while Sanchez has 16.
• Sophomore Matt Peck is a close second in total tackles with 19.
• Junior Julian Iacovelli has assisted on two sacks for a total of seven yards.
• Cornell finished the 2018 season with a 4-2 record that included victories over Caldwell, Chestnut Hill, Saint Thomas Aquinas and Post.
• Cornell had 12 members from last year's squad named to the all-league teams. Brooks Panhans, Matthew Luebke, Jonathan Klobus, Will Griffen, and Marcus Weeks were tabbed first team selections. Alfonso Nazzaro, Harold Green, Peter Sanchez and Amanze Udebiuwa were named to the second team while Connor Ostrander, Conrad McCarthy and Colton Kotecki earned honorable mention honors. 
• Of the 12 who received honors, five are on the roster this season: Luebke, Klobus, Griffen, Weeks and Sanchez.

 

Wearing More than One 'C' 

• The Big Red announced its three captains for the 2019 season: Will Griffen, Marcus Weeks, and Jonathan Klobus.
• A two-time All-CSFL selection, Griffen is one of the team's strongest returning players. Last season Griffen collected a total of 184 yards rushing, including three touchdowns scored and 112 reception yards, including 2 touchdowns scored. Also a beast defensively, Griffen ranked second on the 2018 team with 23 solo tackles.
• Weeks was also a defensive force on the field totaling 21 tackles during last season. 
• Klobus served as an offensive lineman in 2018, making an appearance in every game.

 

About Head Coach Terry Cullen

• Terry Cullen, The Terry Cullen Head Coach of Sprint Football, has been a coach with the sprint football program since 1964, when he joined the staff with his father, former head coach Bob Cullen.
• In his 54-year tenure, Cullen has an overall record of 239-220-11, and his record as a head coach is 182-157-7. Cullen has had two undefeated seasons (1982 and 2006) 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 then co-head coach Bart Guccia.

 

About Associate Head Coach Bob Gneo

• Cullen and his associate head coach Bob Gneo are leading the team in tandem for the third season together.
• Prior to his promotion, Gneo spent a season on the Big Red's coaching staff working specifically with Cornell's defensive backs.
• In his first and second seasons sharing primary coaching responsibilities with Cullen, Gneo helped direct the Big Red to an overall 8-5 record.

 

About St. Thomas Aquinas

• In its first game of the season St. Thomas Aquinas fell to Navy, 42-17. The Spartans followed the loss against Navy with two more against Caldwell and Mansfield, 26-0 and 31-6, respectively. 
• Sophomore quarterback Kiel McKenzie threw for two touchdowns, ran in by freshmen Ernest Stallworth and Elizah Gordon. Senior Malyk Michel intercepted a ball and ran for a touchdown against Navy. 
• Freshmen Maxwell Johnson and Sheriffh Bittaye lead the team in total tackles with 25 each. Bittaye has 12 solo tackles, while Johnson has 10.

 

The Series vs St. Thomas Aquinas

• Saturday's competition will be the second against St. Thomas Aquinas for Cornell. St. Thomas Aquinas' first year in collegiate sprint football was 2018.
• In the teams' first match-up the Big Red won 30-15. The Spartans were up 6-0 at halftime and 9-7 at the end of the third quarter, but Cornell was able to get 23 points in the final quarter for a victory. 

 

Up Next

• Cornell will return home to play against Mansfield for a 7 p.m. match-up on Friday, October 18.