ITHACA, N.Y. –
Harold Coles' rushing touchdown to close out the third quarter helped the Cornell football team draw even against a tough Georgetown squad, but the Hoyas pulled back ahead for good on a touchdown with 5:43 on the clock to spoil the Big Red's Homecoming game with a 14-8 victory on sunny Saturday at Schoellkopf Field.
Once again, the Cornell (1-2) defense turned in a staunch effort, holding Georgetown (4-1) to 117 yards on the ground and 301 total yards. Freshman linebacker
Jake Stebbins led the way with 10 tackles and a sack. The Big Red defense also had a hand in setting up the team's scoring drive by pinning the Hoyas deep in their own territory before forcing a punt and a short field for the offense.
Two plays later, Coles' 20-yard rush up the middle was followed by a
Mike Catanese completion to
John Fitzgerald, setting up Cornell in the red zone. Two Catanese keepers – the second on fourth down – were needed to get one yard and set up first-and-goal from the 5, then Coles rumbled in with zeroes on the game clock to cut Cornell's deficit to 8-6.
Delonte Harrell took a pitch and beat everyone to the right pylon for the two-point conversion, knotting the teams at 8-8 heading into the final 15 minutes.
Neither team got out of its own territory for the first half of the fourth quarter, but a 23-yard punt return by Joshua Tomas set up Georgetown at its own 47 with 6:29 to play. Three plays later from the Cornell 39, Gunther Johnson unfurled a deep pass up the middle to a wide-open Cameron Crayton – but the ball was underthrown. But Crayton slowed down and the ball went just beyond the fingertips of a retreating defender, then he scampered into the end zone for the game-deciding score.
Coles led the Big Red rushing attack with 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Catanese ended his day 15-of-22 passing for 112 yards, hitting seven different receivers. Senior punter
Nickolas Null averaged 42.9 yards on eight punts with three downed inside the 20. In all, six different defensive players had at least five tackles, the defense had seven tackles for loss and three sacks while causing one turnover.
First Quarter
• Neither team could get much going on their first drives, though Cornell picked up a pair of first downs before a Catanese pass was intercepted and returned to midfield.
• Four plays later, the Hoyas took the lead after Gunther Johnson went over from 3 yards out one play after hitting Michael Dereus for a 33-yard strike.
• Joshua Tomas ran the PAT in for a two-point conversion and the visitors led 8-0 with 9:23 left on the clock.
• Three consecutive shorts drives, including an interception by Cornell's
Mo Bradford, took the teams to the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
• Georgetown used a 10-play, 55-yard drive to bridge the first and second quarters, but it ended with a punt.
• Cornell returned that punt after a seven-play drive of its own that stalled out after an 11-yard sack of Catanese.
• The Big Red got the ball back with 5:47 left before halftime after stopping the Hoyas on fourth-and-4 from Cornell's 34 and went marching.
• Three straight first downs by Cornell put the home team in field goal range, but
Garrett Patla's 43-yard kick had the distance, but went just wide left to send Georgetown into the break with the lead.
Third Quarter
• The Big Red tied the game on the final play of the first quarter when
Harold Coles ran up the middle for 5 yards to make it 8-6.
• Needing to tie the game with a two-point conversion, Cornell hit a sweeping
Delonte Harrell who reached the right pylon before the Georgetown defender to knot the contest.
• The Big Red defense held Georgetown to just 21 yards in the quarter while Cornell held the ball for 10:08 in controlling the pace of play.
Fourth Quarter
• Cornell's defense held Georgetown to 39 yards on its first 13 plays of the fourth quarter, but it was the 14th play that turned the tide.
• The Big Red had three drives in the final 15 minutes, including one after the score, but could muster just 10 yards with one first down.
• Cornell's defense appeared to have a fourth-down stop with 3:30 remaining, but a pass along the sidelines that was originally ruled incomplete was overturned and the Hoyas used the first down to run out the clock and improve to 4-1.
Notes to Know
• The game was the 500th all-time at historic Schoellkopf Field, with Cornell now posting a 296-189-5 mark on its turf.
• At 2-2, Georgetown is the only Patriot League opponent that doesn't have a losing record against the Big Red.
•
Harold Coles moved into 14th place on the school's career rushing list (1,566 yards), surpassing both Bill Wilson '66 (1,522) and Dan Malone '75 (1,547). Next up is Jeff Fleischman '51 (1,573).
•
Mo Bradford secured his second career interception.
• In its two losses, Cornell has surrendered just 314.0 yards per game.
• For #CFB150 and Homecoming, Cornell wore throwback-inspired white jerseys with the player's names on the back. The Big Red wore white home jerseys numerous years during the 1920s and as late as the 1950s.
Schoellkopf March
Next Up
• Cornell closes out its stretch of three of its first four games on the road when it visits perennial Ivy League contender Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. at Harvard Stadium.
• The Crimson lead the all-time series 47-34-2, though Cornell has won two straight.
• The Big Red will attempt to win three straight from Harvard for the first time since 1996, when it ended an 11-game win streak.
• Cornell will attempt to snap an eight-game skid at Harvard, with its last win a 29-28 victory on Oct. 7, 2000.
