HILLBURN, N.Y. -- The Cornell sprint football team couldn't get the offense humming against a stout Saint Thomas Aquinas defense and closed the 2022 season with a 28-0 defeat on Friday evening at the Torne Valley Sports Complex. The Big Red finished the season 1-6, while the Spartans moved to 3-4.

Defensively, Marco Nykodym had a team-best nine tackles, while Kai Mulligan posted six stops and a tackle for loss. Offensively, Colton Kotecki posted his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game to close the season after posting 102 yards on six catches. Xavier Martinez completed 13-of-26 passes for 159 yards, but was intercepted three times. The Cornell offense generated just 238 yards in the loss.

STAC recorded 237 rushing yards and scored four times on the ground, with Reno Molina leading the way with 15 carries for 102 yards and two scores. Both Bo Maroney and Elizah Gordon also scored touchdowns. Shawn Benard recorded five tackles and two interceptions and Malik Bennett had six tackles with 1.5 for a loss.

A late first half touchdown gave the Spartans a lead they would never surrender. Bo Maroney, who also scored all four PATs, reached the end zone out from 1 yard out with 24 seconds to play to make it 7-0 at the break. Cornell earlier went on a 14-play 49-yard drive that ended in a Spencer Katz 31-yard field goal attempt to give the visitors the lead. His rushed attempt went wide left and the game remained scoreless until STAC got on the board.

St. Thomas Aquinas got back on the board early in the third with a 50-yard run by quarterback Ryan Kenny the play that did most damage. Molina ran in from the 7, then again from the 2 early in the fourth to make it a three-touchdown game. The home team put it away with a final score with two minutes remaining.