ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell sprint football team will look to carry its momentum from the second half of its season opener into its first road contest against Penn on Friday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. at Franklin Field.
The Big Red (0-1) fell 16-14 to Caldwell last Friday but nearly pulled off an impressive double-digit comeback after trailing 16-2 to start the fourth quarter. The Quakers (0-1) opened their season with a 27-10 loss to Chestnut Hill.
Cornell's offense did not produce any points for three quarters last week but got into a rhythm late behind key plays from quarterback Cooper Wise, running back Ralph Fleuranvil and wide receivers Marcos Hernandez and Wally Chang.
After throwing three interceptions, Wise finished strong and ran for an 11-yard touchdown to pull the Big Red within two points. That came after Jason Schlotzhauer recovered an onside kick and a 19-yard touchdown from Fleuranvil, who ran for 66 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per rush. The Big Red's 80 rushing yards were its most in a game since Oct. 17, 2021.
Wise, in his first career start at quarterback, passed for 152 yards. Hernandez (five catches) led Cornell with 87 yards receiving, while Chang (five catches) finished with 36 yards. Four other players caught at least one pass, including Flueranvil, who tied his single-season high with four receptions for 27 yards.
Cornell's defense had a strong performance, especially in the second half, as Caldwell only added a field goal after scoring 13 points in the second quarter. Linebacker Billy Turner tied his career high in tackles (11), defensive back Ian Applegate made nine stops and middle linebacker Michael Mosier had eight. Cornerback Jaden Queen broke up a pair of passes.
Penn, led by third-year head coach Jerry McConnell, lost its leading passer, rusher and receiver from last year's team that went 3-4. In the loss to Chestnut Hill, quarterback Ty Scherer completed 10 of 27 passes for 130 yards with two interceptions and rushed for 65 yards on 22 attempts. Wide receiver Andy Falletta caught three passes for 54 yards.
Defensively, Penn returned linebackers Jake Inserra and Charles Tauckus, who combined for 106 tackles last season. Tauckus led the Quakers with 10 tackles against Chestnut Hill.
Cornell and Penn have met 102 times in a series that dates back to 1938. The Quakers have won the last nine meetings, but the Big Red still own a 57-45 all-time advantage, including a 25-24 mark on the road.
Friday's contest will be streamed live on ESPN+.
