The sprint football team closes out its season at Schoellkopf Field tonight at 7 p.m. against Mansfield. This will be the Red’s (4-2) second meeting with the Mountaineers (2-4) on the season, with the first resulting in a 23-15 victory that put Cornell’s winning streak against Mansfield at five games. The Red, which is coming off of two consecutive home losses versus Penn and Navy, is looking to close out the 2010 campaign on a high note.
“We’re definitely looking to rebound [from Penn and Navy] and end the season with a win,” said senior defensive lineman Kevin Schmidt. “We want to come out strong, play the way we’re capable of playing and get one last win in front of our home fans.”
The two teams’ meeting back in September was not as close as the score indicated, with Mansfield’s final eight points coming at the very end of the game against the Cornell’s second-team defense. Junior running back Doug Famularo rushed for a nine-yard touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Elliot Corey, who added a rushing touchdown of his own. Cornell remains confident heading into its showdown with Mansfield, but remains focused, knowing that it is capable of any type of performance.
“Their defense is pretty tough,” Schmidt said. “In the past they’ve been known to change up their schemes and formations a lot from week to week. They haven’t done that as much this year, but we still know that we’ve got to be prepared for anything.”
After the disappointment of losing to Penn and Navy and thus no longer being able to compete for a CSFL championship, Cornell is out to send a message and prove to the rest of the league that the last two weeks were not indicative of it as a team. The Red’s focus is solely on beating the Mountaineers and ending the season –– and the careers of the seniors on the team –– with one last win under the lights at Schoellkopf.
“Obviously everyone was extremely disappointed [after the losses to Penn and Navy],” said senior captain Josh Minsky, who has been playing the whole season with a torn ACL. “The Penn loss was a really tough one for us, being on the one-yard line at the end and not being able to get in, and the 31-12 loss to Navy –– that just isn’t us. Honestly the one thing everybody is right now is just pissed off. We want to come out and end this season on a high note –– especially for the seniors –– to go out after our last game with some pride.”
Original Author: Ware Cady