NEW HAVEN, Conn. –– Cornell never trailed Saturday after the chicanery of an 81-yard touchdown pass on its opening play from scrimmage. Alarmingly, as Yale penetrated the end zone for the first time on the final play of regulation, the Red’s 14-12 edge appeared to be in jeopardy. With no time left in regulation, the Bulldogs prepared for a two-point conversion. This one play from the three-yard line would decide the result after 60 minutes of battle. It was not until the pass attempt from sophomore quarterback Patrick Witt fluttered harmlessly to the ground in the middle of the end zone that Red sealed its first Ivy League road victory since 2005.

All the signs heading into the contest indicated it was going to be a long and disappointing afternoon for Cornell (2-0, 1-0 Ivy), which had suffered five consecutive defeats in New Haven by a combined score of 177-70. However, the Yale Bowl, no longer a house of horrors for the Red, was the site of a defensive chess match on a crisp, windswept Saturday afternoon. While the Yale (1-1, 0-1 Ivy) defense limited the Red rushing attack to a mere 46 yards on 34 carries and only 120 yards through the air, it was the Cornell defense that came up with three timely interceptions, including a pick-six from junior safety Anthony Ambrosi at the 6:18 mark of the third quarter.

Cornell was able to register the first points of the game against the stout Yale defense 1:34 into the contest as senior quarterback Ben Ganter threw a lateral to senior wide receiver Stephen Liuzza. Liuzza, a former quarterback, made the catch along the left sideline before hoisting an 81-yard bomb to classmate and wide receiver Bryan Walters. Cornell managed to tame a notoriously ferocious Bulldogs’ attack with a bit of trickery as there was not a defender to be found within 15 yards of Walters, who streaked down the Yale sideline.Here’s the kicker: Junior Drew Alston had 15 punts in Saturday’s contest – breaking a Cornell record.

“The corners and safeties are very aggressive getting to the flats, and it is something we had planned all along, and it worked great,” Walters said. “I was joking around with people, saying that was the toughest ball I ever caught, because you just want it to come down.”

“My reaction was kind of calm actually because it was the first play of the game,” said head coach Jim Knowles ’87. “If you get too high on something like that, sometimes it can backfire on you. I’m just happy with the execution. It’s nice from a coaching standpoint that it works out, but you have to move on to the next play.”

The Bulldogs answered midway through the first quarter when senior linebacker Tom Handlon leapt in the air parallel to the field and intercepted Ganter’s pass attempt on Cornell’s 16-yard line intended for sophomore wide receiver Shane Savage. After a stellar season opener last week, Ganter only completed eight-of-19 pass attempts for 37 yards against a Yale defense which led all Football Championship Subdivision teams in scoring defense the past two seasons.

Thanks to consecutive pass breakups in the end zone by sophomore cornerback Rashad Campbell and junior cornerback Emani Fenton, the Cornell defense limited the damage to only three points.

“I thought [Campbell and Fenton] did great,” Knowles said. “… Those guys from Yale, they’re like twice their size, so when you’re in that situation, you have to use great technique. There wasn’t a play where they looked like they were out of position all day. They were just right where they needed to be. They’re two of our hardest workers on the team.”

Leading 7-3, the Cornell offense employed some trickery once more with just over a minute remaining in the first half. A flea flicker play from Ganter to senior running back Randy Barbour and pitched back to the quarterback resulted in a 44-yard reception by Walters. Unfortunately, the play was nullified by an offensive holding call. The offensive line was challenged throughout the game as it competed without one of its key components — senior right tackle Quentin Bernhard, who tweaked his knee earlier in the week.

Yale cut the deficit to the slimmest of margins as senior kicker Tom Mante drilled an Ivy League record-tying 54-yard field goal as time expired in the first half with scoreboard showing Cornell 7, Yale 6.

Whatever momentum Yale brought into the locker room quickly evaporated in the second half as Ambrosi, a former running back, became the first Cornell defender to return an interception for a touchdown in two years. Ambrosi’s 20-yard dash to the end zone gave Cornell a 14-6 advantage.

“I just buzzed right towards their number one receiver,” Ambrosi said. “It happened real fast, but it was the perfect play call. I was following his eyes the whole time.”

“We felt like we gave ourselves a chance to win the game, and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Yale coach Tom Williams. “I think the story for us was the turnovers. We turned the ball over three times and one for a touchdown. We have to stop scoring for the other team. We wasted a great effort from our defense. We gave them a play early in the game, and they took advantage of some of our aggressiveness.”

It appeared Cornell had forced another Yale turnover on the first play of the fourth quarter with a blitz that resulted in an interception by senior defensive end Ricky Ballou. But in a situation all too familiar for the Red, it was another penalty, this time a blow to the head that resulted in the outcome of the play being overturned.

“We had some big plays,” Knowles said. “We had a flea flicker called back, an interception called back. We had some dropped interceptions we should have had, so we had some things that went against us. Our offense was really struggling. We knew Yale has a great defense. They always have. It’s just all about that perseverance, that endurance, that belief we’re just going to stay in it till the end.”

Cornell managed to squelch the drive with a forced turnover. This time it was junior safety Dempsey Quinn picking off Witt in the end zone with just under 12 minutes remaining.

“I’m pretty sure we were in a blitz and we were in a two-high coverage, so I was going to be leaning on one [receiver],” Quinn said. “Once the ball was snapped, I just read the quarterback and he kind of just zoomed in right from the get go. I knew I could push over a little bit more, so I was already going to be over there. He just laid the ball up there, so I was able to make a break on it.”

Witt threw another interception to junior safety Ben Heller with 1:58 remaining in regulation before finally taking the reins of the Bulldogs’ offense and marching 47 yards down the field. During the final drive, the 6-4 and 220-pound Witt accounted for 26 yards on three carries, culminating in a one-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown. The Nebraska transfer finished the day with 21 completions on 54 attempts and three interceptions. However, it was the final incomplete pass that was the difference in the game.

“I think the tape will bear me out on this, but I think [senior wide receiver John Sheffield was] open,” Williams said. “I think he [Witt] got locked onto a target. I did not see the finish of the play, but I was told that our receiver [junior Jordan Forney] got knocked down. That is the way it goes, that is football. We had what we wanted, we just didn’t execute it the way we wanted.”

“I can’t even describe the feeling,” Quinn said. “They were marching, moving the ball a little bit and being able to come up with the big play like that and stop them in their tracks is just huge for us. Time after time, our defense came up with huge plays. It was really a team effort and we’re glad to have that win.”

Despite the 81-yard touchdown strike, Cornell only managed 85 yards of total offense for the rest of the game, but won the turnover battle, 3-1, and ultimately won the game. The victory snapped a 10-game road losing streak against Ancient Eight foes for Cornell. In 2008, the Red’s 17-14 upset victory over the Bulldogs appeared to lay the foundation for what seemed to be a promising season before the team dropped six of its final seven games. Cornell will to look to avoid a similar crash landing in the 2009 campaign.

“It’s a lot different,” Knowles said. “We’re more focused internally on ourselves and not so much who we’re playing. [We’re focused] on getting better week to week. We’re more focused on the long haul, the long road of the season and not getting too high or too low. Last year, we really focused on Yale and we won, but it became the peak of our season. What we’re doing right now is enjoying it for 24 hours and then moving on to the next game.”