Coming off a difficult loss at the hands of Army last weekend, the sprint football team (0-1) will look to regain its momentum and even its record when it opens its Collegiate Sprint Football League schedule with a road game at Princeton.
Despite starting last week’s game against the Black Knights strongly, the Red quickly lost its momentum, dropping a 41-14 decision. The Red scored on its opening drive, as sophomore Alec Macaulay completed six consecutive passes before freshman Michael Fullowan forced his way into the end zone.
However, the Knights recovered quickly and dominated the remainder of the game, scoring 34 unanswered points before allowing the Red a harmless touchdown in the game’s final minute.
The Black Knights nearly tripled Cornell in total yardage, 482-182. Army was also far more efficient on third downs, converting 8-of-17 chances to the Red’s 2-of-11.
Macaulay had a solid game in the air, completing 12-of-22 passes for 109 yards. Fullowan led the Red in rushing with 31 total yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
The game against Army gave the young Cornell team an opportunity to get a feeling for how it functions as a unit. This will likely give the Red a tremendous advantage heading into tonight’s game against the Tigers. As this will be Princeton’s first game of the season, it promises to be a learning experience for both teams.
“Next time we play them we’ll be a lot better,” said senior captain Bill Mascaro. “We used the game as a learning experience, a stepping stone, and we’ll do a lot better the next time.”
Last year, after suffering a heartbreaking loss to then top-rated Navy, the Red blanked the Tigers, 10-0. Leading by three, the Red recovered a Princeton fumble to score the game’s only touchdown.
“Apparently, they’re a pretty young team with a new coach,” said Mascaro. “They should be pretty disorganized.
“Just going from last week, we’ve switched some things around on defense that more resembles the players’ natural playing abilities.”
Kickoff is tonight at 7 p.m.
Archived article by Josh Dormont