Last season, the Red entered its third game of the season against Colgate with a 1-1 record. The squad battled hard, but inevitably fell to the Raiders 27-24. The team never fully recovered and lost its remaining seven games — finishing with a 1-9 record.
This week the squad hopes that it can build on its momentum from last Saturday’s 19-7 upset win over Yale when it travels to Maryland to face Towson. In last week’s win, the Red was able to snap its 10-game losing streak with stingy defense, timely offense, and solid special teams.
The defensive unit held Yale quarterback Alvin Cowan to a career-low 140 total yards, and running back Robert Carr — who had 172 yards in a win against Dayton — to just 46 yards on the ground.
Meanwhile, the Red’s ground attack allowed it to gain complete control of the game, as Cornell had possession for almost two-thirds of the contest. Junior Joshua Johnston carried the bulk of the load, tallying a career-high 93 yards on 26 carries — another career-high. Classmate Andre Hardaway provided a change of pace in short-yardage and goal line situations, racking up 40 yards and a touchdown.
The touchdown was the Red’s lone trip to the end zone in the game, as senior kicker Trevor MacMeekin went 4-for-4 in field goal attempts with an extra-point, scoring 13 of the Red’s 19 points. For his efforts, MacMeekin was named Sports Network’s national Player of the Week.
The Red also got a huge boost in the battle for field position as junior A.J. Weitsman booted five of his six kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, and senior punter Mike Baumgartel averaged 38 yards per punt.
The offensive line, which had a large part in controlling the clock, also gave senior quarterback D.J. Busch plenty of time to throw for 174 yards on 19 of 32 attempts. Busch spread the ball around to his receivers quite effectively, giving four different players 20 or more yards receiving. Junior Brian Romney and senior Chad Nice led the way with five receptions apiece for 49 and 48 yards respectively. Junior tight end Troy Follmar also proved to be a key to moving the chains as he tallied three catches for 40 yards. Johnston and Hardaway combined for five catches and 30 yards out of the backfield.
This weekend the Red will look to duplicate its success against a Towson squad that enters the game with two straight losses to Atlantic-10 opponents. In its last game, the Tigers (1-2, 0-2 Atlantic-10) fell to No. 18 Northeastern 27-3.
The last — and only — time these two squads have met was in the 2002 campaign, when the Red escaped with a victory in a 34-31 double-overtime thriller at Schoellkopf Field. That season also marked the last time the Red came away with a victory on the road, when it defeated Columbia, 20-17, in New York City.
The Red hopes that it can replicate that effort at Johnny Unitas Stadium tomorrow. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.
Archived article by Chris Mascaro
Sun Assistant Sports Editor