The sprint football team traveled to Princeton, N.J., on Friday to take on Ivy League foe Princeton for Cornell’s second regular season game of the year. As has been the norm over the past several years, the Red soundly beat the Tigers, 33-12, to move to 2-0 on the season.
The Red dominated all facets of the game by spreading the ball around on offense, controlling the line of scrimmage on defense and kicking four field goals and blocking a punt on special teams.
Cornell opened up the scoring in the second quarter with back-to-back field goals from senior kicker Alex Perilstein, before freshman quarterback Brendan Miller connected with sophomore receiver Spenser Grunenfelder on a 43-yard touchdown pass to put the Red up, 13-0. Cornell continued the scoring with two more field goals from Perilstein and two rushing touchdowns from senior quarterback Elliot Corey and freshman running back Nick Perez.
“The offense looked great,” said senior defensive lineman Kevin Schmidt, who led the Red with six tackles, three for loss. “We have so many different guys that can make plays; the defense can’t zone in on any one or two particular guys because we spread the ball around so much and anybody can burn you.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Cornell dominated the line of scrimmage, holding Princeton to a mere eight yards rushing on 30 attempts. The Tigers had a little more success through the air, gaining 115 yards passing, but with the majority of those yards coming after the game was well in hand for the Red, many starters were on the sidelines.
“On defense we just played fundamental football,” said senior defensive back/punt returner Pyrs Carvolth, who recorded an interception in the first quarter. “As a team we have a lot of experience, guys who have played for awhile and don’t make the elementary mistakes that inexperienced players sometimes make. We have a lot of smart players that can make reads really quickly. We also have a coach who prepares us very well heading into every game.”
One aspect of the Red’s contest with the Tigers that the squad was not happy with was its slow start to the game. It wasn’t until the second quarter that Cornell put any points on the board. The Red had a similarly slow start against Mansfield the week before, and is conscious of its need to have high energy right from the first snap.
“We need to work on setting the tone early on,” Carvolth said. “We can get the wheels moving but it takes us a little too long. Everybody brings a good mentality with them and everybody wants to win; it’s just about getting everything in place and in motion early on in the game.”
Original Author: Ware Cady