When playing against a defending champion in Penn (4-1, 3-1 CSFL) on the road, one cannot afford to give up easy points and expect to win. The Red (2-3, 2-3) learned this lesson in its game on Friday. Penn gained the upper hand due to two big plays: a 91-yard touchdown pass on third-and-7 on its first possession, and a kickoff return touchdown to start the second half. With the momentum of these two plays, the Quakers earned a victory over the Red, 35-28.Co-head coach Bart Guccia explained the several small mental errors that led to the 91-yard touhdown play.“It was definitely mental lapses on our part,” Guccia said. “We flushed the quarterback out and our defensive line lost containment … Our guy who was covering their tight end came out of coverage … then our player who would have tackled him got clipped and [the officials] did not call it. It was a total breakdown.”While Penn got off to a strong start, the Red’s offense sputtered to begin the game. Of its first six possessions, Cornell managed to go three-and-out in four of them, holding the ball for less than six and a half minutes. The only offensive highlight of the first half was a 37-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Brendan Miller to senior wide receiver Abe Mellinger on a third-and 17 play. This possession was set up by a 30-yard punt return by Mellinger.“We made some mistakes in the first half and our offense did not really click until the second half,” Guccia said. “We just ran out of time.”After entering halftime with a manageable 10-point deficit, 17-7, the Red looked to make a comeback, but the first play of the second half further deflated the team. Penn wide receiver Whit Shaw returned the kick-off 85 yards for a touchdown, extending the Quakers’ lead,24-7.Guccia acknowledged the lapse of his defense, but said he was frustrated by the lack of a call by the officials on both this kickoff return and the 91-yard touchdown pass.“[Shaw] made a good cut, then there was a clip, and we missed a tackle and next thing you know, he is in the end zone,” Guccia said when asked about the Quakers’ touchdown on the kick-off. “There were factors beyond our control.”The Red fought to get back into the game, scoring on two rushing touchdowns — one by Miller and one by senior running back Doug Famularo — on its next two possessions to cut the lead to three points, 24-21, but Cornell would get no closer. Penn scored the next 11 points — a field goal and a touchdown with the two-point conversion — before Miller connected with junior wide receiver Spenser Gruenenfelder for his second touchdown pass of the day with just 3:20 to go. When Penn received the ball, it was able to run out the clock and take two kneels for the victory.“We were a little bit slow coming out of the gates,” said senior wide receiver and tri-captain Tim Bruhn. “We really picked it up towards the end, but the clock just ran out a little bit too fast on us.”Although Cornell made a solid effort, Guccia said, the offense kicked in too late.“We tried to crawl back into it and we scored [at the end], but they ran out the clock,” he said. “We made some mistakes in the first half and our offense didn’t really click until the second half. We just ran out of time.”While the game eliminated any hopes of a CSFL championship, the team saw positives in the way some of its players performed.“On defense, [sophomore linebacker] Kyle Higgins had a very good game at defensive end; he played very well,” Guccia said. “[Junior] Mike Angelo [did a very good job] on our special teams covering all the punts and kickoffs, and the two receivers, Gruenenfelder and Mellinger, must have had, between the two of them, [1Gruenenfelder for his second touchdown pass of the day with just 3:20 to go. When Penn received the ball, they were able to run out the clock and take two kneels for the victory.“We were a little bit slow coming out of the gates,” said senior wide receiver and tri-captain Tim Bruhn. “We really picked it up towards the end, but the clock just ran out a little bit too fast on us.”Although Cornell made a solid effort, according to Guccia, it kicked in a little too late.“We tried to crawl back into it and we scored [at the end], but they ran out the clock,” he said. “We made some mistakes in the first half and our offense didn’t really click until the second half. We just ran out of time.”While the game eliminated any hopes of a CSFL championship, the team saw positives in the way some of its players performed.“On defense, [sophomore linebacker] Kyle Higgins had a very good game at defensive end; he played very well,” Guccia said. “[Junior] Mike Angelo [did a very good job] on our special teams covering all the punts and kickoffs, and the two receivers, Gruenenfelder and Mellinger, must have had, between the two of them, [13] catches.”Both receivers gained over 100 yards and caught a touchdown from Miller, who had another great game. He threw for 262 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while adding a rushing touchdown. On defense, Higgins recorded nine tackles, including one sack and two tackles for a loss. Senior defensive back Matt Rosenthal added an interception.Despite holding its own players accountable for some of the big plays, the Red praised Penn in its ability to make plays when needed.“They did a great job of extending their offense and they did a great job of really playing some good solid defense as well,” Bruhn said.Penn’s offense was led by their quarterback Todd Busler who had a great day, throwing for 398 yards — second most in school history — and two touchdowns. Their rushing attack was led by running back Mike Beamish who gained 88 yards on 24 carries, including three important rushes at the end to drain the clock and close out the game.Cornell will close out their CSFL schedule next Friday on the road playing spoiler against undefeated Navy. A win by Navy will ensure them at least a tie for first place in the league.
Original Author: Albert Liao