This weekend, the Red (1-0, 1-0 CSFL) hits the road for its second game of the season. At 12 p.m. on Saturday, Cornell takes the field against Franklin Pierce in Ashburnham, Mass. This match-up should be an interesting one, as the Ravens are new to the league. Saturday marks the team’s first-ever sprint football game.“Franklin Pierce is a new team in our league, so it’s very exciting to be playing them for the first time,” said senior defensive lineman Jack Drillich.Although Franklin Pierce is a brand new squad, the Red is preparing for the game as if it were facing any other team.“Everyone knows that they are a first year team, but at the same time, we are going in with the attitude that they’re an established team already, because we can’t go in with the mindset that it’s the first time they’re playing and not think that we have to go out and perform,” said junior quarterback and captain Brendan Miller. “We’re going in taking the same approach to this game as we would any other game … We were watching some of their films and for practicing only a month and a half, I was pretty impressed with how much stuff they’ve gotten in. [I am] prepared for a challenging game and I think rest of the team is as well.”The Red is fresh off its exciting season opener, where Cornell was able to defeat Penn, 42-34, on Sept. 14 at Schoellkopf Field.“Even though we won last week, there’s a lot we still need to get better with,” Drillich said. “We have to have a strong effort and we need to continually improve and make sure we make the right plays.”Although the Red came out victorious, the game was a long one, as it started with a two-hour rain delay and ended after six overtimes.“It definitely taught us how to stay tough and how to play through adversary,” Drillich said. “That we did really well — we didn’t give up when the going got tough. We have a high power team and we can count on the guys playing hard.”“I think it was just the attitude of our team, the determination to win [that lead to victory],” Miller said. “With five or six overtimes it’s not going to be about which team is better, it’s about what team wants it more, what team won’t give up. I was really happy with the effort our team put forth … I was personally exhausted, I can’t even imagine what some of our teammates that really have to cut weight were feeling.”The team has already been working to improve upon its play from the first game.“At least defensively, I know consistency is big,” Drillich said. “Making sure we do the right thing every play and not being out of position. Also just keeping up the effort, because we had a great effort in the first game so we should definitely keep that up and improve as the season goes on.”Despite the thrilling start of the season, Cornell is ready to move on and face its next challenge.“All the quarterbacks and I have been really stressing that we work hard in practice every day and I think that we are very well prepared,” Miller said. “We don’t want to have one of those layoff games that usually follows a big win.”
Original Author: Dani Abada