Sprint Football (1-0 CSFL) took on the Molloy Lions (0-1 CSFL) on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. It was a game of firsts –– for Molloy, it was its first sprint football game in program history, and for the Red, it marked the debut of head coach Michael Huyghue ’83 and starting quarterback junior Max Spero. The Red welcomed Molloy to the sport with an awe-inspiring, 53-7 victory.
After a combined record of 1-12 over the past two seasons, Cornell was in desperate need of a change and found it through Huyghue. Under Huyghue’s new regime, the offense and defense were firing on all cylinders.
The newfound offensive flair was evident in the second quarter where the Red outscored Molloy 30-0. On the defensive side of the ball, Huyghue emphasized getting pressure on the quarterback with various blitz packages.
“I think in this league, because it’s mostly a quick game, you have to get pressure,” Huyghue said. “So pressure is the name of the game in general, but specifically in this league.”
The new defensive scheme paid off in a big way, with linebackers junior Michael Mosier and junior Alexei DiDonato each recording a sack, and defensive backs sophomore Elliot Kim and sophomore Kruz Meier capitalizing by grabbing an interception each.
On offense, quarterback Spero had an impressive debut, rushing for two touchdowns and firing a deep shot in the back of the endzone to team captain, senior wide receiver Evan Nicholas. This was not Nicholas’ only touchdown of the game as he also recorded a pair of rushing touchdowns.
“Every single play that we do for anyone to get yards, the offensive line has to block, the quarterback has to make a throw or give a handoff, the running back has to do a fake or carry out a block,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas said he was “extremely proud” of the team.
“I’m extremely proud. I think this team worked their butts off the entire offseason,” Nicholas said. “I’ve never really seen a team be more committed to changing the culture and switching the trajectory of this entire program over this offseason.”
With a high-powered offense led by Spero and Nicholas and a defensive scheme that makes life a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks, fans have a lot to be excited about this season.
“These kids are working real hard and they’re trying to let people know that Sprint is an organization that deserves the same reputation and support that the other sports do. They work just as hard [and] they put just as many hours in,” Huyghue said.
The atmosphere in the locker room was full of hope and positivity. Players and coaches will try to ride the momentum of the win into a tough matchup against Navy at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Thomas Vollaro is a Sun Contributor and can be reached at [email protected].