Princeton University
Cornell
Sprint Football Team Drops Season Opener To Cornell
September 27, 2002 | Sprint Football
Sept. 27, 2002
Ithaca, N.Y. - Sophomore quarterback Dennis Bakke threw for188 yards and ran for a touchdown, but it wouldn't be enough on Friday night in Ithaca, N.Y. where Cornell spoiled Princeton's Sprint Football opener with a 22-12 win over the Tigers.
In a driving rain storm, Cornell was able to get on the scoreboard with a pair of Ray Garnic field goals before Ryan Tomaszewski ran in for a two-yard touchdown, giving the Big Red a 12-0 lead with 9:24 left in the first half.
The Tigers put together a drive and with 55 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Rikki Racela ran in from two-yards out for Princeton's first score of the year. Cornell countered and with 27 seconds left in the half, Nick Ormsby pulled in a 17-yard pass from Jake Macaulay and Cornell led 19-6 at intermission.
Garnic's 38-yard field goal was the only scoring in the third quarter and as the rain subsided, the Princeton defense settled. In the fourth quarter the offense was able to drive down field and score on Bakke's one-yard keeper to pull the Tigers within 10-points with 7:40 left in the contest. Bakke's score, however, sealed the scoring, moving Princeton to 0-1 and giving Cornell its first win of the year.
Princeton racked up 17 first downs compared to Cornell's 12, while passing for 64 more yards than the Big Red. Racela led all rushers with 79 yards on 16 carries, Bakke had 13 rushing yards to along with his 188 through the air. Adam Farren was the beneficiary on most of Bakke's passing yardage, catching 11 balls for a game-high 140 yards receiving.
The Tigers return to action with their first home game of 2002, hosting Pennsylvania at Frelinghuysen Field next Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.
Princeton vs. Cornell
Princeton (0-1) 0 6 0 6 -- 12 Cornell (1-1) 3 16 3 0 -- 22
Scoring 1st Quarter Corn Garnic, 24-yard field goal, 5:47 2nd Quarter Corn Garnic, 31-yard field goal, 12:03 Corn Tomaszewski, 2-yard run (pass failed), 9:24 Prin Racela, 2-yard run (kick failed), 0:55 Corn Ormsby 17-yard pass from Macaulay (Garnic kick), 0:27 3rd Quarter Corn Garnic, 38-yard field goal, 2:35 4th Quarter Prin Bakke, 1-yard run (pass failed), 7:40
Team Statistics Prin Corn First Downs 17 12 Rushes-Yards 36-64 33-100 Passing 188 124 Comp-Att-Int 15-37-3 9-23-0 Return Yards 2-5 3-25 Punts-Avg. 5-32.6 6-36.7 Fumbles-Lost 3-1 4-0 Penalties 7-50 7-62