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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Cornell
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Dazzling 103-Yard Kickoff Return By Nelson Highlights 47-21 Football Win
October 31, 2015 | Football
BOX SCORE
His blocker told him to kneel. His coach, afterwards, said that he should have taken the touchback.
Dré Nelson had other ideas.
Nelson dazzled a home Halloween crowd at Powers Field with a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to highlight a 47-21 home win over Cornell Saturday evening. The victory moves Princeton to 5-2 overall, 2-2 in the Ivy League; it also keeps the Tigers perfect at home, and it ends a two-game losing streak.
Nelson scored two of Princeton's six touchdowns in the win, but none was as thrilling as his fourth-quarter return. Cornell had gotten within 13 points when Nelson fielded a kickoff four yards deep and started to move towards the home sideline. He beat one man, followed a block by AJ Glass and then began to cut back across the field towards the Cornell sidelines.
At that point, it was a race, and nobody had a chance against Nelson, a member of Princeton's Ivy League champion track & field team. The return was credited for 100 yards — in the college game, yards inside your own end zone aren't recorded — but he probably accounted for more than 150 yards throughout that journey.
His third career kickoff return all but iced the victory and sets up an interesting showdown at Franklin Field next Saturday against Penn — a winner over Brown Saturday — on the American Sports Network and Ivy League Digital Network.
After two weeks struggling to run the ball, the Tigers rushed for 261 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Joe Rhattigan, who missed the Brown game with an injury two weeks ago, looked like the player who led the rushing attack over the first month. Rhattigan carried the ball 12 times for a career-best 127 yards and a touchdown. His biggest run came midway through the second quarter, when multiple Cornell defenders bounced off him during a 43-yard run down the middle of the field.
Two plays later, sophomore John Lovett scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns, which opened a 14-0 lead.
At that point, the score was a stunner to a Cornell team that actually controlled much of the play in the opening quarter. The Big Red outgained Princeton 146-65 in the first 15 minutes, but the defense stood tall in the red zone to keep Cornell off the board. The Big Red's first five drives all ended in Princeton territory, and they ended with two missed field goals, two fourth-down stops and one interception by Luke Catarius.
Junior Chris Smith, making his first career start, led the Tigers with 10 tackles, while classmate Dorian Williams added nine, along with a sack and a pass breakup. Junior Birk Olson had a career-high two sacks, while freshman Mike Wagner recorded the first sack of his collegiate career.
While the defense played its best inside its own red zone early, it started to apply pressure to Cornell all over the field throughout the rest of the game. Princeton recorded four sacks and two interceptions, including the second of the season for RJ Paige, and it allowed only one score over the final 25 minutes of the game.
Besides leading the team in rushes, Rhattigan had a team-best five catches for 46 yards. All-Ivy junior tight end Scott Carpenter caught four passes for 47 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown pass from Chad Kanoff that opened the scoring in the second quarter. Kanoff completed 20 of 34 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown in the win.
Lovett rushed seven times for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and he added three catches for 18 yards in the win.
Senior Nolan Bieck was 2 for 2 on field goal attempts (34, 27), and he now has 35 field goals in his career. He needs one more to tie Alex Sierk '99 for third on the all-time Princeton list.