Ithaca, N.Y. - The Molloy sprint football team picked up their second consecutive win for the first time in program history Friday evening, topping the Cornell Big Red, 21-7 at Schoellkopf Field. The Lions improve to 2-4 on the campaign, while the Big Red move to 3-3.
How it Happened
- Offense was hard to come by in the first quarter, as both teams were held to a combined 58 total yards in the opening 15 minutes.
- Molloy held Cornell to a three-and-out to begin the second quarter, getting the ball back at their own 25.
- The Lions put together a 10-play, 75 yard drive on the ensuing that chewed up 7:02 of game time. The drive consisted of eight running plays and two pass plays, ending with a six-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Anthony Caliendo to freshman James Lipetri to give the Lions a 7-0 lead with 6:07 remaining in the first half.
- The Big Red answered with a touchdown drive of their own, totaling 11 plays and 75 yards over 4:57 of action, capped by a five-yard touchdown pass to knot the game at seven heading into halftime.
- The cardinal and white took the first possession of the second half and turned it into another seven points. After converting a pair of third downs to get the ball to the Cornell 44-yard line, sophomore Jalen Gordon broke off a 44-yard touchdown run to put the Lions back in front, 14-7.
- The road team got the ball back to the offense in the next drive, after senior Thomas Everding recovered a fumble at the 50-yard line.
- Molloy went into their bag of tricks to start the drive after Lipetri connected for a 33-yard completion to freshman Thomas Scheer, setting the offense into the redzone.
- The drive would stall at the Cornell 12-yard line, sending on the field goal unit on for a 29-yard field goal. Junior Timmy Stosko would line up the kick, but the attempt was blocked by Cornell, keeping the game within one score.
- The Lions forced a three-and-out after the blocked field goal and would take the final possession of the third quarter into the final stanza.
- Following a pair of holding calls on Molloy, the offense was in Cornell territory facing a 1st and 30 at the Big Red 39-yard line. Caliendo dropped back and found Gordon for a 36-yard gain down to the three-yard line.
- Graduate student Peter von Schoenermarck ended the drive with a three-yard touchdown run giving the Lions a two possesion lead, 21-7, with 12:36 remaining.
- The Molloy defense dominated the remainder of the contest, forcing a pair of turnovers following interceptions from graduate student John Zarnowski and junior JoJo Spano while shutting out the Big Red in the final stanza as they would go on to clinch the victory, 21-7.
Top Performances
- Gordon led the offense with 211 total yards, collecting 159 rushing yards and 52 receiving yards while scoring one rushing touchdown.
- Lipetri led the recievers with eight catches for 50 yards, and scored his first career touchdown.
- Caliendo completed 82 percent of his passes (14-of-17) while throwing for 136 yards and one touchdown.
- Defensively, junior Anthony DiSalvo led with nine total tackles (four solo and five assisted) while sophomore Ayden Das paced the squad with seven solo tackles.
- Zarnowski and Spano collected their second interception of the season with Spano finishing third on the squad with six total tackles.
Up Next
The Lions wrap up their brief two-game road trip Saturday, November 7 at Caldwell beginning at 1:00 p.m.
