Much as was expected, the sprint football team righted its season and steamrolled Princeton (0-4, 0-2 CSFL) in a 44-0 shutout victory at Schoellkopf Field on Friday.

The game was never competitive, with the home team jumping out to a dominating lead and never even feeling the pressure from a beleaguered Tigers squad.

The game statistics are simply staggering and tell the tale of a night that was owned by the Red (2-2, 2-1 CSFL).

Cornell’s strengths were fully highlighted in the blow-out win. The rushing attack piled up 276 yards, with backups sophomore quarterback Timothy Bruhn and junior running back Matthew Pierce leading the way with 91 and 59 yards, respectively. Each also scored a rushing touchdown. Senior starting tailback D.J. Schiavetta recorded 39 yards on only four carries.Ain’t no stopping us now: Junior quarterback Elliot Corey (7) threw for two touchdowns on Friday.

The defense, as it has been all season, was also strong across the board. The Stonewall Red surrendered less than 100 total yards (95), while its offensive counterpart tallied up almost 500 (489). Cornell stopped Princeton in all 11 of its attempted third-down conversions, and held the Tigers to 24 yards rushing on 29 attempts for a practically unimaginable .8 yards per attempt. In total, the defense forced six turnovers, as well as a safety.

In addition to strong and consistent play for the unit as a whole, the Red sacked and intercepted Princeton freshman quarterback Ned Moffat twice, with junior linebacker Ted Alexander and sophomore Paul Pucinich each grabbing picks. Sophomore linebacker Colin Lounsberry led the defensive unit with six total tackles. Freshman defensive back Jim Barger also had a breakout performance, recording five solo tackles, including one for a 14-yard loss, a blocked kick, a fumble recovery and an interception of his own.

Not only padding the statistics of its defense and running game, the Red also broke out a few big plays, which had been in short supply so far this season. Junior quarterback Elliot Corey, whose offense had come under some criticism for not capitalizing on opportunities, hit both veteran senior wideout Upal Sarker for a 54-yard touchdown, and Schiavetta for a 47-yard score –– all in the first quarter of play.

“It was important to go out and score on our first drive,” Corey said. “Our goal was to score 21 points in the first quarter, then get out and let the [second team] come in.”

“Finally our timing just clicked on the outside routes,” added Corey about the big-yardage plays.

“It was good for the offense to really click in the first half, and then we gave the other guys opportunities to get in and play and get better,” Schiavetta said.

Bruhn relieved Corey and played well, throwing a touchdown pass of his own to senior receiver Christian Latimer.

Although the win was against a weak opponent, the strong performance could do wonders for a team that has an uphill climb if it hopes to get a share of the CSFL title.

“It’s a good confidence boost for the offense to get into a good rhythm,” Schiavetta said.

The Red will hope to ride that confidence into this week’s matchup on the road against Penn.