Football: Princeton survives last-minute drive to defeat Cornell

After senior quarterback and tri-captain Brian Anderson gave Princeton (3-4 overall, 2-2 Ivy League) a 31-19 lead with one minute, 40 seconds to play, Cornell quarterback Nathan Ford wasn’t ready to give up. Ford guided the Big Red on a five-play, 58-yard, 55-second touchdown drive. Cornell (3-4, 1-3) then recovered an onside kick after Princeton freshman defensive back Chance Cross mishandled the ball. Suddenly, the Tigers were in a sticky situation.

Three plays later, Ford connected with wide receiver Zac Canty for nine yards on fourth and three, landing the Big Red at the Princeton 46. Two plays later, Ford hit Canty for 31 yards, and Cornell was on the Princeton 15-yard line. Ford attempted a fake spike pass play but was flagged for a false start. Two last-gasp passes from the 20 then fell incomplete, and the Tigers escaped with a win.

Early in the game, however, nothing seemed to be going right for the Orange and Black. Princeton went three and out on three of its first four drives. The Big Red, on the other hand, scored on three of its first four drives, the lone failure coming when running back Luke Siwula was stripped by senior cornerback Barry Newell, and the ball was recovered by senior defensive end Pete Buchignani. The score stood at 13-0 with 7:24 remaining in the half, and it looked like only a matter of time before Cornell would blow the game open.

But just as Harvard had the previous weekend, Princeton refused to quit. The Tigers took over on their own 35, and five plays later they found themselves in the endzone. Anderson completed passes to senior wideouts Adam Berry and Will Thanheiser for 32 total yards. Princeton then turned to junior running back Jordan Culbreath. The Ivy League’s leading rusher took the first-down handoff five yards to the 23. On the next play, Culbreath burst through the line and bounced to the outside to make the score 13-7 on junior kicker Ben Bologna’s extra point.

After forcing a Big Red punt, Princeton put together a methodical drive and found itself at third and goal from the Cornell one-yard line. Anderson attempted a sneak but was stopped. Wary of repeating the failure to score late in the first half of the Harvard game, Head coach Roger Hughes opted to play it safe and take the field goal, cutting the deficit to 13-10.

The second half saw Princeton come out of the gate re-energized and ready to continue the momentum it had established late in the first half. After surrendering two first downs, Princeton forced a Cornell punt. The Tigers then drove 87 yards in only 3:09, highlighted by a 28-yard carry by Culbreath and a 33-yard reception by senior tight end Joe Magro on consecutive plays. Anderson capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Thanheiser for the Tigers’ first lead of the day.

The teams traded punts before Cornell saw a 12-play, 75-yard drive come screeching to a halt in the fourth quarter. On second and 10 from the Princeton 13, Ford was intercepted by junior cornerback Cart Kelly in the endzone. After runs by Culbreath and Anderson netted negative two yards on the Tigers’ next two plays, Culbreath blasted the Big Red for 52 yards on third and 12. Then Anderson connected with Thanheiser for a 20-yard touchdown, and Princeton extended its lead to 24-13.

Cornell fired back immediately, as Ford connected with wide receiver Bryan Walters on a 43-yard scoring strike only 28 seconds later. The Big Red attempted a two-point conversion to close the gap to three points but was stopped short.

The teams traded punts with the score locked at 24-19 until Cornell took over with 2:54 remaining. Ford fired four straight incomplete passes, and the Tigers took over on downs. It appeared that the game would end peacefully at this point, but the action was only starting. After three running plays, Princeton was faced with fourth and one from the Cornell 20. Just under two minutes were left in the game.

Anderson faked a handoff to Culbreath, then took a bootleg to the right 20 yards into the endzone. But despite widening the lead to 31-19, the seemingly emphatic play indirectly breathed new life into Cornell, sparking two drives in the 1:40 remaining in the game.

Despite another heroic performance by Culbreath — who carried 24 times for 169 yards and a touchdown — Princeton was outgained 555 to 390. Anderson finished 13 of 17 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns to go along with nine carries for 48 yards and another score. Thanheiser caught six balls for 75 yards and both of Anderson’s scores.