PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania sprint football team fell in its final game of the season on Friday night, dropping a 31-14 contest to Cornell at Franklin Field.
 
Cornell scored 21 straight points to take a 14-point lead that would not be relinquished to win its first and final game of the year, while Penn shifted to 2-6 to end the season.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Josh Johnson and Luke Sharp both took snaps in the Ivy battle, with Johnson completing nine of 13 passes, including a touchdown while Sharp completed four of 11 passes with a touchdown.
 
*Jason Sheairs and Jake Wang brought home the pair of scores against the Big Red
 
*Freshman Sharp's score was the first of his collegiate career.
 
*Colin Cross and Hugh Maley had career-high outings on the defensive end of the ball, with sophomore Cross tallying a team-high 16 tackles while freshman Maley recorded 15.
 
*Cross and Grant Coulson picked off Cornell's Luis Stefano in the contest.
 
How It Happened
After both teams punted the first few possessions, freshman Sharp stepped in at quarterback, throwing a 36-yard pass to sophomore Sheairs to put the Quakers on the board with 6:34 left of the first. The Red and Blue tried to keep their momentum going to open the second, as Gavin Griswold and Maley tallied tackles for losses to end Cornell's first drive.
 
Penn tried to add more points to the board during its first drive, but Sharp was ultimately picked off at the Big Red's 31. Cornell was able to capitalize on the interception, as the Big Red offense passed for 97 yards on six plays, headed by a 29-yard pass from Kyle Melkonian and a 15-yard passing touchdown from Stefano Luis to Andrew Lay to even the battle at seven with 3:50 left in the half.
 
The Big Red caught a spark off the score, as Alexe DiDonato blocked Ezra Granet's at Penn's 14-yard line, allowing Cornell to take a 14-7 lead heading into the break off a nine-yard rush from Melkonian.
 
Cornell came out of the break striking down the gridiron, carried by an 11-yard and 17-yard passes to bring the Big Red to Penn's 11-yard line. Luckily, the defense stepped up for Penn, as linebacker Cross intercepted the rock at the 2-yard line to hold the game at a score with 11:07 left in the third.
 
Unfortunately for the Quakers, Cornell recorded three quick stops and blocked Granet's punt again to take a 21-7 lead with 8:57 on the clock. Not even two minutes later, the Red and Blue's special teams unit stepped up after the blocked punt, as Sharp recovered a muffed punt from Leo Madera at Cornell's 33, allowing quarterback Johnson to throw a 33-yard pass to senior Wang to cut the lead to 21-14.
 
The Big Red took offense to Wang's tally, running 6:58 off the clock to add a field goal to the board and lead 24-14 heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation. Ultimately, Cornell controlled most of the fourth period, putting the nail in the coffin off a pick from Thomas Shegogue that resulted in another Big Red tally to put the final score at 31-14.
 
Penn ends the season with a 2-6 overall record and a 0-3 CSFL South record.