ITHACA, N.Y ‘ Sophomore tailback , making his first collegiate start, carried 29 times for 160 yards and two touchdowns to lead 51·çÁ÷ to a 42-13 win over state-rival Cornell (1-4) at Schoellkopf Field.
51·çÁ÷ (4-3) wins its seventh straight over the Big Red for the longest winning streak in the history of the series.
51·çÁ÷ quarterback also had a big night connecting on 14-of-22 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He becomes the fifth quarterback in school history to throw for over 30 touchdowns in a career and moves into fourth place in career passing yardage with 4,770 yards.
McCune connected twice for touchdowns with junior tight end and once with wide receiver as the Raiders had 509 yards of total offense.
Cornell opened the scoring in the first quarter driving 68 yards in four plays for a 7-0 lead with 7:05 left. Nathan Archer capped the scoring drive with a one-yard run and Trevor MacMeekin added the extra point.
51·çÁ÷ answered back with 28 straight unanswered points en route to a 28-7 halftime advantage, scoring three touchdowns in a span of 2:06 in the second quarter. The Raiders explosion began with a five-yard touchdown run by LaMonica, capping a 69-yard drive in 12 plays. added the first of his sixth extra points.
In the second quarter, 51·çÁ÷’s recovered a fumble at the Cornell 38-yard line, and the Raiders took advantage with scoring four plays later on a one-yard plunge for a 14-0 advantage.
On Cornell’s ensuing possession, Sabo caused a fumble and defensive tackle recovered at the Big Red 13-yard line. Two plays later, LaMonica scored his second TD of the contest on a two-yard run to give the Raiders a 21-7 lead.
The Raiders took advantage of excellent field position less than two minutes later, when Cornell was charged with a personal foul on a 51·çÁ÷ punt return. Following the penalty, 51·çÁ÷ had possession at its own 46-yard line. LaMonica immediately carried 21 yards to the Cornell 33, and on the next play McCune found Frieser in the end zone for a TD.
51·çÁ÷ scored its 35th straight point on its first possession of the second half, when McCune hit Graham down the middle with a 53-yard touchdown pass for a 35-7 lead.
The Big Red came right back with their second TD when Marcus Blanks scored on a five-yard run with 9:11 left in the third quarter, but 51·çÁ÷, again, answered back as McCune threw his third TD pass finding Frieser in the back of the end zone on a 10-yard strike for a 42-13 lead.
Sabo was 51·çÁ÷’s leading tackler with eight, while had seven and five.