ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy sprint football team (4-1) heads north to Ithaca, N.Y. for a game with Cornell (0-4) at Schoellkopf Field on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
Sprint Football Tradition
Navy will be looking for win No. 400 as the Midshipmen enter the contest with one of its most frequent adversaries with 399 wins in program history. The team boasts an all-time winning percentage of .835 with an all-time record of 399-75-9.
 
All-Time Series
Navy holds the all-time series lead against Cornell, 61-13-2 (.816). The Mids and Big Red have met 37 times in Ithaca with the Midshipmen holding a 27-9-1 (.743) mark in true road games. Navy has won 14 straight games against Cornell, and 29 of the last 31 dating back to the 1991 season.
 
Head coach Major Alfonso Meidus, USMC was 25-1 (.962) as a player with the one blemish on his record – a 16-10 overtime loss in 2006 – coming at the hands of the Big Red. The loss is the last for the Midshipmen against Cornell.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy enters the contest 4-1, winning its last two contests. The Midshipmen have outscored their opponents 158-50. Navy averages 231 yards rushing per game. It has scored 10 of its touchdowns on the ground. Navy's defense has allowed just 10 points per game and 218.6 yards per game. Opponents have gained just 58 first downs against the Midshipmen's defense.
 
Three players — Victor Otero, Hunter Gennicks and Brandon Atwood — have amassed more than 200 yards on the ground. Atwood has completed 67.4-percent of his passes for 754 yards with 10 touchdowns. Wide receivers Jobe Long and Kai Sasaki lead Navy with three receiving scores. Long has a team-best 20 catches.
 
Defensive lineman David Niski leads Navy in tackles for a loss (5.5) and sacks (4.5).
 
Scouting the Opponent
The Big Red (0-4) has been in all of its games except for one, a 63-0 loss to undefeated Army two weeks ago.
 
Cornell quarterback Cooper Wise ran for a season-high 61 yards in a 20-7 loss to Mansfield last week. He recorded his longest run of the season on a 24-yard touchdown. Senior running back Ralph Fleuranvil has 213 yards and a touchdown on 56 attempts.
 
Senior linebacker Billy Turner leads the Big Red with 31 tackles (five for a loss). Sophomore linebacker Michael Mosier has 28 total tackles and a team-leading six tackles for a loss. He also leads the team in sacks with 1.5. Cornerback Jaden Queen has two interceptions and five pass breakups.
 
Sprint Football Earns Trio of Weekly Honors
The Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) announced its weekly award winners and the Navy trio of Brandon Atwood, Angelo Labbe, and Hunter Gennicks were each recognized for their performances in the Midshipmen's 48-7 victory over Chestnut Hill. Atwood was tabbed Offensive Player of the Week, while Labbe claimed Defensive Player of the Week honors. Gennicks rounded out the selections as Rookie of the Week.
 
Atwood directed the Mids' offense to 48 total points on Senior Day. The senior quarterback finished the game 14-for-17 for 163 passing yards with four touchdowns through the air. Additionally, Atwood rushed 11 times for 74 total yards (6.7 yards per carry) to finish the game as Navy's second leading rusher.
 
Labbe anchored a Navy defense that allowed just one score in win. He helped lead the way defensively finishing with seven stops, including combining for a tackle for loss. All seven of Labbe's tackles were for four yards or less against the Griffins, including six stops of two yards or less and three tackles for zero or negative yards.
 
Gennicks led the way on the ground with 115 yards on 10 rushes (11.5 yards per carry) and a touchdown. He also added a reception for five yards on third and two for a first down. The freshman got most of his yardage in the fourth quarter (108 of his 115 yards rushing came in the fourth quarter), helping run out the clock and secure the victory.
 
Last Time: vs. Cornell (Oct. 7, 2022)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Andrew Margiotta registered a school-record 250 yard receiving, while tallying three touchdowns as Navy posted a 55-0 shutout over Cornell (0-3) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
 
Margiotta set the Navy record in receiving yards on five catches, averaging 50.0 yards per reception. The junior finished with three touchdowns, including TD catches of 70, 69, and 89 yards. Margiotta finished the first half, tying the school record with 241 yards receiving, breaking the previous mark that was set by Matthew Hite ('16) at Army in 2015 with a nine-yard reception in the third quarter.
 
Marco Pezzini finished with four receptions for 35 yards, while Jobe Long caught three passes for 33 yards. Jake Smith added two catches for 22 and Tyron Francis Jr. added an 11-yard touchdown reception.
 
Quarterback Brandon Atwood finished the game 10-for-14 with 284 passing yards and three touchdowns. Luke Wagner completed six passes for 67 yards and a touchdown in relief duty.
 
Manny Walt and Alex Totta led the rushing attack. Walt finished with 68 yards on six carries and a pair of touchdowns, while Totta finished with 66 yards on the ground and a pair of TDs.
 
Defensively, Navy had 23 different players record tackles in the game, including posting 10 tackles for loss with five sacks, a forced fumble, three pass breakups, and an interception.
 
David Niski finished the game with five tackles – all solo – with 4.0 sacks for 30 total yards, while also forcing a fumble. Paul Kuehler led the team with six tackles, with a half a tackle for loss. Nicholas Campbell also added five stops, notching 1.5 tackles for loss, including a sack. Jack Costigan and Grant Wilson each finished with five tackles. Jonathan Swift finished with four tackles, including a tackle for loss and an interception, which he returned for 25 yards.
 
On special teams, Mychal Golden finished with seven points, converting 7-of-8 point after attempts. Margiotta added 64 kickoff return yards to bring his all-purpose total to 314 total yards.
 
Last Time Out: vs. Chestnut Hill (Oct. 20, 2023)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy posted a 48-7 victory over Chestnut Hill in a CSFL South Division match up at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game served as Navy's Senior Day and the senior class helped propel the Midshipmen to the decisive victory.
 
Navy recognized its 22 seniors – Brandon Atwood, Liam Brown, Dante Carrasco, Jack Costigan, Luke Eleftheriou, Nadir Emlemdi, Mychal Golden, Andrew Henderson, Eli Holloman, Angelo Labbe, Jobe Long, Andrew Margiotta, Devyn Martin, Tyler Massena, Victor Otero, Patrick Palm, Trent Parker, Weston Reese, Kai Sasaki, Andrew Sowinski, Mitchell Waters, and Ben Witte – prior to the game.
 
Offensively, Navy tallied 533 yards of total offense in the game, including 366 yards rushing and 167 yards passing. The Midshipmen scored seven touchdowns on the night with seniors accounting for five scores.
 
Atwood finished the night 14-for-17 for 163 yards through the air and four touchdown passes. The senior quarterback added 74 yards rushing to finish as the Mids' second leading rusher on the night. Atwood connected with fellow seniors Long (2x), Otero, and Sasaki for four TDs.
 
Massena rounded out the scoring for the senior class, plunging into the end zone from one yard out. He finished with 64 yards rushing on 14 carries with the score. Freshman Hunter Gennicks led the way on the ground with 115 yards on 10 rushes and a touchdown. Gennicks got most of his yardage in the fourth quarter, helping run out the clock and secure the victory. Junior Luke Wagner finished the night with 44 yards on the ground, finding the end zone on a 30-yard scamper. Additionally, Wagner connected with Long in the end zone on a successful two-point conversion.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen surrendered 328 yards of total offense on 239 passing yards and 89 yards on the ground with one touchdown in the game. Over the years, Navy and Chestnut Hill have met four times in Annapolis with the Midshipmen defense holding the Griffins scoreless is 15 of 16 quarters of play.
 
Seniors Costigan, Henderson, and Labbe led the way defensively for the Midshipmen. Costigan paced the squad with eight tackles, including a sack, while Henderson and Labbe added seven stops apiece. Niski and Holloman added to the senior output registering a tackle for loss each, while Martin and Sowinski added combined TFLs in the game. Senior Dante Carrasco picked off a Chestnut Hill pass, returning it 81 yards to the Griffin's four yardline, setting up Massena's touchdown.
 
On special teams, Emlemdi was credited with a pair of punt returns for 18 yards. He had a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown, but a penalty brought the ball back to 42 yardline. Navy would go on to score on the drive. Additionally, Golden connected on four point-after touchdown attempts.
 
Up Next
Following the home game at Cornell, Navy will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. for a CSFL South Division contests with Penn. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.