ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy sprint football team (1-0) welcomes Cornell (1-0) to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Friday, Sept. 27 for the home opener for the Midshipmen. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.
 
Admission is free, however parking at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is $10.
 
For fans unable to attend, the game will be live streamed on YouTube and live stats will be available.
 
All-Time Series
Navy holds the all-time series lead against Cornell, 62-13-2 (.818). The Mids and Big Red have met 36 times in Annapolis with the Midshipmen holding a 31-4-1 (.875) mark at home. Navy has won 15 straight games against Cornell, and 30 of the last 32 dating back to the 1991 season.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy enters the contest 1-0, winning the season opener against Mansfield, 31-26, on Saturday afternoon at Karl Norman Field in Mansfield, Pa. The Mids trailed 19-17 at halftime, but outscored the Mountaineers 14-7 in the second half to secure the first win of the year.
 
Navy finished the game with 436 yards of total offense, tallying 311 yards rushing with 125 yards through the air.
 
Hunter Gennicks led the Midshipmen with 224 total yards rushing and a team-high three touchdowns. Quarterback Luke Wagner added 62 yards on the ground with a rushing TD. Wagner finished 9-for-18 passing for 125 yards and an interception. Biamunga Nkere led the team with four receptions for a team-high 46 yards, while Jackson Suddath and Chris Stumpf added 33 and 32 yards receiving, respectively.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen had five players finish with five or more tackles. Jake Wolinski led the team with eight stops, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Major Kent, David Niski, and Tucker Opdahl added six tackles apiece, while Jonathan Swift recorded five tackles. Opdal led the team with 2.0 tackles for loss with Niski and Swift adding a TFL apiece. Seamas Carrasco picked off a Mansfield pass, while Niski forced a fumble.
 
Jacori Sutton finished the game with a 29-yard field goal and a pair of extra points.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Cornell (1-0) defeated Molloy on Saturday 53-7 to secure the program its first win in almost two years.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Max Spero had his first Cornell start going 13-for-20 in the passing game, amounting 153 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed four times, including two that ended in the end zone. Evan Nicholas led the Big Red scoring efforts with a hat trick of touchdowns, including one 21-yard pass from Spero and two rushing TDs that combined for a total of 35 yards. Kevin Lopez took the nod at running back and finished the game with 13 carries for a net total of 72 yards and one touchdown.
 
On defense, Kruz Meier and Elliot Kim each had one interception, Michael Mosier and Alexei DiDonato each had one sack and the team as a whole forced and recovered three fumbles.
 
Gennicks Named CSFL Offensive Player of the Week
The Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) announced its weekly award winners and Navy sophomore running back Hunter Gennicks was selected as the conference's Offensive Player of the Week. The sophomore picked up where he left off after a solid freshman campaign, leading the Midshipmen in rushing with 224 yards on 29 carries and three rushing touchdowns. Additionally, he added one reception for six yards.
 
Trailing 7-0, Gennicks scored the game-tying touchdown, a three-yard plunge into the end zone for his first score of the year. The Linton, Ind. native gave the Midshipmen the lead with a 51-yard jaunt into the end zone as time expired in the first quarter. The sophomore scored what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, scoring from 11 yards out to put Navy in front 31-19 – a lead the Midshipmen would not relinquish.
 
Last Time: vs. Cornell (Oct. 27, 2023)
Navy posted a dominant effort to defeat Cornell at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. The 58-6 win was the 400th victory in Midshipmen history. The Mids boast an all-time record of 400-75-9 for a winning percentage of .836.
 
As a team, Navy amassed 423 total yards of offense, including 325 yards on the ground and 98 yards through the air. The Midshipmen tallied six rushing touchdowns with an additional score through the air. Defensively, the Mids held the Big Red to 228 total yards with 154 rushing yards. The Midshipmen defense allowed just nine completions for 74 passing yards, while intercepting four passes – one returned for a touchdown.
 
Luke Wagner and Brandon Atwood led the way for the Midshipmen ground attack. The duo each finished with 100-yard rushing games with Wagner tallying 111 yards and Atwood concluding his day with 101. Both Wagner and Atwood each ran for touchdowns. Hunter Gennicks and Tyler Massena ended the game with 48 and 44 yards, respectively, each finding the end zone twice.
 
Through the air, Atwood played the first half finishing 6-for-10 for 98 yards and a touchdown. He gave way to Wagner who worked most of the third quarter at QB before turning over control to Luke O'Connell to close out the game. Jobe Long led the team with three receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown, while Tyron Francis Jr., Andrew Margiotta, Chris Stumpf, and J.P. Albrecht each added receptions.
 
Defensively, Jake Wolinski led the team with nine tackles, including eight solo stops. The sophomore added 2.5 tackles for loss, including a sack. Additionally, Wolinski notched a pass break up and picked off a pass, returning it for 35 yards and setting up a Navy touchdown. Andrew Sowinski totaled two TFL including a sack, while Simon Burger added a tackle for loss. Nadir Emlemdi, Nathan Keast, and Seamus Carrasco each recorded interceptions with Carrasco returning the INT 40 yards into the end zone for a defensive score.
 
Mychal Golden finished the game with 10 points. The senior placekicker was seven for eight on point after touchdown kicks, while adding a career-long 52-yard field goal.
 
Up Next
Following the game against Cornell, Navy will host Army in the annual Star Game, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.