Ithaca, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Sprint Football team (1-4, 0-3 CSFL North) fell in a close contest with Cornell University (1-3, 1-2 CSFL North), 30-27, on Sunday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca. Wide receivers Mahki Matthews and Luke McKenna picked up two touchdowns apiece, while quarterback Dennis Riordan went 26-for-37 for 318 yards, with four TD passes and one interception.

STAC HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

• Mahki Matthews led the way with 11 receptions for 115 yards and two touchdown catches.
• Luke McKenna had four receptions for 47 yards and two TDs.
• Bo Maroney garnered nine rushing attempts for 48 total yards.
• Tyreke Smith registered a team-high 11 tackles (10 solo, 1 assist), with Smith picking up 3.0 for a loss of 10 yards.
• Tyreke Smith, Markell Carter, Malik Lucas and Kyle Marsha each registered a sack apiece on Cornell QB Xavier Martinez.
• Starting quarterback Dennis Riordan completed 26 of 37 passes, for 318 yards and four touchdowns, while also throwing an interception.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter

• Jacob Wynkoop would take a two yard scamper into the endzone to put Cornell up 7-0 with just over 30 seconds remaining in the quarter.

 
Second Quarter

• STAC's Dennis Riordan would hook up with Mahki Matthews on a one yard TD pass early in the quarter to tie the game at 7-7.
• Luke McKenna would put St. Thomas Aquinas ahead 14-7 on a five yard TD strike from Riordan mid-second quarter.
• Just before the halftime buzzer, Cornell's Jackson Kennedy would connect on a 19-yard field goal try to cut the STAC lead to 14-10.

 
Third Quarter

• STAC would open the second half with a Mahki Matthews four yard touchdown reception courtesy of Dennis Riordan to extend STAC's lead to 20-10.
• Luke McKenna took a 30-yard pass from Riordan to the endzone late in the third quarter to give the Spartans a commanding 27-10 advantage.

 
Fourth Quarter

• Cornell rattled off 20 straight points in the quarter, starting with an Xavier Martinez eight yard touchdown pass to Evan Nicholas to make it 27-17.
• Nate Roy's two yard run with 10 minutes remaining in the stanza, brought the Big Red closer on the scoreboard at 27-23.
• Xavier Martinez would connect on a five yard touchdown strike to Luke Verzella with just over four minutes remaining to give Cornell the late 30-27 lead and the come-from-behind victory.

 

UP NEXT
St. Thomas Aquinas heads to the historic campus at the United States Military Academy (West Point) on Friday, October 22 for a CSFL North clash with Army. Kickoff is scheduled 7pm at Shea Stadium.