Cornell tops Marist 21-7, has 2 goal-line stops in opener

Sep 21, 2020, 04:10 pm

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Harold Coles rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown, Mike Catanese ran for a pair of scores and Cornell's defense stopped Marist three times on fourth-down plays in the final period to win its season opener 21-7 Saturday.

Cornell's rushing game dominated with 263 yards while holding the ball for 40 minutes. Big Red (1-0) held Marist (1-2) to two yards on the ground and held a 419-220 edge in total offense.

After a Big Red fumble in the fourth, Marist drove 71 yards in nine plays to a first-and-goal at the five. Three plays later, Dazhon Miller took a handoff straight up the middle but was pushed backward by a wall of Cornell defenders on the fourth-and-1 play.

Marist also failed to convert from fourth-and-3 at the 11 when Luke Strnad's pass fell incomplete with 2:38 remaining and, early in the fourth, turned the ball over on fourth-and-9 after another incompletion.

Strnad completed 16 of 38 passes for 218 yards.