Morgan Magic: Yale QB Sparks Dramatic Win Over Cornell

It is a habit that Yale football coach Tony Reno would like to break, at least for the time being.

For the second week in a row Yale quarterback Morgan Roberts engineered a dramatic second comeback to edge the upset-minded Big Red from Cornell, 33-26, in front of an estimated 16,000 at the Yale Bowl.

Yale (2-0, 1-0 Ivy League) trailed the Big Red in their Ivy League home opener last Saturday by as many as 19 points (26-7), but the Eli roared back to tie the game with a little more than a minute to go in regulation, forced a quick three-in-out, and then won it on a 52-yard catch-and-run from Roberts to senior tight end Sebastian Little with 32 seconds left.

It was Little’s first career touchdown reception.

The Big Red (0-2, 0-1 Ivy League) built an early lead on the back of senior running back Luke Hagy (23-117, TD), who posted his fifth straight 100-yard game.

Cornell quarterback Robert Somborn had a strong outing in defeat as he completed 20 of 30 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns.

But it was Roberts who worked his late game magic to lead the Eli to the win.

Roberts had another big day passing, going 25-for-47 for 371 yards and 3 touchdowns.

“We finish strong, which is great, but now we have to start fast,” Reno noted to reporters in assessing his squad’s second half surge.

Last week the Eli staged a second half comeback (down 14 points) to beat Colgate on the road, 29-28.

The 33-point combined deficit was erased by Yale outscoring Colgate and Cornell, 42-7, in the second half.

This week the Bulldogs hit the road to face Lehigh University (2-2) on Saturday, October 3, at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, PA.

Saturday’s on-league contest will mark the 23^rd meeting between the two schools, with the Eli holding a 16-6 lead in the series.

Lehigh has taken six of the last 10 in the series with Yale. Last year, Yale defeated Lehigh, 54-43, in a wild-west shootout at the Yale Bowl.

Lehigh is 1-1 against Ivy League opponents in 2015, beating Penn 42-21 (9/19) and then getting thumped by Princeton 52-26 (9/26).

The kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

BULLDOG BITES

Yale junior, Bryan Holmes, was named the IVY League SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK for his performance in the win over the Big Red. Holmes connected on the first two field goals of his career, a 26-yarder in the third quarter and a 37-yarder in the fourth quarter which brought the Bulldogs within a touchdown. He posted a 64.1 kickoff average with three touchbacks and punted for a 36.7 ave on three punts. Holmes is the first Bulldog to handle the placekicking, punting and kickoff duties since Tom Mante in 2008.

Yale’s special teams have been instrumental in their first two wins, with blocked four kicks — three field goal attempts and one PAT.

Hayden Carlson, Yale’s defensive back was named to last week’s Ivy League Honor Roll. The sophomore out of Glen Ellyn, Illinois was credited with 10 tackles and 8 solo in the win over Cornell.

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