With four minutes left in the third quarter during Saturday’s home game against Cornell (2–4, 1–2 Ivy), Brown’s football team (3–3, 2–1 Ivy) found itself in a deep hole, down 21-3. Already on a three-game losing streak, the team seemed unable to stop the powerful Big Red attack.
But with a home crowd cheering them on and a den to defend, Bruno fought back. Launching an incredible 20-point rampage in the 4th quarter, the Bears overcame the 18-point deficit and clinched the victory as time expired.
“Even though the score was against us, we worked hard on both sides,” Head Coach James Perry ’00 said in an interview with The Herald. “A lot of hard work goes into staging a comeback and they put it in. This team is a really special team to be able to pull that off.”
Throughout the early stretches of the game, both teams battled on even ground. A strong run defense by the Bears contained Cornell to a measly 33 rushing yards in the first half — a number Bruno’s own 86 yards almost tripled — yet it was Cornell’s run game that struck first. Seven minutes into the game, Cornell’s quarterback Jameson Wang beat the Bears defense to the near pylon to claim the early 7-0 lead.
At risk of falling further behind, the Bears rallied. After a physical catch-and-run by Chason Barber ’26, a strong contested grab by Ben Moseley ’25 and aggressive running by quarterback Jake Willcox ’24.5, Bruno marched into Cornell’s red zone. But just when the Bears were close enough to smell the end zone, Willcox was sacked for a huge loss and the team had to settle for a 44-yard field goal.
On the other side of the ball, excellent play by the defense kept Cornell off the scoreboard for the remainder of the clock, entering halftime only down 7-3.
“Cornell had great athletes out there,” First-Team All-Ivy cornerback Isaiah Reed ’25 said. “We knew we would have our hands full. But we also knew that if we go out there and execute the game plan, there is no team in the conference that can run with us.”
But when the Bears came out of the locker room, the previously competitive game turned into a near-blow out. With a three-interception third quarter, Bruno’s offense left the defense stranded on the field and opened up the door for Cornell to claim a 21-3 lead.
The deficit seemed insurmountable. But in the following 17 minutes, the Bears’ offense put up 20 points while the defense kept the end zone empty.
“When you turn the ball over and you take a lot of pride in not doing that, being able to respond is remarkable,” Perry said. “I think we have to learn to build off success so that we don’t always need a bad event to play our best football. But it’s still a great thing to see and I am really proud of the team.”
When the offense next took the field, they looked like a different squad. With a strong running game keeping Cornell’s linebackers in check, Willcox was able to effectively take to the air, with passes to Moseley, Samuel Baddoo ’25 and Michael Nesbit ’27 propelling the offense to Cornell’s 42-yard line.
From there, Solomon Miller ’26 took over. Lined up in the slot, he started on a go-route — but fifteen yards downfield, he peeled out to the right, crossing underneath Mark Mahoney ’24.5 and losing his defender in the process. When Miller finally straightened his route out again, he was alone in the endzone and, thanks to an expert pass by Willcox, holding the ball. After a successful PAT by Christopher Maron ’25 to make the score 21-10, the Bears were back in the game.
Then, the defense regained its first-half prowess. After a huge defensive pass break up by Elias Archie ’26, Cornell went three-and-out and was forced to punt the ball back to a burgeoning Bruno offense.
“For us on the defensive end, our challenge week in and week out is to see how many times we can get the ball back for the offense,” Reed continued. “We feel comfortable when they have the ball in their hands. We know that the more the offense has the ball, the more success we will have.”
While momentum was finally on the Bears’ side, a well-placed Cornell punt pinned the Bears at their own two-yard line. With 98 yards to cross and only one quarter to play, Brown — even in spite of its third-quarter turnover struggles — relied on its passing game, with Willcox going to Moseley and Barber for 27-yard and 41-yard gains, respectively.
Now in the red zone, Bruno’s familiar run game kicked into action. After rolling down to the one-yard line, Qwentin Brown ’26 capped the drive off with a direct-snap touchdown. Suddenly, the Bears were now down just 21-17.
“I was really, really proud of Jake for bouncing back,” Perry said. “And the kids love him. They all rallied around him and believed in him.”
Once again, the defense held its ground, stopping Cornell’s three straight passing attempts and forcing a punt. Coming out of the gates with a shallow crossing route to Moseley, Brown moved the sticks early. A rumbling backfield guided by Stockton Owen ’25 and Matt Childs ’28, as well as a flourishing passing game, aided the Bears downfield.
But at the 17-yard line, the drive petered out and the Bears were forced to kick a field goal which, while bringing them closer, still positioned them one point shy of equalizing.
Bruno’s defense then came away with another crucial stop. The same Cornell team that managed to put up three touchdowns was now incapable of stringing together a single coherent drive, and Brown’s offense got the ball once more. With time winding down in the fourth quarter and 86 yards between them and the endzone, it was do-or-die time for the Bears.
Strong runs by Childs and Owen, as well as good intermediate distance passing by Willcox helped the Bears cross midfield by the two-minute warning. But at the 31-yard line, the Bears faced a 4th-and-2 situation.
As the crowd held their breath, the Bears offense remained on the field. Willcox dropped back, and as he launched the ball, an entire stadium’s hopes took to the air. Flipping his head around just in time, Najih Rahman ’27 corralled the 4th-down dart, managed to get out of bounds and move the chains. With time finally on their side, and close enough for Maron to kick it, the Bears bided their time. After waiting until the clock read one second remaining to call a timeout, Perry sent his field goal unit out to seal the deal.
Maron stood 29 yards out, one kick away from victory. The snap came, the hold was good and the kick was perfect, soaring through the uprights in a wide arc.
“It’s funny. Kicking the game winner feels a lot better in retrospect,” Maron said. “In the moment, I just got mobbed immediately, so I didn’t have much time to react.”
Minutes after he was hoisted onto the backs of his teammates and celebrated by the stadium, Maron remained humble. “I wouldn’t say that it was me who won it for the team,” he said. “It was a collective effort. I was just the one with the last laugh.”
Now, the Bears look to build on their success as they take on the University of Pennsylvania (2–4, 0–3 Ivy) next Saturday. The game, which is slated to start at 12 p.m., will be streamed on ESPN+.
“This will be a great opportunity,” Perry said about next week’s match up. “We play Penn at home and have a chance to win two in a row.”
Lydell Dyer is a Senior Staff Writer for the sports section. A sophomore hailing from Bonn, Germany, Lydell is studying nonfiction English and political science, and if he's not off "making words sound pretty," you can find him lifting heavy circles at the Nelson.
