The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey • 36

PAGE C8 Home News Tribune COLLEGE FOOTBALL NO. 6 TENNESSEE 20, NO. 2 FLORIDA 17 OT Hall is of winning field goals a habit rier rotated quarterbacks Jesse Palmer and Doug Johnson on every play throughout the game, a tactic he also used some last year. The Vols forced four Gators turnovers and limited Terry Jackson to just 26 yards in 19 carries. Jamal Lewis gained 81 yards for Tennessee, which relied on defense and Florida's miscues to reach the overtime.

Tee Martin completed just seven of 19 passes for 64 yards. The Gators tied it 17-17 with 5:18 left in the third quarter THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KNOXVILLE, Term. Jeff Hall's 41-yard field goal in overtime gave No. 6 Tennessee' a 20-17 victory over No. 2 Florida last night, ending the Gators' five-game winning streak in the series.

Florida (2-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) failed to extend the overtime when Collins Cooper was wide left on a 32-yard attempt, giving the Vols the victory and sending a Neyland Stadium-record crowd of 107,653 streaming onto the field to tear down the possession from the Florida 28. Florida dominated the first half with 213 yards to the Vols' 99, but fumbled the ball away three times. With no timeouts and 3V2 minutes left in the half, the Gators drove 67 yards in 10 plays, tying it 10-10 on Palmer's 8-yard scoring pass to Travis Taylor with 20 seconds left. The big plays were a 23-yard pass from Johnson to Darrell Jackson on third-and-22 and an 18-yard completion from Palmer to McGriff. Tennessee took its first lead jf I it i id mijy i- i in ii.

ARMY 37, CINCINNATI 20 Army's strong attack digs Bearcats' grave By TOM GROESCHEN CINCINNATI ENQUIRER POINT, N.Y. A few hundred University of Cincinnati football fans made the trip here yesterday. Some visited Custer's grave at the historic U.S. Military Academy, then watched the Bearcats dig their own. They lost 37-20 to underdog Army, giving aid and comfort to the enemy by committing four turnovers.

The Bearcats (0-3, 0-2 Conference USA) welcomed Army (1-1, 1-0) to the league and virtually eliminated themselves from the C-USA race. "We're not a very good team right now," Cincinnati coach Rick Minter said. "It was turnover city again, and we didn't stop the run again." Cincinnati led 7-0 early and 20-16 late in the third period, but mistakes kept happening. The crusher was a 79-yard interception return for a touchdown by Army's Kenny Dale Rowland, which lifted the Cadets to a 30-20 lead early in the fourth quarter. It was Army's first league game in 109 years, and a game ball is to be shipped to the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

The Bearcats have been giving away footballs all month, with 12 turnovers in three games. Cincinnati allowed Army's wishbone offense to rush for 327 yards, continuing a steep decline after ranking No. 5 nationally vs. the run in 1997. making goalposts and celebrate.

Florida won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first in overtime. The Vols (2-0, 1-0) couldn't move on their possession and had to rely on Hall's leg for the second game in a row. His last-second field goal beat Syracuse two weeks ago. On Florida's overtime possession, the Gators got a first down at the Tennessee 15, but three incomplete passes forced a field goal try to push the game into a second overtime. Florida coach Steve Spur- The Bearcats also watched Army throw a 44-yard touchdown pass, which as rare at West Point as a "Go Navy" banner.

The run-oriented Cadets tied their 1997 season output of TD passes (1). "We were playing run, run, run all day, then they caught us off guard with that pass," said Cincinnati safety Tinker Keck. "We've got to be more disciplined and see that kind of thing earlier." Senior quarterback receiver Chad Plummer caught 11 passes for 128 yards Saturday, giving him the first consecutive 100-yard receiving games by a Cincinnati player since Marlon Peaice in 1992. Plummerl and Deontey Kenner remain erratic as alternating quarterbacks. Each threw a TD but also an interception.

Sophomore Kenner continues to show a cannon arm but is misfiring some passes. Plummer also bobbled a snap (he recovered), while Kenner fumbled two snaps and lost one. "We were all writing Deontey up as an All-Ameri-can, but we've got to remember he's in just his second year and playing only his fourth game," Minter said. "Some of it is forcing things. Some of it is frustration." Minter himself has been showing some frustration.

Saturday, freshman tailback DeMarco McCleskey was benched after fumbling in the first quarter. His replacement, junior Robert Cooper, might have regained his starting job by rushing 18 times for 83 yards. Cincinnati is 0-3 for the first time since 1992, when it finished 3-8. Kean (0-2) was Jerome Porter's school record setting 97-yard kickoff return for a TD in the third quarter. WAGNER 40, SACRED HEART 8: At Fairfield, Rick Sa-rille rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns as Wagner beat Sacred Heart.

Wagner (1-1, 1-0 NEC) rolled up 432 yards in total offense and held Sacred Heart to 200 yards. FORDHAM 20, BUCKNELL 17: At Lewisburg, Fordham jumped out to an early lead and held off Bucknell's second-half rally. Fordham (1-1, 1-1) capped a 70-yard drive late in the first quarter with Randy Cardo-na's 8-yard touchdown run. The Rams took a 20-0 lead on two touchdowns in the second quarter. CANISIUS 30, ST.

PETER'S 2: At Buffalo, N.Y. Nick Adinol-phi rushed for two touchdowns and Jason Bourne picked off two passes, including one he returned 82 yards for a score, as Canisius beat St. Peter's. BUFFALO 16, LAFAYETTE 14: At Easton, Scott Keller kicked three field goals, the last with 1:11 left in the game, as Buffalo edged Lafayette. VILLANOVA 34, JAMES MADISON 30: At Harrisonburg, Chris Boden threw for 373 yards and two touchdowns, the last a 72-yarder to Brian Westbrook with less than seven minutes to play as Vil-lanovabeat James Madisort.

EAST Albany, N.Y. 31 l.NJ.28 Alfred 28- -St Lawrence 20 American International 49StonehiH 14 Army 37 Cincinnati 20 Bloomsburg 23 Lock Haven 7 Boston College 31-Buflalo 16 Temple 7 -Lafayette 14 Canisius 30- St Peter's 2 Carnegie-Mellon 38 Bethany. W.Va 7 Case Reserve 43 Rochester 36 Catholic 22 Randolph-Macon 12 Colgate 35 Towson 14 Columbia 24 Harvard Connecticut 35 Maine 27 Cortland St 53 Kean 27 Curry 19 Maine Maritime 8 Delaware 42 Dickinson 21 Duquesne 33 Fordham 20 -West Chester 21 Muhlenberg 10 Siena 7 -Bucknell 17 Framingham St 44 Mass-Boston 13 Franklin Marshall 26 Ursinus 12 Frostburg St 42 W. Virginia Tech 6 Gannon 26 Waynesburg 13 Gardner-Webb 27-Geneva 27 W. Virginia St 16 -California, Pa 22 Holy Cross 12 Edinboro 22 BlufftonO Georgetown, DC.

13 Glenville St 42 Grove City 40 Indiana, Pa 24 lona 40 W. Va Wesleyan 10 La Salle 28 Ithaca 45 Johns Hopkins 42- Juniata 23 Kutztown 28 Lycoming 28 Marist 20 Mansfield 31 -Swarthmore -Moravian 20, OT -Shippensburg 24 Kings, Pa 13 Fairfield 17 "'TJ Mass. Maritime 10 Mass-Dartmouth 27 Merrimack 42 Millersville 19 Montclair St 14 Navy 38 -Worcester St Assumption 12 New Haven 18 Wesley 10 Kent 24 New Hampshire 70 -East Stroudsburg 10 i Nichols 27 -Fitchburg St 16 Northwood, Mich. 43 Westminster, Pa. 26 Penn 17 Dartmouth 14 Penn St 20 Pittsburgh 13 Plymouth St 21- Princeton 6 RPI 45 Brockport 16 Cornell -Coast Guard 16 Richmond 20-Rowan 26 -Rhode Island 17, OT CW.

Post Salve Regina 21Bridgewater, Mass. 17 Shepherd 27 Clarion 20 Slippery Rock 52 Susquehanna 42 Syracuse 70 Union, N.Y. 34 W. Connecticut 27- W. Maryland 28 Wagner 40 -Fairmont St 7 Wilkes 40' Rutgers 14 lecn la i NJ.

City 16 Gettysburg 10 Sacred Heart 8 Maryland 20 West Virginia 42-Westfield St 27 Widener 30 Yale 30 W. New England 25 FDU-Madison 8 Brown 28 I SOUTH Ala-Birmingham 38 Alabama 20- Alabama St 41 Austin Peay 21 -Tennessee Tech 6 -Miss Valley St 12 Alcorn St 21 Dayton 17 Charleston Southern 55 North Greenville 37 I Davidson 16 Sewanee 9 E. Kentucky 27 E. Tennessee St 44 Florida 45! Florida St 62 Furman 34 Georgia 16 W. Kentucky 16 VMI 8 -Jackson St 7 i Duke 13 Samford 24 Wyoming 9 Georgia Southern 45Woftord 10 Hampton 23 N.

Carolina 10 Howard 21 Ark-Pine Bluff 20 Jacksonville 29 Chowan 7 Jacksonville St 10Middle Tennessee 7 Kentucky 31 Indiana 27 LSU 31 Auburn 19 Louisiana Tech 77- Marshall 24 Mississippi 30 SW Louisiana 14 -South Carolina 21 Vanderbilt 6 NE Louisiana 21-Norfolk St 38 F.Austin 10 Delaware St 26 Northwestern St 53- South Florida 24 Tennessee 20 Texas 24 Troy St 23 -Henderson St 7 Liberty 21 Florida 17, OT -Southern Miss 6 Chattanooga 6 Vlllanova 34 Virginia 20 Virginia Tech 27- W. Carolina 14 W. Illinois 17- -James Madison 30 Clemson 18 Miami 20, OT The Citadel 8 Elon 7 William Mary 24 Northeastern 21 MIDWEST Butler 13 Drake 28- St Francis, PaO Wis-LaCrosse 21 N. Illinois 10 Ohio U. 14 Ball St Illinois St 14 Texas 7 E.

Illinois 24 East Carolina 21- lowa St 38 Kansas 63 Kansas St 48 35 Michigan 59 Minnesota 41 Morehead St 29- Murray St 26 Ohio St 35 Purdue 35 S. Illinois 27 Toledo 35 Wisconsin 52 -E. Michigan 20 Memphis 14 Valparaiso 19 -SE Missouri 14 Missouri 14 -Cent Florida 7 N. Iowa 20 W. Michigan 7 UNLV 7 Indiana St 14 Youngstown St 20- SOUTHWEST Southern Meth.

17 -SW Missouri St 24 N. Carolina St 30 Oklahoma 12 SW Texas 3 Rice 14 Mississippi St 23 Prairie View 7 Arkansas St 28- Baylor 33 California 13 Hofstra 17 Northwestern 23-Oklahoma St 42 Southern U. 37 Texas 16 Sam Houston St 10 Texas Southern 49 Langston 12 Texas Tech 34-UCLA 42 FAR WEST -Fresno St 28 Houston 24 Colorado 25-Lehigh 22 -St Marys. Cal 16 Cal Poly-SLO 14 W. Washington 12 San Jose St 3 -North Carolina 34 Young 10 Idaho 16 Montana St 41.

Oregon 58 Stanford 37 Washington 20 Washington St 24-Weber St 6 PRINCETON 6, CORNELL 0 Cornell 0 0 Princeton 6 0 First Quarter Prl FG Sierk 47, 10:55. Pri-FG Sierk 37, 6:34. A 0-0 0-6 Cor 19 34-70 267 99 -2040-1 10-39 3-1 10-98 32:13 Prl 13 Rushes-yards- 33-133 I Passing- 166 1 1 Return Yards-Comp-Att-lnt-Punts 13-27-0 849 00 11-81 27:47 Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards- Time of Possession- INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Cornell. Harris 23-79. Bush 6-3.

Hood 5-minus 12 Princeton, Brandt 26-119, Tneisen 1-8, Burnham 6-6. PASSING Cornell, Hood 20-40-1-267. Princeton, Burnham 13-27-0-166. RECEIVING Cornell, Splendorio 541. Bush 4-24, Byrne 3-32.

Romney 325. Farese I 2-64. Harris 1-19, Buray 1-13, Moresco 1-9. Princeton, (irovdey 6-62, Canole 356, Brian on Palmer's 70-yard touchdown pass to Travis McGriff, who beat cornerback Dwayne Goodrich down the left sideline on third-and-11. Tennessee had taken a 17-10 lead two minutes earlier on Martin's 29-yard pass to Peerless Price, who won a jump ball in the end zone with Florida cornerback Dock Pollard.

The touchdown was set up when David Leaverton's punt was downed at the Gators 4. Florida couldn't move, punted from its end zone and committed a personal foul on the return. Tennessee started the ii 4th-and-l. I think they had a strong defense, but not a defense that should have kept us out of the end zone for the whole game," said Tigers sophomore running back Kyle Brandt, who had 119 yards on 26 carries. "Our defense played out of their minds, but the offense has to get better.

Our defense isn't going to shut out every team we play." Some last-minute heroics by cornerback Gerry Wilson thwarted Cornell's last chance to score by grabbing the first interception in the new facility. The Piscataway native picked off Mike Hood's pass intended for receiver Joe Splendorio on the Princeton 26 with 27 seconds left. "They had to go deep to win, they had no other choice," Wilson said. "I was just sitting on their deep passes hoping something would come my way." Cornell also had its chances to score. John Mc.Combs missed a 27-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the first half.

The Big Red also had a drive going in the fourth quarter and were poised on the Princeton 34 with 2nd-and-5. But a holding penalty and a false start set the Big Red back to the 49 and they eventually had to punt. Hood tried his best to keep Cornell in the game, complet- Danes posted their 14th consecutive victory, setting a school record and extending the nation's top Division II winning streak. Albany (3-0) took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter when Williams hit tight end Steve Checksfield on an 11-yard scoring pass. But Monmouth, in the series since 1995 when fullback Shawn Bryson broke through a mass at the line of scrimmage and sped untouched 57 yards for a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

Tennessee made it 10-3 on Hall's 39-yard field goal in the second quarter after Florida's third lost fumble of the half at the Gators 35. Tennessee linebacker Al Wilson was credited with causing the three fumbles, including one by Florida's Terry Jackson just as he was about to score on the Gators' first offensive possession. Li goal attempts of 40 and 32 yards in the third and fourth quarter. His last attempt missed left by about a foot. "Only one of my kicks felt good and it wasn't even the 47-yarder.

Only the second one felt good," Sierk said. Princeton plays its next two games on the road before returning back to Princeton Stadium for an Oct. 10 meeting with Brown. Hopefully by then a touchdown can be added to a list of firsts for the new stadium. the middle on an 11-yard run to score his second touchdown of the night.

Reed had 85 yards total on 19 carries. Williams, who was 13-of-20 passing for a career-high 199 yards, then led Albany on an 85-yard drive to tie the score at 21. The Associated Press Cornell's Kevin Farese, right, is tackled after a reception by Princeton's Gerry Wilson in the first half yesterday PRINCETON 6, CORNELL 0 A grand opening for the Tigers Rowan's solid defense shuts down C.W. Post Princeton notebook SIBLING RIVALRY: The brother tandem of Charlie (Princeton Class of 1966) and Pete Gogolak (Cornell Class of 1964) held a halftime field-goal kicking contest to raise money for the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital's Pediatric Unit. Infiniti made the donation for $5,000 as Charlie Gogolak made his only kick (due to an injured hamstring) and Pete made three of four attempts.

Charlie played for the Washington Redskins and Pete is still the Giants' career points leader with 646. COACHING RIVALRY: Both Princeton and Cornell coaching staffs have ties to New Jersey high school football. Joe Susan, Princeton's offensive coordinator, played for South River High School against Cornell's defensive coordinator, Greg Gigantino, who starred at J.P. Stevens. PRICE WARS: Ticket prices this season at the new Princeton Stadium are $5 a piece, $7 less than what it cost to see a game at the old Palmer Stadium.

KICKING IT: Alex Sierk's two field goals put him ahead of Charlie Gogolak on Princeton's all-time list. Sierk now has 28, four behind leader Christopher Lutz. Tara Finnegan By TARA FINNEGAN STAFF WRITER PRINCETON Almost everything was in place for yesterday's grand opening of the $45 million Princeton Stadium a near-sellout crowd, countless alumni, perfect weather. The only thing missing was the offense. Neither Princeton nor Cornell managed a touchdown in the season opener for both teams.

In fact, if it wasn't for two field goals by Princeton senior Alex Sierk, the game had plenty of potential to go down as a scoreless tie. Thankfully, Sierk converted field goals of 47 and 37 yards in the first quarter to give the Tigers a 6-0 opening day victory in front of an announced crowd of 27,800. "This is not considered an ugly victory by any means," Princeton coach Steve Tosches said. "Sure we would have liked to score to make it prettier." Even if Princeton did put more points on the board, it would only have been a minor cosmetic improvement. Both teams combined for 21 penalties (Princeton accounted for 11) and the Tigers only converted 3 of 15 third downs.

"It was very frustrating to keep walking off the field at ing 20 of 40 attempts for 267 yards, but it wasn't enough. "We had opportunities and hurt ourselves. We made penalties and turned the ball over," first-year Cornell coach Peter Mangurian said. "Our assessment of the offense is pretty obvious when you get. shut out, but (Mike's) not the reason we lost the game.

The turnovers and holding penalties are." Princeton had a chance to extend its lead in the second half, but Sierk missed field THE ASSOCIATED PRESS I Gus Ornstein passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns as Rowan posted its second consecutive shutout, beating C.W. Post 26-0 yesterday at Glassboro. Ornstein completed 21 of 33 passes, including touchdowns of 29 yards to David Trinidad and 20 yards to Jason Dorsey. Dorsey caught five passes for 72 yards, and Taman Bryant had five receptions for 92 yards for the Profs (2-0). Randy Swanson gained 49 yards and freshman Laquan Majette 48 to lead Rowan's ground game.

MONTCLAIR ST. 14, WESLEY 10: At Dover, Montclair defensive end Shawn Roberts returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown as the Red Hawks beat Wesley. Reggie Johnson scored the first touchdown for the Red Hawks (2-0) on an eight-yard touchdown run that capped an il-play, 84-yard drive in the first quarter. CORTLAND 53, KEAN 27: At Cortland, N.Y., Omar Darling ran for 146 yards and scored three TDs and backup quarterback Ryan McCarthy threw for two scores as Cortland beat Kean. Kean's only first-half score was a 72-yard run by Tidy Corbett.

Corbett added another touchdown in the third quarter, and finished with 241 yards on 21 carries. Another bright spot for Albany's comeback in second half turns back Monmouth THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ALBANY, N.Y. Eric Williams threw two touchdowns and ran for another as Albany rallied from a second half deficit to beat Monmouth 31-28 yesterday. With the win, the Great a Division I-AA school playing in the Northeast Conference, pulled even before halftime on a John DiPasquale throw to Anthony Galella in the end zone. Monmouth (0-3) went ahead 21-14 with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter after tailback Chris Reed cut through 3-30, Citovic.