Caldwell University Sprint Football Team Kicks Off Inaugural Season

WEST CALDWELL, NJ — There’s a new sport at Caldwell University: sprint football. On Saturday, the Caldwell Cougars stepped onto the field at James Caldwell High School to battle the defending league champions, the University of Pennsylvania Quakers, in their first-ever home game.

Caldwell University added sprint football to its sports program last year. Sprint football is a full-contact, intercollegiate, varsity sport and has the same rules as regular college football, except that all players must weigh 172 pounds or less.

• See related article: Caldwell University Adds Sprint Football To Its Sports Program

With fans packing the stands at Bonnel Field, the Cougars literally rolled out the red carpet for their inaugural home game, extending a rug from a pre-game reception area to the stadium.

Though the Cougars fought valiantly, they lost to Penn – an undefeated team in 2016 – by a score of 69-6. But there were plenty of positive highlights for Cougar fans to replay as they cheer on their team in the future:

• Caldwell managed 209 yards of offense with 140 on the ground and 69 through the air
• Caldwell’s first-ever points came in the third quarter when Nysir Smith etched his name in the Cougars’ record book with a 43-yard touchdown run
• Carl Watson finished with 136 all-purpose yards after recording 98 yards on five kickoff returns
• Quintin Quartararo matched Penn’s Matt Gorman for game-high honors with 13 total tackles
• The Cougars won their first-ever coin toss

The Cougars compete in the nine-member Collegiate Sprint Football League, which includes teams from Army West Point, Chestnut Hill, Cornell, Franklin Pierce, Mansfield, Navy, Post, and Penn.

Among the assistant coaches helping head coach Daryle Weiss is Ken Trimmer, former head football coach at James Caldwell High School for more than 20 years.

• See related article: Caldwell University Hires Retired James Caldwell High Football Coach

Caldwell’s upcoming home games are 1 p.m. Oct. 14 against Mansfield University and noon Oct. 28 against Franklin Pierce University.

For those who want to make road trips, the Caldwell Cougars are at Cornell University 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22; Post University noon Saturday, Sept. 30, and the U.S. Naval Academy 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3.

Click here for 2017 schedule information.

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Photo: Caldwell University

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