A back and forth battle between the Caldwell University and the Chestnut Hill College Sprint Football teams, both rivals within the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference in all other sports, saw the Griffins prevail 35-30 Saturday evening at A.A. Garthwaite Field in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
The Griffins improve to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Collegiate Sprint Football League South division. The Cougars fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in divisional play.
The two teams combined for over 900 yards total offense with the Griffins producing 524 yards (291 rushing and 233 passing).
The running game saw Xavier Limehouse rush for 185 yards on 30 carries with one touchdown while quarterback Griffin Walter ran for 113 yards on 15 carries. His 185 yards puts him over the 500-yard mark for the season, becoming the first player in program history to record to 500+ yard seasons. Walter also threw for 233 yards on 22 completions and tossed four touchdowns.
Brady Cunningham caught nine passes for 112 yards and one touchdown while Aiden Neff caught five passes for 55 yards and two touchdowns. Amir Jenkins scored the Griffins' remaining touchdown.
Brady Reynolds made all five point after touchdown attempts and in doing so became the third player in program history to score 100 or more points. He currently has 101 career points (77 PAT, 8 FG)
On the defensive side Riley Stidham led the team with five tackles, including two for loss and a sack. Jenkins and Christopher Epps add four tackles apiece.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, scoring on their opening drive. The Griffins came right back on their first possession with a 12-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown catch by Cunningham.
The Griffins used another 12-play drive, this one going for 80 yards as they took a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter on Limehouse's two yard run.
Caldwell needed just one play to tie the score on their next possession when Cougar QB Josh Smith completed a 68-yard pass and run to Joey Ciccotelli to make the score 14-14.
The Griffins again ate up the clock on their next possession with a ten-play 80-yard drive as Neff capped it off with a 29-yard touchdown pass with 3:27 left in the second quarter, giving the Griffins a 21-14 lead after Reynolds' extra point.
On the Griffins' final drive of the half, Walter appeared to fumble the ball in the final seconds which if allowed would have led to a game-tying touchdown, but the official ruled Walter down as the half came to a close.
Neff scored his second touchdown midway through the third quarter on a five yard catch from Walter to take a 28-14 lead.
Caldwell followed with two straight scores, first a touchdown with 5:24 left in the quarter and then a field goal with just 25 seconds left in the period, pulling the Cougars within four 28-24 as the teams headed into the final quarter.
On the Cougars' first possession in the fourth quarter, the Griffins' Nathan Singleton forced a fumble by Smith which was recovered by Gabriel Baker with nine minutes left. Seven plays later Walter found Jenkins open on the right side and the senior sprinted into the end zone with his first career touchdown. Reynolds followed with the extra point and the griffins held a 35-24 lead with 5:01 remaining.
Caldwell scored once more on their next drive and went for the two-point conversion. The first attempt was intercepted but brought back due to a Griffin penalty. On the second attempt Cougar quarterback Anthony Torres was tackled by Charles Rock to end the drive as the Griffins led 35-30 with just 2:43 left.
Three plays and a first down on the Griffins final drive allowed the team to run out the clock.
The sprint football team returns to action for their final home game on Saturday, October 31, 2026 when they host St. Thomas Aquinas College. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
