Cornell’s football team exploded for 35 second-half points, highlighted by two touchdowns in the final 45 seconds for an improbable 35-34 Midwest Conference victory over stunned Knox Saturday afternoon at the Knosher Bowl.
The Rams, who were down 21-0 at halftime, finished a wild flurry of late events on Isaak Hahn’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Mason Davis that tied it at 34-34 with 24 seconds remaining. Adam Mitchell booted the PAT kick through the uprights and sent Cornell out victorious for the 18th consecutive time in the series with Knox.
Cornell (3-6 overall, 3-5 MWC) had a long ways to go in a short amount of time, trailing 34-14 with 14:54 left in the fourth quarter following Knox’s final score of the game.
The Rams dented the large deficit on the ensuing possession with a 38-yard TD run by Sam Yager that made it 34-21 with 11:03 remaining.
Knox appeared ready to put the game away on its next drive with a first-and-goal at Cornell’s 4-yard line. The Rams delivered a tough defensive stand and got the ball back on downs at their own 1.
The Rams then executed an impressive 99-yard, 14-play touchdown drive. Peni Waqairatu capped the long scoring march with a 28-yard run that suddenly brought Cornell within 34-28 with 45 seconds left.
Cornell recovered Mitchell’s ensuing onside kick at the Knox 41, setting up more late heroics. The Prairie Fire helped the cause with a 15-yard penalty on the first play, followed by a 16-yard run from Waqairatu that brought the ball to the Knox 10.
After a Cornell timeout, Hahn fired a strike to Davis on a slant route that saw the senior tight end fight his way into the end zone for the tying score.
Cornell’s Colden Clark enjoyed a record-setting day on the defensive side, tying the program’s single-game mark with 22 tackles. The senior linebacker accounted for a whopping 20 solo tackles, breaking the record of 15 set by Nick Brautigam in 2012.
Freshman Trey Gohlmann came up with a crucial block on Knox’s final PAT kick, saving one point that proved large in the end. It was Gohlmann’s third blocked kick of the season.
Davis finished another big receiving day with 111 yards on 12 catches and a pair of TDs. Waqairatu rushed 15 times for 106 yards. Daniel Abesames-Hammer netted 57 yards on the ground, Denver Wilson 49 and Yager 47. Tom Martushev had a 1-yard TD run, his fifth of the season.
Wilson, a freshman, was 18-of-28 passing for 149 yards and one TD. Hahn completed 2-of-3 passes for 25 yards, including the late TD.
Cornell racked up 471 yards of total offense, 273 coming on the ground.
The Rams close the season with a road trip to in-state rival Grinnell Saturday, Nov. 13. Kickoff is noon at Rosenbloom Field.