Cornell’s football team battled undefeated Lake Forest to a one-score game for a half before the defending Midwest Conference champions pulled away in a 41-10 win Saturday at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
The Rams (1-3 overall, 1-2 MWC) hung within 14-7 at intermission and received the opening kickoff of the third quarter. Momentum quickly slipped when the Foresters (4-0, 3-0) recovered a Cornell fumble on the fifth play, starting a stretch of three consecutive touchdown drives by Lake Forest that changed the game.
The Foresters outscored Cornell 20-0 in the third quarter to avoid the upset bid by the Rams.
Cornell fought throughout against a balanced Lake Forest squad the boasted the MWC’s top scoring offense and defense. The Foresters built an early 14-0 first-quarter lead, but the Rams climbed back in it with a key fourth-down stop on defense by freshman Luca Schoensee at the Lake Forest 40.
The Rams took advantage of a short field, executing a nine-play scoring drive that culminated with a one-yard TD plunge by quarterback Jordan Modrynski midway through the second quarter.
Lake Forest broke it open in the third quarter with TD drives of 35, 78 and 27 yards. A fumble recovery and blocked punt gave the Foresters prime field position on two of the scores as the visitors increased their lead to 34-7.
After 27 unanswered points by Lake Forest, Cornell’s Adam Mitchell connected on a 31-yard field goal with 4:40 left in regulation to complete the scoring.
Modrynski finished the day 12-of-24 passing for 151 yards, although was sacked five times. He hooked up with LaQuanta Crawford twice for 66 yards, including a 55-yard strike early in the second quarter. Gavin Soukup had a team-high five receptions for 41 yards.
Cornell’s rushing attack was limited to 44 yards on 38 carries. Daniel Abesames-Hammer led the team with 18 yards on four attempts.
Freshman Cole Reed netted 105 yards on five kickoff returns. Punter Landon Lockington averaged 44.0 yards on five attempts, highlighted by a long of 57.
Linebacker Nicholas Sells recorded a game-high eight tackles. Sam Adams finished with seven tackles and two pass breakups. Lockington had one tackle for loss.
The Foresters held a 470-195 advantage in total yards. Damon Bonds rushed for 174 yards and three TDs, while Tre Stewart passed for three TDs.
Coming up – The Rams are on the road next Saturday, Oct. 8 to face MWC foe Lawrence (0-4 overall, 0-3 MWC) in Appleton, Wis. Kickoff is 1 p.m.