Cornell relied on an effective ball-control offense to defeat the Lawrence Vikings, 31-7, in Saturday’s Midwest Conference football opener at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
The Rams held a 15-plus minute advantage in time of possession and had five scoring drives of at least 45 yards in claiming their 10th consecutive series win over the Vikings (0-1, 0-1).
Cornell won its MWC opener for the sixth year in a row and improved to 9-2 in such games since 2012.
The Rams scored in each quarter, capped by a pair of rushing touchdowns by Tony Gomez in the fourth that finished off Lawrence, which had closed the margin to 17-7 with 14:30 left in regulation.
Gomez paced Cornell’s rushing attack with 73 yards on 17 carries. The junior reached pay dirt on a 21-yard run around right end that pushed Cornell ahead 24-7 with 9:12 left to play.
Lawrence got a heavy dose of Gomez on Cornell’s ensuing offensive drive as well, which resulted in his 13-yard TD run with 1:55 remaining.
Cornell took the game’s opening possession 65 yards on 15 plays, finished by a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal from freshman BooBoo Browning for his first collegiate touchdown. First-year kicker Mitchell Frahm connected on a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter, giving Cornell a 10-0 cushion it would take into halftime.
Cornell junior wideout Trey Birdsong, the reigning MWC Special Teams Performer of the Week, joined the scoring act late in the third quarter on a 37-yard TD reception from John Smith. Birdsong finished with a career-high 103 receiving yards on five catches.
Smith was an efficient 15-of-21 passing for 175 yards for the turnover-free Rams.
Cornell’s run defense limited the Vikings to just 34 yards on 21 carries. Senior linebacker Hunter Holt led the charge with six tackles, including two for losses and a pair of sacks. Luca Schoensee was also in on six tackles and had one sack.
Shawn Laikupu, Sam Adams and Roman West each recorded one tackle for loss for the Rams.
The Rams outgained Lawrence in total yards, 325-224, and kept the chains moving by converting 9-of-15 chances on third down.