Cornell’s John Smith accounted for five touchdowns and Sam Adams snatched a game-sealing interception late as the Rams earned a big program win over Ripon, 36-33, in Midwest Conference football action Saturday at Hopp Stadium.
The Rams came away with their first series win at Ripon since 2014 and climbed into a five-way tie for second place in the MWC race at 2-1. Ripon slipped to 1-2 in the MWC after sharing the regular-season title a year ago.
It was the Smith-led Cornell offense that struck last in a see-saw contest that witnessed five lead changes over the final 31 minutes. Trailing 33-29 early in the fourth quarter, the Rams marched 88 yards on a 12-play, 6-minute drive for the winning score.
Junior wideout Trey Birdsong took a short pass from Smith and raced 47 yards to the end zone, marking their second TD connection of the day. Mitchell Frahm converted the PAT kick to put the Rams ahead 36-33 with 3:55 remaining.
The Red Hawks (1-3 overall, 1-2 MWC) got to midfield on the ensuing possession, when Adams intercepted a first-down pass at the Cornell 20-yard line. Cornell ran out the remaining 2:26 of the clock, which included a game-clinching 14-yard rush by Tony Gomez.
Smith played a part in all five of Cornell’s touchdowns. The senior quarterback passed for 255 yards and four TDs – both career-highs – and also had a one-yard TD run.
Gomez led Cornell’s rushing attack, carrying the ball 26 times for 116 yards. It was junior running back’s third 100-yard game as a Ram.
Birdsong also had a huge afternoon with 150 receiving yards on only four catches. The junior speedster hauled in a 69-yard TD pass in the second quarter that triggered Cornell’s comeback from a 20-7 deficit.
Cole Reed had five receptions for 33 yards, including a 6-yard scoring strike that pushed Cornell ahead 21-20 just before halftime. Freshman Logan Godfrey’s first collegiate reception was a pivotal 14-yard TD that moved the Rams back in front at 29-26 with 13:10 left in regulation.
First-year BooBoo Browning finished with 44 rushing yards on only four attempts. He scored on a two-point conversion following Godfrey’s TD.
Jorden Delap and Luca Schoensee, a pair of first- and second-year linebackers, paced Cornell’s defense with 10 tackles apiece. Both players had one tackle for loss. Nicholas Sells added eight tackles, including one for loss.
The Rams racked up 429 yards of total offense and went 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions