Football News Releases
Saturday marks final home game for five Cornell seniors
MOUNT VERNON - The Cornell College football team will try to send its five seniors out on a winning note Saturday when they take the field for the final time at Ash Park Stadium.
Don Bladt (Shelby/AHST), Alex Macey (Oceanside, Calif./Vista), Brian King (West Des Moines/Valley), Zach Zasada (Sauk City, Wis./Sauk Prairie) and Andy Siar (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) will all be in the starting lineup when the Rams (1-7 overall, 0-6 IIAC) take on the Loras Duhawks (2-4, 2-6) in a noon kickoff in Mount Vernon.
The seniors have endured several close calls - 10 losses by 10 points or less since 2006 - including three consecutive single-digit defeats. Saturday, they'll seek an Iowa Conference win that has eluded them the past four years.
"This is a special group and always will be," Cornell head coach Matt Dillon said of his first recruiting class in 2006. "They have literally stuck with us through some very tough times. All five have received a great education at Cornell and are on target to graduate. They deserve to go out with success on the football field too. They are a great bunch of guys and good football players."
The Rams look to bounce back from their closest call of the season, a 17-16 loss to Simpson last Saturday on Halloween night in Indianola. Cornell took a 16-10 lead into halftime, but momentum turned on one big play by the Storm early in the third quarter.
Facing a third-and-1, Simpson running back Jake Rissi escaped a host of Cornell tacklers at the line of scrimmage and went 73 yards for a touchdown with only 1:34 elapsed in the second half. Simpson kicked the go-ahead extra point, a point that was the difference in a scoreless battle the rest of the way.
"They ran a power off tackle to their full back," Dillon said. "We had three guys at the point of attack. We had three guys miss the tackle and he eluded another tackle. That's the frustrating thing, giving up that one big play. We were right there again."
Cornell moved the ball throughout the contest, scoring on three of its four possessions in the first half. Andrew Johnson (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds Park Academy) nailed a 25-yard field goal midway through the first quarter and Andrew Burdick (Apollo Beach, Fla./Lennard) fired a pair of touchdown passes in the final six minutes of the half.
Burdick hit Macey with a 32-yard touchdown pass with 5:48 to go in the second quarter, although the Rams missed a costly extra point kick. Burdick then capped an impressive 13-play, 80-yard drive with a 9-yard scoring strike to junior Harry Herbert (Austin, Texas/Charleston) on the final play of the half that gave the Rams a 16-10 lead.
Three of Cornell's four possessions in the second half ended in Simpson territory, including an interception in the end zone late in the third quarter. The Rams' final possession stalled on downs after a deflected pass fell incomplete at the Simpson 45 with less than five minutes to play.
Burdick finished 18-of-36 passing for 180 yards and the two touchdowns. He also rushed 15 times for 59 yards. Charles McDonald (Raymore, Mo./Raymore-Peculiar) led the Rams' ground attack with 62 yards on 16 carries. Kyle Tierney (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) hauled in eight receptions for 90 yards.
Cody Backhaus (New Boston, Mich./Huron) and Tyler Bailey (West Branch/West Branch) led Cornell's defense with eight tackles apiece. Bailey had two tackles for loss and Backhaus recovered a fumble.
About the Duhawks - Loras is coming off a tough two-game stretch with losses to undefeated Central (41-17 on Oct. 24) and one-loss Coe (38-13 on Oct. 31). The Duhawks were outgained in total yards, 463-163, in last week's home loss to Coe.
Quarterback Vaughn Gesing heads the Loras attack, completing 59 percent of his passes for 1,503 yards and seven touchdowns this season. His top target is John Ingersoll, who has 483 receiving yards and four touchdowns. The Duhawks topped the 40-point mark in their two IIAC wins over Simpson (45-21) and Dubuque (43-14).
The series - Loras owns a 12-3 edge over the Rams in the all-time series, dating back to a 38-0 Cornell victory in 1908. The Duhawks have won the last 12 meetings.
Last meeting - Loras got a 152-yard, three-touchdown effort from Alex McGrew and capitalized on four Cornell turnovers in a 42-0 victory on Oct. 4, 2008 in Dubuque. Ben McMahon caught five balls for 119 yards and two touchdowns for the Duhawks, who pulled away with 28 second-half points. Cornell was held to 217 total yards and converted only 2 of 14 third downs.
Milestone for Macey - Macey became the eighth Ram in school history to total 100 career receptions after a four-catch effort last week. The bruising tight end has 103 receptions for 1,175 yards in four seasons at Cornell. Macey needs five receptions Saturday to pass Dave Raymond (106, 1983-86) and Josh Youngblood (107, 2004-07) for sixth place on the school's all-time receptions list.
Passing marks - Burdick moved into second place on Cornell's single-season list for pass completions with 144. The freshman quarterback is approaching the school record of 161 completions, set by Mark Steger in 1969. Burdick's 1,675 passing yards rank fourth-best in a season at Cornell. Steger also holds that mark with 1,966 yards in 1969.
Burdick last week became the third Ram in school history to compile 2,000 yards of total offense (passing and rushing) in a season, currently with 2,113. He needs only 35 yards Saturday to break Chris Lovely's record of 2,147 yards, set in 2003.
Home finale - Cornell looks to avoid its second consecutive winless season at Ash Park Stadium. The Rams' last win on home turf was on Sept. 8, 2007, a 35-34 nonconference victory over Alma. Cornell's last home win in IIAC play was a 25-21 homecoming victory over Dubuque on Oct. 15, 2005.
ACE (Attitude, Character, Effort) Awards - Offense: lineman Zach Schwarz (Marengo, Ill./Marengo); Defense: defensive back Backhaus; Special Teams: defensive lineman Zachary Freeman (Miramar, Fla./Monsignor Pace); Scout Team Offense: quarterback Shane McNally (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter); Scout Team Defense: Defensive back Cameron Van Zante (Grinnell/Lynnville-Sully).
Watch the game live - Fans can watch Saturday's game online via live webcast at www.cornellcollege.edu/athletics/streaming/index.shtml. Cornell's student-based radio station, KRNL (FM 89.7), will provide the play-by-play and color during the webcast.
