MOUNT VERNON – Cornell showed it's the better football team this time around.
The Rams avenged an early-season setback to North Division foe Macalester in Saturday's 17-14 Senior Day victory on Midwest Conference Championship Weekend at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
Cornell, which fell to the Scots by 15 points on Oct. 5, was in control for much of the rematch and closed out the season with consecutive wins to finish at 4-5. It was the Rams' sixth victory in the last eight season finales under Coach Vince Brautigam.
Cornell's defense held the Scots (4-6) to nine first downs and 208 total yards, most of which came late in the contest. Macalester managed only nine rushing yards on 29 carries.
The Scots made things interesting in the end, pulling within 17-14 on an 80-yard touchdown drive with 2:19 remaining. Cornell's Drake Crawford (FR/Toledo, Iowa) recovered the ensuing on-side kick and then quarterback Isaak Hahn (JR/Marion, Iowa) sealed it with a first down run on 3rd-and-5, prompting one last sprint to the Victory Bell for nine Ram seniors.
Peni Waqairatu (JR/East Melbourne, Australia) netted a career-high 124 rushing yards on 21 carries. The junior delivered the decisive touchdown on an 8-yard run that put the Rams ahead 17-7 with 10:05 to go in the fourth quarter. The score was set up by a Macalester punt that never made it past the line of scrimmage, giving Cornell possession at the 8.
Cornell had a chance to close the door on Macalester earlier in the fourth quarter. As the Rams were going in for a score, Macalester recovered a fumble on a quarterback sneak at the 1-yard line. But Cornell's defense quickly responded with a 3-and-out, highlighted by a sack from Eddie Del Castillo (SO/Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) resulting in a 15-yard loss.
Cornell senior Aaron Nicoll (SR/Longmont, Colo.) accounted for the lone points of the first half, booting a 25-yard field goal with 2:09 left before intermission. The Rams limited the guests to 39 total yards and three first downs in during a dominant opening 30 minutes.
The Rams went ahead 10-0 on Hahn's 4-yard run with 4:57 left in the third quarter. The Scots answered on the next series with a 60-yard TD pass, cutting the gap to 10-7 three minutes later.
Hahn finished 12-of-18 passing for 141 yards. Mason Davis (JR/Kansas City, Mo.) had four receptions for 66 yards and rushed seven times for 51 yards.
Safety Tylor Fairbanks (JR/Marion, Iowa) once again led the defense with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops. Del Castillo, Easton Jensen (SO/Mesquite, Nev.), George Ziama (SR/St. Louis, Mo.) and Jordan Burke (SO/Abita Springs, La.) had one sack apiece. Demarius Pittman (SO/Denver, Colo.) had an interception and return of 32 yards.
