GRINNELL – Cornell's football team will use Saturday's thrilling 35-34 comeback win at Knox as a springboard into this weekend's season finale at Grinnell.
 
Coach Dan Pifer's young Rams showed their resiliency with the odds stacked against them last Saturday, trailing 21-0 at halftime and 34-14 with less than 12 minutes remaining.
 
Three offensive touchdowns, a blocked PAT kick, a goal-line defensive stand, a recovered onside kick and a clinching PAT kick – all in the fourth quarter – factored into a rally for the ages and rewarded the Rams with their first road win of the season.
 
The Rams (3-6 overall, 3-5 Midwest Conference) look to close out the fall on another positive note this Saturday against the in-state rival Grinnell Pioneers (2-7 overall, 2-6 MWC). Kickoff is noon at Rosenbloom Field in Grinnell.
 
Cornell has a chance to finish with back-to-back wins for the third consecutive season against a Pioneers team that has dropped its last five games since beating Beloit, 40-13, on Oct. 2.
 
Grinnell is coming off a 55-24 road loss to Illinois College. 
 
The series – The Rams have dominated the long-time series with Grinnell, winning eight consecutive meetings and 16 of the last 17. Grinnell hasn't beaten the Rams on its home field since 1986.
 
Cornell holds a 58-35-4 advantage in the all-time series. The Rams have averaged 39.5 points during their current winning streak over Grinnell.
 
Last meeting – The teams haven't met since 2018, when Cornell earned a 23-13 road win despite being outgained in yards, 341-256, and converting only 1-of-14 chances on third down.
 
Cornell's Trevhon Porterfield rushed for 103 yards and three TDs, while Mason Davis recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game with three catches for 100 yards.
 
About the Pioneers – Grinnell snapped a 26-game losing streak in MWC play with a 35-28 overtime win over Lawrence on Sept. 18. The Pioneers' 2019 season was halted after three games due to low roster numbers and the 2020 campaign was canceled because of COVID-19.
 
Sophomore quarterback Grayson Woodhouse has thrown for 1,146 yards and six TDs. His top target, Dustin Saia, ranks third in the MWC with 712 receiving yards on 46 catches. Saia (15.4) and Nick Rhinehart (15.2) both average more than 15.0 yards per catch.
 
Danny Carter heads the rushing attack with 665 yards and seven TDs. Adam Khater is the team's top tackler with 60 stops, including 5.0 for losses.
 
Player of the Week – Cornell's Colden Clark was named MWC Defensive Performer of the Week for his 22-tackle performance against Knox. The senior middle linebacker tied the program's single-game record for tackles and shattered the mark for solo stops with 20.
 
Clark is No. 2 in the MWC with 99 total tackles. He stands seventh among NCAA Division III players in solo tackles per game (6.8) and ranks 13th nationally in total tackles (11.0 tpg).   
 
Perfect on PATs – Junior Adam Mitchell converted all five of his PAT kicks against Knox, including the game-winner with 24 seconds remaining. He is an efficient 21-of-22 on PAT kicks this season.
 
Mitchell allowed Cornell's incredible comeback to happen with a perfectly-executed onside kick that the Rams recovered with less than one minute remaining. He averaged 48.8 yards on five kickoffs.
 
The Rams delivered another pivotal special teams play following Knox's final TD. Freshman Trey Gohlmann blocked the PAT kick, which left Knox's lead at 34-14 with 14:54 remaining. The one point mattered in the end.
 
Offensive flurry – Cornell scored touchdowns on all five of its second-half possessions last Saturday, covering 60, 75, 64, 99 and 41 yards.
 
The impressive 14-play, 99-yard march came after the Rams stuffed Knox on four straight rushing attempts when the Prairie Fire had a chance to put the game away with a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line, leading 34-21.   
 
 100-yard back – Senior Peni Waqairatu went over 100 rushing yards for the second time in his career, netting 106 on 15 carries against the Prairie Fire. He rambled 28 yards for a TD that brought the Rams within six points with 45 seconds left.
 
Waqairatu eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career, now standing at 1,049 through 37 games as a Ram.   
 
Senior celebration – Senior quarterback Isaak Hahn connected with senior tight end Davis for a game-tying 10-yard TD pass with 24 seconds left last week. 
 
Hahn, who played sparingly against Knox, was thrust into the game at a pressure-packed moment when freshman Denver Wilson left with an injury on Cornell's final drive. After handing off to Waqairatu for a gain of 16 yards to the Knox 10, Hahn delivered the decisive TD strike to his veteran teammate Davis.
 
Davis finished a big day with 111 yards on a career-high 12 receptions, highlighted by a pair of TDs. It marked the sixth career 100-yard receiving game for Davis, who enters the finale with 1,353 yards and 93 receptions as a Ram.