GRINNELL – Cornell's football team secured a winning season and
Trey Birdsong established two school records in Saturday's 51-20 Midwest Conference rout of Grinnell at Rosenbloom Field.
The Rams topped the 30-point mark for the sixth time and finished a successful campaign at 6-4 overall while tying for third place in the MWC race at 6-3 under fourth-year head coach
Dan Pifer.
Cornell achieved the program's first winning season since 2014. The six conference wins are the most since the 2013 squad tied for second in the MWC with a 7-2 mark.
Birdsong capped a terrific junior year with another big performance, racking up 191 all-purpose yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns. He became Cornell's new single-season leader for receiving touchdowns with 13, breaking a long-standing mark of 12 set by Joe Campanelli in 1968.
Birdsong's 1,829 all-purpose yards shattered Cornell's season record of 1,659, set by Devan Clark in 2017. Birdsong had six receptions for 117 yards against the Pioneers (2-8 overall, 2-7 MWC), including scoring grabs of 47 and 38 yards. He finished the fall with 967 yards receiving, the fourth-highest total in school history.
Senior quarterback
John Smith completed 18-of-26 passes for 264 yards and three TDs. He became the sixth Ram to throw for 2,000 yards in a season, and first since 2016.
Smith connected with sophomore
Cole Reed six times for 105 yards, including a 28-yard TD that gave Cornell a quick 23-0 lead with still 9:40 left to play in the opening quarter.
Cornell's ground game generated 183 yards and four TDs.
Tony Gomez carried 19 times for 92 yards with a pair of 15-yard scoring runs.
Gage Hugart and
BooBoo Browning also had rushing TDs for the Rams, who netted 451 yards of total offense.
The Rams set the tone on Grinnell's first offensive play, recording a safety on an errant snap that was recovered in the end zone. After Cornell put up the initial 23 points, the Pioneers trimmed the margin to 23-14 by halftime.
Cornell scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Cornell's defense bottled up the Pioneers' run game, which netted minus-eight yards on 24 rushing attempts. Sophomore linebacker
Luca Schoensee posted a team-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 for losses. He recorded one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Hunter Holt had six tackles, including a sack.
Sam Adams came away with an interception, his third of the season.
