BELOIT, Wis. – Freshman wide receiver Chase Kennedy stepped up with a career performance and Cornell's defense pitched its first shutout in 11 years as the Rams handled Midwest Conference football foe Beloit, 28-0, Saturday at Strong Stadium.
 
Coach Dan Pifer's Rams improved to 3-2 overall, which marks the program's best start through five games since 2014 (4-1). Cornell kept hold of third place in the MWC standings at 3-1.
 
Cornell claimed its ninth consecutive series win over the Buccaneers (1-4 overall, 1-3 MWC), although this game was in the balance deep into the third quarter. The Rams scored 21 points over the final 16 minutes to pull away.
 
Kennedy, who entered the contest without a collegiate reception, broke through in spectacular fashion with 13 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns. The 5-foot-7, 135-pound wideout accounted for Cornell's first two scores of the game, including a 13-yard reception from John Smith that put the Rams ahead 7-0 with 1:27 remaining in the first half.
 
The Rams made it 14-0 with seven seconds left in the third quarter on Kennedy's 14-yard grab from Smith.
 
Kennedy's 13 total receptions are the most by a Ram since Ben Knake hauled in 14 at Ripon on Sept. 27, 2014.
 
Cornell took total control early in the fourth quarter on a fake punt for a TD. On 4th-and-9, punter Tony Gomez executed a shovel pass to sophomore BooBoo Browning and Browning raced 47 yards to the end zone, pushing Cornell's lead to 21-0.
 
Freshman Darnell Boyd capped the scoring with a 6-yard TD reception from Thomas Monken with 1:53 remaining. It was Boyd's first collegiate score.
 
Smith finished with over 200 yards passing and two TDs. Browning spelled the absence of Gomez in the offensive backfield, rushing for 87 yards on 20 carries. He had two receptions for 57 yards.
 
The Rams dominated on the defensive side, limiting the Buccaneers to one rushing yard on 11 attempts. Beloit managed only 159 total yards as Cornell owned a decisive 23-minute advantage in time of possession.
 
Sophomore linebacker Jorden Delap collected a team-high nine tackles, including five solo stops. The Rams recorded 5.0 tackles for loss, highlighted by one sack apiece from Shawn Laikupu and Holden Nowack.
 
The Rams walked away with their first shutout win since a 45-0 blanking at Grinnell in 2013.
 
Coming up – The Rams play host to MWC co-leader Monmouth (4-1 overall, 4-0 MWC) at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 19, at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.