MOUNT VERNON – John Smith fired touchdown passes to four different receivers and the Rams held off a late charge by Ripon to earn a 37-34 Midwest Conference football win in Cornell's 110th Homecoming game Saturday at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
 
The Rams (2-2 overall, 2-1 MWC) rang the victory bell on Homecoming for the eighth time in the last 11 years and climbed into third place in the MWC standings behind unbeatens Lake Forest and Monmouth, both at 3-0.
 
Smith celebrated his final Homecoming with one of his best days as a Ram, completing 20-of-26 passes for 309 yards and four TDs. It was the fourth career 300-yard passing game for the fifth-year quarterback, who moved to No. 7 on the program's career list for passing TDs with 32.
 
Smith's final TD pass of the game – a 36-yard connection with junior Gavin Soukup – stretched Cornell's lead to 34-10 only 53 seconds into the third quarter. Ripon (1-3 overall, 1-2 MWC) retaliated with three unanswered scores, trimming the margin to 34-26 in the fourth quarter.
 
Cornell sophomore kicker Mitchell Frahm provided what proved to be the winning points with a 29-yard field goal with 4:32 remaining that put the Rams ahead 37-26.
 
The Red Hawks scored on the ensuing possession and closed within 37-34 with still 2:35 left to play. The Rams closed it out on the final drive with a pair of clutch third-down completions from Smith. On 3rd-and-13, Soukup hauled in a contested 18-yard throw to move the chains. Elliott Dyrland then sealed the victory with an 8-yard catch on 3rd-and-8.
 
Soukup had a career day with seven receptions for 117 yards. Dyrland finished with two grabs for 81 yards, highlighted by a 73-yard TD on Cornell's second play of the game. It was Dyrland's first collegiate TD.  
 
Cornell gained control with a 21-point second quarter that started with a 28-yard TD run by Tony Gomez, who totaled 94 yards on 20 carries. Smith threw TD passes to Cole Reed (11 yards) and Eric Walker (19 yards) late in the first half as Cornell took a 28-10 lead into intermission.    
 
The teams combined for nearly 900 yards of total offense in a turnover-free game.
 
The Rams scored in the opening minute of each half. They recovered an onside kick to start the second half, and two plays later, Soukup caught a short pass in the middle of the field and raced to the end zone to give Cornell a 24-point lead.
 
Senior safety Anthony Hoffman led Cornell's defense with seven tackles, including five solo stops. Julius Jenkins recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, followed by Shawn Laikupu with 2.0.
 
Coming up – The Rams are on the road next Saturday, Oct. 12, to face Beloit (1-3 overall, 1-2 MWC) in Beloit, Wis.