MOUNT VERNON – Cornell accumulated 485 yards of total offense and scored 30 unanswered points to run away from Knox, 44-14, in a Midwest Conference football rout Saturday at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
The Rams (4-4 overall, 4-3 MWC) continued their series dominance, beating the Prairie Fire (2-6 overall, 1-6 MWC) for the 33rd time in the last 36 meetings.
Cornell had six different players score while posting its highest point total of the season. Two of the touchdowns came from senior running back
Tony Gomez, who became the 11th Ram to eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing mark in a career.
Gomez carried 12 times for 57 yards with a pair of 3-yard scoring runs. He boosted his career rushing yardage total to 2,027.
Quarterback
John Smith enjoyed an efficient passing day, completing 18-of-25 attempts for 271 yards and three TDs. He climbed to No. 6 on Cornell's career list for passing TDs with 39.
The Rams gained early momentum when
Shawn Laikupu broke through Knox's offensive line to block a 21-yard field goal attempt on the game's opening possession. Cornell then marched 74 yards on 11 plays, capped by Gomez's short TD run.
Cornell piled on 23 second-quarter points to break the game open. Smith fired all three of his TD passes in the period, connecting with
Kaleb Skeffington (35 yards),
Cole Reed (49 yards) and
Elliott Dyrland (8 yards).
Mitchell Frahm booted a 34-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, sending the Rams into intermission with a 30-7 lead.
Gomez tallied his 22nd career rushing TD early in the third quarter. Sophomore
Logan Godfrey hauled in an 18-yard TD pass from
Thomas Monken with 13:15 left in regulation and the Rams comfortably ahead 44-7.
Reed and
Gavin Soukup shared game-high honors with 91 receiving yards apiece. Reed led the team with six receptions. Sophomore
Trey Anderson paced the rushing attack with a career-high 72 yards on only six carries.
BooBoo Browning rushed seven times for 47 yards.
The Rams held the MWC's top-ranked rushing offense to 149 yards. Junior linebacker
Luca Schoensee registered a game-high 11 tackles, including seven solos.
Julius Jenkins collected two sacks for minus-14 yards.
Jorden Delap added seven tackles and recovered a fumble.
Cornell scored points on each of its first six possessions and converted on 9-of-11 third down chances.
Coming up – The Rams hit the road for the final time this season with a 1 p.m. matchup against Illinois College (6-2 overall, 5-2 MWC) next Saturday, Nov. 9 in Jacksonville, Ill.
