APPLETON, Wis. – Cornell's defense dominated the day and handed head coach
Curt Ritchie his first collegiate win with Saturday's 20-0 Midwest Conference football triumph over Lawrence at the Banta Bowl.
Cornell sophomore
Zavion Jordan capped the impressive defensive performance with a 62-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter as the Rams secured their second shutout win in 12 years.
The Rams (1-2 overall, 1-1 MWC) had to grind out their 12th consecutive series victory over Lawrence (0-3, 0-2) in a game that witnessed only 300 total yards between the two teams.
Cornell limited the Vikings to a mere 133 yards and came away with four interceptions, including two picks by senior linebacker
Luca Schoensee who also led the Rams with eight tackles.
Freshman
Daniel Adelson grabbed one of Cornell's three interceptions in the first half. Jordan's game-sealing interception was Cornell's longest pick six since the 2012 season (Geoffrey Miller, 78 yards vs. Carroll).
The Rams recorded 5.0 tackles for loss, paced by
Caleb Smith with 2.5. Smith and
Jamal Thompson posted seven tackles apiece.
Quarterback
Thomas Monken passed for one touchdown and ran for another as the Rams built a 14-0 lead at halftime. He fired an 8-yard TD pass to freshman running back
Justin Bender on the first possession of the game.
Monken reached pay dirt on a 4-yard run with 9:22 remaining in the second quarter. The senior led Cornell's rushing attack with 50 yards on 17 carries. Monken was 14-of-24 passing for 81 yards.
Silas Heimos,
Trey Anderson and Bender recorded three receptions apiece. Heimos had a team-high 22 receiving yards.
Cornell's offense lost two fumbles and was intercepted twice inside the Lawrence 10-yard line, enabling the Vikings to hang around deep into the contest.
The Vikings managed just 57 rushing yards on 31 attempts. They converted only 2-of-13 third-down chances.
Saturday marked the 246th career coaching win for Cornell's Ritchie. He won 245 games in 32 seasons as a high school head coach.
Coming up – The Rams enter the bye week before traveling to Beloit Saturday, Oct. 4 in Beloit, Wis. Kickoff is 1 p.m.
