USAFOOTBALL.COM Game Report

Cornell (IA) rally topples Upper Iowa

by Darren Miller, Sports Information Director, Cornell (IA)

An Upper Iowa defense which allowed just 12 second-half points in its first four games against Iowa Conference heavyweights Central, Simpson, Buena Vista and Wartburg, surrendered 16 points in the final 30 minutes at Cornell today as the host Rams posted a 24-20 come-from-behind victory in front of a homecoming crowd at Ash Park in Mount Vernon. The Rams improved to 2-3 on the season, while Upper Iowa dipped to 0-5 despite being outscored by just 24 points in those five losses. The Peacocks struck first with a 14-point first quarter. Mike Hatten, who led all rushers with 146 yards scored on a 6-yard run and Ron Thompson caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Ben Jass. Cornell closed the gap with some trickery in the second period. Slotback Ian Harden took a pitch, stopped and threw a perfect pass to a wide-open Aaron Holthaus from 24 yards out. After a roughing the kicker penalty after a missed PAT attempt, Cornell opted to go for two points and quarterback Chris Lovely scored to make it 14-8 at halftime. BJ Shelly scored on a 7-yard run in the third period for Cornell, but another missed PAT left the score tied at 14. The Rams dominated the final period with Michael Burke scoring on a 5-yard run and Shelly catching the conversion pass from Lovely. Cornell's 8-point cushion didn't last. A huge turnover gave Upper Iowa momentum with 9:52 remaining. A poor punt snap was fielded by Cornell's Luke LaBaw, who tried to scramble, but the ball was fumbled into the end zone and recovered by Upper Iowa's Jesse Rawley. With the score 22-20, Upper Iowa went for 2, but Cornell freshman Matt Ditch, who joined the team after the first game and up until Tuesday was a wide receiver for the Rams, interecepted the Jass offering and ran 100 yards for a defensive extra point. The 4-point margin stood. Lovely, making his first start for Cornell, rushed for 81 yards and threw for 87 more. Holthaus caught 6 passes for 145 yards. For Upper Iowa, Jass completed 16 of 21 passes for 169 yards. Hatten, who had 104 yards rushing at halftime, was held to 42 in the second half. John Wilke led Upper Iowa with 11 tackles. Four players from Cornell were in double figures: Chet Knake with 16, John Crane with 13, Eric Sudol with 11 and Ryan Smith with 10. Next week Cornell travels to William Penn and Upper Iowa travels to Loras.

Where are the D-III 20th Century All Stars? Where is the NCAA Division III 20th Century All American Team? As usual, the student/athletes who have played the game for fun have been ignored by everyone who has selected Teams of the Century - but that will be corrected by usafootball.com. See story.....

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