Box Score

Galesburg, IL – Cornell College scored three fourth quarter touchdowns to break open a close game and defeat the Prairie Fire 45-14 in Midwest Conference play on Saturday at the Knosher Bowl.

Knox hoped to hand the Rams a second straight defeat on Homecoming, which featured the dedication of Stisser Field and recognition of the 2013 Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.  However, Cornell's high powered offense got going in the second half and put up 24 unanswered points.

The Rams also started fast, scoring on a rushing touchdown by Preston Richie from 9 yards with 12:32 to go in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.  Quarterback Juan Flores followed with a 1-yard run into the end zone with 8:39 remaining in the second quarter.

The Prairie Fire (1-6, 1-5 MWC) got on the board when senior tailback Derek Mortensen (Crystal Lake, IL, Crystal Lake South) broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown run to cut the Cornell lead to 14-7 with 6:53 left in the second quarter.

Cornell (4-2, 4-1 MWC) reclaimed a double-digit lead at 21-7 on a 9-yard touchdown run by Flores at the 2:15 mark of the second stanza.

Knox responded with a 32-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Luke Oosterbaan (Palos Heights, IL, Marist) to sophomore receiver Mathew Hemmingsen (Portland, OR, Carl Sandburg College) with just 29 seconds on the first half clock to whittle the deficit to seven at 21-14.

The Prairie Fire did not score again while the Rams, after adding a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 24-14 lead, put the game away in the fourth quarter.

Flores did much of the damage.  He scored his third rushing touchdown on a 1-yard run four seconds into the final period for a 31-14 Cornell lead.

Flores used his arm on the next score, connecting with receiver Ben Knake for a 19-yard touchdown and a 38-14 advantage a little over 3:00 later.

Flores added a 6-yard run to pay dirt, his fourth TD on the ground and the final points of the afternoon, with 8:45 left in the game.

Flores finished with 64 yards rushing while he completed 19-of-20 passes for 174 yards.  His only incompletion was picked off by Prairie Fire junior safety Will Ruzicka (St. Louis, MO, St. Mary's).

Mortensen led Knox with 102 yards rushing.   Oosterbaan completed 10 passes for 100 yards and senior tight end Neal Moon (Kahoka, MO, Clark County) caught five passes for 51 yards.

Cornell had 408 yards of total offense while Knox ended the day with 222.  The Prairie Fire committed six turnovers – five fumbles and an interception thrown by first-year quarterback Eugenio DeJesus (Chicago, IL, Westinghouse).

Knox has another tall task, playing unbeaten Illinois College on the road in a week.  The Blueboys (6-0, 5-0 MWC) won 37-7 at Beloit on Saturday.

IC will stream the game with the Prairie Fire live online at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ic.portal#  The kickoff is scheduled at 1:00 p.m.

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