Rams prevail in home opener, 22-14

Cornell sophomore Juan Flores capped a career day passing with a game-sealing touchdown strike to James Scully with less than five minutes to play as the Rams came out victorious in their home opener, 22-14, over Macalester Saturday afternoon at Ash Park Field.

Moments after the game clock struck 00:00, the Rams charged off to the east end of the stadium and gathered around the victory bell in celebration of the team's first 2-0 start since the 2007 campaign.

Flores, the Iowa Conference's reigning Male Athlete of the Week, enjoyed a fine afternoon with 256 yards on 18-of-31 passing. He ripped off touchdown runs of 12 and 7 yards as the Rams staked a 15-0 lead at halftime.

Macalester (0-2) rallied and cut the margin to 15-14 on a pair of third-quarter touchdowns. The Rams had a 29-yard field goal blocked on their first possession of the fourth quarter. But after Cornell's defense forced a 3-and-out on Macalester's ensuing drive, Flores marched the Rams down field on a six-play, 57-yard scoring drive. Scully ended it with a six-yard touchdown grab that put Cornell ahead, 22-14, with 4:53 remaining.

Macalester's final drive stalled at the Ram 39 on a 4th-and-2 incomplete pass, securing Cornell's first home win since beating Loras in November 2009.

Cornell wideouts Thomas Connor and Scully both went over 100 yards receiving on the day, while Connor reached a career milestone by topping the 1,000-yard mark.

Connor finished with a game-high eight receptions for a career-high 140 yards. The 6-foot-2 senior had a long catch-and-run of 72 yards that set up a second-quarter touchdown. Connor joined the program's 1,000-yard receiving club, now with 1,065 career yards.

Scully hauled in seven passes for 113 yards, with a long of 34. Flores led all rushers with 61 yards on 15 carries. Freshman Jason Propheter added 41 yards on the ground on 12 rushes.

The Rams rolled up 361 yards of total offense, while holding the Scots to 233. Macalester's rushing game averaged just 2.9 yards on 31 carries.

Senior linebacker Tyler Bailey had another workman-like day in leading the Cornell defense. He finished with a game-high 13 tackles, including seven solo stops. Drew Campbell and Geoffrey Miller had eight and seven tackles, respectively.

Cornell's Nick Brautigam and Vincent Osborne each had one tackle for loss. Freshman Myron Seabrook had an interception and return of 11 yards in the second quarter.

The Rams enter their bye next week before visiting Buena Vista Sept. 24 in the IIAC opener in Storm Lake. Kickoff is 1 p.m.