Cornell breaks 34-game IIAC losing streak (video)

Finally.

 Breaks came their way. The defense held tight when it needed to. Someone stepped up and made a late play.

Finally.

 The Cornell Rams won Saturday, as Joe Barlow's interception in the end zone with a little over a minute left secured a 23-16 victory over Loras at Ash Park. After 34 consecutive losses, Cornell could whoop and holler and ring a nearby victory bell after an Iowa Conference game.

 Finally.

Seniors Don Bladt, Brian King, Alex Macey, Zach Zasada and Andy Siar left their home field with heads held high, knowing they contributed to a conference victory. It was the first of their careers.

 Finally.

“It means everything,” said King, who played linebacker and punted the final two quarters despite a badly sprained ankle. “That was our goal this year, to really turn the program around. Break that losing streak, get that conference win. It's been way too long.”

“We fought for four years,” said safety Bladt, who picked up his sixth interception of the season in the third quarter. “To be able to do this on senior day, to finally turn that corner, let the young guys build on this. If this is our legacy right here, we'll take that 100 times out of 100.”

Cornell (2-7) won its season opener Sept. 5 against Grinnell to stop an 18-game overall losing streak. It came so close to disposing of that IIAC skid the previous three weeks, losing by nine to Luther, seven to Buena Vista and one last week to Simpson.

 When Barlow stepped in front of a Vaughn Gesing throw in the left corner of the end zone, the Rams officially broke through. Never mind that Barlow ran around the field for about 10 seconds instead of just falling down.

“That's what I hear. I was giving some people a scare,” Barlow said. “When I finally realized what was going on, I just held on (to the football) tight and fell down. I wanted to go see my team. It was a good feeling. About time.”

“I got tired of telling our kids ‘Aw, we're so close. We're so close,'” said Coach Matt Dillon. “They got tired of hearing it. We finally got over the hump today.”

Two touchdown catches from former Cedar Rapids Jefferson prep Kyle Tierney staked Cornell to a 16-2 halftime lead. The only Loras points were on a returned blocked extra point.

It was 23-9 going to the fourth quarter, when Loras rallied. A 10-yard Brandon Decker TD run with 11:05 left made it anyone's game.

The Duhawks (2-7) were stopped short on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak at the Cornell 26 with 5:55 left. They had a 1st-and-10 at the Cornell 11, with two runs and an incompletion making it an all-or-nothing 4th-and-5 at the 6.

“He just threw it up there, and I went and got it,” Barlow said.

“Kids just making plays,” Bladt said. “It finally came all together for us. Finally.”