Cornell hopes to put final stamp on rebirth season

MOUNT VERNON - Vince Brautigam was on his way to a final supper, if you will, with his 10 seniors Friday night. The Lighthouse in Cedar Rapids was the destination.

Good eating for a good group of players that helped make Cornell College football relevant again.

"One more last hurrah," the head coach said. "They started something here, took their lumps early. But to see their growth over the years has been special. You know, we're three plays from being able to have a chance for that automatic berth."

Cornell clinched its first winning season in 12 years last Saturday with a miraculous 35-29 overtime win over 22nd-ranked Illinois College. Jeffery Bollnow blocked a field-goal attempt, with Myron Seabrook picking it up and racing 90 for a touchdown that won the game.

The Rams are 6-3 overall, 6-2 in the Midwest Conference, both losses real close toughies: by three points to St. Norbert and by seven points to Lake Forest. That's what Brautigam means by being "this close" to being conference champs and NCAA Division III playoff qualifiers.

Cornell ends its season Saturday afternoon at Grinnell (2-7, 2-6).

"These seniors are not a big group, but they're a group that started our future vision," Brautigam said.

The coach said the win over Illinois College was his best in his four seasons at the school. It was a case of being able to beat the top dog if you want to eventually be the top dog.

There are some good players graduating, including record-setting quarterback Juan Flores and defensive back Nick Brautigam, the coach's son. But days of rebuilding appear to be over at Cornell.

"Beating Monmouth earlier in the season was a big step forward," Brautigam said. "But last Saturday solidified that this program is a winning program."

NOTES

- Wartburg can win the Iowa Conference championship outright and earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs with a win Saturday at Loras. The Knights (7-2, 5-1) survived a crazy week last week that saw Simpson lose to Buena Vista, 34-32, to drop out of a first-place tie.

Wartburg beat Central last week, 16-14, on a Michael Bohlke fourth-quarter field goal. Loras is 1-8, 0-6.

There is a three-way tie for second place in the league between Simpson, Coe and Dubuque , all at 4-2.