Cornell shows fight but University of Chicago rolls to Midwest Conference football victory

MOUNT VERNON — The effort was present.

Cornell showed some feistiness at times, refusing to be intimated by an overall better University of Chicago football team. Unfortunately, so were the little mistakes that have been present in games this season.

“I thought the effort was good,” Rams Coach Dan Pifer said. “We played hard. We’ve been doing that consistently the last couple of weeks.

“It’s just the mental mistakes. We keep beating ourselves with little things here and there and that leads to big plays. If we can cut those out, we can be a really good football team.”

Chicago scored on its first play from scrimmage and Maroons running back Nicholas D’Ambrose scored five touchdowns in a 47-21 victory over the Rams in a Midwest Conference game Saturday at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.

Cornell (2-4, 2-3 MWC) was within two scores early in the fourth, but D’Ambrose added scoring runs of 25 and 21 to help the Maroons seal it.

“We dug ourselves deep pretty early,” Davis said. “I just love the fight out of the team. To get those 14 before half, we carried that into the second half. We kept it close and I know it got away at the end. I don’t think the score showed how well fought, tough and close that game was.”

Chicago (5-1, 4-1) built a 28-0 lead on a D’Ambrose 8-yard scoring rush with 8:42 left in the second quarter. Instead of folding, the Rams fought their way back, cutting the lead in half.

Cornell freshman Denver Wilson replaced Isaak Hahn at quarterback and Daniel Abesames-Hammer provided a spark. Abesames-Hammer opened the first scoring drive with a 32-yard run. Four plays later, Wilson hit tight end Mason Davis for a 47-yard touchdown pass to put the Rams on the board with 6:25 left in the second.

Pifer said he wanted to make a change in an attempt to spark the offense.

“We just wanted to give him a shot,” Pifer said. “He came in and the first drive we got a touchdown out of it, so let’s roll with it. He did some good things and some freshman things, too.”

Defense made an impact on the next possession. Chicago drove inside the Cornell 10 when linebacker Colden Clark ripped the ball from D’Ambrose and rumbled 87 yards, getting dragged down at the Maroons’ 3. Wilson scored on a 1-yard QB sneak to make it 28-14.

Cornell’s Demarius Pittman intercepted a Philip Martini pass in Cornell territory to thwart a final first-half drive for the Maroons.

“We have done a good job of getting good turnovers lately,” Pifer said. “We’ll bend and bend and then we’ll get a big play. The defense wasn’t playing very well in the beginning. In the second quarter, we got some turnovers and got back into things.”

D’Ambrose scored on a 43-yard run. The Rams struggled to contain the speedy, quick-cutting and hard-running D’Ambrose, who entered the game with a league-best 130.2 rushing yards a game, which was good for eighth nationally. He finished with 297 rushing yards on 35 carries.

Martini added 162 passing yards, hitting Matt Quaglia for the 68-yard TD to open the game. Quaglia caught three passes for 103 yards. Five of Chicago’s touchdowns covered 21 yards or more.

“I think they’re getting more confident in what we can do,” Pifer said. “We’re getting more familiar with the offense, defense and special teams and the schemes we’re doing.

“It just seems at opportune times on third or fourth down, somebody blows an assignment and it leads to a big play for them or a bad play for us. If we can cut those out, we can be a really good football team. We have six or seven of those a game and it kind of defines the game and what direction it goes.”

Davis was a bright spot for the Rams. He amassed 92 receiving yards on four catches. He wasn’t concerned with his personal performance.

“It’s nice to get stats but it’s never really about them,” Davis said. “This is my fifth year. I came back to win. Ultimately, that is what I care about the most.”

Cornell travels to Monmouth (Ill.) College next. The Fighting Scots defeated Chicago last week and are one of three unbeaten teams in the conference.

“I think we know we can hang with these teams,” Davis said. “Last time, we played Monmouth they came here and we played them close. I guarantee we’re going to come out for Monmouth and put up a fight.”