ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College football team defeated  Cornell College 24-9 on Saturday afternoon at Macalester Stadium, for the team's second straight win. With the victory, the Scots improve to 2-2 on the season.  
 
This year's win over Cornell evens out Macalester's all-time record against the Rams at 2-2, with the Scots now winning the last two in a row. The last time that these teams met was in 2016 when Macalester won 48-36.
 
Macalester dominated the ground game in the contest, piling up 280 rushing yards, with both sophomore Kian Sohrabi (Dubai, UAE/American School of Dubai) and sophomore Kai Akimoto (Tamuning, Guam/Father Duenas Memorial School) tallying over 100 rushing yards apiece.

On the first play of the game, Sohrabi took the handoff and rambled 80 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Scots lead. Cornell kicked a field goal on its first possession of the second quarter after the Macalester defense kept the Rams out of the end zone on 3rd-and-goal from the 2-yard line.

After the Scots stalled on their next possession, a bad snap on the punt gave Cornell the ball at the 2-yard line. Trevhon Porterfield ran it in on the next play, but junior defensive lineman John Newton (Highland Village, Texas/Coram Deo Academy) blocked the extra point, making the score 9-7 Cornell.

Macalester didn't trail for long, as the Scots engineered a 65-yard drive, capped by a 30-yard touchdown run by Akimoto on 4th-and-1 for a 14-9 advantage.

In the third quarter, the Rams drove to the Macalester 17-yard line and attempted a field goal. Again Newton stepped up and blocked the kick to keep the score at 14-9. Later in the quarter, Cornell moved the ball to the Scots' 20 and attempted a 37-yard field goal, only to have senior defensive lineman Samba Dia (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) block the kick.
 
The fourth quarter belonged to the Scots, as they scored 10 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes. Macalester started with the ball on their own 49, but quickly gained ground as senior wide receiver Reese Bresson (Homosassa, Fla./Crystal River) caught a 34-yard pass from first year quarterback Michael Nadeau (Garden Grove, Calif./La Quinta). Nadeau then threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Peter Vitalis (Shafer, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and senior Karl Schuetzle (Edina, Minn./Edina) made the PAT to put the team up 21-9.
 
The Macalester defense got a stop the following possession to get the ball back. The Scots' drive resulted in a 27-yard field goal from sophomore Jon Neve (Minnetrista, Minn./Mound Westonka) to give Macalester some additional insurance, putting them up 24-9.
 
Neither team was able to score after this, as the Macalester defense came up with two more stops to keep the Rams under 10 points.

In addition to his two blocked kicks, Newton led all players in tackles throughout the game, with 12 total, including seven solo, two tackles for loss, and a sack. Senior Dane Ku Blake (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou) was also active on the defensive end for Macalester, recording eight tackles, one for loss, and a sack.
 
For the Rams, quarterback Isaak Hahn completed 12 of 27 passes for 159 yards on the day. The junior also rushed for 73 yards to lead his team in rushing yards.
 
The Scots will play again at home next weekend, hosting Lake Forest College for a 1:00 p.m. game.