MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Macalester College football team fell to Cornell College, 17-14 in the final game of the 2019 season. The game was a part of Midwest Conference Championship Week. The Scots end the season with a record of 4-6, while the Rams improve to 4-5.

A field goal by Cornell late in the second quarter accounted for the only points in the first half. With five minutes left in the third quarter, Isaac Hahn scored the first touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run to put Cornell up 10-0. Macalester responded on the next possession, driving 77 yards on 7 plays. Sophomore running back Kai Akimoto (Tamuning, Guam/Father Duenas Memorial School) did most of the work with a 60-yard touchdown reception to make the score 10-7.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Rams moved the ball to the Macalester 1-yard line. On 2nd-and-goal, Cornell fumbled and junior linebacker Sam Jakshtis (Hardwick, Mass./Worcester Academy) recovered it to end the drive. The Scots ended up punting from their own 7-yard line on the next possession, and the Rams blocked the punt. Peni Waqairatu ran it in from the 8-yard line to extend the Cornell lead to 17-7 with 10:05 remaining in the game.

Later in the quarter, Macalester took the ball at its own 20 and drove 80 yards, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Johnny Bice (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) with 2:19 remaining. Bice also had completions of 28 and 31 yards to senior receiver Reese Bresson (Homosassa, Fla./Crystal River) during the drive. The Scots tried an on-side kick, but the Rams recovered and then ran out the clock to clinch the win.

Bice was 9-of-14 for 168 yards and a touchdown. Bresson caught five passes for 84 yards, while Akimoto rushed for 35 yards. On defense, junior defensive lineman John Newton (Highland Village, Texas/Coram Deo Academy) registered eight tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. First year defensive back Joshua Strickler (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) also had eight tackles, while Jakshtis and junior defensive lineman Jared Brogni (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) had sacks.

The game also marked the final contest in the Orange and Blue for 18 Macalester seniors.

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