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Cornell has won last seven football season openers

Cornell’s football team will try to continue one streak and end another in Saturday’s season opener against Northwestern College at 1 p.m. at Reynolds Field in Saint Paul, Minn.

The Rams have won their last seven season openers, including a 30-14 victory over Northwestern in the teams’ first-ever meeting last year in Mount Vernon. Cornell’s last season-opening loss was in 1999, a 44-0 setback to Central.

“Obviously the win streak is nice,” said Matt Dillon, entering his second season as Cornell’s head coach. “The first game really sets up your season. You don’t want a loss after Week 1.”

Cornell followed last year’s Week 1 win with a 32-31 victory over Alma ( Mich.). The Rams then dropped their final eight games of the season and finished 2-8 overall, 0-8 in the Iowa Conference. The team’s current eight-game slide is the longest since the Rams lost nine straight games from 1950-52.

Northwestern finished 7-3 last season and took second in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. The Eagles return 13 starters – including eight all-conference performers – and 42 letterwinners. Northwestern welcomes back sophomore quarterback Zach Tarter, an all-league pick in 2005 who transferred institutions last season. The defense revolves around linebacker Max Meagher, a two-time National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) First Team All-American.

The Eagles are 37-5 in league play since 2000 and own a 91-55 all-time record at home.

“This will be a tough task on the road,” Dillon said. “Northwestern has been one of the top teams in their league the past several years. They are a good, solid football team and are well-coached. From a size and speed standpoint, I think we match up well. We are two even teams on paper.”

Coach Dillon has helped rebuild several football programs in 24 seasons (1982-2005) in the high school ranks. He is optimistic the Rams are headed in that direction.

Cornell has 18 returning starters in its two-deep roster and returns over 90 percent of its scoring production from a year ago. The squad has grown to 63 players this fall and features 30 newcomers.

“Our coacbes worked tremendously hard to add a class of talented players. We needed to bring in more players and better players to create competition for positions,” Dillon said. “The players we have coming back and the large group of incoming players really bode well for us. We’ll need our big-time players to step up and play.”

Junior running back Travion Hardman ( Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) heads the offensive unit. The second team All-IIAC performer rushed for 700 yards and five touchdowns last season, highlighted with three 100-yard games. Fullback Mike Thompson ( Eaton, Colo./Windsor) netted 411 yards during a fine freshman campaign. Senior Anthony Kobler ( Brentwood, Mo./ Brentwood) provides experience at quarterback. A part-time starter last fall, he completed 30 of 71 passes for 422 yards. Kobler passed for 1,585 yards and seven touchdowns in 2005.

“We return our top two rushers in Hardman and Thompson. They gave us a solid 1-2 punch a year ago,” Dillon said. “Anthony has taken a tremendous number of snaps in his career. We expect him to be a great leader on offense.”

Senior Josh Youngblood (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) leads an experienced receiving corps with 34 receptions for 399 yards last season. Thompson caught 19 passes and a team-high three touchdowns. At tight end, Alex Macey ( Oceanside, Calif./ Vista) and Caleb Simon (Parker, Colo./Christian Fellowship) combined for 23 catches in 2006.

The offensive line is back intact, led by three-year letterwinners Shane Eaglin (Fort Worth, Texas/Brewer), Alex Wellman (Larkspur, Colo./Douglas County), Steven Murray (Marshalltown/Marshalltown) and Heath Sienknecht (Clutier/North Tama).

Senior middle linebacker Chris Gustafson ( Lakewood, Colo./Bear Creek), a second team All-IIAC pick in 2006, once again anchors the defense. He led the Rams in tackles for the second straight season with 113 stops, 7.5 for losses. Gustafson ranked fourth in the league with 12.0 tackles per game and has 337 tackles in his career. Leif Goleman ( De Soto, Kan./ De Soto) and James Riessen (Durant/Durant) were second and third on the team in tackles at the other linebacker spots with 62 and 59 stops, respectively.

Juniors Adam Williams (Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul) and Jason Williams (Mount Vernon/Mount Vernon) started every game at defensive end last season. Adam had 47 tackles and a team-high three sacks. Jason had 36 tackles, 5.0 for losses. Three-year starter Jeremy Day ( Carrollton, Texas/Creekview) joins Zach Zasada ( Sauk City, Wis./Sauk Prairie) on the interior line.

The secondary brings back junior Jared Sanches ( Lake in the Hills, Ill./Huntley) and sophomore Don Bladt (Shelby/AHST). Sanches led the team with three interceptions and tied Bladt with a team-high eight pass breakups. Junior Garrett Weddle ( Kansas City, Kan./Piper) makes the switch from running back to cornerback.

Last Meeting – Cornell reeled off the game’s final 21 points in a 30-14 win over the Eagles Sept. 2, 2006 in Mount Vernon. The Rams netted 425 total yards, including 142 yards and two touchdowns from Nate Newmeister.

Quick Out Of The Blocks – Cornell has averaged 40.1 points in its last seven wins to start a season. The season-opening streak started in 2000 with a 40-31 victory over Simpson. The Rams followed that with wins over Concordia, Wis., (51-20), Colorado College (41-14 and 63-43), Aurora, Ill., (35-32 and 21-14) and Northwestern, Minn. (30-14).

One Grand – Youngblood is closing in on 1,000 receiving yards at Cornell. The senior receiver has 79 receptions for 990 yards over his first three seasons.

Eagles In The Iowa Conference – Northwestern is 5-9 all-time against IIAC foes.