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Chris Gustafson (Lakewood, Colo./Bear Creek) became Cornell’s all-time leader in solo tackles and the Rams gave fifth-ranked Central a battle for 2 ½ quarters before falling 40-14 in Iowa Conference play Saturday at Schipper Stadium in Pella.
 Cornell (2-6 overall, 0-6 IIAC) hung with the undefeated Dutch (9-0, 7-0) for most of the game, trailing by just five points late in the first half. The Rams drove deep into Central territory with a chance to cut into a 26-14 deficit midway through the third quarter, but lost a fumble that the Dutch recovered in their end zone for a touchback.
Cornell also lost a fumble inside Central’s 30-yard line in the fourth quarter. The Rams turned the ball over four times in the game, including a second-quarter fumble that led to a Central touchdown.
Gustafson anchored Cornell’s defense with a game-high 18 tackles, including 14 solo stops. The senior middle linebacker has registered 209 solo tackles in his career, breaking the previous school record of 202 held by John Crane (1998-2001). His 14 solo tackles broke the school’s single-game record of 13, held by Doug Pipolo (1988 vs. Monmouth), Pat Dolphin (1986 vs. Wartburg) and himself (2007 vs. Buena Vista). Gustafson’s dynamite day included two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a blocked extra point kick and a pass breakup.
Freshman quarterback Dallas Bush ( Plano, Texas/Plano East), making his second collegiate start, rallied the Rams from an early 19-0 deficit. He fired his first career touchdown passes – 25 yards to Kyle Krogmann (DeWitt, Iowa/Northeast) and nine yards to Josh Youngblood (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) – in a span of 2 minutes, 51 seconds that pulled Cornell to within 19-14 with 4:06 left to go in the first half.
Senior safety James Riessen ( Durant, Iowa/Durant) set up Cornell’s second score, returning an interception 49 yards to the Central 9. The Dutch answered with a short touchdown run with 30 seconds left in the half to make the score 26-14 at intermission.
Bush finished 11-of-23 passing for 137 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Cornell junior Travion Hardman ( Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) rushed for a team-high 98 yards on only 14 carries (7.0 ypr). Mike Thompson ( Eaton, Colo./Windsor) added 65 yards on the ground. Morgan Campbell led the receiving corps with four catches for 29 yards.
Cornell’s Brian King ( West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley), Garrett Weddle ( Kansas City, Kan./Piper) and Don Bladt ( Shelby, Iowa/AHST) each finished with eight tackles. Central outgained the Rams in total yards (571-330) and held an 11-minute advantage in time of possession.
The Rams play host to 18th-ranked Wartburg (7-1, 6-0) in the home finale at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3 at Ash Park Stadium.
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