Fourth Quarter Belongs to St. Norbert in Rally Past Cornell

From Sports Information Director, October 12, 2013 | Football
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - For the second consecutive week, St. Norbert College rallied in the second half to gain a key Midwest Conference victory - this time a 20-17 win over Cornell College at Schneider Stadium.

The Green Knights (5-1, 5-0 MWC) trailed the Rams 17-7 going into the fourth quarter before scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Last week against Monmouth, the Green Knights trailed 14-5 at halftime before winning 22-14.

Cornell (3-2, 3-1 MWC) took a 17-7 lead with a Kaleb Whiting 35-yard field goal with 5:52 left in the third quarter. St. Norbert responded with a 14-play, 74-yard drive, scoring on the first play of the fourth quarter on a James Tringali quarterback sneak. The Green Knights converted four third-down chances on the drive.

On the Rams' third play on their next possession, quarterback Juan Flores was intercepted by Brian Feltz setting up St. Norbert at the Cornell 46.

St. Norbert converted a third-and-18 and a first-and-20 on the series to set up a first-and-goal at the Cornell 2. Two negative plays pushed the Green Knights back to the 11, but Tringali found Michael Heim on a diving catch in the back of the end zone for a 20-17 lead with 8:33 left.

Cornell moved to the St. Norbert 21 on the next series, but three Rams penalties ended the drive on downs at the St. Norbert 33 with 2:32 left. The Rams didn't get the ball back until 51 seconds remained, and Dan Egan's interception with 23 seconds to go sealed the win for St. Norbert.

The Rams scored on their first possession of the game, marching 59 yards in 12 plays and scored on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Flores to Justin Cox. Cornell added to its lead early in the second quarter when St. Norbert's punter was hit and fumbled, with Aaron Welch returning the loose ball 16 yards for a touchdown.

Cornell had a chance to extend its lead midway through the second quarter, but Flores was intercepted by Anthony Parker in the end zone with 7:05 left before halftime.

Late in the half, St. Norbert faced a fourth-and-11 situation at the Cornell 37. Tringali hit Heim up the sideline for 35 yards to move to the Cornell 2. Craig Fagan's 2-yard plunge with 31 seconds left before halftime halved the deficit to 14-7.

Cornell led in total offense 323-235, but was ultimately done in by losing the turnover battle 4-1. Tringali completed 16 of 29 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown for St. Norbert. Brian Fliess caught four passes for 57 yards, and Heim hauled in three catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Fagan led the Green Knights on the ground with 56 yards on 17 carries and one score. Matt Petersilka led St. Norbert defensively with 11 tackles, all solos, with two tackles-for-loss and one quarterback sack.

Flores completed 19 of 30 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions. Preston Ritchie had a team-high 45 yards rushing on 14 carries. Ben Knake caught five passes for 80 yards. Geoffrey Miller had a game-high 13 tackles for Cornell.