Furious Fourth-Quarter Rally Lifts Green Knights Past Rams

From Sports Information Director, November 15, 2014 | Football
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - St. Norbert College scored 28 unanswered points in the final 13 minutes 6 seconds of the game to charge to a 35-28 win over Cornell College in the Midwest Conference's Championship Weekend fifth-place game.

The Green Knights (6-4) turned the tables on the Rams (5-4), who beat St. Norbert 28-27 on Oct. 4 with a touchdown with 28 seconds left. The victory clinched St. Norbert's 16th consecutive winning season.

St. Norbert faced dire straits when it fell behind 28-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 1-yard touchdown run by the Rams' Daniel Brown. On the ensuing possession, St. Norbert converted a fourth-and-1 at its own 34 to extend the drive, and scored four plays later on an 18-yard touchdown pass from James Tringali to Marty Franzkowiak.

The Green Knights held Cornell to a three-and-out, and needed just eight plays after the punt to score again. Zach Broberg scored on a 2-yard run with 9:45 to go to cut the deficit to 28-21. Broberg had runs of 18 and 22 yards on the drive.

St. Norbert again forced Cornell to punt and needed only five plays to tie the score at 28-28 on a 26-yard scamper by Broberg with 5:55 to go.

Cornell faced a fourth-and-1 at its own 42 with 2:49 left and went for it, but Gabriel Noyce was stopped for no gain. The Green Knights again only needed five plays to score, with Tringali rushing in from three yards out. Tringali's 26-yard pass to Brett Olson earlier in the drive set up St. Norbert at the Cornell 20.

The Rams moved to the St. Norbert 44, but Brown was sacked by Jerry Blake on fourth down with 5 seconds remaining to snuff out Cornell's last-ditch effort.

St. Norbert took a 7-0 lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tringali to Patrick Burke, but Cornell would score the next four touchdowns. Ben Knake would haul in touchdown passes of 55 and 34 yards, while Brown hit Brit Connor on a 2-yard touchdown just 15 seconds before halftime for a 21-7 Cornell lead.

St. Norbert outgained Cornell 472-403 in total offense. Broberg rushed for 117 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns as the Green Knights posted 222 yards rushing. Tringali completed 22 of 30 passes for 250 yards with two touchdowns. Broberg had a team-high six receptions for 31 yards. Marty Franzkowiak caught five passes for 37 yards and one touchdown, while Olson caught four passes for 105 yards.

Brown completed 19 of 29 passes for 225 yards with three touchdown for Cornell. Preston Ritchie had 49 yards rushing on 14 carries, while Brown added 40 rushing yards. Knake caught six passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Matt Petersilka led St. Norbert defensively with 13 tackles, while Ryan Grandlic added 11 stops.