The Prairie Fire went on the road to Mount Vernon, Iowa on November 2nd, facing off against the Cornell College Rams. The contest was seen as an even matchup, but the final score did not reflect this.

It seemed as though the game would be tightly contested after a lone Cornell touchdown made the score 7-0 at the conclusion of the first quarter. The Prairie Fire offense looked great on their first possession of the game, driving down the field quickly. Unfortunately, the drive stalled out and a blocked field goal put a stop to the Prairie Fire’s hopes of scoring early.

A flurry of Cornell College scores headlined the second quarter, with Knox also scoring on a two-yard run from sophomore running back Taylor McAdams. The score going into the halftime break was 30-7.

The Prairie Fire’s struggle to put the ball in the end zone continued in the second half, but first-year quarterback Clay McClelland was able to add a score after coming in for sophomore quarterback Will Vines, whose 118 passing yards were the most in a game for the team this year.

The game ultimately ended in a decisive 44-14 victory for Cornell, bringing Prairie Fire Football’s record to 2-6.

Although the outcome of this game was not in favor of the team, they looked to finish out the two games remaining on their schedule on a good note.

“Finishing the season with a win would be good, but two wins would obviously be great, because it leaves the returning players with an understanding of what to do better for the next season. Ending the season on a good note also means that seniors can leave the game with, hopefully, no regrets. A good end to the season is a great jump-start to the off-season,” fifth-year senior Hunter Anderson said.

Last weekend, the team traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin, to battle against the Lawrence University Vikings. Their trip was a successful one as they took down the Vikings in a thrilling 35-34 victory.

The Prairie Fire have increased their win streak against Lawrence University to eight games. The last time the Prairie Fire traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin to play the Vikings they won a 35-0 shutout, so they were able to match their score from the last meeting at the Banta Bowl (Lawrence University’s Football Field), but this time the Vikings did everything in their power to win the game, the Prairie Fire were just too much to overcome in the end.

The win breaks the six game losing streak held by the Prairie Fire on the season, and will hopefully carry over to next week’s contest—their last of the season—against the Monmouth College Fighting Scots.