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GRINNELL, Iowa - It may not have been the ending the Grinnell College football team wanted, but the marked growth displayed by the Pioneer program in 2025 was obvious.
The Pioneers battled toe-to-toe with Cornell College in the season finale for both teams on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Rosenbloom Field, with the Rams eking out a 22-17 victory.
The back-and-forth Senior Day affair saw multiple lead changes and featured several great individual performances.
Stephen Bailey '29 threw for 130 yards and a touchdown for Grinnell (2-8, 2-7 Midwest Conference), while Sam Eaton '27 led the rushing attack with 87 yards and a TD. On the receiving front, Keaton Fitzgerald '26, Vincent Shen '29 and David Eisenberg '29 all caught three passes. Noah Davidoff '28 kept Cornell off balance most of the game with six punts that averaged 44 yards per kick.
Luke Konczal '29 was all over the place on defense for Grinnell and recorded 15 stops including two for loss. Kevin Johanson '26 grabbed two interceptions and returns of 65 yards, sixth-best in program history and the best average per pickoff in program history. Johanson posted seven tackles, while Peyton Williams '27 and Adam Whalen '28 had six apiece.
After Cornell (4-6, 4-5 MWC) kicked a field goal on its opening series, Grinnell answered a few possessions later with a 66-yard touchdown run by Eaton. The extra point by Ben Bortel '29 was good, giving the Pioneers a 7-3 lead at the end of the first period.
Neither team scored again until late in the first half, starting with a Ram touchdown at the 1:42 mark. But Grinnell was not fazed, as Bailey hit Fitzgerald with a 47-yard pass on the next series and Lucky Carton '26 rushed for 23 yards two plays later. On the next play, Bailey hit Seth Semmen '26 with a 6-yard scoring pass and Bortel kicked the extra point to make it 14-10 at halftime.
Cornell scored a touchdown in the third period for a 16-14 lead and had the ball again before Johanson picked off an errant pass and returned it into Rams' territory. Grinnell got to the Rams' 5-yard line before Bortel booted a 22-yard field goal to make it 17-16 early in the fourth quarter.
However, the Rams scored two series later for a 22-17 lead and made it stick from there.