Sep 3, 2016 By Ryan Shaffer for The 3 min read

CORAOPOLIS — Junior running back Dylan Rush ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns as Mapletown defeated Cornell, 18-0, on Friday night at Frank Letteri Stadium. The Maples’ backfield combined for 317 rushing yards, 86 of which came on a Rush touchdown run at the 10:34 mark of the second quarter.

“I was really pleased with our line blocking, our fullback blocked great, and Dylan runs hard every time he gets the football,” Mapletown coach George Messich said. “We played without two starting linemen, and our subs at guard and center did a great job. We made some mistakes in the first half. I thought we could have scored one or two more touchdowns, but overall I’m really proud of our effort as a team.”

Mapletown’s win spoiled the long-waited home-opener for Cornell, a team that hadn’t played a home football game in nearly five years. The Raiders defense intercepted two Tanner Griffin passes, but the offense was unable to capitalize on either turnover.

Despite the outcome, Cornell coach Ed Dawson was pleased with the Raiders’ overall performance, especially for a team comprised of several players who hadn’t played organized high school football prior to Friday’s game.

“I thought they did well,” Dawson explained. “We played, and we made some little mistakes here and there. With the team we have, we’ve just got to keep focusing, rely on our fundamentals, and play better football.”

Cornell was dealt a blow late in the first half when, down by only six, freshman quarterback Zaier Harrison left the game with an apparent leg injury. Then, his replacement, freshman Blaine Sams, left the game briefly in the fourth quarter after he, too, suffered an injury.

“We’ve got three freshmen quarterbacks right now,” Dawson said. “It’s losing your guy, then the next guy. It’s adversity that the [players] need to see, and we’ve gotta learn to push through it.”

Rush added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game away, scoring from seven yards out with 11:54 left and then adding a three-yard run with 2:53 remaining.

Non-conference

Mapletown  0  6  0  12 — 18

Cornell        0  0  0   0 — 0

Second Quarter

Map: Dylan Rush 86 run (run failed), 10:34

Fourth Quarter

Map: Dylan Rush 7 run (run failed), 11:54

Map: Dylan Rush 3 run (run failed), 2:53

Records: Mapletown (1-1), Cornell (0-1).