Cornell continues to earn place among WPIAL Class A elite

By: Antonio Rossetti
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 | 12:01 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

Cornell’s 50th anniversary season last year was a successful one. The Raiders finished 9-3 with a 6-1 conference record in the Class A Big Seven.

Cornell’s success didn’t happen overnight. The program disbanded in 2012 returned in 2016. After a few seasons of struggles, the Raiders made the playoffs, winning two playoff games in 2019.

Last season, they replicated the success and picked up playoff wins over Monessen, 33-0, and Leechburg, 46-18, to prove again that Cornell football is back.

Ed Dawson, who became the team’s head coach in 2016, is glad to see Cornell football rise in the ranks of the WPIAL standings and win the Big Seven conference last season.

“The thing I enjoy most is seeing the buzz in the school and just the teachers excited, the faculty excited and the town excited,” Dawson said. “That’s what makes it special for me is seeing a program that had fallen on hard times and seeing the faithful people who stuck it out and kind of seeing it improve. That’s what makes it special to me. On top of that, I get to coach my sons.”

One son, senior EJ Dawson Jr., is an all-state defensive end.

“There are great times, there are rough times, and at times I catch myself watching as a dad instead of a coach, and I have to reel myself back in,” coach Dawson said. “It is exciting and my younger son will be a freshman this year, so we’ll have everybody out there on the field at the same time, but we enjoy the challenge.”

Isaiah Dawson will be a freshman cornerback and wide receiver for the blue and gold this season.

EJ Dawson Jr. wants to continue his success from last season, when he was named conference defensive player of the year.

“He’s been around football every day of his life, so it comes naturally to him to step up and understand what’s expected,” coach Dawson said. “He does a great job of rallying the troops and they kind of follow his lead with his work ethic and his desire to be successful.”

Dawson Jr. and the Raiders held it down on defense last season, holding their opponents to just 14 points per game. Dawson Jr. enjoys seeing his teammates shut down the opposition.

“I really enjoy putting myself in a position to really help others, so my teammates can also eat and get the credit that they deserve,” Dawson Jr. said. “Last season was cool.”

Offensively, the team returns a star running back in senior Raequan Troutman. In last year’s playoff game against Leechburg, he rushed for 255 yards with two touchdowns, breaking a school record.

“It felt good to step up and help the team and boost the team and just get some respect on our name,” Troutman said. “It felt really good to help the team in that way.”

Despite the success, the team felt they were always underdogs last season. The Raiders felt they had more to prove.

“My mind was thinking, ‘We gotta beat this team and I just know they’re not better than us,’” Troutman said. “I just played smooth throughout the game. There really wasn’t too much on my mind. It was just excitement, and I was just fueled with energy.”

The Raiders fell short against Bishop Canevin in the WPIAL semifinals, but the team still left its mark. Going into this season, the team wants to continue its success and improve day by day.

“Our focus has been just to stay the course,” coach Dawson said. “We’ve been improving a little by little each year and we’re slowly checking boxes off, and being a champion is always the No. 1 box. We’re just trying to continue to improve every day. Our goal is to get better today than we were yesterday.”

Coach Dawson wants to use football as a way for the players to mature in life and in their relationships. Cornell football faced hard times, but the Raiders overcame them. He wants the players to do the same.

“We talked about overcoming adversity every day, not just in football, but in our lives, academically, family-wise and just being a young man, growing up in this world,” coach Dawson said. “It’s a challenge for these kids in these tough times. Our main focus is overcoming adversity and not allowing the moment to be too big.”

The Raiders want to capitalize on every opportunity, be ready for every moment and make an even deeper run in the playoffs.

“The way we can get over that hump is to prepare ourselves for that for that moment again, so we don’t have to feel like the moment’s ever too big for us,” Troutman said. “We just need to take each and every game, even the scrimmages, one game at a time. Just stay focused on one team, get that team out the way and be prepared for the next team.”

Despite losing Sincere Kimbrough, Timothy Henderson and Micah Dickerson, three key players from last season, the team has six seniors who all gained a lot of experience last season.

Four out of five offensive linemen return. Troutman, senior wide receiver/free safety Kevin Caldwell, and junior wide receiver Drevon Newton all return to help lead the offense.

Junior quarterback/linebacker CJ Jackson will also get more touches this season and sophomore Walter Clarit will help hold down the defense at linebacker, while also getting carries at running back behind Troutman.

The team implemented drills to be prepared for the significant moments.

“We’ve been practicing pretty much just situations with just any crazy situation that can happen in the game,” said Dawson Jr. “It’s just so we’re prepared for when it happens in the game.”

Coach Dawson knows his kids are prepared as they have bought into Cornell football. He wants to see the players succeed off and on the field.

“As a coach, I just try to prepare these kids for their goals and dreams as they progress from our program,” he said. “As far as the team goes, we’ll continue to try to be the more physical team each week and play our best. And like I said, be ready for the moment.”

Cornell

Coach: Ed Dawson

2021 record: 9-3, 6-1 in Class A Big Seven Conference

All-time record: 191-253-11

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

9.2 at Monessen, 7

9.9 Union, 7

9.16 at Avella*, 7

9.23 Carlynton*, 7

9.30 at Burgettstown*, 7

10.7 Bishop Canevin*, 7

10.14 Fort Cherry*, 7

10.21 Chartiers-Houston*, 7

10.28 at OLSH*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Sincere Kimbrough*

974 yards, 11 TDs

Rushing: Raequan Troutman

84-985 yards

Receiving: Timothy Henderson*

17-459 yards

FAST FACTS

• Before the program folded in 2012, Dane Jackson played for Cornell football his freshman year and played basketball for the Raiders for all four seasons. Jackson now plays for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL and played for Pitt from 2015-2020.

• Cornell’s first season was in 1971.

• Cornell’s stadium in Coraopolis is named after Frank Letteri, who was a star for Geneva College and a longtime coach of the Raiders. He was inducted into the Geneva College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020.

• Cornell’s first season of football was in the same year the Pittsburgh Pirates won their fourth World Series, defeating the Baltimore Orioles in seven games. Roberto Clemente won World Series MVP.