Cornell learns from struggles, aims to make history

By: Shawn Annarelli
Tuesday, August 20, 2019 | 6:16 PM

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Zaier Harrison has endured hard times, but he hasn’t been alone.

Cornell’s Class A football program has gone from barely afloat to nonexistent to reborn in the last decade. The Raiders returned in 2016 when Harrison was named the starting quarterback as a freshman, a year in which the offense managed to score four touchdowns and the team lost by nearly 40 points per game.

The worst days — the team lost 17 consecutive games before beating Northgate at the end of the 2017 season — are behind them. Harrison believes brighter days are ahead in his senior season.

“The goal is to win a playoff game, which has never happened here,” Harrison said. “I feel more confidence in our team’s ability to do it than I feel pressure. We have a lot of players that have worked hard for that for a lot of years.”

Cornell has had sparks of hope to keep the team engaged over the last several years.

The 2017 win against Northgate was a turning point after losing to the same team by 76 points a year earlier. The Raiders also started the 2018 season with a 4-3 record, but lost their last three games.

“It’s amazing to see them persevere,” coach Ed Dawson said. “I tell them all the time this is a life lesson. It’s something they can look back on. They’ve been able to do this and come back every day and show resolve. They show up on Mondays with hard hats on, no bickering, and they knew it was a marathon.”

The team’s hardest loss was against Laurel last October when Harrison threw for 493 yards, one of the best passing performances in WPIAL history.

Cornell took a seven-point lead with less than two minutes left. Laurel responded with a quick score and 2-point conversion to end the Raiders’ playoff hopes.

“More than anything, we have to finish games defensively,” Dawson said. “We are very fast and very physical, but towards the end of games it gets tougher. We’re a hurry-up team with a lot of two-way guys, so for as much shape as they’re in, we lacked finishing games defensively.”

The Raiders have 10 returning seniors, most of them three- or four-year starters.

Senior Kaden DiVito is the top returning receiver after hauling in 14 passes for 213 yards in 2018. Seniors Isaiah Langston and Savon Wilson also will play receiver, though Wilson also might play running back.

The team will field its best offensive and defensive lines ever, Harrison said.

There are big playmakers at every level of the defense, Dawson said.

Harrison is an all-conference safety and led the team with 74 tackles and five interceptions last season. Senior Blane Sims will move from outside linebacker to inside linebacker to be the defense’s aggressive “thumper” against the run.

Four-year starter Tyler Godfrey has the best “explosiveness” in the box and should cause issues for opposing offenses.

The core of the Raiders did not look promising a few seasons ago, but they always believed in each other.

“We’ve always felt we had potential together,” Harrison said. “We knew we were committed to working hard every day for the past four years. Even when we were losing, you could see that good things would come to us.”

Schedule

Coach: Ed Dawson

2018 record: 4-5, 3-4

All-time record: 172-242-11

Date, Opponent, Time

8.30, Union*, 7

9.6, at Bentworth, 7

9.13, Sto-Rox*, 7

9.20, Northgate*, 7

9.27, at Rochester*, 7:30

10.5, at Bishop Canevin*+, 7

10.11, Laurel*, 7

10.18, Greensburg Central Catholic, 7

10.25, at OLSH*, 7

*Class A Big Seven Conference game

+At Dormont Stadium

Statistical leaders

Passing: Zaier Harrison

1,744 yards, 19 TDs

Rushing: Harrison

418 yards, 5 TDs

Receiving: Luke Piccolo*

582 yards, 7 TDs

*Graduated

Tags: Cornell