Football To Host Marist Saturday In First Game After 664-Day Hiatus

Upper West Side NY

17 September, 2021

4:54 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY MATTHEW KIM AND BERNARD WANG SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 The last time the Lions took the field, Tom Brady was still a New England Patriot, masks were worn almost exclusively on Halloween, and former Columbia star wide receiver Josh Wainwright, CC '20, was tearing up the Ivy League. Six hundred and sixty-four days later, Columbia will return to Robert K. Kraft field to host Marist College in its season opener this Saturday. "It almost hasn't hit us yet," fifth-year defensive back Ben Mathiasmeier said. "It really won't come until that morning." Given the length of the hiatus, expectations for the team in this year's opener differ from a normal game. Head coach Al Bagnolii, who is entering his seventh year with the team, wants the Lions to focus on the fundamentals: lining up in the correct formations, avoiding penalties, and executing the playbook. "When you haven't played in a long time, just make routine plays and do it consistently," he said. The Lions are not the only ones who will be working to get their feet back under them. Just like Columbia, Marist's 2020 season was canceled, in addition to its planned 2021 season opener against Georgetown due to COVID-19 concerns. As a result, the most recent game film, which is often used by coaching staffs to scout opponents, available to Columbia is from 2019. "We're both gonna go into [the] game with a little bit of uncertainty about what the team's doing, the personality of the team, the strengths and weaknesses of the team," Bagnoli said. However, there are some things the Lions can look back to. Jim Parady is entering his 30th season as head coach of the Red Foxes, which, according to Bagnoli, affords them great continuity and consistency. Since 2007, Columbia has gone a perfect 4-0 against Marist, which finished 4-4 to earn fifth place in the Patriot League in 2019. Despite Columbia's historical success against Marist, Bagnoli is not taking anything for granted. "We'll have to play well," he said. "It's just like every other week." The Lions and Red Foxes last matched up in 2018, when Columbia came out victorious 34-24—despite Marist wide receiver Juston Christian's monstrous 274-yard, three-touchdown outing. Bagnoli said that he and his coaching staff have been reviewing film from that game for schematic analysis, although it has been less useful for individual scouting due to the many changes to the Marist roster since. However, uncertainty about their opponent has given the Lions a chance to focus on themselves, according to offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mark Fabish: "As much as any game as we've ever played, it really becomes about us." With an abnormally large roster and swaths of players without any collegiate experience, Columbia's players spent the preseason competing for starting spots in the season opener. This has opened up opportunities for younger players to emerge at the top of the depth chart, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The offense will see both old and new faces in the starting lineup. Senior and preseason All-American punt returner Mike Roussos will line up along with sophomores Marcus Libman and Wills Meyer, both of whom will be making their collegiate debuts. Seniors Ernest Robertson and Emerson Kabus and junior Jack Ertz will serve as their backups. Junior tight end Luke Painton will also make his debut for the Lions after not seeing any action during his first-year season, with sophomore Dominic Busby backing him up. On Thursday afternoon, Bagnoli, who has preached positional competition to his team, named dual starters at both the quarterback and running back positions. At quarterback, sophomore Joe Green and senior Ty Lenhart have both performed up to Bagnoli's standards. While the official starter—that is, the quarterback who takes the first snap of the game—will not be determined until gameday, both will share starting responsibilities. It remains to be seen who will win the outright starting job. While Lenhart, the Lions' most recent starting quarterback, has not played since 2019, Green, who transferred to Columbia after redshirting his first-year season at San Diego State University, will be coming back from an even longer absence, last playing in 2018. But regardless of who will see more snaps on Saturday, Bagnoli emphasized that he will continue to reward whomever he deems the most deserving candidate as the season plays on. "What is going on on the 18th of September could be radically different than what's going on on the fifth of October," Bagnoli said. "Nobody has a crystal ball; we can't tell. Everybody's just gotta continue to compete." The offense's most experienced position is running back, where Bagnoli has not yet decided who will take over lead back duties. To begin the season, he has named seniors Ryan Young, a preseason All-Ivy selection, and Dante Miller as dual starters. Senior Broderick Taylor will sit behind them on the depth chart. On the offensive line, Columbia will bring out an experienced left side with junior Will Hamilton as left guard and senior Stew Newblatt as left tackle. Both have seen substantial game action. Contrarily, the right side, consisting of junior right guard Matt Klenk and junior right tackle David Sawyer, has zero game experience. Senior center Tyler Worrell will also be playing his first snap. The discrepancy in experience levels across the roster makes for a "weird dynamic," Bagnoli said, but he believes many teams across the Ivy League will experience a similar phenomenon. "We're gonna have a blend of either kids that have played a significant amount of football, or kids that are relatively first timers," he said. Much like Bagnoli's focus on fundamentals, Fabish wants to keep it simple for the offense: "See the signal. Line up. Execute. Do it again." On the other end, Columbia's defense boasts experience at nearly every position in the starting lineup, including leadership from Mathiasmeier, who was recently named a team captain along with Lenhart, Newblatt, and fifth-year linebacker Justin Woodley. Junior defensive end Thomas Thibault and sophomore right linebacker C.J. Brown are the only two defensive starters without prior collegiate playing time. Seniors defensive end Paul Akere and defensive tackle Mitchell Shinskie, along with junior defensive tackle Mitch Moyer, will hold down the line with Thibault. The front seven is rounded out by Woodley and senior John Harris at linebacker. Senior and preseason second-team All-Ivy linebacker Cam Dillon will back up Harris at middle linebacker. He will make his comeback from an injury sustained early in the 2019 season. Junior cornerback Bryan Bell-Anderson and senior free safety Fara'ad McCombs will step into starting roles in the secondary, joining incumbents Mathiasmeier and senior cornerback Will Allen. Although it has been two years since the team last played, Mathiasmeier said he has not changed his approach to the game. The amount of continuity and experience from the defensive players and coaching staff makes it easier to focus on the ultimate goal of going 1-0, he said. Mathiasmeier and the rest of the defense will emphasize a mentality that defensive coordinator Paul Ferraro enforces, called TRT: third down, red zone, and takeaways. "If we win those I feel like we put ourselves in a great position to win the game," Mathiasmeier said. Special teams will return all four key position starters and looks to regain its form as the most consistent unit Columbia football has to offer. This is the first season without a player from Bagnoli's first recruiting class, marking a new era under his leadership. After openly expressing championship aspirations as recently as three years ago, the Lions do not want to get too far ahead of themselves this year. As Fabish succinctly put it: "Keep it simple, and let's roll." Kickoff will be at 1:05 p.m. All fans in attendance must wear a mask, and those over the age of 12 will be required to show proof of vaccination. Those not in attendance may watch the game on ESPN+ or SNY. Deputy Sports Editor Matt Kim can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @matt_kim9. Staff writer Bernard Wang can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator Sports on Twitter @CUSpecSports. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.