Offense Shines As Lions Dominate Marist In Season Opener

Upper West Side NY

19 September, 2021

5:14 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY MATTHEW KIM AND BERNARD WANG SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 Less than four minutes into its season opener against Marist College, the Columbia football team found itself in an unexpected situation. With just over 11 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Lions, playing their first game in 664 days, trailed 14-0 after allowing Marist to score two touchdowns in the span of 17 seconds. "It wasn't the start we were looking for," head coach Al Bagnoli said. Following the undesirable start to the game, the Lions went on to score 37 unanswered points, claiming a 37-14 victory to extend their winning streak against the Red Foxes to five. After going three-and-out on its first drive, the Light Blue punted deep into Marist territory but to no avail. Marist's Dwayne Menders returned it down the right side 82 yards to put the Red Foxes on the scoreboard. Senior Will Allen fielded the ensuing Marist kickoff. Allen's return appeared to be promising but was cut short as he fumbled on Columbia's 40-yard line, which the Red Foxes recovered. Marist wasted no time. On the first play off of the turnover, quarterback Austin Day rolled out to the right and connected with wide receiver Scott Scherzer on a looping pass for 42 yards to put Marist up 14-0. In the latter half of the second quarter, a series of runs by senior running back Ryan Young, sophomore quarterback Joe Green, and senior running back Broderick Taylor brought the Lions to the Marist 33. On fourth and five, Columbia, still scoreless, chose to go for the conversion. Earlier in the quarter, the Lions failed to convert on fourth down in a similar situation. This time, they succeeded as Green found sophomore wide receiver Wills Meyer for an 18-yard gain. Sophomore quarterback Gabriel Hollingsworth, who was periodically subbed in for Green throughout the game, ran it 15 yards down the left side for Columbia's first score of the day. Hollingsworth's first career touchdown opened the floodgates for Columbia. On Marist's first drive to start the second quarter, senior Cam Dillon jumped a short pass from Day to give Columbia possession on the 21-yard line. A 13-yard run by Young drove Columbia to first and goal, but the Marist defense held strong, getting three straight stops. Junior kicker Alex Felkins converted on a 28-yard field goal to narrow the Marist lead to 14-10. Today marked a big day for Dillon, who finished with 1.5 sacks along with the interception on his first game back from an injury sustained in 2019. Midway through the second, a short punt by the Red Foxes put the Lions in great field position. Starting the drive from the Marist 46, Young's three rushes and two receptions brought Columbia inside the Marist 10. Taylor then punched it in from six yards out to complete the seven-play drive, giving Columbia a 17-14 lead. The very next drive, senior linebacker Justin Woodley sacked Day on third down, forcing Marist to punt. Two plays later, Green threaded the needle to find senior Ernest Robertson near midfield, who then took it to the house en route to a 69-yard touchdown. Columbia went into the half up 24-14. The Light Blue continued its dominant play throughout the second half. On the first drive after halftime, strong running by senior running back Dante Miller and Young brought the Lions inside the Marist 20. Robertson, running a reverse, scored again from 17 yards, capping off what ended up being a zero-pass drive. Robertson finished the game with 104 total yards and two touchdowns. Felkins scored two more field goals in the fourth quarter. The All-Ivy kicker finished a perfect three-for-three on field goals and four-for-four on extra points. The defensive line had its way with the Marist offensive front. After giving up a touchdown pass early in the first quarter, Columbia's defensive pressure generated three sacks and 11 tackles for loss while holding Marist scoreless for the rest of the game. Columbia also held Marist to just 64 rushing yards, 46 of which came on one play, despite the fact that Marist returned its top two rushers from 2019. Woodley made his presence felt all over the field, finishing the game with a team-leading seven tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and a pass breakup. Columbia forced the Red Foxes into six punts, successfully holding them to 1-12 on third down and 0-4 on fourth down. "They were shutting down our short passing game and they knew that if they could do that, then that was going to make us hold the football a little longer and the rush was going to come, and that's exactly how it played out," Marist head coach Jim Parady said. As strong as the defensive performance was, the Lions' offense was the story of the game. Led by Young and Miller, the Lions poured in 312 yards on the ground on 5.6 yards per carry on top of 151 passing yards. It was the first time the Lions rushed for over 300 yards since 1988. The Lions' relentless rushing attack served as a stark contrast to the 2019 season, when they ranked dead last among the Ancient Eight in rushing offense. Young, who tied for the team lead in receptions with four, credited the offensive line for leading the way. "All praise to them," he said. "They open up the holes and then we just do what we do. We're like water, we let everything come to us and see what they give us, and we just let our talent and our preparation take it from there." After taking a 24-14 lead after two quarters, the Lions leaned on their running game to take control of the second half, ultimately winning the time of possession battle 35:31 to 24:29. Sophomore quarterback Joe Green added 152 passing yards and one touchdown on 12-19 passing. Bagnoli opted to play Green over senior and captain Ty Lenhart—who only attempted one pass and only saw snaps in the fourth quarter—after they were officially announced as dual starters five minutes prior to kickoff. Hollingsworth was also sprinkled into the game plan, taking many snaps near the goal line. Bagnoli expressed confidence in the team's ability to play with all three quarterbacks. Hollingsworth, listed on the depth chart under Green and Lenhart, received multiple red zone snaps and added a new dimension to the Lions offense, according to Bagnoli. "He gives you a dynamic running threat, and you want to give defenses a lot to prepare for," he said. Hollingsworth figures to continue to be an option in short-yardage scenarios as the season progresses, giving the Lions offensive flexibility in what Bagnoli believes to be a deep quarterback room. For Green, today marked his first game since high school in 2018. He redshirted during his first year at San Diego State University and transferred to Columbia before the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the time off, Green said he felt great in his collegiate debut. "It always makes my job easier when the offensive line, tight ends, and the running backs are doing their job. I took what they gave us and we had a good game plan going in," he said. Though he was listed as a starter, senior and preseason All-American punt returner Mike Roussos did not play in the game due to personal reasons, which Bagnoli did not disclose. Robertson filled in at wide receiver while Allen took over Roussos' typical return duties. For the Lions, who had the worst scoring offense in the Ivy League in 2019, such a strong offensive showing gives reason for optimism. Still, the Lions think that there are things they can work on for the future "There's a lot of room to grow, and I think that's the thing we're most excited about heading into Georgetown," Green said. With the win, the Lions improve to 4-0 in season openers since 2017, and 5-0 against Marist all-time. They will take on Georgetown next Saturday at home at 1 p.m. in their final game before Ivy League competition begins. The game will be the sixth Lou Little Cup, which honors former Columbia and Georgetown head coach Lou Little. 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.