Lions Ride Second-Half Comeback To Best Brown 23-17 On Senior Day

Upper West Side NY

15 November, 2021

11:43 AM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY MATTHEW KIM AND BERNARD WANG NOVEMBER 13, 2021 Two weeks ago, Columbia football found itself on the wrong side of a second-half comeback, allowing Yale to score 23 unanswered points en route to a 37-30 loss for the Light Blue. Today's game followed a similar arc, except this time, the Lions were the ones scoring 23 straight. After trailing 14-0 in the third quarter, Columbia (6-3, 3-3 Ivy) defeated Brown (2-7, 1-5 Ivy) 23-17, scraping out a victory in a windy and weather-delayed game to clinch the Light Blue's third winning season in the past four seasons. "It wasn't the start we were looking for," head coach Al Bagnoli said. "But our kids have been resilient all year." Before kickoff, Columbia honored its 40 seniors and fifth-year "super seniors," the largest graduating class in program history. The fifth-year class leaves Columbia as the winningest class since 1963. The Lions knew they would have their hands full stabilizing quarterback E.J. Perry, who threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns the last time the squads met. Today, Perry had his fingerprints all over the game, throwing for 224 yards and rushing for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Columbia's defense brought pressure early. On Brown's first drive, senior linebacker Cam Dillon ran unblocked down the middle for an 8-yard sack. On Brown's next possession, Perry threw a screen pass to running back Jordan DeLucia, who took it 40 yards to Columbia's 40. On third-and-5, the Lions pressured Perry to force an incompletion and a fourth-and-long situation. Confident in their quarterback's ability to make a play, the Bears elected to go for it. Perry tried to scramble from the Light Blue's pressure, but senior defensive lineman Cameren Carter brought him down, giving the ball back to Columbia. Despite the defensive stops, the Lions could not capitalize on offense, going three-and-out on their first two drives. Perry proved his versatility in Brown's third series. After senior defensive lineman Mitchell Shinskie tackled running back Allen Smith behind the line of scrimmage to force a third-and-8, Perry hit wide receiver Wes Rockett for 10 yards, entering Columbia territory and gaining a first down. Facing another third-and-8 two downs later, the quarterback scrambled for 17 yards. The preseason All-American would go on to throw strike after strike, marching the Bears to the Columbia 8-yard line to conclude the first quarter. At the start of the second, a pass interference call against the Lions moved the ball all the way up to the 2. Fifth-year strong safety Ben Mathiasmeier tackled Smith for a 1-yard loss on first down, but Perry took matters into his own hands. The Ivy League's leading passer took the ball on a quarterback keep, and in what seemed like a fortunate turn of events for the Lions, Perry fumbled. However, he fell on his own fumble in the end zone, opening up the scoring 7-0. The Lions' offense came out firing after Perry's touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Joe Green completed four passes in a row to take the Light Blue from its 14 to Brown's 38. Green extended that streak to five, throwing a screen pass to senior wide receiver Emerson Kabus, who made a move to try to get by his defender. Brown linebacker Isaiah Gamble tore the ball out of Kabus' hands and recovered the fumble, halting the Light Blue's rapid attack downfield. Despite allowing Perry to scramble for 17 yards again, Columbia's defense held its ground, forcing Brown's second punt of the game, but the Lions' luck did not improve. Senior kick and punt returner Mike Roussos caught the Bears' punt at the Columbia 12. Instead of calling a fair catch, Roussos tried to return it but was pushed back by a Brown special teams player. Roussos attempted to salvage the return, but a swarm of Bears closed down on him and took him down on the 2-yard line. Pinned right in front of their own end zone, the Lions eventually found themselves in a third-and-8. Rolling to his right in the end zone, Green launched a pass down the sideline, which Brown cornerback Shane Prevot picked off at the Columbia 29 to give Green his second interception of the year. Fortunately for the Lions, their defense held firm, and kicker Christopher Maron's 44-yard field goal went wide right. With less than five minutes left in the first half, play was paused due to a weather delay. After an hour, play resumed with the Bears punting back to Columbia. On second down, senior running back Dante Miller broke free down the right sideline for a 22-yard rush into Brown territory, but after rushing the ball on third-and-7, the drive ultimately ended in a punt. Neither team scored the remainder of the first half. "The last time I was involved in one of those was against Lehigh like 20 years ago," Bagnoli said about the lightning delay. "They're tough to manage because now you're confined in your locker room for 30, 40 minutes. … To the kids' credit, their resiliency and everything. They came out and responded the way they're capable of responding." The Bears struck first after the break. DeLucia, Smith, and Perry led a Brown march downfield, getting all the way to the Columbia 3-yard line. On second down, Perry faked a handoff and took it himself, extending his arm to cross the plane in a diving effort to give Brown a two-touchdown lead. Down 14-0, Columbia needed to turn the tide. On the ensuing kickoff, Roussos fielded a squib kick and returned it 57 yards to the Brown 38-yard line, jumpstarting the Lions' offensive attack. Rolling out to his right again, Green lobbed a 34-yard pass to first-year wide receiver Bryson Canty, taking the Lions to the Brown two-yard line. The Lions looked to senior running back Ryan Young three times in a row to punch in the score, but the Bears' defense held its ground, pushing Columbia back to a fourth-and-four. Searching for their first points after nearly 38 shutout minutes, the Lions went for it on fourth down. Green rolled out to his left and connected with Roussos for the wideout's second touchdown of the year, making it a one-possession game. When Brown came back with the ball, Dillon, who recorded the first sack of the game, tipped Perry's pass and senior linebacker John Harris scooped up an interception at the line of scrimmage. Off of the interception, the Lions looked to tie up the game. On third-and-12, Green rolled out to his right and lofted a pass to Young. With a defender draped all over him, Young made a contested grab and sprinted the rest of the way for a 60-yard touchdown, Columbia's longest play of the day. "You know, I just made a play," Young said. "It's a big play, it's third-and-long and we were struggling a bit to move the ball so I'm glad we could make that play, score a touchdown, and we got things going." Seeking a two-point conversion to tie up the game at 14, Bagnoli reached into his bag of tricks. Sophomore quarterback Gabriel Hollingsworth took the snap and pitched it to Roussos, who handed it off to senior tight end Brandon Radice. Rather than running to the endzone himself, Radice tossed the ball up to a wide-open Hollingsworth in the end zone. The Lions' good fortune continued. After Perry scrambled for another first down on third-and-long, senior defensive end Paul Akere punched the ball out of DeLucia's hands, with the ball ultimately being recovered by senior defensive back Jordan Colbert. After three straight rushes by Young and a holding penalty in the end zone, the Lions once again found themselves within striking distance. On third-and-7, Canty high-pointed a throw from Green in the end zone on a fade route, giving Columbia its first lead of the day. Young had a big day, adding 126 yards from scrimmage and a score. Canty had his most impressive game this year, making three big catches for the Light Blue, including his first career touchdown. On top of his 176 passing yards, Green threw for three touchdowns, a career high. After going up 20-14 in the fourth quarter, the Lions looked to preserve the lead mainly by running out the clock. Columbia frequently turned to Green's legs in its last two drives, including a designed run up the middle to convert a crucial fourth-and-three in Bears territory. The teams ultimately traded field goals, with Felkins hitting a 42-yarder after missing his first two extra-point attempts of the day. Brown got the ball for one final possession at its 12-yard line with 27 seconds remaining but couldn't muster any plays to move downfield. Columbia completed the comeback, triumphing 23-17. "I think everyone was just pressing a little bit [in the first half]," Young said. "I think that we just needed to slow down, understand our assignments, and really execute. I think that coming off of that break, we really got to clear our heads and then we just pressed on from there." The Light Blue defense stymied an explosive Brown offense, holding the Bears to their lowest point total this year—matched only by the Bears' offensive output against Penn and Harvard. The Lions ended the day with four pass breakups and eight solo tackles for loss. While Perry managed two rushing touchdowns on 66 rushing yards, he ended with 224 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception through the air, a far cry from his previous average of 318.88 passing yards per game. "We put a lot of emphasis this week on how good of a playmaker he was and how we needed to play our best all-around game on the defensive side to make sure that points stayed low," Dillon said. "All the hard work during the week, all the good practices and everything paid off a ton today because … 17 [points] has got to be down there." While the Lions' final home game ended in a win, it was a bittersweet experience for the team's seniors. "Nobody ever wants this time to come, but it does have to come, unfortunately," Dillon said. "I'm just grateful that we were able to go out there and play the game we did today and walk away with our heads held high." With the win, the Lions improve to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the Ivy League. Columbia sits at fifth in the Ivy League behind Harvard and Yale, who each have two Ivy League losses. Going into their final game, the Lions' goal is simple. "Win. That's it," Young said. Columbia will close out its season next week on the road against Cornell. Kickoff is at 1 p.m., and viewers can watch from home on ESPN+. 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.