Lions Intercept Five Passes In 'Surreal' Penalty-Ridden 34-26 Victory Over Cornell

Upper West Side NY

21 November, 2021

12:50 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY MATTHEW KIM AND BERNARD WANG NOVEMBER 20, 2021 Columbia head football coach Al Bagnoli knew that a last-place Cornell squad and its 51 seniors and fifth-years would not go out without a fight. "I had been telling [the team] all week that this was going to be a really difficult game," Bagnoli said. "When you have 51 kids that are out the door, we had anticipated early that they were going to put every single bullet in the chamber." But even the Light Blue boss, now with 30 seasons of Ivy League head coaching experience under his belt, could not have expected what transpired in the Lions' final game of the season. Intercepting five passes in a matchup that saw 29 total penalties called, Columbia (7-3, 4-3 Ivy) rallied from a 13-point deficit against Cornell (2-8, 1-6 Ivy) to take home the annual Empire State Bowl 34-26. Despite the eventual result, the Lions played a mistake-heavy first half, putting themselves in a 13-0 hole early in the game. On Cornell's first drive, quarterbacks Richie Kenney and Jameson Wang led a quick march downfield, which resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Devon Brewer to open up the scoring. Columbia went three-and-out, which was followed by a short Cornell punt. With the ball on the Cornell 43, senior running back Ryan Young fumbled a handoff from sophomore quarterback Joe Green and gave the ball back to the Big Red. Wang showed off his speed when Cornell took over, breaking away for a quick 24-yard run. Kenney then threw a strike to wide receiver Alex Kuzy to break into the red zone. However, the Light Blue defense held its ground and forced a 25-yard field goal, which the Big Red converted to push its lead to 10. Following another three-and-out series by Columbia, a rush by running back SK Howard down the middle and a lob from Wang to Matt Robbert went for 30 yards each and quickly brought the Big Red into the red zone in its first two plays. Despite allowing Cornell to drive all the way down to the 9-yard line, the Lions' defense made another red zone stop and forced Cornell into a 31-yard field goal. Down 13-0, the Lions turned to a lesser-used offensive set to start the drive, putting sophomore quarterback Gabriel Hollingsworth under center. Hollingsworth immediately found a running lane down the middle for a 37-yard gain, the Lions' longest play up to that point. A late hit penalty added another 15 yards to the play, setting the Lions up at the Cornell 35-yard line. On the next play, a pass interference penalty was called on a deep pass by Green to first-year wide receiver Bryson Canty. After Green's first-down scramble on third-and-8 was called back due to an illegal formation, the Light Blue settled for a 41-yard field goal by kicker Alex Felkins to put three points on the board. The rest of the game would prove to be equally unpredictable and penalty-ridden. On Cornell's first play of its next possession, senior linebacker Cameron Brown intercepted Kenney and gave the Lions the ball at the Cornell 25-yard line. A long ball to Canty ended in the same result as earlier—15 free yards due to defensive pass interference. The offense once again could not take advantage of its field position, turning to Felkins for a 25-yarder. Felkins nailed the kick, setting a new school record of most field goals made in a season with 16. While the offense struggled to find its footing, the defense continued to disrupt Cornell's momentum. After the Big Red entered Columbia territory thanks to a roughing-the-kicker call on fourth down, senior free safety Jordan Colbert intercepted Wang and returned it to Columbia's 47. The offense again could not get anything going, punting after a quick three-and-out. On the next Cornell drive, junior linebacker Scott Valentas hit Howard in the backfield immediately after the handoff for a 4-yard loss, forcing a third-and-long situation. A 21-yard punt return by Roussos to the Cornell 46 once again gave the offense prime field position to reduce the lead. This time, the Lions made good of their opportunity in impressive fashion. On first-and-10 from the 29-yard line, Green lofted a perfect pass to sophomore Wills Meyer down the left sideline, who made a tumbling one-handed snag in the end zone to tie the game up at 13. The remainder of the half was, in a word, chaotic. With just over one minute left to play, senior strong safety Ben Mathiasmeier picked off quarterback Ben Mays in Cornell territory, but two penalties were assessed following the play, pushing the Lions back 30 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Marcus Libman wide-open dropped a would-be touchdown, a kick-catching interference penalty on the following punt gave Cornell extra yards for a potential last-second drive, and senior defensive end Paul Akere took down Wang 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage on what initially looked like a fumble-recovery touchdown. Ultimately, no points were scored in the frenzy. The teams entered halftime tied at 13, despite Columbia accumulating only 116 total yards of offense in eight minutes and 38 seconds of possession compared to Cornell's 255 yards in 21 minutes and 22 seconds. Both teams were plagued by penalties. The Lions were heavily buoyed by the defense's three takeaways, one on each quarterback in Cornell's rotation. After the break, Columbia's offense wasted no time. With the ball in Cornell's territory, senior running back Dante Miller patiently waited for a running lane to emerge before bursting through the middle for a 42-yard touchdown, Miller's fourth touchdown run of more than 40 yards this season. The Big Red clawed back, though. Cornell linebacker Lance Blass picked off Green and returned it to the Columbia 23. The Light Blue defense again held Cornell to a field goal attempt, which Cornell kicker Scott Lees nailed from 40 yards out. Following another Columbia three-and-out, Kenney and Brewer drove down to the Columbia 17. The Lions made another red zone stand as Cornell did not advance past the 17, settling for a 34-yard field goal to close the Lions' lead to 20-19. Penalties and strong running boosted the Light Blue down to the Cornell 2 as the third quarter concluded. When play resumed, Hollingsworth came in for his typical goal-line duties and finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to increase Columbia's lead to eight. Kenney began what appeared to be a promising series for Cornell, but fifth-year cornerback Will Allen intercepted Kenney's pass and returned it 47 yards to the Cornell 11. After two runs by Miller, Canty came up with a spectacular one-handed grab for the Lions' fourth touchdown of the day. Canty, who began to receive playing time as the season progressed, was instrumental in setting the tone against Cornell. "In the first two [pass interference calls] on Bryson, he's so hard to defend one-on-one," Green said. Green "can't wait" to play the next couple of seasons with a receiving group that includes fellow underclassmen Canty, Meyer, and Libman. "Bryson is a freshman right now, Wills is a sophomore, so we've got a lot to be happy about." Despite the 15-point margin with 12 minutes left in the game, the excitement was not remotely close to ending. Cornell made another march deep into Lion territory, and with the ball on Columbia's 17-yard line, Mays threw a pass toward the end zone, which Colbert picked off and ran back all the way to the house. The play was called back, though, as Colbert was called for a holding penalty, giving Cornell 9 more yards and a fresh set of downs. A touchdown would give the Big Red a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Allen picked off Wang's pass on the very next play after the Colbert pick-six was called back, halting another Cornell red zone opportunity. Columbia could not capitalize on the turnover, punting for only the sixth time that game. With Cornell's chances of keeping the Empire Cup on the line, Mays and Brewer drove into the final fourth of the field. Mays capped off the drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Curtis Raymond III, closing the lead to 34-26 with 2:47 left in the game. The Lions recovered the Big Red's ensuing onside kick and eventually moved the chains with a series of runs. As Cornell had no timeouts remaining, the Lions lined up in victory formation and let the time expire, securing the 34-26 win. With the win, the Lions finish the season in a tie with Yale for fourth place in the Ivy League. The victory also gives Columbia its third winning season in the past four seasons for the first time since 1945-48. "I was happy I could help us get a 7-3 record and put our name in history books," said Allen, who came away with two crucial interceptions. Columbia's defense was faced with a unique challenge posed by Cornell's untraditional three-quarterback rotation. Mathiasmeier said he was proud of the way his team rose to the occasion. The Lions came away with five interceptions and held Wang, the Big Red's leading rusher, to only 25 rushing yards. "I think more than anything, we held them in the red zone to field goals," Mathiasmeier said. "It was just a great defensive performance." Miller finished the day with 67 yards on the ground, enough to give him the Ivy League rushing title with 838 total yards. He was quick to show his appreciation for the offensive line in helping him achieve that feat. "It's just a blessing, man. Our offensive line has worked so hard in the off-season. I watched them every day. It's a product of their work. You could run a 4.1 and it doesn't matter how fast you are if your offensive line isn't doing their job. These guys have done a great job all year and I love them all for it." Young, who added 50 yards from scrimmage on the day, finished with 528 total rushing yards, good for seventh in the league. Despite not winning a championship, the emotions of ending his career on a victory to go 7-3 were hard to express. "It's surreal. You can't explain it," Young said. "It's one of the best seasons we've had in 60 years." While the Lions came away with the victory, it was not a clean one—they were penalized 17 times, the most in school history, for 155 yards. On the other side, the Big Red was called for 12 penalties for 160 yards. "That's an absurd number," Bagnoli said. "That's a number both [Cornell football head coach David] Archer and myself can't believe … could happen. But obviously, it did, so that's another area we're going to have to clean up." Still, Bagnoli thinks that the win "gives us some really positive momentum going into the off-season." "Our kids will go out the right way," he said. "[With] all the hurdles and all the obstacles that were put in front of them and all the regulations they had, it's just remarkable that they can do all that and turn around and win seven games." 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.