Defense and Special Teams Clinch the Victory for Lions

Jon Rocholl went through his usual pregame motions Saturday, testing the often swirling Baker Field winds. Finally, he walked up to Head Coach Bob Shoop and told him he could consistently make kicks inside 45 yards. The coach believed him, and as Columbia's offense struggled in the first three quarters to put the ball in the end zone, Rocholl was left to do all of the scoring. The first year kicker nailed three key field goals in the third and beginning of the fourth quarters from 41, 46 and 22 yards out, single handedly putting the Lions ahead of the Duquesne Dukes 9-6 and setting the team up for a 23-13 win. With the win, the Lions start their seasion 2-0 for the first time since 1996 and the third time in over 50 years.

"That means absolutely nothing after today," Bob Shoop said. "But I'm not sure this team would have won this game last year."

Columbia's defense had arguably its best game under Shoop, forcing six turnovers and not allowing Duquesne to convert even one of its 14 third down attempts. The Lions' offense coughed up the ball four times but the team's defense minimized that damage, holding the Dukes to just two field goals. "It wasn't pretty on the offensive side of the ball, but they played winning football," Shoop said. Sophomore quarterback Craig Hormann connected with Brandon Bowser on the Lions' two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter. Hormann hit Boswer on a 13-yard strike with 11:07 left, capping a sixplay, 39-yard drive. Three plays earlier, Hormann darted a ball to wide receiver Pete Chromiak, converting a critical third-and-six and putting three-point lead, Hormann engineered another scoring drive that ended in another completion to Bowser, who fell into the end zone for the score. Early in the game, the Lions struggled to move the ball. Hormann and senior quarterback Joe Winters started the game alternating every two series, but neither could get anything going until the fi nal frame. By the end of the first half, the two completed fi ve of 12 passes for a combined 59 yard and an interception, but the Lions trailed by only six.

"[This game] was a lot different than last week at halftime," Hormann said. "It was hard to realize we were down by six points."

The Dukes had chances in the fi rst half, but the Lions defense forced the team to kick fi eld goals.

"We thought we had some opportunities to put the ball in the end zone in the fi rst half," Duquesne head coach Jerry Schmidt said. "When you play well and you have some opportunities to score [touchdowns] and you don't get them, you struggle sometimes."

Rocholl single-handedly chipped away at the Dukes' 6-0 lead, hitting fi eld goals of 41 and 46 yards in the fi rst half and converting a 22-yarder at the beginning of the fourth quarter. He also booted a 74-yard punt in the third quarter with 11:11 remaining. The Lions secondary took advantage of the freshman Knapp, forcing him to just 13 completions in 32 tries, with four interceptions and one touchdown. Cornerback Chad Musgrove and linebacker Adam Brekke each had their first career interceptions, and Prosper Nwokocha and Tad Crawfordaccounted for the other two.

Columbia's running game still struggled as the team gained just 71 rushing yards. Jordan Davis led the team with 17 carries for 58 yards but had some key rushes late in the fourth quarter. Shoop said one of the keys to the game was his team's ability to keep the game within one score. That, he said, helped negate the number of turnovers his team committed. With two wins against non-league opponents, Shoop's team has at least ensured a winning record against non-conference opponents. His team's fi rst Ivy League test comes next weekend at Princeton, where, in 2003, he led the Light Blue over the Tigers for the fi rst time since 1945.

In the Huddle

Center Mike Partain limped off the feld in the third quarter with a leg injury-Dustin Byington took over at center... Rocholl's punt was 3 yards short of the Columbia punting record of 77 yards, hit by Bill Reed against Dartmouth in 1970... Adam Brekke's 3rd quarter interception was the fi rst of his career ... Rochell's 4th quarter fi eld goal to give the Lionsthe lead tied the Columbia team record for consecutive field goals made with 6 ... Duquesne did not complete one passing yard in the third quarter ... Tad Crawford's fourth quarter interception was his second of the season ... The last time the Lions started the season 2-0 was 1996, and before that 1978. the Lions at the Duquesne 13. Duquesne, though, answered five plays later when quarterback Scott Knapp rolled right and dinked a touchdown pass to Calvin Gitter.