As the Columbia football team prepares to kick off its 2009 campaign this Saturday in the Bronx, the ugly taste of 2008 and the Lions’ 2-8 record still lingers.
While the Lions started last season 0-3, each of their first three contests were decided by only a touchdown or less. Columbia opened the year at home against their crosstown rivals, Fordham. The Rams wasted no time pulling ahead and scored on the fifth play of the game when tailback Xavier Martin reached the endzone on a 27-yard. Columbia responded with its first score of the year in the second quarter on a 33-yard field goal by kicker Jon Rocholl.
After another touchdown run by Martin, Columbia answered with 20 straight points beginning with quarterback Shane Kelly’s four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Andrew Kennedy. Linebacker Drew Quinn followed with a 22-yard touchdown on an interception return, and then Kelly found wide receiver Austin Knowlin for the longest play of the afternoon, a 56-yard touchdown reception that gave the Lions a 22-14 lead at halftime.
The game stayed even until the fourth quarter when Martin scored two more touchdowns for the Rams and handed Columbia a 29-22 defeat.
The Lions headed south to Maryland for their second game against the Towson Tigers, and the first half followed a similar script: Towson tailback Matt Castor gave his team an early lead with a first-quarter touchdown, but Columbia rallied and tied the game 17-17 in the third quarter on a touchdown catch by Mike Stephens. After falling behind late in the third, the Lions evened the score at 24 with 4:06 in regulation on Kelly’s two-yard touchdown. On the ensuing set, Castor scored the go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute remaining and Towson took a 31-24 lead. The Lions’ final drive ended with a turnover on downs and Columbia had lost by one possession for the second week in a row.
After narrow defeats in both nonconference games, the Lions hoped to put on a show for the Homecoming weekend crowd when they kicked off the Ivy League portion of their schedule against Princeton. Columbia gave the fans reason to cheer early when Kelly scored on the opening drive to take a 7-0 lead, but Princeton took a 14-7 lead after running back Jordan Culbreath answered with two touchdowns of his own to end the first quarter. After Rocholl’s second-quarter field goal, Columbia trailed 14-10 at the half.
The two traded touchdowns in the third quarter before Columbia tailback Jordan Davis reached the endzone to open the fourth to give the Lions a 24-21 advantage. As soon as the Tigers got the ball back, however, quarterback Brian Anderson aired out a 52-yard pass for receiver Trey Peacock to give the Tigers a 27-24 lead.
Columbia’s last-gasp effort was thwarted when Columbia wide receiver Mike Stephens was forced into a costly turnover after a short reception with just over two minutes remaining. Princeton was able to hold onto the ball and run out the clock in another heartbreaker.
The Lions dropped their next two contests against Lafayette and Penn to fall to 0-5 before facing a winless Dartmouth team. With Columbia clinging to a precarious 14-13 lead in the third and the offense stagnating, head coach Norries Wilson turned to backup quarterback M.A. Olawale, who made an immediate impact with a 52-yard rush and a late touchdown that propelled the Light Blue to their first win of the season, 21-13.
After dropping their next two games at Yale and Harvard, the Lions managed to secure a win against Cornell in their final home game of the year. Tailback Ray Rangel scored his third touchdown of the season and Knowlin returned a 76-yard punt to help nail down the 17-7 victory.
In its final game of the season, Columbia suffered its most lopsided loss of the year at the hands of Brown. Olawale’s 70-yard run was the only highlight for the Lions in the 41-10 loss. With its commanding victory, Brown took home a share of the league title. If the Lions hope to match the Bears’ 2008 success this year, they will have to perform more effectively in one-possession games this year.
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