Columbia didn’t have to run another play. The clock was winding down and the Lions (4-6, 3-4 Ivy) led the Bears (6-4, 4-3 Ivy) 28-14. But head coach Norries Wilson sent senior quarterback Millicent Olawale—who did not play due to plantar fasciitis—out to take the victory knee.
“They didn’t even have to put the ball ready for play, and I asked him, ‘Did he want to get in his last game?’ and he said yes,” Wilson said. “So we lined him up and sent him out there, and we sent Shane [Kelly] out there, and we tried to get as many seniors an opportunity to play in their last game as possible.”
The Bears jumped out to an early lead Saturday, marching 73 yards on their first drive for an easy touchdown pass from Kyle Newhall-Caballero to Buddy Farnham, giving Brown a 7-0 lead. But the Bears wouldn’t get back into the end zone until late in the fourth quarter.
Columbia started Sean Brackett at quarterback, and the freshman had his best game of the season, passing for 151 yards and rushing for 171 more. Wilson also made good on his comments at the beginning of the season: Get Austin Knowlin the ball any way he can.
On the Lions’ first scoring drive, Knowlin had one catch for five yards but rushed for 24 yards, including a key eight-yard run on fourth-and-two from the Brown 32-yard line. Columbia had missed a field goal earlier in the first quarter from the Brown 27-yard line. The Lions only made two field goals this season, so the decision for Wilson was an easy one. And with Knowlin, Wilson was sure they would get the first down.
“Coach [John] Marino told us before the game that no one was going to stop us but ourselves,” Knowlin said.
The Lions scored on a one-yard option run by junior Zack Kourouma to tie the game at seven. Columbia knew the best way to keep Brown’s potent offense off the gridiron was to keep its own offense on the field. In the second quarter, the Lions had back-to-back drives over four and a half minutes. On the second drive, the Lions ran the ball nine times, passing only once, and gave the ball to Knowlin for the five-yard score.
Knowlin said he’s been begging the coaches to let him try his hand at running back, but Wilson joked after the game that his pass blocking is suspect. Knowlin got his shot running the ball Saturday and even earned praise from tailback Ray Rangel, who suffered season-ending surgery after the Dartmouth game.
“Actually, I came over and Ray said I looked all right,” Knowlin said. “I just told him I was trying to run like him.”
The Lions led 14-7, and with two seconds left in the half, Newhall-Caballero lofted up a prayer for Bobby Sewall and junior Adam Mehrer nabbed his fourth interception of the season. Mehrer ran it back 36 yards before pitching it to teammate Andy Shalbrack, who turned on the jets to run the last 49 yards for a touchdown. The Lions went in to the half leading 21-7.
The Light Blue defense kept Brown off the board for two quarters and came up with some big fourth-down stops. At fourth-and-goal from the nine-yard line, Newhall-Caballero kept the ball himself, but Auggie Williams stopped him three yards shy of the end zone and Columbia took over to start the fourth quarter.
The next drive, the Bears faced fourth-and-goal from the eight-yard line. A screen to tailback Spiro Theodhosi ended with a loss of four yards, and the Lions again took over deep in their own territory. This time Brackett ran for 38 yards on the drive before completing a 37-yard pass to Knowlin for a touchdown, and the Lions took a commanding 28-7 lead.
“There’s no better way to go out,” Knowlin said. “Last game, last catch a touchdown? Last game won? Can’t be a better way than that. At the end of the game I just emotionally, I was all over the place. I didn’t know how to feel after the game, but I feel great. There’s no better way to go out than the way we did today.”
Brown tacked on another touchdown themselves, a Newhall-Caballero pass to Farnham for the final score, 28-14. This is the second time this senior class has defeated Brown, and the Lions finished with three Ivy wins for the first time since 2003, good for fourth place in the league.
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