In historic 42-14 win, football routs Tigers

This year, Columbia’s football team didn’t manage to shut out Princeton à la 2009. But the Lions still pummeled their rivals from New Jersey in a decisive 42-14 victory to open Ivy League play on Saturday afternoon at Baker Field. The 42 points are a new high for Columbia in its history against Princeton.

“We just kept plugging away the entire game,” sophomore running back Nick Gerst said. “Sometimes the pass opened up the run, sometimes the run opened up the pass, but when you have that kind of bounce, people are gonna have career days.”

Sophomore quarterback Sean Brackett matched a Columbia school record with five touchdown passes on the day. The Lions racked up 528 yards of total offense behind a strong multifaceted attack featuring Gerst, who rushed for a career-high 124 yards, and senior tight end Andrew Kennedy, who hauled in seven receptions for 148 yards, also a career high, and a pair of touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Nico Gutierrez had some key receptions too, picking up 37 yards and a score on four catches.

“I just like the balance we have on offense right now,” Brackett said. “I think that each week we come out and it came down to what we really want to do.”

Meanwhile, the Light Blue defensive effort stifled Princeton’s potent offense for much of the afternoon, denying quarterback Tommy Wornham consistent clear looks at his top receivers. Wornham, the reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, finished with 252 yards on 27 completions. Wide receiver Trey Peacock picked up 125 yards on five catches, while Jordan Culbreath, the Princeton tailback, had 48 yards on 12 carries.

“They have a really fast no-huddle, which was kind of tough—a couple times we didn’t get to get calls in,” said sophomore linebacker Ryan Murphy, who had nine tackles on the day. “But that stuff is all correctable. I think we stopped them pretty well. Coach had a lot of answers to what they were doing. I think we played really well.”

Action was slow in the opening frame as the teams traded possessions early. The Tigers marched down to the Lion 26 on their opening drive, but fumbled there to kill their early momentum. Columbia was unable to establish an effective running game in the first quarter, which ended in a scoreless tie.

Princeton struck first on the scoreboard with an 80-yard drive, culminating in running back Matt Zimmerman’s four-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead early in the second. Columbia answered quickly when senior defensive back Craig Hamilton returned the Tiger kickoff for 50 yards and set up a 47-yard scoring drive, capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass up the middle to Gutierrez.

“It was a couple of big, long passes early on,” Brackett said. “I think that established a little bit of momentum. I got myself a little bit of rhythm, so I think that was big for us as an offense.”

After a Princeton punt into the end zone, the Light Blue put together an 80-yard drive of their own, highlighted by Gerst’s 41-yard rush. A short pass to senior tight end Clif Pope put the Lions up 14-7, with 48 seconds remaining in the half. Princeton was unable to maintain its small deficit heading into the locker room, as junior defensive lineman Ben Popeck recovered his second fumble of the day, to set up a touchdown pass to Kennedy with six seconds to go.

Columbia came out strong in the third quarter with Brackett’s 45-yard pass up the middle to Kennedy and senior running back Leon Ivery’s six-yard scoring run, and the rout was on. After the Lions stuffed Zimmerman on fourth down at the other end and each team exchanged punts, Columbia roared back again when Brackett found sophomore wide receiver Brian DeVeau for 13 yards down the left side to make it 35-7.

Princeton put together a 72-yard scoring drive with 1:38 remaining in the third, but Columbia answered once more to open the fourth with another touchdown pass to Kennedy for a 42-14 lead and the final margin. Neither team attempted a field goal all afternoon.

The Lions, winners of two straight, will take the field again in Manhattan against Lafayette next Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Speaking after the game, head coach Norries Wilson acknowledged the heavy workload coming up this week.

“We just gotta take it one day at a time,” he said. “We gotta start getting ready to play Lafayette. We never beat Lafayette.”