PHILADELPHIA, PA. ? The site of filming for much of the box office hit “Invincible” proved an appropriate setting for the Lions' defense as much as the Quakers' on a clear, sunny day in front of 9,189 fans at Franklin Field.
Penn walked away with a 16-0 triumph over the Lions, marking Columbia's first scoreless outing since a loss to Harvard in November 2004. However, the Quakers, who had been averaging 23 points per game, managed only a field goal, a touchdown on a drive that started at the Lions' 19, and one second-half touchdown as Columbia continued to rattle opposing offenses. The Lions allowed just 16 first downs and 4 of 14 third-down conversion attempts.
Twice Columbia (3-2, 0-2 Ivy League) drove into Penn (4-1, 2-0 Ivy League) territory in the opening 20 minutes and twice came up short on fourth down. The Lions' opening drive reached the Penn 32-yard line, but fizzled after a holding call on first down. Columbia's offense stayed on the field for a 4th-and-11 from the 34, and Craig Hormann's pass to Adrian Demko was incomplete.
“I went for it on fourth down because our defense is damn good,” said head coach Norries Wilson. “I have as much faith in them on a 60-yard field as I do on an 80-yard field.”
On the team's next possession, Columbia had a 4th-and-1 at the 40, but James Cobb's diving effort on a sweep left fell a foot short of the first down. After the Lions' first two drives, Hormann was 8-of-11 for 78 yards.
In between Columbia's drives, Penn got on the board on a 31-yard field goal by Derek Zoch at 6:02 of the first quarter to cap a 10-play, 53-yard drive.
The Quakers earned golden field position when Jordan Davis fumbled on first down at the Lions' 19 with 9:44 left in the second quarter. Penn took advantage when a Robert Irvin found Joe Sandberg on a 10-yard screen pass for a touchdown to make the score 9-0 at 7:06. A bad snap resulted in a botched extra-point attempt.
Craig Hormann was under frequent pressure in the first half as the Lions struggled to establish the run game, which had eight yards on the ground in the opening two quarters. Hormann finished with a season-best 246 yards on 22-of-45 passing with no interceptions.
Although there were some dropped passes in the game, the Columbia receivers made some outstanding catches and Austin Knowlin had the team's first 100-yard receiving game of the season with six receptions for 102 yards.
“He's pretty shifty and does some good things to get open in space,” Hormann said of the first-year receiver. “We did a great job of catching the ball.”
Senior Nick DeGasperis had four catches for 54 yards.
The Lion defense did its best to help the offense when Andy Shalback returned an interception 22 yards to the Penn 31 midway through the third quarter. On the next play, Hormann found a sliding Jamal Russell for 17 yards to the Penn 14. A one-yard loss by Jordan Davis was followed by incomplete passes to Adrian Demko and Russell in the end zone. On 4th-and -11, Jon Rocholl attempted a 32-yard field goal with four minutes left in the third quarter, but drove the ball low into Penn's J.J. Stanton for his second kick block of the season. It marked the Lions' first foray into an opponents' red zone that did not result in points this season.
Penn made Columbia pay. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Irvin found Matt Carre deep over the middle for a 39-yard gain to the Columbia 18. After an incomplete pass, Sandberg completed the drive with an 18-yard run to give Penn a 16-0 lead at 2:54 of the third.
The Lions had one of their best chances to score when Chad Musgrove anticipated a ball thrown by Irvin up the left sideline on a Penn 3rd-and-11 early in the third quarter. The ball bounced off the hands of Musgrove, who had may have had a shot at his second interception return for a touchdown in as many weeks had the catch been made.
Columbia's defense kept continuous pressure on the Penn quarterbacks. In addition to relentless pursuit, the defensive backs allowed few yards after the catch; on one second-quarter drive, with a 3rd-and-3 from the Columbia 34, Penn completed passes on consecutive plays without moving the chains as Columbia took over on downs.
“They battled for 60 minutes, and still had a chance in the fourth quarter,” Wilson said of his team. “They are going to win games. They work so hard, they have no choice but to win games.”
Senior free safety Tad Crawford made a career-high and team season-high 22 tackles. Senior co-captain Adam Brekke had nine, including one for a loss.
“Everyone in the conference looks at Columbia like it is the one win they know they are going to get in the league,” Wilson said. “Well, that's going to change.”
Columbia, which was playing its first road game of the season today, returns home to face Dartmouth on October 21 at 12:30 p.m.
