NEW YORK -- Columbia won its second straight football game of 2006 by surging to a 20-0 lead over Georgetown and then withstanding a furious second-half comeback by the Hoyas to eke out a 23-21 decision.

Utilizing the same type of heads-up, opportunistic play that they had demonstrated in last week's 37-7 victory over Fordham, Columbia virtually took possession of the first half. The Lions scored on their opening drive when wide receiver Tim Paulin tallied a 34-yard touchdown run on a reverse, and their second on an 11-yard pass from Craig Hormann to Adrian Demko. That was set up by Eugene Edwards' pass interception and 47-yard runback to the Hoya eight.

Following that score, Georgetown got off the canvas and drove downfield. At the Columbia 45, however, that drive was rudely interrupted, as senior linebacker Adam Brekke picked off another pass, returning it 14 yards to the Lion 37. Hormann immediately passed 33 yards down the middle to Nick DeGasperis, to the Hoya 30. When the march stalled, Jon Rocholl came in and drilled a 45-yard field goal.

Georgetown's bid to get on the scoreboard failed, as a 30-yard field goal attempt on the ensuing drive was wide to the left, and Columbia went into the end zone with a 17-0 lead, having suffered three pass interceptions, as Justin Nunez also picked one off. Like Edwards', it was the first of his career.

There was little letup as the third quarter began. Columbia forced a Georgetown punt on the opening drive, and then reeled off a 54-yard drive fueled by four more Hoya mistakes ? two pass interference penalties and two offsides miscues. When Hormann narrowly missed a TD pass to Austin Knowlin, there was little concern, for Rocholl immediately came in to kick a 41-yard field goal.

Then Georgetown grabbed the momentum. It began quietly, with a 12-play, 66-yard drive capped by second-string quarterback Matt Bassuener's 15-yard TD pass to Brent Craft. The Hoyas held the Lions on downs, took over at their own 34, and briskly marched 66 yards in just seven plays, as Bassuener mixed his own running with accurate passes, both of which caused problems for the Lion defense. He completed the drive with a 10-yard pass to Charlie Curtis, drawing the Hoyas within 20-14.

Less than three minutes later, early in the fourth quarter, Georgetown had the ball again, recovering a Lion fumble at the Hoya 44. The Columbia fans in the crowd of 2,262 cringed, but co-captain Adam Brekke rallied his defense.

“When the offense gets close,” he noted, “the defense turns it up a notch.”

Twice they forced Georgetown fumbles, JoJo Smith and Matt Bashaw forcing the fumbles, but the Hoyas recovered. Bassuener brought his team all the way down to the two, and a first-and-goal.

That is when Brekke and the defense really stiffened. They held Erik Carter to a rush for no yards, helped force Bassuener into an incomplete pass, and then sacked him for a six-yard loss on a tackle by Andy Shalbrack and Tad Crawford. Eric Bjonerud went in to attempt a 35-yard field goal, but the snap was poor, and the holder had to try and pass the ball. His throw was incomplete.

Once again, Columbia took full advantage of the miscue. On second down from the 13, Hormann hit Jamal Russell down the middle for a 35-yard gain. Jordan Davis and Austin Knowlin had big gains to draw the Lions closer to the goal, and Rocholl booted his third field goal, a 23-yarder to give Columbia a 23-24 lead.

Georgetown fought back, but Columbia delayed them just enough. They scored to draw within 23-21, but with only 9.8 seconds to play, all Columbia had to do was recover the onside kick, which Tad Crawford did, and then run off one play, as the clock ran down.

For the second time since 1996, Columbia had won its first two games. Coupled with last year's 2-0 start, the Lions had put together 2-0 starts in consecutive years for the first time since 1950-51.

Georgetown actually out-gained the Lions, 383 to 303, but Columbia led where it counted. Jordan Davis rushed for 95 yards, Hormann hit 14 of 25 passes for 158 yards and a TD, and Andy Shalbrack and Tad Crawford paced the defense with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. But none could top sophomore Jon Rocholl; he kicked three field goals to give him six consecutive successes for the season, one short of his record, and blasted four punts for a 42-yard average, keeping the Hoyas pinned in their own territory each time he kicked.

“Anytime you can pin the offense at the four,” Brekke said, “that's great. The defense loves Jon Rocholl.”