NEW YORK – Georgetown scored two touchdowns in the final 30 seconds of the first half to surge past the Columbia football team, 24-16, to claim the Lou Little Trophy and spoil the Lions' home opener.
Senior Scooter Hollis caught 10 passes for 131 yards to pace the offense. He became the first Columbia wide receiver to eclipse 100 receiving yards since Ryan Flannery did so against Fordham in 2013.
Cameron Molina rushed for a pair of touchdowns and finished with 78 yards on 19 carries.
After a scoreless first quarter, the teams traded field goals in the second before Columbia marched 79 yards on 11 plays to take the lead.
Skyler Mornhinweg connected with Hollis and Ben Kaplan for 15 and 16 yards, respectively, and a pass interference call on the Hoyas (2-2) put the Lions to the two yard line. On the next play, Molina punched it in to give Columbia a 10-3 lead with 4:35 remaining in the half.
Georgetown answered with an 11-play sequence of their own to tie things up again after Kyle Nolan scrambled for a four-yard touchdown run in the final minute.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Lions fumbled the squib kick to give the Hoyas the ball right back on the Columbia 21. Two plays later, Nolan found Justin Hill over the middle inside the five and sliced way into the end zone to put the Hoyas in front, 24-10, at the break.
Both offenses stalled after halftime until a late fourth quarter scoring drive by the Lions. Mornhinweg went 3-of-4 through the air, including a fourth down conversion to Kaplan to put the ball on the five. With 2:08 remaining, Molina made it a one-possession game with a three-yard touchdown run.
However, Georgetown recovered the on-side kick to seal the victory.
Mornhinweg completed 23-of-38 passes for 232 yards. Christian Conway had a team-high eight tackles.
The Lions open up Ivy League play at Princeton on Friday, October 2. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. on NBCSN.