Photo by: Mike Nance
Football Taken Down at Penn
10/15/2022 5:28:00 PM | Football
Lions commit four turnovers, which led to 21 Quaker points in 34-14 defeat
PHILADELPHIA — Penn capitalized on four Columbia turnovers, turning those takeaways into 21 points as the Quakers took a 34-14 decision at Franklin Field Saturday. The Lions dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in Ivy League play after the defeat.
"I was telling our kids all week this was going to be a huge challenge," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli stated. "On the road facing an unbeaten team playing at a very high level. We did nothing to help ourselves, especially early on, with three turnovers in the first 17 minutes of the game. And you can't do that against anybody. Credit to Penn, both to their coaching staff and players. They've gotten consistently better, playing with more confidence and really execute in all three phases."
Columbia had a pair of receivers eclipse 100 yards on the day, led by JJ Jenkins' seven catches for 162 yards. Bryson Canty added four receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Scott Valentas posted a career-high 14 tackles.
Columbia's opening drive lasted five plays, and the Quakers took over near midfield after a short punt. Penn used a 34-yard reception to Joshua Casilli to get into the red zone. However, Fara'ad McCombs and Justin Townsend teamed up for a tackle behind the line of scrimmage on third down to hold Penn to a 34-yard field go to open the scoring with 10:01 left in the first quarter.
Despite working with a short field behind them for much of the half, the defense kept the Lions into the game and seemed to grab momentum when Ryan Hamilton batted down a pass attempt on third down to force a punt as time was winding down in the first.
A favorable bounce on the ensuing kick put the ball deep in the Lions' territory to set up a back-breaking turnover. On the second play of the possession, the Lions set up a screen, but Penn's Micah Morris played it perfectly to intercept the pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-0.
The second quarter did not start much better for Columbia when the Quakers ripped the ball out to force a fumble on the first play of the frame to take over on the Columbia 13. Five plays later, Julian Stokes caught a slant pass in the endzone to extend the advantage just 1:34 into the quarter.
Penn made it 24-0 when Sayin found Casilli again over the middle for a 42-yard touchdown with 3:34 left in the second and took that margin into the locker room.
The Quakers held the ball for 8:16 after receiving to start the half and converted a 33-yard field goal. Less than 30 seconds later, Columbia committed another costly turnover by Bryson Canty, who caught a pass, raced up the field 45 yards and fumbled while fighting for extra yards at the end of the play. Penn recovered, and Julien Stokes capped a 78-yard drive with a six-yard TD grab.
Columbia turned to backup quarterback Caden Bell late in the third, and he spearheaded a quick scoring drive, going 3-for-3, including a 47-yard connection with Jenkins and a four-yard score with Marcus Libman with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
"The good news is, I thought we put Caden in a difficult situation," Bagnoli said. "But he did a nice job showing poise and he's got a big arm. It was good to see under very challenging circumstances."
Bell, who finished 13-of-18 for 196 yards in the air, orchestrated another seven-play scoring drive that was capped by Canty's fourth touchdown reception of the year late in the fourth quarter.
The Lions return to Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium to host Dartmouth on Homecoming Saturday, October 22. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11.
Fans can also watch the action live on ESPN+ and SNY.
For the latest on the Columbia football team, follow @CULionsFB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Al Bagnoli is now 3-4 against his former team.
- Ryan Young moved up to fifth on Columbia's all-time rushing list after putting up 40 yards on the ground. He now has 1,501 for his career, which is 27 behind Dog Jackson for fourth place.
- Canty and Jenkins are the first receiving duo to record 100-yard games since 2011, when Mike Stephens (8-105) and Kurt Williams (6-104) did so against Fordham.
"I was telling our kids all week this was going to be a huge challenge," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli stated. "On the road facing an unbeaten team playing at a very high level. We did nothing to help ourselves, especially early on, with three turnovers in the first 17 minutes of the game. And you can't do that against anybody. Credit to Penn, both to their coaching staff and players. They've gotten consistently better, playing with more confidence and really execute in all three phases."
Columbia had a pair of receivers eclipse 100 yards on the day, led by JJ Jenkins' seven catches for 162 yards. Bryson Canty added four receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Scott Valentas posted a career-high 14 tackles.
Columbia's opening drive lasted five plays, and the Quakers took over near midfield after a short punt. Penn used a 34-yard reception to Joshua Casilli to get into the red zone. However, Fara'ad McCombs and Justin Townsend teamed up for a tackle behind the line of scrimmage on third down to hold Penn to a 34-yard field go to open the scoring with 10:01 left in the first quarter.
Despite working with a short field behind them for much of the half, the defense kept the Lions into the game and seemed to grab momentum when Ryan Hamilton batted down a pass attempt on third down to force a punt as time was winding down in the first.
A favorable bounce on the ensuing kick put the ball deep in the Lions' territory to set up a back-breaking turnover. On the second play of the possession, the Lions set up a screen, but Penn's Micah Morris played it perfectly to intercept the pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-0.
The second quarter did not start much better for Columbia when the Quakers ripped the ball out to force a fumble on the first play of the frame to take over on the Columbia 13. Five plays later, Julian Stokes caught a slant pass in the endzone to extend the advantage just 1:34 into the quarter.
Penn made it 24-0 when Sayin found Casilli again over the middle for a 42-yard touchdown with 3:34 left in the second and took that margin into the locker room.
The Quakers held the ball for 8:16 after receiving to start the half and converted a 33-yard field goal. Less than 30 seconds later, Columbia committed another costly turnover by Bryson Canty, who caught a pass, raced up the field 45 yards and fumbled while fighting for extra yards at the end of the play. Penn recovered, and Julien Stokes capped a 78-yard drive with a six-yard TD grab.
Columbia turned to backup quarterback Caden Bell late in the third, and he spearheaded a quick scoring drive, going 3-for-3, including a 47-yard connection with Jenkins and a four-yard score with Marcus Libman with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
"The good news is, I thought we put Caden in a difficult situation," Bagnoli said. "But he did a nice job showing poise and he's got a big arm. It was good to see under very challenging circumstances."
Bell, who finished 13-of-18 for 196 yards in the air, orchestrated another seven-play scoring drive that was capped by Canty's fourth touchdown reception of the year late in the fourth quarter.
The Lions return to Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium to host Dartmouth on Homecoming Saturday, October 22. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11.
Fans can also watch the action live on ESPN+ and SNY.
For the latest on the Columbia football team, follow @CULionsFB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Al Bagnoli is now 3-4 against his former team.
- Ryan Young moved up to fifth on Columbia's all-time rushing list after putting up 40 yards on the ground. He now has 1,501 for his career, which is 27 behind Dog Jackson for fourth place.
- Canty and Jenkins are the first receiving duo to record 100-yard games since 2011, when Mike Stephens (8-105) and Kurt Williams (6-104) did so against Fordham.
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