Sept. 18, 2004
NEW YORK - Nick Rudd's 41-yard field goal attempt fell about three yards short of tying Columbia with Fordham with 30 seconds left in the game as the Lions fell to the Rams, 17-14, in C.U.'s season opener at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. Fordham escaped with the Liberty Cup in the now-annual battle between the crosstown rivals.
Rudd's field goal would have capped a dramatic comeback for the Light Blue, as Columbia fell behind 17-0 at halftime, but rallied for two touchdowns in the second half while holding the Rams scoreless.
The Lions took over at their own 40-yard-line with 3:23 left in the game. On a fourth-and-three, senior captain Jeff Otis hit Jeff Reuter with a five-yard pass to keep Columbia's hopes alive at the Fordham 48 and 2:15 on the clock. Otis hit Brandon Bowser with a 21-yard completion on the next play, and the Light Blue appeared to have momentum first-and-10 at the Fordham 27. Columbia gained four yards on the next three plays, setting up Rudd's attempt, which arched short into a slight wind.
The Rams got on the board in the first quarter when Derric Daniels hit Jamaal Hunte for a 37-yard touchdown pass at 4:22 to cap a 74-yard drive. Fordham doubled its score when Hunte scored on a one-yard run with 6:03 left in the first half. Micah Clukey hit the extra point in both instances. The Rams completed their scoring with a 37-yard field goal by Clukey with 52 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Columbia first got on the board courtesy of its special teams. Sophomore Tad Crawford blocked a punt by Anthony DiFino from the Rams' 33-yard line on the opening drive of the second half. First-year Ryan Mettee chased the ball toward the end zone, grabbed the loose ball at the eight, and scampered in for the Lion touchdown. Rudd hit the extra point to make the score 17-7 at 13:20 of the third. Twelve minutes later, Daniels fumbled when he was pressured. Ryan Armbrust recovered and sprinted 42 yards for his first-ever touchdown in organized football. Rudd's extra point capped the scoring for the evening at 1:02 of the third.
The Lions held the Rams to 33 yards rushing and 170 total yards for the game, but produced just 227 of their own. Senior captain Michael Quarshie, who led Columbia with 12 tackles for a loss in all of 2003, had eight tackles for a loss this evening, and 11 total tackles.
"At times our defense was both dominant and opportunistic," noted Columbia head coach Bob Shoop. "You don't often lose games when you hold teams to 33 yards rushing."
In all, the Lions had an astounding 20 tackles for a loss. Bayo Aregbe collected three, and Bill Beechum two. Aregbe, Beechum and Armbrust each had a sack.
"I tell the team, `More games are lost than actually won,'" said Shoop. "We had critical penalties and two interceptions in the red zone."
Otis, who was throwing to a new corps of receivers, completed 19 of 32 attempts for 137 yards. Nine of those completions were to Bowser, who caught four passes in all of last season.
Fordham improved to 2-1 with the victory, while the Lions, who travel to Bucknell for a 7 p.m. contest on Saturday the 25th, are now 0-1.
