with less than a minute thirty left on the game clock, lion qb sean garrett slipped out of the grasp of a fordham lineman on the 40 yard line and spun back to the middle of the field. ahead of him were a good twelve yards clear of rams and the first down that would keep columbia’s desperation drive alive. the lion started forward but lifted his eyes toward an endzone flooded with his receivers. brackett slammed on the brakes and lofted a pass toward uncovered running back marcorus garrett at the back of the zone. complete! let joy reign supreme! alas, brackett had overstepped the line of scrimmage. the zebras had seen it. the lions were done, 20-13. thus ended the eleventh rendition of the liberty cup as the now annual tussle between the top two fcs football squads in nyc is called. the game, though disappointing as any columbia loss must be, was full of delightful incident and offered clues to the obstacles and opportunities ahead for this year’s lion crew.
his last minute faux pas aside, sean brackett had a productive day, going 18-38 and 249 yards while throwing a single pick. his nicest toss had to be a 60 yarder to lou dinovo for the lions’ sole td. alas, the lone interception came off a 4 yard throw into the endzone that would have tied the game up early but instead ended up in the hands of a fordham defender. responsibility for the bad pass rests with sean. responsibility for the bad call, though, goes to the coaching staff. first and goal on the foe’s five with the aforementioned messr garrett on his way to 168 yards and you don’t power it in? in all fairness, marcorus became more productive as the game wore on. in the second quarter (when the interception occurred), fordham was making the going tough. but can i get a little play action? whatever the cause, the turnover proved the ultimate difference in the game. more positively, qb sean distributed the ball liberally, hitting isaiah gross 6 times, mr. di novo 5 times, and two other receivers 3 times each. mr. nicholas dunham hit the stats sheet with a single, but very nifty, 16 yard grab. clearly, the lions have a corps of receivers. a little more diversity in the patterns these kids are running and the air game will be a significant complement to rb garrett. of course, the passing game depends first on the fellows up front and work needs to be done there. brackett is making his best throws when rolling out, by design, or running for his life because of a break down by the o line. marcorus, himself, came in for heckfire from coach mangurian after the back missed a block that left brackett taking one of his three sacks. sean needs some additional time for those devoutly to be wished more complicated passing plays to develop.
the running game, by which i mean marcorus, seems fit for a productive year. garrett ran for 168 yards on 30 carries. that is 5.6 yards per run. all things being equal, the lions should make a whole lot of first downs this season. while they must improve on their pass blocking, the offensive line cannot give up on their run blocks. i did not chart every one of marcorus’s carries, but i think at least seven or eight must have been for little or no gain. kudos to the coaching staff for not forsaking the rushing game despite those failures. keep punching and marcorus will find the occasionally productive seam in the defense. it will be helpful going forward to have some additional legs in this part of the offense and perhaps one or both of the gerst brothers might be put to some use.
the defense had its hands full all afternoon, particularly the big fellows up front. carlton koonce, the rams’ feature back, went off for 250 yards, including a dazzling dash around right end for 92 yards and the game’s first touchdown. koonce’s success owed much to an sec proportioned offensive line that played two 300 pounders and outweighed the columbia defenders up front by 44 pounds per man! faced with that disparity on the line, defensive coordinator kevin lempa made great use of his linebackers and defensive backs. lb zach olinger outdid his highlight reel of week one by recording 14 tackles. his linebacking partner, mike waller, chipped in with ten including a sack while ryan murphy, #4 in your columbia program, added a fumble recovery to the linebackers’ day of glory. and, while the guys up front tangled with their beefy counterparts, the defensive backs pressured ram qb ryan higgins all afternoon, sacking him two more times while also limiting him to only 168 yards through the air. brian deveau and will patterson were the first among equals of this unit, with deveau recording a sack and mr patterson continuing his hard hitting ways.
must offer credit where it is due the lions’ foes. outstanding performer for the rams, even given messr koonce’s 250 yards of rushing, was their all purpose kicker, pat murray. he provided 8 points on two p.a.t,’s and 2 field goals. the second of these 3 pointers was an nfl ready-like 51 yarder into the wind that split the south end goal posts with a good ten yards to spare! additionally, his 4 kickoffs were unreturned, driving the lion receivers deep into the endzone each time (or 65 yards per kickoff). and he had enough time on his hands to average 44 yards per punt. this is the kind of leg that will make a difference in every game the rams play. and may the lions not face any more like it this autumn.
hopes this overview prepares us for saturday, september 29. the always hated princeton tigers come to town and the ivy league season gets under way for the light blue. the two big cat teams were prognosticated (by certain less than fully informed scribes) to fight for the league basement this season, so it will be an important game to win.
peace out and d up,
paulie b