Sunday, November 20, 2011

Best for Last


United in Victory!



Columbia 35 Brown 28 (2 OT)



Why Columbia Won

Columbia's defense forced six Brown turnovers, including three INT's of QB Kyle Newhall-Caballero who had only thrown four picks in all the previous nine games combined.

On offense, QB Sean Brackett just kept running for crucial yardage and completing just enough key passes to keep the Lions alive. He finished with four rushing TD's, one passing TD, and no interceptions.


Why Brown Lost

The Bears kept failing to put Columbia away, especially in the third quarter. The Brown long passing game was almost non-existent, and the defense finally became too tired to chase after Brackett.


Key Turning Points


-Late in the first half, Brown was leading 21-7 and driving again to a first and goal at the ten. But on that play, Newhall-Caballero's pass picked off and returned 77 yards by senior A.J. Maddox. Columbia did not end up scoring on the ensuing possession, but it kept Brown off the scoreboard and the Bear offense was never quite the same after that.


-Early in the third quarter and the score still 21-7, a Griffin Lowry fumble gave Brown the ball at the Lion two yard line. Then, Evan Miller went to work. On first down, he nailed Matthew Sudfeld for a two yard loss. Two plays later, he popped the ball out of a running Newhall-Caballero's hands and it was recovered by fellow senior Neil Schuster at the one.


-With the score still 21-7 early in the fourth quarter, Ryan Murphy sacked Newhall-Caballero on a first down and 10 at the CU 48 and Seyi Adebayo recovered at the Brown 46. An agonizing eight play drive ensued, but Brackett finally ended it with a two yard plunge for a TD and the Lions were back in it.


-On the ensuing Brown drive Columbia forced a three-and-out, finished off by Murphy's second sack back at the Bear five yard line. Three plays later, the Lions faced a 3rd and 3 at the Brown 33 when Brackett found senior Mike Stephens, who had to make an awkward turn to grab the ball before taking off for several more yards to the Bear seven. Three plays later, Brackett ran it in from the one for his third rushing TD of the game and the 21-21 tie.

-Trailing 28-21 in the first OT, Columbia faced a 4th and 1 at the Brown 16. Brackett banged it through for two yards and then on the very next play found TE Hamilton Garner for a 14 yard TD to send it to the Lions first-ever double OT.



Columbia Positives


-The team never gave up and several players had career days even in limited roles. Maddox and Ross Morand kept coming back from getting knocked out of the game with injuries. Fellow senior David Chao saved Columbia's bacon several times, especially when he grabbed a bad snap meant for Brackett and scampered ahead for a three yard carry on the Lions' second TD drive. On the final play of the day, somewhat unsung heros senior Chris Groth and transfer sophomore Wells Childress combined to stop Sudfeld maybe a hair shy of the end zone. Miller had 19 tackles, three of them for a loss.


-Brackett took over the game just like he did so many times in 2010, but never was able to this season before today. He begins the wait for his senior season on a high note.


-This time, the Lions made some good adjustments in the second half. The best one was the decision to finally start blitzing more.


-Lion kickoffs and punts were stellar all day and made a difference in the game.



Columbia Negatives


-It took the offense too long to finally get going, and the long passing game was non-existent.


-For some reason, no one wants to block the blitzing defender on Lion PAT's and FG's. This is not just something that happened today.


Columbia MVP

There are a lot of candidates, but I have to give this one to Sean Brackett. He directed his troops to an amazing comeback and deserves the most credit for the win.

16 Comments:

At Sun Nov 20, 09:58:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

One of the most exciting football gammes I ever attended. Congatulaions to the Lions!!!

 
At Sun Nov 20, 10:01:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dream Game. Tremendous Comeback by the Columbia Lions

 
At Sun Nov 20, 10:47:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great team victory, great win for the Seniors! We may be 1-9 but this team never quit, that speaks volumes.
David Chao and Evan Miller were finally discovered by the coaching staff ! What took them (the coaches) so long to figure these guys can play football.
This win will set the tone for next season!

 
At Sun Nov 20, 11:11:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

When will the game replay be available on the Athletics website? I need to watch again!

 
At Sun Nov 20, 11:25:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jake, make sure you keep fighting to get those Coaches fired! Blame them for everything! No credit is due at all. Team really looked like they quit. Must have killed you today to see this historic win.
A win that will go down in school history. Congrats to the Seniors! Great team effort all the way around. With the way we played Penn, Harvard for 3q & Brown, no reason we cant win the league next year if Sean stays healthy

 
At Sun Nov 20, 11:32:00 AM GMT+7, Blogger DOC said...

10 minutes to play, 3rd Quarter, ball on the Columbia 2, Brown 1st and 10 leading 21-7...The Lions could have quit, could have folded up like a cheap suitcase, could have made us say "same old Columbia"...not this group, not today...I am so damn proud of these men, champions not only for a precious day but for the rest of their lives.(Put THAT in your NYT)!!.

 
At Sun Nov 20, 11:34:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great job team! Jake, any update on Norries? Stay? Go?

 
At Sun Nov 20, 11:43:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sometimes players can win with heart despite the coaches! Get rid of Wilson and Moreno and watch this team next year! Go Lions! Congratulations!

 
At Sun Nov 20, 12:00:00 PM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Seniors gave beyond 100 per cent. They played for each other against all odds. One of the greatest games I ever witnessed.

 
At Sun Nov 20, 01:03:00 PM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please make that "Go!" and let CU's good talent, which we do have, be led by an expert.

 
At Sun Nov 20, 02:42:00 PM GMT+7, Blogger dabull said...

I'm really happy for the kids on this team to get that win today but please don't act like this lone win salvaged an entire season of underachievement. " A win that will go down in school history"? This is how we continue to accept mediocrity gentlemen. I don't blame the players for the underachievement either, I know how much of a difference good coaching can make and brother, we ain't gettin it.

 
At Sun Nov 20, 02:45:00 PM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To 8:25 who insulted Jake for having the guts to openly say what had to be said about the coaching: Yes. it was a great victory and we're all thrilled here, including Jake. Can we assume that you are ecstatic about a 1-9 season?

 
At Sun Nov 20, 06:46:00 PM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jake,
As you have done so well all of this profoundly disappointing season, your game summary is right on!
My only quibble is in the MVP. As good a game as Bracket played, the "D" FENCE came up BIG with 3 int's and two magnificent goal line stands. It was great to be there yelling at the top of my lungs'NO'NO'NO" while the refs talked over the whether the Brown runner got the ball into the endzone.

 
At Sun Nov 20, 07:22:00 PM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was so pumped that I couldn't get to sleep last night. The sheer courage of this group is what struck me. In the end it is all about the players.

 
At Mon Nov 21, 12:46:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You need to give big time credit to David Chao also. He was a huge spark in the backfield. A great way for a very talented underutilized senior to end his carrier.

Karl Groth

 
At Mon Nov 21, 12:52:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To the 8:25 poster Jake has taken a tremendous amount of heat for finally being open and honest about something we have all known even before this season. He is probably the teams #1 fan and your comments are a disservice to him and the players.

I also give him credit for post all comments regardless of content. I also am looking forward to a return of the blog to the going back into the mode it was before.

 

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