Brown Beats Columbia for Season Ending Victory

Brown news release…

New York, N.Y. – In a heart-stopping game that came down to the final play, Brown held on for a 28-23 win over Columbia at Wien Stadium in a game nationally televised on NBC Sports Network. Brown finishes its season with a 5-5 overall record, 3-4 in the Ivy League, while Columbia falls to 2-8, 1-6 in league play.

The Bears have now posted nine straight seasons of .500 or better under head coach Phil Estes.

On a night when its offense struggled mightily, Brown made several big plays and scored on defense and on special teams. Columbia dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 41 of the game’s 60 minutes.

In the game’s waning moments, Columbia trailed by five points and drove down the field in an attempt to take the lead. The Lions took over the ball at its own 30-yard line and drove down to the Bears’ five-yard line.

On fourth down at the Brown five, Bears’ senior defensive back Will Quigley (Marblehead, MA) intercepted the game’s final pass in the end zone with two seconds left on the clock, setting off a wild celebration on the Brown sideline.

Brown senior tailback Seth Rosenbauer (Lima, OH) rushed for a season high 128 yards on 19 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown romp.

The Bears’ defensive effort was headlined by senior Will Twyman (Sudbury, MA), who made a career high 20 tackles, including 13 solo stops.  Senior Quintin Rizek (Albuquerque, NM) had 15 tackles and junior Max Tylki (Wethersfield, CT) added 14 tackles.

Cameron Molina turned in a Herculean effort for the Lions, rushing for 174 yards on 40 carries, while scoring two touchdowns. Columbia quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg passed for 204 yards, completing 23-of-35 passes.

Brown stunned the Columbia faithful on its opening play from scrimmage.  Following a touchback, Rosenbauer took the handoff, burst through line and outran the Columbia defense 75-yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a 7-0 advantage.

Lightning struck again for the Bears, this time on Columbia’s first offensive play.  With the ball pinned back at the Columbia one-yard line, the Lions fumbled the snap in the end zone.  The bouncing ball was pounced on by Bears’ senior defensive end Ludovic Richardson (Killingworth, CT) for his first career touchdown, giving Brown a 14-0 lead.

Columbia got on the scoreboard following an interception by Travis Relm at the Bears’ 38-yard line.  Nine plays later, Cameron Molina plowed into the end zone from one yard out to cut Brown’s lead to 14-7 with 13:39 left in the second quarter.

While the Bears’ offense wasn’t able to move the ball, their special teams unit stepped up to put points on the scoreboard. With Columbia punting deep in its own territory, junior Sam Russell (Newton, MA) blocked a punt in the end zone and fell on it for a Brown touchdown, extending Bears’ lead to 21-7.

Molina scored once again for the Lions, this time on a five-yard touchdown catch from Mornhinweg to cap a 78-yard drive and trail, 21-14, with 37 seconds left in the half.

Brown’s vaunted passing attack was held to just seven yards in the opening 30 minutes, got back on track early in the second half when senior quarterback Marcus Fuller (Ashland, OH) connected on a 26-yard scoring strike to senior Troy Doles (Saratoga, CA) midway through the quarter to cap a 60-yard drive and put Brown back up by 14 points, 28-14.

A 30-yard field goal by the Lions’ Cameron Nizialek cut the Bears’ lead to 28-17, late in the third quarter.

Mornhinweg drew the Lions closer, 28-23, with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Scooter Hollis with 5:12 left on the clock.