Your weekend wrap:
COLUMBIA 21, HARVARD 20
In the irony of ironies, after the Columbia special teams gave away the Dartmouth game and sabotaged the Yale game, they played a key role in helping the Lions (4-4, 1-4 Ivy League) win at Harvard Stadium for the first time in 27 years. Columbia defenders blocked two field goal attempts and tipped a final one from 42 yards out with 1:17 remaining just enough for it to ding off the left upright and fall harmlessly to the ground, preserving the Lions’s first victory at Harvard (5-3, 3-2) since 1995. Trailing all game, the visitors had gone ahead with 9:11 remaining when quarterback Caden Bell hit tight end Luke Painton with a 25-yard touchdown pass and coach Al Bagnoli rolled the dice on a successful two-point conversion pass from Bell to tailback Ryan Young. Attendance was 13,972.
PENN 28, CORNELL 21
The Quakers managed just 10 first downs and 272 yards of total offense but the mistake-prone Big Red helped them with two turnovers, two blocked punts and penalties that fueled three short touchdown drives. Trey Flowers ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns for Penn, which got two TD throws from Aidan Sayin. Jameson Wang threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns for Cornell but was picked off two times. He also ran 25 times for 84 yards and one score. Penn improved to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Ivy League while Cornell, which made the score close by scoring a TD with four seconds left, slipped to 4-4, 1-4 in front of 6,012 at Schoellkopf Field.
YALE 69, BROWN 17
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-0 lead after the first quarter, scored 35 in the second, and after piling up 66 points added insult to injury with a fourth-quarter field goal with 7:05 remaining. The point total is the most ever given up by Brown. Yale ran for 340 yards and four touchdowns, threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns (all from quarterback Nolan Grooms, who played only a half), and added a 35-yard pick six and 19-yard scoop and score. With 52 points in a half the Bulldogs challenged the Ivy League record of 56, ironically held by Brown. Yale is now 6-2 and 4-1 in the Ivy League while the Bears are 3-5, 1-4. Attendance at Yale Bowl was listed at an even 4,500.
DUQUESNE 35, SACRED HEART 28 (OT)
The Pioneers (4-5, 2-3 NEC) forced overtime by scoring a touchdown with 1:22 left but gave up a TD in the top half of overtime and came up empty in the bottom half as they dropped their third game in a row. There were just 875 in the stands looking on at Duquesne (3-6, 2-3 NEC) as Marquez McCray completed 20-of-26 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns for Sacred Heart, which got 87 yards and one touchdown from Malik Grant on 18 carries.
RICHMOND 40, NEW HAMPSHIRE 34
No. 17 UNH got a 100-yard kickoff return by Dylan Laube and three touchdown passes from Max Brosmer but was never able to make it all the way back from a 24-0 first-half deficit against the No. 14 Spiders. The Wildcats (6-3, 5-1 CAA) fought back to 37-34 on a one-yard Brosmer touchdown pass with 11:06 remaining. After a Richmond field goal with 4:37 left boosted the home team’s lead to six points they missed another kick with 1:40 left to give UNH hope. New Hampshire drove to the plus 38 on its final possession but could get no closer before time ran out. Richmond improved to 7-2 and 5-1 in the CAA in front of 6,329 in Virginia.
ST. THOMAS 34, VALPARAISO 7
The 25th-ranked Tommies limited Valpo to 187 yards of offense and won handily despite throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble all in the first quarter. St. Thomas (8-1, 6-0 Pioneer Football League) ran its win streak to eight games while Valparaiso (4-5, 3-3) lost its second straight. St. Thomas, in just its second year in Division I after making the jump from DIII, can claim the Pioneer title next week with a win over Stetson.
#
EXTRA POINT
Just about time to load up the EV here at the home of Mrs. BGA's sister on the outskirts of Princeton and see if the drive home can be as uneventful as was the drive down. ;-)
