COLUMBIA'S RUN & SHOOT: Lions winning with extra QB

Columbia had its last winning season in 1971. The last time the Lions had a winning record at any point was 1978. In the 16 years since then, not a single Columbia quarterback has led his team past the .500 mark. So this year, Lions coach Ray Tellier decided to try something different. Not a single quarterback to lead the offense, but a pair instead. And so far, it has worked. The Lions are above .500. Tellier has played both of his signal callers -- senior co-captain Jamie Schwalbe and junior Mike Cavanaugh -- in all four games this year. The duo has led Columbia (2-1-1, 0-1 Ivy League) to consecutive wins over Lafayette and Fordham after starting the season with a loss and a tie. When the Lions visit Franklin Field to battle Penn Saturday, both Schwalbe and Cavanaugh will see action. In the first four contests, Tellier and his staff have let game-day momentum dictate which quarterback takes more snaps. "We'll pretty much go play by play with it," Tellier said. "We'll go in with an idea and a script for the start of the game, but after the first quarter we'll start making decisions. It just depends on what the defense is doing and on what Mike and Jamie are doing for us." What Columbia has done so far is utilize the different abilities of the two quarterbacks in order to ignite its offense. The Lions have already clicked for 112 points -- the most any Lions team has scored in its first four games since 1945. The biggest reason for this success is the way Schwalbe and Cavanaugh compliment each other. The two Lions quarterbacks shared time for the second half of last year and have developed their own unique roles. One is a passer and operates primarily from the pocket, while the other is an option quarterback whose speed has solidified the ground game. Schwalbe is without question the passer. At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, he is able to hang in the pocket and take hits as he releases the ball. This season, Schwalbe has matured as an offensive leader. He has thrown for 729 yards and is second in the Ivy League in passing. Last week he completed 21 of 27 passes for 257 yards at Fordham. "Last year, I was just happy to be on the field," Schwalbe said. "But I think this year I've developed a different perspective on things. I think it's different because now I'm out there trying to win. It's helped a lot that both Mike and I played last year, because otherwise we'd be trying to run a system that was new to us." For his part, Cavanaugh has done more than run the system -- he's run all over the field. The junior has only thrown 12 passes in four games, while running 37 times for 319 yards. At 6-0, 185 pounds, he also uses his speed returning kickoffs and punts. Cavanaugh leads the Ivies in scoring and is tied for 11th nationally with 36 points. "Mike's probably the best athlete on the ball club and we need to have him in there as much as we can," Schwalbe said. "I think the system has been successful because we both have different talents we can use to help the team win." Tellier is quick to point out the situation is not divisive. By deciding last year to implement the two-quarterback system, he prevented added controversy and competition in training camp this season. And he has seen a team-oriented attitude from both players. "Both of them handle it well," Tellier said. "They're both unselfish players who would like to be out there every play, but they realize the situation. There's a healthy respect between them because one week one guy may key something and the next week it might be the other guy." If the Lions are to upset the Quakers, both quarterbacks will have to play key roles. Schwalbe has to direct an effective passing game, and Cavanaugh needs to loosen the defense with his rushing attack. But even if these two signal callers do not lead Columbia past Penn, they might still do something no single quarterback has done in more than two decades -- lead the Lions to a winning season.