Tigers stay perfect

PRINCETON, N.J. -- After throwing five interceptions on Columbia's first five offensive series, perhaps Lions quarterback Mike Cavanaugh asked what else could go wrong. On the sixth series, he broke his ankle. And as Cavanaugh was carted off the field, with him most likely went the Lions' chance at their first Ivy title since 1961. Such was the way it went for Columbia (3-3-1, 3-1 Ivy League), which turned the ball over nine times in a 44-14 loss to Princeton. The Tigers tied a team and league record with seven interceptions. At 7-0 and 4-0 in the Ivy League, the Tigers now control their own destiny, with Saturday's win setting up a cataclysmic battle with Penn this Saturday at Franklin Field. Coincidentally, when Princeton coach Steve Tosches was asked if he'd ever been in a game whose outcome was so overdetermined by turnovers, he immediately cited the 30-14 loss to the Quakers in 1993. "Two years ago down at Penn we had all those quarterback exchange problems," he said. "We had five or six fumbles throughout the course of the game. It's a helpless feeling." The game, billed as the potential Ivy championship game, was over in the blink of an eye. On the second play of the game, Cavanaugh threw a ball up for grabs over the middle. Princeton linebacker Dave Patterson strengthened his bid for the Bushnell Cup by snagging it in midair and rumbling 21 yards to the Columbia 18. "Patterson got it started," Tosches said. "It was not a fluke. He's going to find a way to be in position. He's going to find a way to make that play." On the next play, Princeton quarterback Brock Harvey rolled out to the right and just kept rolling, right into the end zone. After that, the Tigers just kept rolling. Columbia started back up the field, and this time it took three plays before Cavanaugh tossed another pick. A 33-yard field goal gave Princeton a 10-0 lead with less than five minutes gone. Cavanaugh would find time to throw three more interceptions before linebacker Mark Whaling sacked him routinely at the Columbia 34. Whaling exulted briefly with his hands in the air before turning around and seeing Cavanaugh limp on the turf. After a five-minute delay while the Columbia and Princeton trainers worked on Cavanaugh, he was carted off with his right leg encased in an aircast. Cavanaugh, who had surgery on his ankle yesterday in New York, completed two of 12 passes, for 29 yards and five interceptions. Columbia looked listless and confused without the heart and soul of its offense. Accordingly, the interceptions didn't stop after Cavanaugh left the game. His replacement, senior Matt Lenzen, had never taken a varsity snap before. It showed. He completed nine of 22 passes for 88 yards and two interceptions and one touchdown before being pulled in the fourth quarter. Princeton's defense caught nearly every tipped ball and every poor throw. "They're a good defense and whenever the ball gets tipped in the air or the ball goes over receivers' heads, you can pretty much bet that somebody's going to be around to get their hands on the ball," Columbia wide receiver David Ramirez said. "Defensively they seemed to be everywhere," echoed Columbia coach Ray Tellier. "Matt [Cavanaugh] just didn't see a guy on the first interception, the second one he overthrew an open receiver -- the guy was open and he overthrew him -- and the third one he hit a guy in the hands it got tipped and they caught it. It was one of those days." Meanwhile, the Princeton offense rolled. Tailback Marc Washington found holes on the ground and was devastating on screen passes. Washington rushed for 85 yards and caught four passes for 102. Likewise, the Tigers' two-quarterback rotation of Harvey and Harry Nakielny combined to go 13 of 21 for 192 yards and two touchdowns. "On Thursday I told both of them that I wanted to go 50-50 for as long as we could -- as long as I felt the situations continued to call for that," Tosches said. "We were pretty close." It was painfully obvious this was a Princeton team that smelled the Ivy title within its reach. "All the pieces are falling into place right now," Tosches said. "That was as emotional an outburst early -- and fortunately we were able to sustain it -- as I've seen in a long, long time. "This was midterm week for us and yet we had as good a week of practice as we've had all year," he added. "It can be a little sluggish, it can be a little sloppy at times, but yet they were very attentive, they were full of energy. Probably flunked all their tests."

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