Columbia escapes Penn with OT victory

Lions block Greathouse's PATLions block Greathouse's PATattempt in overtime, then scoreLions block Greathouse's PATattempt in overtime, then scoreTD and extra point to win by one The Penn football team was close to winning an ugly game it shouldn't have won on Saturday. But then, in the middle of a celebration, disaster struck. It was the second straight week the Quakers had to go to overtime to settle things. And for the second straight week, the game turned on a blocked kick in overtime. Only this time, against Ivy League rival Columbia at Franklin Field, the Quakers were on the losing side of a 20-19 decision. "It was the kind of game you thought it was going to be," Columbia coach Ray Tellier said, "a defensive struggle, and the team that forced the most errors and ended up with the best field position might have a shot." There were lots of errors, but in the end, Penn (2-2, 0-2 Ivy League) made the final mistake, and it cost the Quakers the game. It came on a play that's normally so automatic that it's a mere afterthought -- the extra point. With the score tied at 13-13 after the fourth quarter, the two teams headed to overtime. The visiting Lions won the toss and chose to play defense first, giving the Quakers the ball at the Columbia 25-yard line. Penn promptly put together one of its sharpest offensive series of the day. On third-and-two, quarterback Tom MacLeod -- who played most of the game for the injured Steve Teodecki -- hooked up with wide receiver Mark Fabish on a post pattern down to the Lions one-yard line. On the next play, tailback Jasen Scott plunged in for a touchdown. It seemed that the worst the Quakers could do was go to another overtime. But the Penn offensive line collapsed on the PAT, and Lions defensive tackle Brett Bryant blocked kicker Jeremiah Greathouse's attempt. "It was disappointing because we really executed well in overtime, and then we got so caught up in the touchdown we forgot to protect on the extra point," Quakers coach Al Bagnoli said. "Jeremiah never had a chance. There were probably three guys in there that almost beat the snap back." So when Columbia (4-0, 2-0) got its turn with the ball, Penn held an uncertain six-point lead. It looked as if the Quakers defense would respond, as it had for most of the afternoon. The Lions first two plays were incomplete passes, the second broken up by Penn safety Bruce Rossignol. Two more stops and the Quakers would stay in the thick of the Ivy League race. Then, almost out of the blue, Columbia scored. Quarterback Paris Childress hit flanker Dennis Lee over the middle near the Penn 10. Lee spun away from Quakers defensive back Joe Piela and ran untouched into the end zone, silencing most of the 6,435 fans in attendance. Despite Penn's best efforts -- defensive end Roger Beckwith had blocked a field goal late in the fourth quarter to prevent the Lions from winning in regulation -- Columbia's extra point was good, touching off a celebration on the field. What made the Lions' touchdown especially frustrating for the Quakers was that Piela had excellent coverage on the play. Childress actually threw the ball behind Lee, who adjusted and made the catch. "They had it covered a lot better," Tellier said. "Dennis just came up with the ball. He made a nice catch. I think he reached back and just made a big play." Until that point, Piela had been one of the defensive stars of the game. The sophomore nickelback had two interceptions and returned one 93 yards for Penn's only regulation touchdown. The pick-and-run came with the score tied near the end of the first quarter, as Columbia faced a third-and-goal from the Penn 12. Childress, a backup himself, threw an out to his left and apparently didn't see Piela, who leaped to make the catch and then sprinted down the Quakers sideline to the other end zone. Instead of trailing, the Quakers were suddenly up, 10-3. After Columbia tied the game with a one-yard touchdown drive set up by an interception, the Quakers pulled ahead again with eight seconds left in the half. A nifty two-minute offense moved the ball 51 yards in 1 minute, 26 seconds. Greathouse capped it off with a 40-yard field goal that gave Penn a 13-10 lead at the half. "We do that every week in practice," MacLeod said. "It's always fun, and it always gets you in a rhythm, which is what quarterbacks are looking for. And that's what it did." The Quakers had two chances to increase their lead in the second half. But they fumbled on the Columbia nine-yard line in the third quarter. Then, in the fourth, a 39-yard field goal by Greathouse bounced off the right upright. The only second-half score came when Columbia tied the game midway through the fourth quarter on a 44-yard field goal set up by a fumble from Quakers tailback Aman Abye. Other than that kick and Beckwith's block, the second half was a battle of punters. The Penn defensive front seven shut down Lions tailback Jason Bivens in the second half, holding him to 33 yards on 15 carries. "I think we just stepped it up," said Quakers defensive tackle Mitch Marrow, who was in on 11 tackles and had four of Penn's six sacks. "I thought we played 100 percent the entire game." Columbia's defense did the same. all-Ivy linebacker Rory Wilfork and defensive linemen Marcellus Wiley and Mike Jennings were everywhere, holding the Quakers to 72 net rushing yards. They also punished the Penn passing attack. Wilfork took Teodecki out of the game with a hit in the first quarter, Jennings had 2 1/2 sacks and Wiley knocked down three passes at the line of scrimmage. "They were tough," said MacLeod, who went 13-for-26 with 123 yards and one interception. "They were all tough guys, and they all played four quarters. They didn't let down." The win upped the Lions' record to 4-0 for the first time since 1945, and it dropped Penn to 0-2 in league play for the first time since 1991, two games behind Columbia and Dartmouth. It's still too early to say for sure, but an Ivy League title now seems unlikely for the Quakers. No Ivy champion has ever lost its first two games. "We're just going to have to put this behind us and play with some pride, play for pride," Marrow said.