Ivy Football Notebook | Crimson click even without starting QB

Lehigh 24, Columbia 10

NEW YORK – Columbia (0-4) always seems to have more problems than it can handle, and that problem was its passing game Saturday. While Lions running back Marcorus Garrett rushed 27 times for 150 yards, Columbia also only amassed 71 total passing yards on the day, not enough to keep up with Lehigh quarterback Brandon Bialkowski’s 320-yard, three-touchdown performance.

The No. 14 Mountain Hawks (5-1) got a win to propel them into Patriot League play with momentum on the strength of three uncharacteristic sacks, and most importantly, senior wide receiver Lee Kurfis’s school single-game record-tying 14 catches.

Harvard 34, Cornell 24

ITHACA – Backup or no backup, Harvard (4-0, 2-0) knows how to win crucial Ivy matchups. And even with backup quarterback Michael Pruneau starting, the Crimson still clicked. Pruneau completed 23 of 29 passes for 340 yards, even throwing in a three-yard touchdown run of his own in the first quarter.

Cornell (1-3, 0-2) picked up even more yards the air with quarterback Jeff Mathews going 39-for-56 for 472 yards and two touchdowns, but the Big Red’s one-dimensional offensive attack wasn’t enough. A Mathews touchdown jaunt with 6:36 to play cut Harvard’s lead to 27-24, but Pruneau found tight end Cameron Brate for a 22-yard touchdown late to seal the Crimson win.

Brown 41, Bryant 14

SMITHFIELD, N.Y. – The Bears (3-1) flexed their offensive muscle all day long, posting 505 yards of total offense en route to a 34-14 halftime lead. Brown quarterback Patrick Donnelly threw for 339 yards and four touchdowns and Jordan Evans and Tellef Lundevall each finished with more than 100 yards receiving.

Bryant (3-3) scored on its first two possessions and then gave way to the Bears’ offensive onslaught.

Princeton 42, Lafayette 26

PRINCETON – A 20-point first quarter had the Leopards (1-4) looking good until Princeton quarterback Quinn Epperly took over. Epperly threw four touchdowns and rushed for another, guiding the Tigers (3-1) to a 21-20 halftime lead.

Princeton’s defense also got after Lafayette quarterback Andrew Dzurik, sacking him four times and intercepting him twice. The win marks the Tigers’ seventh straight against the Leopards.

Dartmouth 20, Yale 13

HANOVER – Yale (3-1, 1-1) suffered its first loss of the year partly due to an offensive letdown. The Bulldogs entered Saturday averaging 33 points and 486.7 yards but couldn’t get started against the Big Green (2-2, 1-1), scoring just one touchdown and mustering too few yards of offense (264) and enduring just enough turnovers (three) to snap the Dartmouth’s five-game losing streak.

The Big Green held Yale running back Tyler Varga to a season-low 64 yards on 20 carries.

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