Saturday's game against Columbia was an appropriate ending to a trying 2006 season for the football team. Despite jumping out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, the Bears could not pull out a victory. Lions' kicker Jon Rocholl booted a 27-yard field goal with three seconds left to steal a 22-21 victory.
Rocholl's last-second dagger dropped Brown to 3-7 on the season (2-5 Ivy League) and spoiled senior day for the 25 members of the Brown team playing their last collegiate game.
"It was a very emotional day," said linebacker and tri-captain Zak DeOssie '07, who closed out a stellar Brown career with seven tackles. "It hurts a lot, especially for all the seniors (who were) out there."
Just as had been the case in losses earlier this season, Bruno made too many mistakes and did not force the opposition into any. The Bears were flagged six times for 61 yards and committed three costly turnovers, while the visiting Lions committed only three penalties and played a turnover-free game.
"There were a lot of plays out there and we didn't make them," said Head Coach Phil Estes. "You let a team get close and you open the door for them. We had our opportunities, but we just didn't capitalize on them."
For the first 15 minutes of Saturday's game, Brown seemed intent on going out with a bang. Quarterback and tri-captain Joe DiGiacomo '07 coolly guided the offense to touchdowns on its first two possessions. Both he and tri-captain running back Brandon Markey '07 found the end zone on short touchdown runs after lengthy drives.
"I was surprised we moved the ball as well as we did because people have not moved the ball with any consistency on them at all," Estes said of Columbia's defense, which was the top scoring defense in the Ancient Eight heading into Saturday.
Ahead 14-0 early in the second quarter, Bruno was moving the ball again on its third drive when the game's momentum swung in Columbia's direction. On a botched screen pass, DiGiacomo was sacked by Darren Schmidt and coughed up the football. Todd Abrams scooped it up and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. The point-after attempt was no good, making the score 14-6
"You can't fumble the football on a screen like that," Estes said. "He pumped it and couldn't find his receiver, and you have to get rid of it (there) ... you can't hang on to (the ball)."
The big turnover seemed to galvanize Columbia on both sides of the ball. Its defense did not allow the Bears to score again before the half, and quarterback Craig Hormann guided the offense to a field goal on its next possession to cut the deficit to 14-9 at intermission.
Brown had a chance to swing the momentum back to its side when it drove 63 yards in nine plays to start the second half, but DiGiacomo's pass to the end zone on the 10th play was intercepted. Five minutes later, Rocholl put the finishing touches on an 85-yard drive with his second field goal of the day to make it 14-12.
With Columbia breathing down their necks, the Bears mounted an impressive drive in response to the Lions' field goal. Moving 81 yards in 13 plays, the drive ended with DiGiacomo threading a pass between three defenders to tight end Colin Cloherty '09 at the goal line to give Brown a 21-12 advantage with 13:37 left to play.
"He got rattled a bit but came back and made some plays," Estes said of DiGiacomo. "That's the way the season has gone."
The drive also featured some impressive runs from tailback Akin Oyalowo '07, who rushed 20 times for 91 yards in the final game of his Brown career.
"We haven't had a run game all year, and whatever we had right there was great," Estes said. "What (Oyalowo) did was awesome."
Neither Hormann nor the rest of the Columbia offense was fazed by Brown's touchdown. The Lions drove 80 yards in 11 plays and converted on three third-down plays, eventually reaching the end zone on a 6-yard pass from Hormann to running back Jordan Davis with 10:06 left to cut the deficit to 21-19.
Following an impressive kickoff return by Paul Raymond '08 to the Brown 45-yard-line, Bruno had a golden opportunity to put the game out of reach. The Bears' ensuing drive chewed 5:53 off the clock, but kicker Steve Morgan '08 missed a 45-yard field goal, giving Columbia a chance for its late-game heroics with 3:49 remaining.
In addition to the three tri-captains and Oyalowo, several other seniors made meaningful contributions in their last game for Brown. Both Thomas Balestracci '07 and Lonnie Hill '07 caught three balls from DiGiacomo, while defensively, Herald Sports Staff Writer Justin Amoah '07 and Mike Cholipski were first and second on the team in tackles, tallying 10 and eight, respectively.
Despite the difficult final campaign, this year's senior class went 24-16 in its four years and was a major part of the University's first outright Ivy League title in 2005.
"I'll never regret anything," DeOssie said. "Brown football has meant the world to me."
