The games’ most important series came midway through the fourth quarter. The Hoyas (1-3, 0-1 Patriot League) had already cut the Lions (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) lead from a seemingly insurmountable 20-0 to 20-14 and the Georgetown offense, led by junior backup quarterback Matt Bassuener was moving the ball with remarkable ease. The Hoyas’ last two possessions had culminated in touchdown passes, and a third straight would either tie the game or tip the scales in Georgetown’s favor.
After a blocking penalty on the Hoyas’ first play pinned the ball on the Hoyas’ 34-yard line, Bassuener went to work. A 17-yard quarterback-keeper, 22-yard and 14-yard passes to junior receiver Kyle Van Fleet, and a short completion to junior receiver Charlie Curtis brought Georgetown to within two yards of a score.
But a Lions defense that, according to Columbia senior linebacker Adam Brekke is at its best on goal-line stands, stepped up and thwarted the Hoyas. Junior running back Erik Carter rushed for no gain on first down.
Then, on second down, just when it seemed as though the Lions’ defense would bring down Bassuener, Georgetown’s second-string signal caller fired an off-balance pass to Curtis, who had managed to evade coverage in the center of the end zone. Arms outstretched, Curtis reached to make the grab but the ball glanced off his fingertips and tumbled to the ground.
“I didn’t throw a great pass there,” Bassuener said. “I was a little off balance; it would have been an excellent catch if he did catch that. But, that didn’t make any difference. We still had third and two – we still had an opportunity to capitalize there – and we didn’t get it done.”
As Bassuener emphasized, Curtis’ second-down drop did not end the Hoyas’ chances. That role was reserved for Columbia’s freshman defensive back Andy Shalbrack and senior safety Tad Crawford, who sacked Bassuener on the 8-yard line. A bad snap on Georgetown’s fourth-down field goal try and the Hoyas ended up turning the ball over on downs.
“It’s just a mentality as we get in the redzone or they get towards the end zone,” Brekke said. “The defense – that’s your property right there. You can’t let them take it.”
The Lions proceeded to drive down the field and, over the next 4:33, run 11 plays for 81 yards. The drive came to a close with a 23-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Jon Rocholl that put Columbia ahead by nine with two minutes to play and all-but ended all of Georgetown’s comeback aspirations.
“I think everyone knew that it was definitely something that we had to, drive the field and put some points on the board,” junior quarterback Craig Hormann said. “This really showed a lot about our team this year, how we’re going to fight to the end – no game is out of our hands.”
The Hoyas closed the gap to two points on a Bassuener pass to junior slotback Brent Craft with 10 ticks left on the clock. Still, with the ensuing onside kick unsuccessful, it the game was already over.
“I’m disappointed to say the least,” Kelly said after the game, pointing to the failed goal line series and the botched field goal as chances his team needed to have taken advantage of.
“It was good for our guys because they had to see that they have to finish games,” Columbia first-year Head Coach Norries Wilson said.
The Lions built that 20 point lead with a steady mix of both running and passing. Columbia scored on its first drive on a 34-yard reverse to junior wide receiver Tim Paulin that resulted in a touchdown.
“They just came out, they were ready to go,” senior linebacker Chris Paulus, who leads the Hoyas in tackles, said. “We stopped them a few times but we gave up too many big plays, that was the bottom line.”
Georgetown’s first possession could not have been more different. On the drive’s first play, sophomore quarterback Ben Hostetler, making his fifth career start was intercepted in the flat by senior linebacker Justin Nunez. For Hostetler, it was just the beginning of an afternoon to forget, as he went on two throw two more interceptions over the next 17 minutes.
“[Hostetler] struggled today – he threw three interceptions – so we talked on the phones at one point, we were going to pull him, and we decided to give him one more series and he didn’t get it done so we went to Matt [Bassuener],” Kelly said.
“Matt came in and did an excellent job sparking the football team,”
Indeed, it was Bassuener that got Georgetown back into the game. After Columbia had tacked on two field goals to make the score an even 20-0, he threw for three touchdowns. On the afternoon, the junior who started his college career at Tec de Monterrey in exico, completed 17 of 22 passes for 177 yards passing and the three scores. Craft, who finished the afternoon with seven receptions for 62 yards, caught two of the touchdowns. Van Fleet led the team with 65 receiving yards.
Bassuener also led the Hoyas’ ground attack with eight rushes for 52 yards. Carter had 51, and freshman running back Charlie Houghton had 35.
It was that ability to run the ball that had Columbia most confounded. “When [Bassuener] came in he made some plays with his feet, and then on third and long when we should have been getting off the field he made some plays with his feet and that kept the drive alive a couple times,” Brekke said. Bassuener completed four passes for 16 yards and ran the ball once for 17 yards in third and fourth down situations.
After Bassuener’s break out performance, it is unclear whether he will assume the starting duties or whether Hostetler will keep them, but Georgetown will need only to wait a week to find out. The Hoyas return to the Empire State next Saturday, this time in Hamilton, N.Y. to face Colgate (1-2, 0-0 Patriot League). The Raiders blasted Georgetown 34-7 last Nov. 19 in the season’s final game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.